by Metroid Prime Remastered. Screenshot: Nintendo / Retro Studios
Developers who worked on the acclaimed 2002 Nintendo GameCube game Metroid Prime are publicly frustrated that a recently released Switch remake called Metroid Prime Remastered doesn’t credit the game’s original creators.
Driving the news: Zoid Kirsch, a lead engineer on the original who didn’t work on the remake, tweeted Saturday that he “let down” by the lack of full original credits in the new Switch version.
- The original’s technical director, Jack Mathews, publicly called it a “travesty.”
- He added to Axios, “When my son first plays Metroid Prime on the Switch, the fact that he won’t see the names of (mine) and my co-workers in the credits as the original creators is a gut punch . “
Details: Metroid Prime Remastered is a level-by-level recreation of the first game with the same adventure and gameplay as the 2002 version, but with superior, modern graphics.
- The original and remake were largely created by Nintendo-owned Retro Studios, although the staff at Retro has changed significantly.
- The Remastered credits credit the hundreds of current developers at Retro and partner studios who worked on the game.
- The game’s original creators are credited in 15 words at the end of the Switch version’s credits: “Based on the work of the Metroid Prime (Nintendo GameCube original and Wii versions) development team.”
Between the lines: Video game credits are notoriously inconsistent and incomplete.
- Publishers gradually make the rules, often excluding developers who left a studio before a project shipped.
- A spate of remakes and remasters using much of the art and game design of the games they’re based on raises questions about who should get credit.
What you say: “As our industry matures and games are remastered from original designs, code and graphics, it is vital that individual credits are preserved as people’s work is used as a template for future releases,” says Mathews.
- Mathews noted that a video game remake like Prime’s uses a lot of code from the original. The remake’s stunning visuals are derived from the original game’s artwork, he says.
Be smart: Guidelines from the International Game Developers Association, which advocates but cannot enforce game credits, state that “ports, remasters, remakes, and re-releases must retain the original names that worked on the game.”
- A major overhaul of the 2008 original of the same name, EA’s latest Dead Space remake takes a similar approach to Prime Remastered. The 20-minute closing credits for the 2023 edition end with a quick thank you to the original team “for inspiring us every step of the way.”
A re-release that benefited the game’s original creators: Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, a 2021 remaster that lists the game’s original development team from 2011 by name and first in the credits.
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