SantaC
Member
I am even more hyped for echoes after reading this interview 
http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200410/N04.1008.2258.52069.htm
GI: Im sitting here in Seattle, Washington with Michael Kelbaugh, President of Retro Studios and Bryan Walker, senior producer on Metroid Prime: Echoes. First of all, Nintendo showed off a pretty final build of the game yesterday and today. How has the development process been so far?
Kelbaugh: (laughs) See these bags under our eyes! Were actually within a week of approval, so were running non-stop, working on the finals for submission. Were working on the last little touches here and there and hopefully we'll wrap it up this week.
GI: Compared to the first Prime, how would you say the two development cycles have differed? Obviously with the first game, taking the franchise into 3D was a huge undertaking. Has development on the second game been easier considering that you already know how to work marvels with their 3D engine?
Walker: One thing that Id like to throw out there is that we just didnt take the last game engine and throw in new content. This is not an expansion disc. We really threw a lot of time and money at improving the underlying technology, so much so that people will immediately be able to see a much denser, a much richer experience. Theres about 20 to 25 percent more content per any given area in Echoes than in the last game. The Prime technology could run not Echoes.
GI: Did you end up completely overhauling the entire engine then?
Walker: Theres very little that wasnt seriously improved in the underlying technology.
Kelbaugh: There are almost no assets that were we reused for Echoes. In 18 months, by the way (laughs).
Walker: And we really have to tip our hats to the engineers. These are the guys who could have just sat back and said, We have a great engine, lets just deal with that. But these guys are absolute perfections and refused to let any opportunity for improvement slip by.
Kelbaugh: Not only that, but the team, for the most part, is intact from the first game.
GI: Is it larger now?
Kelbaugh: Its a little bit larger but its also more experienced. Weve streamlined the processes and were more efficient now, and were a lot more experienced with how to get a game out the door as a team. Just with that experience it was a lot more efficient process.
GI: How does Echoes stack up to Prime in terms of gameplay length?
Walker: Weve been a great deal of what we call white paper testing with people who are very experienced with Prime and also people off the street, and were finding that the length is stacking up to be as long, if not even longer, than the original game. Not only that, were finding that the pace is better laid out. Its a more even, enjoyable experience for both short and long play sessions.
GI: As far as bonus content, do guys have anything tucked up your sleeves?
Walker: You can expect to see some unlockable content, yes.
GI: So, does that mean there will be another unlockable Metroid game?
Walker: No comment (laughs).
GI: In my time with the game, I noticed that some of the action is really challenging now, even more so than it seemed in Prime. Is this something you set out to accomplish from the beginning?
Walker: There are some very challenging parts in the game, especially the boss fights. Theyre really epic.
Kelbaugh: I cant even begin to explain the effort that we spent on adjusting, tuning, and fine honing the bosses and those encounters. I cant guess the percentage, but a large percentage of our efforts were spent just making sure that those experiences were triple A.
Walker: And the last finishing touches are still going in. 99 percent of the rest of game development studios out there would have shipped this game three months ago and it would have been solid. But given the dynamic that we have between our colleagues at SPD in Kyoto, with bouncing ideas and suggestions for improvement back and forth has really been a big help. Its really taken this game to the next level.
GI: Aside from these two Metroid games that youve created, whats next for Retro Studios now? Some companies seem to get typecast into making certain games. You think of Rockstar, you think GTA. You think of EA, you probably think of Madden. Is Retro going to be the Metroid company? Or, are these two games going to be good experience for future projects?
Kelbaugh: Well, you know, I think were good at what we do. We like the franchise and we think we do it well, and with that said, wed like to keep it. But also, wed like to grow and see where the creative flow of the studio takes us. Certainly, wed like to do other things but wed also like to keep the Metroid franchise as well. The long term of Retro is to produce multiple SKUs. Right now were a one team house. Hopefully soon well be able to pump out more titles.
GI: What do you think is really going to bring the gamers to buy Echoes, especially those who may not have played the first Prime game?
Kelbaugh: We spent a ton of time on making sure the multiplayer experience was true to the Metroid fan. You can slap a Deathmatch onto any game, you see it in 90 percent of the product out there, but we tried really hard to stay true to the Metroid fan so that multiplayer experience was a Metroid experience. And we feel comfortable that weve done that. To me, Im really proud that we were able to accomplish that. Its not just Deathmatch; theres a whole morph ball element to it thats unique to the title. Weve just incorporated a lot of cool Metroid stuff and I think were the only ones that can do that.
GI: How do you think the public response will be from the public in regards to the multiplayer?
Walker: I think the Prime multiplayer is a social and viral experience. A guy has a roommate whos never played the game sit down and play multiplayer and, boom, weve got another Metroid fan. I think that is one of the key advantages that multiplayer brings us as well as brings us exposure in a new market.
GI: Were there ever any thoughts of taking the game online?
Kelbaugh: We had a really aggressive schedule. 18 months from the get go. It just wasnt something that we had the bandwidth to do. We talked about it but when we took a look at the resources needed, we just didnt have them.
Walker: Ive spent a good chunk of my career developing and supporting online games and to do an online game right is probably a two axe effort to do a good single player online game and we dont want to do anything unless its as high of quality as we want it to be. And to take 18 months and an online game and do it justice, it just wasnt possible.
http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200410/N04.1008.2258.52069.htm
