Retro Studios Stepping Back From Metroid For A Bit

Retro Studios, the makers of the games in the Metroid Prime series, has announced they'll be stepping back from the games for a bit now that Corruption is in stores. Comments from project director Mark Pacini discuss that decision and their interaction with the Wiimote: "I'm sure that there will be other titles created but as far as Retro Studios is concerned, we're taking a break for a little bit. We started with the core ideas of the game ... but we did not receive the information about the Wii controller until well into development. So we got a big surprise, of, hey, this is what we're going to do for the next console. Many things had to be refactored, but actually many things fell right into place. The Wii remote enables us to do things that we hadn't previously done in other Metroid games."

Comments

While saying...

[Philotic]

"Whoa there, Samus, put the arm cannon down, we don't want any trouble..."

So reaction is mixed

[techpawn]

They where mad that they had to redo things but other things worked better than they thought? I'd rather them take a break and come back to make an even better game

Finally, a Metroid story on Slashdot

[Ang31us]

It's about time!

First of all, MP3C is a game made for gamers...it uses every button on the Wii-mote and Nunchuck AND uses motion sensitivity AND aiming. You already know that the play control is better than any console experience (my trusty mouse is still more accurate). I will NEVER play a FPS using a Xbox 360 or PS3 controller...those controllers SUCK for FPS. In a single-player first-person shooter/adventure I would rather be aiming at the screen with my arm-cannon than moving a mouse because I feel like I'm in the game AND it's sooo much fun!

Secondly, Super Mario Strikers Charged is also a deep and complex game that uses almost every button, function, and feature on the Wii-mote and Nunchuck. Play it online against some highly-ranked players and see how many ways there are to pass, shoot, score, and play defense.

The talk about Nintendo ignoring their hardcore gamer base is utter nonsense. I love both of these games as much as I love Zelda, Resident Evil 4, and Madden on my Wii. Everyone knows Wii Sports is still da bomb...I still box and play tennis and baseball when friends come over (right after the game of Strikers). Put one of those "casual gamers" up against me in Wii Sports tennis or boxing and I'll dispatch them faster than you can say "Nintendo wins the console war."

Re:Finally, a Metroid story on Slashdot

[Pojut]

First, my credentials as a lover of FPS games...I have been playing FPS regularly since Catacomb 3-D came on the scene...in that time, I have played countless FPS games on the PC. My first console FPS that involved actual aiming (Wolfenstein 3D/Doom on SNES don't really count in this instance) was Goldeneye.

Now. While I think for FPS NOTHING will EVER top a solid keyboard/mouse combination, I will also say that the 360 controller is sufficient for playing an FPS. It takes a while, I had to play through four or five first person shooters between Xbox and PS2 to get the hang of using a controller...while I will never be as good with a controller as I am with a K/M combo, I can hold my own in a multiplayer game.

Don't discredit the controller just because it's harder to use...it simply requires a different skill set. Once you get used to it, it works well enough. Again, you can't have the same accuracy and control as you do with a mouse and keyboard, but given enough time you will get comfortable enough with it to be able to just pick up and go.

Re:Finally, a Metroid story on Slashdot

[NonSequor]

(my trusty mouse is still more accurate)

Actually the human brain is capable of exceptional accuracy with a pointing device like the wiimote. Your brain is pretty much hardwired for this sort of thing and it only takes a little practice to get really good at it. I've seen a shooting instructor teach people how to hit an aspirin in midair with a BB gun in less than 10 minutes. This is something that pretty much everyone who isn't braindamaged is capable of doing.

With the wiimote you can easily do some things that are much more difficult with a mouse: track a fast moving target and quickly move between targets. Of course, the PC still has the advantage that you can map keys to all sorts of useful macros, but I think the mouse's reign as best input device is at an end.

Re:Finally, a Metroid story on Slashdot

[Ang31us]

Yup, the analog stick on the 360 and PS3 controllers are definitely harder to use in FPSes. I can't hit a moving target when I stand still. I can't even hit a still target that's a few feet away without aiming past it 2 or 3 times before I get the crosshair lined up correctly using any joystick. How am I supposed to hit a target while I run, strafe, and jump around to avoid his shots?

"It works well enough" is not good enough for me. I need to be able to get a head shot in Resident Evil 4 on a moving target 100 yards away using a handgun.

I think that "different skill set" you refer to is patience...honestly, I don't have the patience increase my skill at aiming using such a blatantly inferior control scheme. The analog joystick is to aiming as the digital t-pad is to driving.

Re:Finally, a Metroid story on Slashdot

[AKAImBatman]

There's just one teeny-weeny little problem: The Wii Remote does not actually "point" at the object on the screen. It interpolates a set of coordinates based on the positions of the IR LEDs according to the sensor on the front of the remote. The problem this creates is that the aim is inaccurate. You're really aiming within the field of the sensor bar and NOT within the field of the television. Even worse, you're dealing with polar coordinates to determine Cartesian coordinates. This can slightly warp the aim of the Wii Remote, making it even harder to aim precisely.

When I used the Zapper as a kid, I stood far back from the television. (The first mistake people always made with the zapper was to stand too close to the television.) From there I was able to lift the weapon and fire with pinpoint accuracy at ducks/clay pigeons/gangsters/plates/glass panes/various junk the magician threw/etc. At least among my family and friends, I was a crack shot. You can't do that with the Wii Remote. Every time you heft it as a weapon, you need to orient the reticle before taking the shot. You can get good at aiming the remote fairly close to your target, but there will always need to be that visual feedback loop between the reticle and your aim.

While I have yet to play Metroid, I understand it gets around these issues with a "lock-on" control system that actually corrects your aim for you. So if you can get the reticle close to your target, it's good enough to take the shot. Not very realistic, but certainly a lot more fun. ;-)

Now don't get me wrong. The Wii Remote is lightyears ahead of the ultra-fine motor control required to play FPSes with a dual-analog controller. A player can respond faster, shoot quicker, aim more precisely, and otherwise manage to make the controller do what they intend. I think it's an absolutely wonderful update to the venerable gamepad, and wouldn't want to play my console any other way. I'm only pointing out that it has no real advantage over a mouse when it comes to hand/eye coordination skills. In some ways it actually does worse, because the spatial movement of the controller lacks the precision that a mouse's digital-optical sensors can provide. So there is still room for improvement. :)

Re:Finally, a Metroid story on Slashdot

[Ang31us]

Skip RedSteel...the play control sucks ass. Once you moved your WiiMote anywhere near the sides of (or off) the screen, the whole screen goes into a spin (your character is "turning" even though you're "aiming"). I got such bad vertigo from it that I gave away my Wii launch copy to my younger brother so he could play it on his own Wii.

Definitely check out Resident Evil 4 and especially Metroid Prime 3 Corruption using the WiiMote. In RE4, you can't run and shoot at the same time (my only criticism of the game). MP3C has everything you could possibly want in an FPS. Both games feel like you're playing an arcade shooter with a lightgun in your living room...and a big-screen TV with progressive scan makes it EVEN BETTER!

Re:Finally, a Metroid story on Slashdot

[AKAImBatman]

I don't think you really understand the difficulties posed by the Wii Remote. The problems you mention all are something that can be ocmpensated for at the gun. With the Wii Remote, you have no such luck. Your aim will be different depending on the position of the sensor bar, your distance from the television, your position along the parallel of the sensor bar, how deep of an angle you're firing at vs. moving the remote side to side, the height the remote is currently being held at, etc. Just about every factor you can think of will slightly change the aiming of the remote. So there's very little comparison with wind (a measurably quantity) and weapon warping (something that can be compensated for). It's more like a weapon that kicks a different direction every time you fire it.

Let me put a strong rumble pack on your gun and let's see how well you compensate for it. ;-)

Re:Finally, a Metroid story on Slashdot

[buffer-overflowed]

It also helps that most analog stick games "assist" you a bit. If you ever tried Halo or Halo 2 for the PC, they're retardedly easy because of that. Console FPSes though are tuned to console controls, so everyone has a fair shake, and you can get quite good at it. Just don't expect to beat a PC or Wii gamer on an absolutely even, control-wise playing field(as in no auto-assist, simple movement of cursor, they're so much faster and more precise then you... you will lose, horribly). You won't.

K/M is still the best for finate precision control. Wiimote+Nunchuck is #2(resolution is poor compared to modern mice, it's about at Quake 1/2 levels, if they upped it to modern mice level, it would be perfect). Honestly, after MP3, I'll have serious issues picking up any dual-analog FPS.

Re:Finally, a Metroid story on Slashdot

[MemoryDragon]

That doesnt unfortunately change the fact that you have to go through 15-20 seconds of non stoppable animation if you trigger a superstrike, after the 100th time seeing mario jumping into the air you simply dont want to play the game anymore, give me the same game without superstrike animation and it would have been a classic.

It is amazing how such a minor detail can ruin an otherwise excellent game.

They should use the time to make middleware.

[Dorceon]

Seriously, since MP3:C got the controls right, and it does such a good job on the graphics, it seems like licensing the engine out is an obvious step. When you consider that Nintendo owns Retro, and Nintendo stands to benefit from the quality of games on the Wii going up (in both hardware sales to hardcore gamers and in software licensing revenue), not to mention that they can collect engine licensing fees, it seems like an obvious choice.