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Retro Studios tweets job listing for an Art Director for Metroid Prime 4

Defect

Defect

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,738
I can handle huge delays and stuff. I'm just upset because I feel like NOW was the best time for the game to come out and gain popularity while the Switch is still hot. I fear that by the time this game comes out the Switch or next gen won't be as popular and the game won't sell. Plus it doesn't help that Nintendo doesn't care enough about Metroid to keep it in Switch owners minds. Like where is Super Metroid or the Trilogy? I'm sure we'll see Metroid 5 within the next 12 months but I just don't have faith in Nintendo when it comes to this series.

I think they should just drop the 4 and call it something else. It's already 10+ years after Prime 3 and we have another 2-3 years before this one hopefully.
 
Xaszatm

Xaszatm

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
10,903
Defect said:
I can handle huge delays and stuff. I'm just upset because I feel like NOW was the best time for the game to come out and gain popularity while the Switch is still hot. I fear that by the time this game comes out the Switch or next gen won't be as popular and the game won't sell. Plus it doesn't help that Nintendo doesn't care enough about Metroid to keep it in Switch owners minds. Like where is Super Metroid or the Trilogy? I'm sure we'll see Metroid 5 within the next 12 months but I just don't have faith in Nintendo when it comes to this series.

I think they should just drop the 4 and call it something else. It's already 10+ years after Prime 3 and we have another 2-3 years before this one hopefully.
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I mean, if this game is going to take a while, wouldn't it be smarter to move the trilogy to a later date so its fresh in people's minds when it releases?
 

Dark Cloud

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
61,087
Defect said:
I can handle huge delays and stuff. I'm just upset because I feel like NOW was the best time for the game to come out and gain popularity while the Switch is still hot. I fear that by the time this game comes out the Switch or next gen won't be as popular and the game won't sell. Plus it doesn't help that Nintendo doesn't care enough about Metroid to keep it in Switch owners minds. Like where is Super Metroid or the Trilogy? I'm sure we'll see Metroid 5 within the next 12 months but I just don't have faith in Nintendo when it comes to this series.

I think they should just drop the 4 and call it something else. It's already 10+ years after Prime 3 and we have another 2-3 years before this one hopefully.
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I don't think they were going to keep the title "Metroid Prime 4" anyways
 
Instro

Instro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,124
TheSpaceBetween said:
I would be absolutely shocked if they this game out in 3 years.

1. HD AAA development is taking longer than ever these days
2. Retro hasn't made a 3D game, or a Metroid game in 12 years
3. Retro has only one HD game under their belt to date.
4. Retro is really slow anyway

I predict a 4 year dev cycle with a holiday 2022 or early 2023 release to coinside with the Switch 2 launch.
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Well my thought process is this:

1. Assuming this entry doesn't bring big changes to the series, Metroid Prime doesn't really have a whole lot of the typical trappings that would extend development. It's not open world, minimal NPCs, minimal VA/performance capture, story is often delivered via logs, there are not a ton of complex underlying systems to account for, and it's not a new IP.
2. Some work is already done via the pitch they put together, and whatever can be used from the work done by the EPD producers with NB.
3. In terms of bringing in new elements there may aspects of their scrapped game(s) that could be repurposed for Metroid.
 
Defect

Defect

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,738
Xaszatm said:
I mean, if this game is going to take a while, wouldn't it be smarter to move the trilogy to a later date so its fresh in people's minds when it releases?
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I don't know. Releasing ports/remasters for Zelda worked. Bayo 1+2 came out and Bayo 3 is who knows where but I don't think it hurt the hype.
 
Instro

Instro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,124
ItWasMeantToBe19 said:
Vince Joly quit 7 months ago (he formerly held this very position this thread was about) because he was mad about Nintendo outsourcing too much of the art on Prime 4 so it's heavily unlikely Retro is doing this alone.

Beyond even Tanabe heading the project.
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Sounds like they are making Retro work like EPD and some of their Japanese studios, lots of outsourcing. Regardless, based on what's been going on there over the last several years, and accounting for what happened with Armature, I guess it's nots surprising that they are having trouble filling positions.
 

Dark Cloud

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
61,087
I think all of Retro's games have been cancelled. A sound designer at Retro used to have he was working on a game and he was excited. I checked recently and he took it off his profile (LinkedIn).
 
Drbeckman

Drbeckman

Member
Nov 9, 2017
35
Is "What is / was Retro working on ?" the best kept secret of this industry ?

For years people have been trying to know, and no leaks, niet, nada !

Why is that ? Why won't somedy tell us ? No insiders at all ?

I am just so tired at this point.
 
Skittzo

Skittzo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
41,037
ItWasMeantToBe19 said:
He quit and then put up a super passive aggressive thing on his webpage about "Outsource everything!" right while Retro started hiring for an art outsourcing manager.
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On the one hand I can totally understand how that would be frustrating from an art director to have to rely on outsourcing of a lot of assets but on the other hand... that's kinda the reality of game development these days. If they want the game out in any reasonable amount of time a fair bit of outsourcing would help massively.
 
ILikeFeet

ILikeFeet

DF Deet Master
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
61,987
Soulsis said:
It's like Retro experiences time at quarter speed or something
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tumblr_m5ekqzhILS1r0wxq8o1_250.gif
 
TheSpaceBetween

TheSpaceBetween

Member
Jan 11, 2018
9,671
Dark Cloud said:
I never saw Vince said he got the aesthetic down for their new game when he moved back to Art Director in March 2018.
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The timing of his move from Creative Director back to Art Director, and then finally departure, leave a bajillion questions in my mind, and don't align with a lot of theoretical timelines people have guessed regarding the going ons at Retro.
 
MJForum Poster

MJForum Poster

Member
May 25, 2019
6,045
London
Once they announced they were restarting development, I didn't expect this game before 2022 at the absolute earliest. People thinking this would be a 2020 or 2021 release have no concept of what modern game development is like.
 
ILikeFeet

ILikeFeet

DF Deet Master
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
61,987
hell, they shipped a game without an "art director" role. let's not make a mountain out of a molehill now
 
Hailinel

Hailinel

Shamed a mod for a tag
Member
Oct 27, 2017
35,527
Is this thread going to be bumped every time a listing for an Art Director at Retro gets posted or advertised?
 
kung-fu-owl

kung-fu-owl

Alt account
Banned
Jul 27, 2019
513
There was never even a chance this game would be out any time soon.

Nintendo had to cancel the first iteration because it wasn't coming together to standards.

Why people then thought they would do a rush job on the rebooted project, or magically put out a polished game in a short 1-2 years, I have no idea.
 
ToddBonzalez

ToddBonzalez

The Pyramids? That's nothing compared to RDR2
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
15,530
Slightly off-topic, but I really want the Jason Schreier expose on what's been going on at Retro for the past 5 years.
 
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AtomicShroom

AtomicShroom

Tools & Automation
Verified
Oct 28, 2017
3,091
King Dodongo said:
What!? That can't be real... At this point they may not show MP4 at next E3...
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Just how long do you think games take to make? Retro started on this project from absolute scratch early this year. Expect them to take anywhere from 3 to 5 years to make it. They weren't going to show anything until E3 2021 at the very earliest, and if they're just now looking for an art director, then it might not be until E3 2022. This game is not coming out until the Switch 2 (or whatever Nintendo makes). Mark my words.
 
King Dodongo

King Dodongo

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,073
AtomicShroom said:
Just how long do you think games take to make? Retro started on this project from absolute scratch early this year. Expect them to take anywhere from 3 to 5 years to make it. They weren't going to show anything until E3 2021 at the very earliest, and if they're just now looking for an art director, then it might not be until E3 2022. This game is not coming out until the Switch 2 (or whatever Nintendo makes). Mark my words.
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Back when I made that post I was mostly referring to that demo Retro sent to Nintendo or a 10 second video of Samus. Better than just silence.
 

Dark Cloud

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
61,087
Yep because Retro is still looking for an Art Director we won't see the game until E3 2022. Yep they're all sitting around everyday at work until the Art Director comes in and they can proceed. Yep nobody else at Retro has the capabilities to lead the artists. Yep
 
ILikeFeet

ILikeFeet

DF Deet Master
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
61,987
AtomicShroom said:
Just how long do you think games take to make? Retro started on this project from absolute scratch early this year. Expect them to take anywhere from 3 to 5 years to make it. They weren't going to show anything until E3 2021 at the very earliest, and if they're just now looking for an art director, then it might not be until E3 2022. This game is not coming out until the Switch 2 (or whatever Nintendo makes). Mark my words.
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the art director posting is from last year.
 
Gusy

Gusy

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,086
Oh man, I'm just not feeling it.. I think that the talent in Retro Studios from the early 2000s was like lightning captured in a bottle. They had the right people, at the right time with the right hardware. Such strong art direction and overall technology. The conditions are so different now.

This project has vaporware written all over the walls. I really, really hope not. Metroid Prime might be my favorite game of all time : (
 
NinjaScooter

NinjaScooter

Member
Oct 25, 2017
54,587
The fact that they are hiring in certain positions doesn't tell you anytime about the state of the game they are currently working on.
 
Doctre81

Doctre81

Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,452
AtomicShroom said:
Just how long do you think games take to make? Retro started on this project from absolute scratch early this year. Expect them to take anywhere from 3 to 5 years to make it. They weren't going to show anything until E3 2021 at the very earliest, and if they're just now looking for an art director, then it might not be until E3 2022. This game is not coming out until the Switch 2 (or whatever Nintendo makes). Mark my words.
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They started late last year and I dunno about from "absolute scratch". Some work on this game is also being outsourced and there is no way in hell they are gonna take 5 years.
 
Sub Boss

Sub Boss

Banned
Nov 14, 2017
13,441
Advc said:
At this stage I'm expecting MP4 to be the next BOTW in terms of scope, innovation and graphics so I hope this massive delay is worth it.
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i wouldnt get my hopes that high, they are probably trying a return to roots not a reinvention.

Prime 1 already got the formula perfectly later games made the series more linear, while open world Metroid doesnt make much sense
 
ILikeFeet

ILikeFeet

DF Deet Master
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
61,987
Sub Boss said:
i wouldnt get my hopes that high, they are probably trying a return to roots not a reinvention.

Prime 1 already got the formula perfectly later games made the series more linear, while open world Metroid doesnt make much sense
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I don't think that's gonna help the game. People bounced off of the series after MP1 because it wasn't to their taste. Making it again might not be what the series needs to break out
 
byDoS

byDoS

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,192
Doctre81 said:
They started late last year and I dunno about from "absolute scratch". Some work on this game is also being outsourced and there is no way in hell they are gonna take 5 years.
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3 years to make. 1 year to port to Switch 2.

4 years.

I'm expecting this to be a cross gen title, so 2023 at the earliest.
 
ClickyCal'

ClickyCal'

Member
Oct 25, 2017
59,951
You people act like they are all sitting at some round table in an office waiting to hire another art director.
 
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