Should remakes be done by the original dev team?

[Liquid Plejades]

I've seen people commenting this stance in a few threads whenever a remake is announced. Recently I saw similar sentiments in the Demons Souls remake announcement thread by BluePoint games, as some thought it wouldn't match the atmosphere, vision (or whatever you want to call it ) of the original game. Do y'all feel it's a valid criticism of remakes? Is a different company handling a remake a non issue to you as long as they consult the original dev team? I remember seeing similar comments throughout the years about the Metal Gear Solid remake on GameCube: The Twin Snakes. Some MGS fans really hate it since they think it completely ruins the tone of the game and make it too goofy, while others think that was Kojima's original vision. Another example is the Crash Bandicot trilogy remake. I remember asking in a thread when it was on sale if I should get it or not, and some people replied to me saying how they only made it look pretty, but completely ruined the controls, and it was proof they didn't properly play the original games and didn't know how to program the inputs for a platformer. Not my words, just from what I've read and seen.

Would love some other examples if you can think of any i.e games you played the original of and then the remake and what your experience was.

 

[Yuntu]

Ideally they should be handled by the OG development team but it isn't realistic to expect that for every remake.

 

[nsilvias]

they dont have to be but at least have the original creators around for guidance

 

[Dreamboum]

remakes handled by someone else is allowing the OG dev team to focus on new projects.

You can still oversee remakes without having to divert significant resources.

 

[TechnicPuppet]

People leave jobs and stuff so you couldn't guarantee the same team anyway.

 

[LordGorchnik]

Nope. If its good I am buying/playing it.

 

[ReturnOfThaMack88]

I don't think it's gonna be feasible to do it with the original team. Even if it's the same developer by name, people are usually moving around a lot by the time a remake comes around.

That said, somebody get all the old zipper interactive guys together! Let's get that Socom 2 remake.

 

[mazpratim]

Anyone can do it as long as the original game elements and vision are intact unlike FF7R

 

[Anth0ny]

Ideally yes, but it's not necessary.

Plenty of bad remakes involving the original team, and great remakes completely divorced from them.

 

[RestEerie]

No, and it really shouldn't matter.

Sonic mania was created mostly by big fans of the franchise (instead of it's original creators) and it's a better sonic game (with better classic remake levels) than the official sonic team can make.

 

[Thrill_house]

Depends on a ton of factors. The genre, the pedigree of the studio taking over and the new people involved, etc. When it comes down to it, it may be impossible to bring the old band back together due to numerous reasons so I totally understand when a new team is given a shot.

 

[Deleted member 46489]

DEFINITELY NO. The OG dev team already made the original. If I'm playing the game again, I want to see a new team bring their own ideas to it. Succeed or fail, I'd rather see teams try new things than remake their own games again and again.

 

[jazzfunkgreats]

Depends where you draw the line on what constitutes the 'original dev team' - it's feasible to bring key higher ranking members of the team back I guess, but there's no way you'd be able to reasssemble the programmers, sound engineers, etc. Taking Crash Bandicoot as an example, I would imagine that very few of the people who worked on that game are still working at Naughty Dog. I would be surprised if most of them were still in the industry, actually.

 

[skeezx]

well as a recent example compare Trials of Mana to seiken densetsu 3 for super famicom

imo perfect example of how you can distill certain parts 1:1 and make a better game with 'radical' changes (gameplay wise, in this example)

mosty irrelevant who handles it more about the "mission statement" going into it

 

[Vulcano's Assistant]

I believe remakes should try to be a different game, period. Remaster the originals as true to the initial experience as possible, but don't hold back remakes to the vision of the first game.

New media should not be made in order to replace, nor old media should be thought of as capable of becoming obsolete.

 

[King Kingo]

I want a Xenogears remake.

But Square Enix is not going to waste capital hiring an external team like Monolith Soft to remake the game and keep it as a Nintendo exclusive just because of Tetsuya Takahashi.

The more economically viable and profitable option is to remake it in-house. That way, Square Enix doesn't have to pay for licensing and they can make the remake multiplatform.

 

[Panou]

They should be done by Bluepoint, with advice/recommendations from the original studio if they still exist.

 

[Voyevoda]

At the very least, they should be consulted and have a say in the matter. But not necessarily involve the whole original team (probably impossible most of the time) or the same lead designers.

 

[ItchyTasty]

If the new team understands the source material and has the ability to make a great game then I don't care

People switch jobs a lot, so it would be impossible most of the time to get the original team

 

[Castor Archer]

No because most of the time the original teams aren't together anymore. Plus in regards to Demon's Souls Fromsoft isn't exactly the most technically competent developer.

Bluepoint is the master of the remaster and remake.

 

[Heshinsi]

Many times the OG team aren't working at the OG studio. Would I want current BioWare doing a remake of KOTOR for example? No, no I don't think I would. Giving the remake to a fresh, hungry team of developers is what I want.

 

[Chopin the Third]

OG team or a different one, I don't have a preference. As long as the end result is a good game, I'm happy.

 

[inpHilltr8r]

Ship of Theseus paradox applies to development teams.

 

[Braag]

I would prefer the original devs to do it but there are plenty of very good remakes made this gen by someone other than the original devs.
Crash trilogy, Spyro trilogy, Shadow of the Colossus, Gears of War Ultimate Edition were all great remakes made by a different studio. Demon's Souls and Mafia 1 remakes both look good. So it's possible.

But then we have remasters which are not made by the original studio and a lot of them are somehow worse than the original game. BioShock games for example or Mafia 2 more recently.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

Should be a mix of original dev and new dev IMO

 

[Karlinel]

To put a creative mind that made something worth remaking in the first place, seems more a punishment than a honour to me.
I mean, imagine the original RE team, being doomed to remaking that game again and again, instead of moving on...

 

[Deleted member 59109]

That isn't always realistic, for example Naughty Dog couldn't have done the Crash remakes.

 

[Z-Beat]

They don't have to but as long as the new team understands the fundamentals of the original it's fine.

 

[Nairume]

It really depends on the game itself and the context for the remake.

 

[Ushojax]

They should have some involvement but not to a degree that would interfere with new projects.

Basically there should never be a situation where something as bad as the character faces in FFX HD are allowed to happen. Someone from original team has to be keeping an eye on things so that they can course correct if something is obviously wrong.

 

[Dusk Golem]

That's not realistically possible in many cases.

A lot of people recently have had a wide spread of opinions on Resident Evil Remake 3 (after the exceptionally received REmake 1 years ago & 2), but the original director was actually involved early in development, and Capcom offered him the position of director, but he refused it, even though gave the project his consent.

That seems more okay to me even if not all are happy with the result. But there's a huge case-by-case basis here. Sometimes there's no realistic way to "get the team back together," and not all may want to return anyways is the truth. That and some remakes are better handled by new blood making an attempt to revitalize something.

 

[Thorzilla]

It depends. The original team can and should revisit any of their prior ideas if they believe they can improve upon their vision (see FFVII), while a different dev team can bring some fresh new ideas to the table and improve a formula (see CTR). It's something that should be reviewed on a case by case basis.

 

[Deleted member 1003]

Of course. I saw grass in the trailer and I hate it.

Seriously, not really. As long as the dev team can do a good job I don't see why not.

 

[Alandring]

I think discussing with people who were part of the original dev team is very useful. If they can be involved in the remake, it's great. But I don't think it's obligatory.

 

[KrillinLikeAVillan]

No, i want them to work on actual new games rather than dwelling in the past.

 

[Pwnz]

No.

A dev team isn't an object. It's a group of people with different careers and lives. The culture and roles of each developer changes even after a few years assuming they still work there.

Take FF7. Probably a third of the team is either retired or dead.

 

[Deleted member 16876]

Not really. Let the OG devs make a sequel or something else. No need to redo what they made. Unless they make a reimagining then I am fine with it.

 

[Digital Savior]

What if they don't exist any more? What if the game is decades old and the team is completely different?

 

[EggmaniMN]

This "original vision" stuff really rubs me the wrong way.

 

[Voytek]

I think the original team should be asked first( if that's an option). See if they are interested in doing it. If they are then great and if not no problem let someone else do it.

 

[ShroudOfFate]

It really depends on the game. If the 'original team' wants to not do a remake and change a bunch of stuff but still label it one like FF7R, it should probably be handled by someone else like how Bluepoint did SotC. If the game couldn't be fully finished or fleshed out in its original form, I'd rather the original team come back and redo/finish the game i.e a Xenogears remake by Monolithsoft

 

[Spring-Loaded]

Depends on the Game Developer™

There are key aspects of what made a game good, and depending on what those are, the game, circumstance, previous and new developers, and myriad other factors, updating stuff or changing directions may or may not be the right choice. Finding whatever amorphous core concepts for a game and iterating on that is the most specific I could get when answering this question

 

[Wulfric]

I would say no, as it would distract them from new projects

but the senior creatives should hopefully be alive/available for reference. If not, the old design docs should be made available to the team.

 

[Tygre]

As others have said, reassembling the "original development team" is likely to be impossible in the vast majority of cases.

At that point, since there's no way to get the same people working on it, what does it matter if it's made by a different studio or the "same" studio with different people?

 

[NightmaresHunter]

You mean the original "studio" not the exact dev members?

Well if it's the case then yes if the original studio wanted or have interested in remaking their game. Look at REmake 1, which highly regarded as best remake ever.

So ideally the best remake may exist from the OG studio. But this doesn't mean other studio can't do it.

There are many ways to achieve an end goal, as well as being faithful to the OG game no matter the generation gap, graphics, dated mechanics etc.

Edit: Also if a another studio doing the remake, I do prefer to be from same region/ethnicity. (i.e Japanese game remade by JP team, western remake by western developers)

DEFINITELY NO. The OG dev team already made the original. If I'm playing the game again, I want to see a new team bring their own ideas to it. Succeed or fail, I'd rather see teams try new things than remake their own games again and again.

Click to shrink...

The OG dev team can also pour new ideas to the remake.

That isn't always realistic, for example Naughty Dog couldn't have done the Crash remakes.

Click to shrink...

I think they didn't want to

 

[King of Cups]

I prefer they're made by whoever at the time has the most passion for the property. If the original team has moved on and doesn't really have the inspiration needed to commit to it, it's probably in better hands elsewhere.

 

[B.K.]

I want a Xenogears remake.

But Square Enix is not going to waste capital hiring an external team like Monolith Soft to remake the game and keep it as a Nintendo exclusive just because of Tetsuya Takahashi.

The more economically viable and profitable option is to remake it in-house. That way, Square Enix doesn't have to pay for licensing and they can make the remake multiplatform.

Click to shrink...

At this point, if Xenogears had to be remade, I would prefer anyone else to make it. I don't trust modern Monolithsoft or Takahashi to do a good job remaking Xenogears.

 

[hey it's that dog]

The original teams shouldn't waste their time remaking their own games. I say this as someone who likes remasters/remakes.

 

[Sesha]

No. But they should have an input in every major area as well as on the nuances and subtleties of the original game to whatever extent possible by the original developers.

 

[Jonathan Lanza]

I can't imagine getting a team of people back together for the express purpose of doing the same thing they did last time but maybe better.