What do you want the next Metroid to look like?

[okey]

Hi. Let's talk about art style. The next Metroid's going to be either 3d or HD and both of those could provide some interesting possibilities.

Do you want the next game to be stylized? Realistic? Are you happy with Other M's graphics? Do you want a return to Retro's style? Do you even want it to be 3d to begin with? I guess a lot of this depends on who makes it, what platform it's for and if it's going to be a sidescroller or a 3d game, so let's talk about that too.

I'm in the camp that wants Metroid V to be stylized. I really like the look of Fusion's art. Here's an example. It's moody and cartoony at the same time and I don't think that's an impossible goal. If the next game is 3d, that's the style I want them to shoot for. (I feel Other M was trying to do this but leaned too much towards realism)

If the next Metroid uses 2d graphics (don't laugh, it can happen ) then I want a return to Zero Mission's visual style. That art was way too cool to only use on one game. I've seen a lot of people say how they want a 2.5d game but man I'm not feeling it. I know it can look amazing but for every DKCR there's a whole lot of games that get it really wrong (SF4, NSMB Wii, etc).

I want to talk hardware stuff too, but I have no idea what's inside of the 3ds or Wii-U so I guess I can't.

[Spaceman]

I agree about 2.5D not being very good in terms of art style. Metroid in 2.5D would need some degree of cel-shading to convincingly portray the series' dark and stylized atmosphere. Standard 3D graphics would be unatmospheric.

Funny enough, Other M was initially conceived as 2.5D (before Team Ninja asked for 3D) which partly explains why it's art style was kinda bland. Takayasu Morisawa from Nintendo SPD Production Group 1 was art director and had similar experience with ZM and Fusion, but these were 2D games and he couldn't quite achieve the same level of atmosphere when they switched to a 3D game engine.

As for hardware, I saw a really neat suggestion elsewhere for a hypothetical future game using the Other M engine... basically, the Wii U tablet screen would provide a permanent first-person view while you move around the TV screen in third-person. Instead of awkwardly switching perspectives, one could just stop and look around with the tablet.

[TheBlackCat]

I think 3D graphics would be good, it just needs appropriate dynamic lighting effects. I don't think there is anything inherent in a 3D design that would make such a thing impossible, but you need sufficient power to pull it off. In my opinion, properly-used ambient lighting, especially the use of colored "spotlights", for instance from light filtering through cracks or from broken electronic lights, as well as oddly-color point lights (like from electronics, weapons, or bioluminescent organisms) could make it very atmospheric.

I don't think the problem with Other M was the 3D look, it was limitations of the texture resolution and dynamic lighting capabilities of the Wii. They just couldn't pull of, for instance, light shining through a grating and projecting that on the floor (and on Samus as she walks by), or rooms that were dark except for specular reflections from some electronics reflecting off the walls and off Samus. Those sorts of things I think could add a lot to the atmosphere.

Similarly, much of the environments were broken, but they didn't show the sorts of dirt, grime, wear, and abuse that you could get from some really good, high-resolution bump-mapped texture. Yeah there were holes and breakage, but they felt ad-hoc rather than a real part of the environment. I think that was a limitation of the texture capabilities that the use of high-density optical disks and more system memory could alleviate.

Those sorts of things I think would make the game far more atmospheric than anything that could be pulled off in 2D (where the ability to manipulate lighting is fundamentally limited).

[Lucid Flower]

I would be happy if they went the way of spooky, ambient, realism. or bright cell shaded, minimalistic looking with bright deep lighting effects that accentuate the visor and beam weapons. If anything I really like how animated she was in other m and would want to see her moving so fluidly again in a new game.

So to give contrasting examples:

Dead space sort of look, but not gameplay. Aslo more moving parts in the suit, similar to the cannon in metroid prime. Or the suit the guy wears in vanquish sort of....

or

Bloodrayne betrayal look with really awesome, bright, flashy, lighting effects for beams and anything else that might glow.....really good detailed animations with a lot of movement.

[okey]

You gotta admit, that second one sounds a lot more fun. And yeah I totally agree with you that seeing a nimble Samus was great.

I agree about 2.5D not being very good in terms of art style. Metroid in 2.5D would need some degree of cel-shading to convincingly portray the series' dark and stylized atmosphere. Standard 3D graphics would be unatmospheric.

My issue with 2.5d is that all of the cool lighting and camera tricks in the world don't make up for bad animation. Given that there's a grand total one 1 2.5d game with good animation (DKCR) I guess it's a really hard problem to solve.

Funny enough, Other M was initially conceived as 2.5D (before Team Ninja asked for 3D) which partly explains why it's art style was kinda bland. Takayasu Morisawa from Nintendo SPD Production Group 1 was art director and had similar experience with ZM and Fusion, but these were 2D games and he couldn't quite achieve the same level of atmosphere when they switched to a 3D game engine.

Hey wait a second that doesn't sound right. How could Team Ninja have enough pull to change the game's genre but then get get shot down when they wanted nunchuck controls?

stuff about lighting

Good stuff. Better lighting is going to make a huge difference. Lighting is way more important to Metroid than higher polycounts or 1080p. Can the 3ds handle advanced lighting or is it like the Wii?

[KingBroly]

I believe it was going to be a 2D side-scroller with 3D graphics. Team Ninja had a demo of Samus moving with depth and I believe that's how it got to be what it was. I think Team Ninja had free reign on that one as well as animation. I think that's how it went down.

From what I saw animation wise, most of Samus' animations were all canned from other Team Ninja games, mainly DOA (Specifically Samus' double kick move). So...not a whole lot of uniqueness was going on there.

[Naner]

a whole lot of games that get it really wrong (SF4, ...

Is SF4 Street Fighter IV? If so, I'd like to mention that, despite hating the game in an overall, I really like the art style.

Anyway, a cell-shaded 2.5D Metroid game, following the footsteps of Fusion, could be interesting for the 3DS. Now, for Wii U, I believe a more conservatory look is the way to go.

[Chris]

For WiiU I would like to see them go all out in the graphics department in similar style of the Primes but using modern graphic techniques.

For 3DS, I think some middle ground would be nice, looking at the new RE game it would appear the 3DS can produce some nice detailed visuals, combine that with an art style reminiscent of Fusion or so and you've got a winner.

[supermetroid108]

What would YOU like to see in the next metroid game?
I.E. The return of a cyborg Adam that has been reconstructed from DNA left after the explosion in sector zero, or a bigger, more explorable world that you can accept or decline mission in like Fallout 3.

[EmpReb]

For WiiU I would like to see them go all out in the graphics department in similar style of the Primes but using modern graphic techniques.

This.... if anything the Other M movies graphics could be done in real time on the new console. I am just a sucker for full 1080p Metroid with all the trimmings of modern graphics.

I think a 2.5D Metroid would be pretty awesome. Much like Dracula X Chronicles or Shadow Complex, but in the Metroid style. It would be neat too if the creatures were kept pretty retro looking, at least the colors. almost like one of those black light posters... but not as tacky.

[Doc Scratch]

I'd love another 2D Metroid, but only if they tried to deliver a new setting that was interesting and hadn't been explored before. Think a coral reef, or a Yukon-style forest.

For graphics, I would not mind a sort of overplayed "gritty" style with dramatic shadows and highlights for atmosphere, or even a more extreme version of Zero Mission's "comic book" style. Sprites aren't that hard to manufacture (Compared to a fighting game), so I hope they try to use them; it gives Metroid a different feel.

I just hope they don't rehash an art style and bland it up like MOM did for Fusion.

[okey]

I just hope they don't rehash an art style and bland it up like MOM did for Fusion.

What was it with Other M's art? It was like they couldn't make up their mind if they wanted the bottle ship to look decrepit or sterile, so they went with both and it didn't work.

Hey speaking of that, is anyone else kinda tired of empty settings? I get that isolation's a big part of Metroid but they've been leaning on it too hard. It'd be nice to go to a place that isn't completely dead for once. Animated plants, neutral animals, that kind of stuff. Maybe even an area that's been evacuated instead of destroyed.

I'd like to see some actual weather too. I know Prime had some rain and snow but I'm talking blizzards, thunderstorms, searing heat, high speed winds. A Metroid game with an actual weather cycle would be cool as hell.

[YamI]

I just hope they don't rehash an art style and bland it up like MOM did for Fusion.

I'd like to see some actual weather too. I know Prime had some rain and snow but I'm talking blizzards, thunderstorms, searing heat, high speed winds. A Metroid game with an actual weather cycle would be cool as hell.

This, and some actual Good terrain and place names, The same terrain is getting old. They had the same, Norfair, Magmoor area in every game. >.>

[Balkoth]

For WiiU I would like to see them go all out in the graphics department in similar style of the Primes but using modern graphic techniques.

This.... if anything the Other M movies graphics could be done in real time on the new console. I am just a sucker for full 1080p Metroid with all the trimmings of modern graphics.

Not enough games use 1080p, I'm afraid. Chances are Nintendo will use 720p, especially since they like to keep their consoles' specs down to cut costs.

I've noticed Nintendo's philosophy used with the Wii ("If our games are good then their screen resolution doesn't matter") sounds a LOT like the WWII Japanese military philosophy of "If our troops are superior then their equipment doesn't matter".

Such arrogance paid off in neither situation. I hope Metroid gets the next-gen love it deserves this time around.