another world remake
eric chahi, creator of one of the most influential titles in videogame's history, confirmed in an interview to neogaf, the development of an another world remake. it will be just an improved version of the original game in high resolution, keeping intact its gameplay.
update: download it here (shareware)
full text:
How did you go back to Another World?
Everything started with the unofficial GBA port by a fan, Cyril Cogordan, using the ST version. I had always thought it would be very nice to have this game running on a GBA, but the production costs for the cartridge were very high and I did not have the rights to the game. At that time they were owned by Delphine Software. And then this unofficial port was released. I told Cyril he could get into a lot of troubles since the rights weren’t free.
So you had the ROM removed?
Yes, but only to visit publishers with it. I called a few people, but it seemed there wasn’t a lot of enthusiasm for the idea. So instead of trashing it we just thought it would be nicer to just spread it for free.
End of the story?
No, of course not. Cyril was contacted by young developers who wanted to port his ROM on mobile phones. I told them I was ok to give it a try. The result was very good and I decided to buy the rights back from Delphine Software. But I did not want to release it as is. I wanted to add new details. So I dusted off my old Amiga computer to get back all my backups, and thanks to the Amiga emulator Amiga Forever I was able to work on PC while using all my old tools. I reworked my scripts for one or two months and then did some more work on the background images.
Was it the first time Another World was changed like this?
No, the 3DO version also had new backgrounds, but I was not very happy with the result. They went too far with the details, it looked like a painting. The characters stood out too much against such a detailed image. We tried to keep everything in sync.
But this new version was created for mobile phones?
In the beginning, yes. But by chance I had reworked all my backgrounds in high resolution, and since the vector graphics adjust themselves automatically to any resolution I quickly thought about also doing a PC version.
So the mobile and PC version are the same?
No, all backgrounds are not used on the mobile version, it would be too much. Some of the new backgrounds are just too big. And I had not reworked all of them, since some looked nice as is on mobiles. When I started working on the PC version, I had to redo them all.
Is this a remake?
No, the game still keeps the work done in the past. Videogames have a History, and it’s important for me to keep it intact. Even if Another World on the PC has updated graphics and can go up to 1280x800, it’s still possible to play the original version with the original backgrounds in 320x200. And knowing that I barely touched the scripts, it’s still the same game it was on the Amiga. In fact I already had this idea during the development of Another World 15 years ago, so it’s very nice to finally have this done.
Speaking of History, what can you tell us about the website you will launch later this week?
This site is of course mostly about Another World, what happened before, how I came to create this game, and the things that are linked to it. I explain the game’s creation, the whole development process and a lot of other stuff. For example there is the photograph of the model Ferrari, the one I used to model the car you can see during the introduction sequence, or the heroes’ gun that I had created with paper and foam at the time. I also describe all the tools I used during the development process, the different versions of the game, their differences… I also talk about my first games. This part is not very fleshed out yet, but it will be better in the future.
Why did you choose Another World?
I realized that Another World is a game that people still remember 15 years later. It gave me the idea to create this « memorial » site. And of course it’s a very special game for me. Even if Future Wars: Time Travelers was my first successful game, it’s Another World that got me famous. It was a very personal project.
Don’t you want to work on a sequel?
Not really. I’d rather work on something new. And of course there is a sequel of sort already on MegaCD: Heart of the Alien. I had started the concept, playing the alien side of the adventure, but it’s an Interplay team who worked on it. The idea was rather badly implemented and I was disappointed by the end result.
To get back to Another World, working again on it was what got you back in the industry?
Absolutely. I’m currently working on a new game design and the PC version of Another World. Once I’m done with this, I’ll be able to work on new projects.
update: download it here (shareware)
full text:
How did you go back to Another World?
Everything started with the unofficial GBA port by a fan, Cyril Cogordan, using the ST version. I had always thought it would be very nice to have this game running on a GBA, but the production costs for the cartridge were very high and I did not have the rights to the game. At that time they were owned by Delphine Software. And then this unofficial port was released. I told Cyril he could get into a lot of troubles since the rights weren’t free.
So you had the ROM removed?
Yes, but only to visit publishers with it. I called a few people, but it seemed there wasn’t a lot of enthusiasm for the idea. So instead of trashing it we just thought it would be nicer to just spread it for free.
End of the story?
No, of course not. Cyril was contacted by young developers who wanted to port his ROM on mobile phones. I told them I was ok to give it a try. The result was very good and I decided to buy the rights back from Delphine Software. But I did not want to release it as is. I wanted to add new details. So I dusted off my old Amiga computer to get back all my backups, and thanks to the Amiga emulator Amiga Forever I was able to work on PC while using all my old tools. I reworked my scripts for one or two months and then did some more work on the background images.
Was it the first time Another World was changed like this?
No, the 3DO version also had new backgrounds, but I was not very happy with the result. They went too far with the details, it looked like a painting. The characters stood out too much against such a detailed image. We tried to keep everything in sync.
But this new version was created for mobile phones?
In the beginning, yes. But by chance I had reworked all my backgrounds in high resolution, and since the vector graphics adjust themselves automatically to any resolution I quickly thought about also doing a PC version.
So the mobile and PC version are the same?
No, all backgrounds are not used on the mobile version, it would be too much. Some of the new backgrounds are just too big. And I had not reworked all of them, since some looked nice as is on mobiles. When I started working on the PC version, I had to redo them all.
Is this a remake?
No, the game still keeps the work done in the past. Videogames have a History, and it’s important for me to keep it intact. Even if Another World on the PC has updated graphics and can go up to 1280x800, it’s still possible to play the original version with the original backgrounds in 320x200. And knowing that I barely touched the scripts, it’s still the same game it was on the Amiga. In fact I already had this idea during the development of Another World 15 years ago, so it’s very nice to finally have this done.
Speaking of History, what can you tell us about the website you will launch later this week?
This site is of course mostly about Another World, what happened before, how I came to create this game, and the things that are linked to it. I explain the game’s creation, the whole development process and a lot of other stuff. For example there is the photograph of the model Ferrari, the one I used to model the car you can see during the introduction sequence, or the heroes’ gun that I had created with paper and foam at the time. I also describe all the tools I used during the development process, the different versions of the game, their differences… I also talk about my first games. This part is not very fleshed out yet, but it will be better in the future.
Why did you choose Another World?
I realized that Another World is a game that people still remember 15 years later. It gave me the idea to create this « memorial » site. And of course it’s a very special game for me. Even if Future Wars: Time Travelers was my first successful game, it’s Another World that got me famous. It was a very personal project.
Don’t you want to work on a sequel?
Not really. I’d rather work on something new. And of course there is a sequel of sort already on MegaCD: Heart of the Alien. I had started the concept, playing the alien side of the adventure, but it’s an Interplay team who worked on it. The idea was rather badly implemented and I was disappointed by the end result.
To get back to Another World, working again on it was what got you back in the industry?
Absolutely. I’m currently working on a new game design and the PC version of Another World. Once I’m done with this, I’ll be able to work on new projects.
posted by Nacho Ortiz at 6:38 AM
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