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Metroid Prime trilogy director: 'Everything we do sucks'

As a creative person myself, I fully understand him - but man, he probably said this in the worst way possible :lol
 
It's always interesting listening to devs at post mortems or AMAs. Sometimes you'll see a certain degree of humility and devs will address issues that came up during development or describe elements that they would have done differently. These talks tend to be informative, both to other devs and consumers. Then other times, you'll see devs in full PR mode, with self praising and hand waving at any criticism. These are often amusing.
 
You'd be surprised how many developers who worked on some of the best games ever will tell you the exact same thing.

It's one thing to create a game and look at how the creation came together and a completely different to just look at the final product. No dev will ever be able to play a game they released with the same eyes consumers do.
 
Satchel said:
Well, 2 is the only one I never completed. Something about that game just did not sit well with me.

Now I know why. Just saying. Adored the other 2.
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I think 2 is pretty awesome in most ways but I don't expect it to click with everyone. Actually that goes for all three games, but more so for 2. It's pretty much 1 on steroids both for better and for worse.
 
While I think all three Metroid Prime games were fantastic, there is something admirable about a guy who never sits on his laurels or doesn't allow himself to accept adoration.
 
I'm glad he thinks MP1 and 2 suck ( haven't played enough of 3 to be any judge of it) because those two games were some of the most immersive and fun experiences I have ever had sitting in front of a TV. I hope batman sucks in his opinion after he finishes working on it.
 
Magicpaint said:
I think 2 is pretty awesome in most ways but I don't expect it to click with everyone. Actually that goes for all three games, but more so for 2. It's pretty much 1 on steroids both for better and for worse.
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It was the whole ikaruga lit dark thing that annoyed me.

Wasn't implemented in a fun way. It was just annoying and made the game a chore to play.
 
Satchel said:
Good to see my dislike for 2 was justified.

But the other 2 don't suck. They're awesome. 2 sucks.
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Your opinion is wrong adn you should feel bad. 2 was amazing.

LonelyGreyWolf said:
How can there be so much ignorance in three sentences? Your first, second and third statement are all wrong.
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Well, Armature never put out an original product since its inception and all of its non-port projects got canned. They really need this game to succeed if they want to move to consoles.
 
I understand what he means, whenever I do something I think it sucks. But then years down the line I look back and go, "Wow. This was GOOD."
 
Prime 2 is an amazing game. I'd still keep it a slight notch below the first one, much like I have Majora's Mask just a hair below Ocarina. But it's better than Prime 1 in a number of areas, and I didn't find Prime 3 to be nearly as good as 1 and 2 (by comparison; it's still a really good game regardless).

Echoes doesn't get nearly enough love (it also sorta got lost in the mix of all of the other great games that came out in late 04/early 05).
 
grimshawish said:
What the fuck is wrong with him? Hes either very depressed and needing support or needs a lesson in a) directing people and b) marketing.

Maybe thats just him. Seems a bit odd though. How can I the consumer have confidence in a product if the producer has none?

Just wow.
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Dev says game is going to be awesome, gamers complain.

Dev says game has a long way to go but he hopes people like the end result, gamers complain.

No way to win, I guess.
 
It's incredibly common for creative people to loathe their own work. When you're an artist/designer/whatever, it's easy to only see the flaws in your work, rather than the parts that make your audience enjoy it. Constantly self-deprecating artists can be annoying because it seems like they're fishing for compliments, but this guy seems totally earnest and I can respect his view of his work.

When all you do is draw comics and worry about anatomy or panel layout, for example, it's incredibly easy to look back on your stuff and go "eurgh, that panel looks 100% fucked up" because you spent 10 hours fussing about it in the first place. Same goes for music, movies, editing, games, writing... pretty much anything that you dedicate time to. You'll know every flaw, and probably exaggerate them.
 
It means he didn't let the fame and popularity of his past work get to his head, he's still focused on creating the best game possible. I respect his modesty.
 
Satchel said:
It was the whole ikaruga lit dark thing that annoyed me.

Wasn't implemented in a fun way. It was just annoying and made the game a chore to play.
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The dark world could have been more fun to traverse and going back and forth could have been paced a little better but the mechanics that involved both worlds were pretty great to me. There's also the aesthetic problem where the dark world all feels the same drenched in the same purple hue. I mean I see it, the problems, but it doesn't bother me since I replay it all the time.

TheBigG753 said:
Prime 2 is an amazing game. I'd still keep it a slight notch below the first one, much like I have Majora's Mask just a hair below Ocarina. But it's better than Prime 1 in a number of areas, and I didn't find Prime 3 to be nearly as good as 1 and 2 (by comparison; it's still a really good game regardless).

Echoes doesn't get nearly enough love (it also sorta got lost in the mix of all of the other great games that came out in late 04/early 05).
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Spot on.
Though I put MM a notch above OOT :P
 
I think Prime 1 is one the best games ever made, probably top five, but I really admire the honesty, so many people are scared to say anything negative in the industry. I like the statement. Although I disagree 3 is the most fun.
 
His opinion *shrugs. While I do think Prime 2 is lack luster compared to 1 and 3, I don't think it's bad.
 
This is far from unusual, especially in game development. At some point, you have to let go and push it out the door before feature creep sets in.

I think back on a lot of stuff I've worked on, and I'm not too happy with a lot of it.
 
I'm more surprised that some posters are reacting to this as if this is a foreign thing for some people; some people are extremely self-critical as to keep themselves motivated to achieve perfection or as good as a product as possible. You see people like this not only in acting, writing, etc, but even in the workplace.

He did not really articulate it the best, but his overall notion happens.
 
Metroid Prime is an absolute classic and Prime 2 got very close. It kind of sucks to say that it sucks because it wasn't just his work alone. A lot of very talented people poured their heart and soul into those games and they wouldn't appreciate his comments.
 
XANDER CAGE said:
It's incredibly common for creative people to loathe their own work. When you're an artist/designer/whatever, it's easy to only see the flaws in your work, rather than the parts that make your audience enjoy it. Constantly self-deprecating artists can be annoying because it seems like they're fishing for compliments, but this guy seems totally earnest and I can respect his view of his work.

When all you do is draw comics and worry about anatomy or panel layout, for example, it's incredibly easy to look back on your stuff and go "eurgh, that panel looks 100% fucked up" because you spent 10 hours fussing about it in the first place. Same goes for music, movies, editing, games, writing... pretty much anything that you dedicate time to. You'll know every flaw, and probably exaggerate them.
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This. I interpreted it as (somewhat hyperbolic) self-deprecation, and not a bashing of Retro and their work.
 
MechaX said:
I'm more surprised that some posters are reacting to this as if this is a foreign thing for some people; some people are extremely self-critical as to keep themselves motivated to achieve perfection or as good as a product as possible. You see people like this not only in acting, writing, etc, but even in the workplace.

He did not really articulate it the best, but his overall notion happens.
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Criticizing your own work is perfectly fine and normal, but he went way beyond that. Nobody would have a problem if he just said something like "I feel like I could have did a better job" instead of "everything we do sucks." I bet that gets the workplace ethic booming.

FoneBone said:
This. I interpreted it as (somewhat hyperbolic) self-deprecation, and not a bashing of Retro and their work.
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If this is the case, fair enough, but it was still an awful way to put it.
 
conman said:
That's awesome to see a developer being so honest rather than spouting off like they're reading from a PR handler's script. Most creative folks feel this way about almost everything they've produced. If we expect games to be taken more seriously, we need to be encouraging of game makers saying things like this. And we need to see it for what it is: artists being artists.

With an attitude like this, it's no wonder the Metroid Prime games turned out so good.
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Is also no wonder Nintendo never let Retro to do any PR.
 
I wish there were more "bad" games like the Metroid Prime games. I think I understand him, considering the quality of the games he produces, he must be pretty picky, and while we see awesome Metroid games he must see all the flaws and the missed opportunities.
 
brandonh83 said:
Criticizing your own work is perfectly fine and normal, but he went way beyond that. Nobody would have a problem if he just said something like "I feel like I could have did a better job" instead of "everything we do sucks." I bet that gets the workplace ethic booming.
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But that's the thing; if it were something that I was doing on my own, I probably would (and actually have) used his exact phrasing. With that said, if it were a team effort, I would definitely be (and am) more cognizant of being self-critical without completely throwing team partners under a bus.

That's why I can see his overall mentality, but his phrasing was just not that good given the situation.
 
Shiggy said:
Nope, it's the best because it's linear and you know where you need to go. I still remember giving up on MP1 when I suddenly was at some place where I should arrive only later in the game and then I would've had to go back all the way. I wasn't really motivated to play more MP after MP3, so I simply quit the game. Never touched MP1 and MP2 since then again.
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But that's Metroid.

MP1> MP2 = MP3
 
It's normal and advisable for someone in charge of a project to see what's wrong with it, that's the only way to evolve, but to see nothing but the bad seems like a very poisonous attitude both professionally and personally.
Mark, if you're reading this, we love you, so have some confidence!
 
I'm not sure why an awkward way of saying "everything i've made has been imperfect" is causing a controversy. Its a pretty common thing to say in the creative media.
 
grandjedi6 said:
I'm not sure why an awkward way of saying "everything i've made has been imperfect" is causing a controversy. Its a pretty common thing to say in the creative media.
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The "awkward way of saying it" is exactly the cause for controversy. Being articulate does help to clear up misconceptions. At the end of the day, they're his words, he said it, so it makes sense for people to interpret it exactly as he said.

There are so many, many ways for him to express his discontent with his works, but an all encompassing 'all our games suck' is not going to do it.
 
Maybe Gaf can finally rate Retro realistically.

Next up, Atushi Inaba says 'We don't shit out gold and our games aren't that good looking. Also our character designs are typically awful'
 
I'm surprised people are surprised by this. I know that's exactly how I am with anything creative I do. I can only see the flaws and think about how it should be better, and no matter how good people tell me it is, I'll never be able to see it from their perspective.

To put it in terms GAF might understand better, it's like watching the best movie ever on the best TV available... but there are a bunch of dead pixels. You can't even watch the movie because you're staring at the dead pixels.
 
Fuck that. Prime 2 was the best in the trilogy. It actually felt like a living world instead of a bunch of areas like Metroid Prime and it was way more puzzle-based and again more like a cohesive world compared to Prime 3. Screw dat.

Prime 2 had the best bosses, puzzles, and suits. Deal with it.
 
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