Wii Warm Up: Reusing assets

by JC Fletcher { Mar 17th 2007 at 10:00AM }

The unreleased Gamecube Kirby looked to be running on the Super Smash Bros. Melee engine. Most of the character art in Super Paper Mario Iooks a whole lot like that of Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, and we don't think that's just consistency in style.

Nintendo seems to be reusing art and code from previous games. The advantages of such a practice are obvious: reduced cost, quicker development cycles, and less need for debugging.

But does it bother you to have a new game that isn't entirely new? Should Intelligent Systems have redrawn Mario for their new game? Or is there no reason to redo perfectly good work? What do you all think about the reuse of assets in new games?

Tags: art, kirby, mario, nintendo, nintendo wii, NintendoWii, paper, paper mario, papermario, super, super paper mario, superpapermario, warmup, wii, wwu

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

vidGuy @ Mar 17th 2007 10:10AM

Intelligent Systems has done a great job making Paper Mario NEW again, at least from what I've seen from little videos of SPM. I'm not bothered in the least that the Mario "sprite" is the same.

Now, for a game like Metroid Prime 3, I'm going to expect Samus and friends to look a little cleaner and crisper for the Wii outings than they were in the GC days.

For me, it all depends on the style of the game. The Mario from Mario 64 wouldn't fit in Super Mario Galaxy, but the Mario from Thousand Year fits fine in SPM. Reusing assets works if the style is meant to be the same and if there's no jarring jump in graphical quality.

Almadi @ Mar 17th 2007 10:11AM

If it aien't broke, don't fix it. Of course overdoing it like in fighting games will get you booted off the charts.
I reuse art in my comic but try to improve with every new one.

http://madiart.blogspot.com/

Zan @ Mar 17th 2007 10:49AM

There's enough new and AWESOME stuff in the new Paper Mario so it isn't a problem to me!

Fashnootin @ Mar 17th 2007 11:05AM

#2's thinking the same thing I am. :)

While I don't see a problem with it as long as it's integrated well, it can be rather bothersome when it gets rather outdated (see Morrigan's sprite in Capcom vs. SNK series). I figure, as long as it fits in with the rest of the game, then it's fine. Also, if the gameplay and controls are spot-on and the game depth is deeper thanks to more development time for them, then of course, I'm all for it.

Nintendo Fanboys (and fangirls) were always raised upon beliefs that graphics come second to gameplay, anyways. :)

dukemeiser @ Mar 17th 2007 11:20AM

I actually wish Nintendo did more of this. Maybe then we could get more than one Super Mario game per console. It worked on the N64 with Zelda, we got two games that were graphically identical but completely different styles of game play. If it means more A-list titles, then why not reuse it?

Joe @ Mar 18th 2007 1:23PM

More good games, same graphics. Im ok with it. Whatever the big N needs to do to get games out for the Wii is fine by me. Their is already a drought of good games and if this helps then fine. Is it just me, or are the only two really good games for the Wii are wii sports and Zelda??? whats up with that?

Ryan @ Mar 17th 2007 12:37PM

If they redrew everything in super paper mario, it'd end up looking the same anyway, i really don't see much room for improvement, he's made of paper... i wasn't at all bothered by the reuse of character models in zelda OoT and MM because they were completely different games and they're great characters to look at. As for kirby, i think he controls best in smash bros anyway, so just use that!

Matt @ Mar 17th 2007 12:41PM

#5 brings up an interesting point wih Zelda, because this question applies to franchises in which people have certain expectations.

Not only was Majora's Mask similar to Ocarina of Time, but Wind Waker was initially criticized for changing the beloved look of the games. When they returned to it with Twilight Princess, some reviewers were critical that it was too much like the old ones (I don't think they reused specific sprites, but they did seem to reuse some sounds).

And on the topic of Super Mario, we had 3 great ones with NES, which is more than any system since, but those looked completely different from each other, so reusing assets was not the reason for their quicker development.

I guess, then, that it depends not only on the game, but on the system's development cycles and the (often irrational) expectations of the fanbase.

Covarr @ Mar 17th 2007 1:04PM

I think that reusing artwork creates better consistency. I can understand redoing a piece of art to make it higher resolution or something, but not really for any other reason.

If Twilight Princess had been a direct sequel to Wind Waker, starring the same Link, then I'd have preferred the same cel-shaded art. Since, however, it stars a different Link, it only seems reasonable to use new art, to help differentiate the two.

As for reusing engines, sometimes it's the logical thing to do. Kirby already controlled almost perfectly in Smash Melee, so it was reasonable to use the same engine; all he'd need is some minor button-mapping changes so as not to be able to use moves such as his sword move without actually having the powerup. I would object, however, to using that engine for a 2D Mario sidescroller because it wouldn't feel right without some very heavy modifications.

Something to remember is that Ocarina of Time used a modified version of the Super Mario 64 engine, and nobody complained then.

Basically, sometimes it's okay to reuse materials, and sometimes it's not. As long as the developers use their best judgment about it, it's not really a problem.

hvnlysoldr @ Mar 17th 2007 1:11PM

It all depends on the game. The Melee engine is great for the fighting and the adventure. They should use it again instead of letting it go.

Cambot @ Mar 17th 2007 1:59PM

Is that a butterfly or is Mario being chased by the Decepticons?

Mr Khan @ Mar 17th 2007 3:19PM

I don't see why this would be a problem at all

Especially considering that if a modern game uses the same engine as Unreal Tournament 3, its somehow considered to be "good"

In the modern world, it's basically expected

Hoffer @ Mar 17th 2007 3:20PM

It doesn't bother me if it is on the same system. Super Paper Mario was supposed to be a Gamecube game. So, SPM could be considered kind of a sequel to 1000 year door. The Wii not really being a new system. Kind of a Gamecube 1.5 with new controller. It is understandable why they use assests from an older game.

Spex @ Mar 17th 2007 4:21PM

Honestly, it would be foolish NOT to reuse assets like this. For example, I bet MP3's graphics engine will power the next Zelda with some minor changes, etc. It's a natural and smart part of the development cycle.

BPM @ Mar 17th 2007 4:51PM

I thought the OoT engine was a modified Star Fox 64 engine (which explains why there was an Arwing hidden in the game code)? But then, I think SF64 was a modified Super Mario 64 engine...

And Twilight Princess used a modified Wind Waker engine (which was a modified OoT/MM engine?)... Hmm...

While MM did use many graphical assets from OoT, I think the graphical quality was upped a bit (see how he has a belt in MM to hold up his sheath, instead of the "Hyrulean Velcro" used in OoT).

CubeGuy @ Mar 17th 2007 5:09PM

@BPM OoT used the Mario 64 engine. The Arwings were just added in by the developers for fun when they were testing enemy AI.

PhoenixJ @ Mar 17th 2007 5:55PM

@CubeGuy
No, it wasn't. It was developed using an original engine as Mario 64 tests proved to be limiting for the game.

Prophetic @ Mar 17th 2007 6:07PM

lol @ Cambot

Mark @ Mar 18th 2007 4:01PM

http://www.qwantz.com/ - 'Nuf said

Evil Bastard @ Mar 17th 2007 7:51PM

Just look at the sequel to Baten Kaitos. Not a lot of original content and reused locations. It was more like Baten Kaitos 1.5

Josh Cox @ Mar 17th 2007 8:36PM

Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't BOTH of those titles being developed as GameCube games anyway? (I know for a fact SPM was, not sure about Kirby)

Josh Cox @ Mar 17th 2007 8:39PM

**ack, it says GameCube Kirby in the post. My bad >_

Taylor @ Mar 17th 2007 11:01PM

I think Super Paper Mario looks really good, so if they are reusing assets, all the power to them. As long as it really is an all new game (not reusing level assets), I don't mind.

http://mostly-harmless1.blogspot.com/

Mr Khan @ Mar 18th 2007 6:36PM

@ mark

i had no idea how that relates to the topic, but thanks, it made me lol.

BPM @ Mar 19th 2007 4:27AM

Joe, you must not be looking hard enough at the Wii library. There are some other good games in the Wii library. Yes, I mean games that are out now. At least, in America. Can't say for sure if the situation is the same in Australia and Europe (don't know exactly what their Wii catalogs are like).