LogInThe studio makes the game "you remembered playing but not necessarily the game that you actually played."
Nightdive Studios, famous for its reimagining of games like Turok, Doom 64, Blade Runner, and Shadow Man, has shared its own definition of remakes and remasters and the difference between the two.
"Based on the work that we’ve done in the past, we’ve done a little bit of everything at this point," CEO Stephen Kick told VGC. "We’ve done what we like to call, ‘enhanced editions’, where you’re basically taking the original game, making it run on newer operating systems and then adding some nice quality of life stuff, like widescreen support."
Kick said the studio considers Shadowman "a true remaster", with its "quality of life stuff" and 60 fps but also art, new textures, and new models. Nightdive even worked with the original developers to implement what has originally been cut.
On the other hand, System Shock is "a ground-up remake", it's brand new but is based on the original game and "is as true to that as we can possibly keep it."
Recrafting existing titles is no easy task, and Kick believes players have started to appreciate the team's work more:
"I think that over time there’s been a lot more appreciation [from the public] for the amount of work that goes into it. Our philosophy is that, if you play one of our games, that’s the game you remembered playing, but not necessarily the game that you actually played.
Now, Nightdive is developing a System Shock remake, which has been in development since 2016. Even though it's "largely complete", the game still doesn't have a release date.
According to Kick, original creators Warren Spector and Paul Neurath have been providing valuable feedback on the remake.
"They’ve been wonderful," he said. "We’ve been providing builds to them periodically and getting their feedback, and they’ve been giving us a lot. This was their baby, and it’s been entrusted to us. We’re just lucky to have them as a sounding board to let us know when maybe we’ve gone too far or maybe not far enough. We’ve definitely been applying that feedback."
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