max734734 said:
What makes a remaster? Other than the urge to release something as a result of being out of ideas.
Okay bad question to start with. Let's try this, what makes a remaster work?
By right, the term itself means modernizing something old with new conventions, which could mean all sorts of benefits, like adding stuff, tweaking bugs, making it better obviously.
But, should a remaster have the need to repair the faults of the original game?
I mean, if you take something old filled with bugs, and have it reborn with all those issues fixed, is it still the same game?
To me good remaster is one that tackles 3 things:
I. attempts to apply fresh coating of paint
optimizes the game to modern machines and refurbishes graphics without killing the theme; if there were iconic glitches, you can recreate them in controlled manner (i.e. so you don't need to restart/load game) as a nod to the original game and people that knoww it.
II. checks what's under the hood and what is available/possible
matter of officially fixing outstanding bugs and inclusion, re-creation/adaptation of community mods (best games on PC always attract people capable of that) that don't change or rehash the game entirely.
III. finishes what was already started but left behind
final thing is taking all of the available code, leaked or shared information or even reaching out to original developers to create and include missing content, that for practical project management reasons had to be cut before launch and never found its way to the game.
That 3rd part is the most tricky one imo and often is treated by remaster creators as a pass to add in whatever they see fit as their own 'touch' to bring game to 'current year' standard/present relevance etc. In reality thou it is pretty much 'jerking off on a piece of art because one can and people will have to look at that'. Absolutely deplorable attitude. I don't say that re-creators should be working on their knees but healthy archeologist's attitude would be in order (preserve, recreate and most importantly don't damage/deface anything while working).
I'd love to see extended and remastered editions of i.e. DeusEx, DE: Invisible War, KotOR 2. Planescape torment happened already as did BG but in my opinion, both missed point of part 3 of their work (each in different way though).