How The Thing: Remastered stays faithful to the 2002 adaptation

John Carpenter's legendary 1982 horror classic The Thing has inspired countless creators over the years, including Computer Artworks, the studio behind 2002. The thinga video game adaptation set after the events of the film.

In the game, Captain JF Blake leads a team of US Special Forces in investigating Outpost 31. There, Blake and his crew must defend themselves against hostile alien life and each other when infections occur.

Although the film was released 20 years after the 1982 film, The thing has become more of a challenge than the original source of inspiration. You can easily buy or stream the 2002 movie The thing For nostalgic gamers, tracking down a physical copy along with the necessary hardware to play is often necessary.

This is where Nightdive comes into play The Thing: Remasterednow available for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One. It is a revival of the almost lost game that stays true to the creators' original vision.

Understand the source material

Nightdive's goal is to bring lost and forgotten games like The thing back from the depths. Not only so people can relive their favorite games on modern platforms like Xbox Series X|S, but also to preserve these games for future generations.

Wildlife conservation is something I've stressed the importance of recently while writing about Killing Time: Resurrectedand the same applies to The Thing: Remastered. All games deserve to be preserved, but preservation isn't as easy as slapping on a new coat of paint. One of the challenges of using remasters as a form of preservation is keeping the remaster as faithful to the original as possible.

With this in mind, Nightdive worked closely with members of the original Computer Artworks team, including Art Director Ron Ashtiani and Technical Director Mark Atkinson, both of whom are intimately familiar with the game they helped develop and the 1982 film.

“I had seen the film before the project, but watched it several times when I started playing,” explains Mark Atkinson, technical director of Computer Artworks. “We wanted to preserve the feel of the film and what made it scary in a survival horror sense.”

For Ron Ashtiani, the film “scared me to my core, but also sparked my interest in science fiction horror.” He went on to reflect on how ahead of its time the film was. “It was made before studios relied on a wealth of CG effects to wow the viewer.”

Not only was “The Thing” visually ahead of its time, it also benefited from the captivating performances of actors like Kurt Russel and Keith David, as well as the well-written screenplay by Bill Lancaster.

“I think one of the reasons 'The Thing' still holds up is the lingering mystery at the end – who was the Thing? “It’s a smart film, a masterclass in cinema,” notes Joel Welsh, artistic director of “The Movie.” The Thing: Remastered at Nightdive Studios.

Although it is not necessary to watch The Thing before playing The Thing: Remasteredit will help you expand your knowledge of the dangers that Captain JF Blake and his team face while exploring Outpost 31. Both from alien creatures and from each other.

“Every scene has been carefully detailed so that you can be amazed and suspicious of everything the whole time,” says Grover Wimberly IV, project manager and producer of Nightdive The Thing: Remastered. “For fans of Nightdive games who haven’t had a chance to watch The Thing, I would recommend watching the game before diving into the game.”

Remastered with The Masters

Mark Atkinson was responsible for many technical aspects of 2002 The thing Additionally, he contributed to the game's original design and coding alongside the talented engineering team at Computer Artworks. Work on it The Thing: Remastered With Nightdive, Atkinson took on a similar role.

“On the remaster, Ron and I have been involved from the beginning, reviving the old code and mastering high-quality art elements and helping the Nightdive team, e.g. B. what was intentional and where we just ran out of time to refine,” notes Atkinson.

“The remaster adds many significant improvements to gameplay, level design, UI, HUD, etc. that go beyond a simple 4K reskin. Ron and I greenlit it and consulted Andrew Curtis, the original game designer. In practice, I did a significant amount of the C++ work as we really wanted to take the opportunity to make the remaster as good as possible.”

When asked about his experiences working on 2002 The thingAshtiani recalls: “I joined the art team at Computer Artworks shortly after the game was fully signed following a successful prototype. Back then, the art teams weren’t limited to specific areas, but I worked mostly on the environments and built about half of the levels in the game.”

Here too, Ashtiani repeated this practical role The Thing: Remastered: “My role at Nightdive was to co-lead the art team as the visionary for the look of the game. I worked to determine the art direction for the remaster and ensure that when we remaster the graphics and art elements, we do not lose the essence of the original game.”

And that's important because the essence of the original is inherently special. For the entire team, not just the artists, 2002 The thing It had to be adapted to the 1982 film and that meant making the most of the technologies and tools available at the time.

“We did our best with what we had,” explains Ashtiani. “We put a lot of work into capturing the isolation of Antarctica and creating a variety of new and interesting creatures. However, lighting was an area we couldn’t reach until the remaster.”

In addition to technical limitations, time constraints also contributed to some of the quirks players encountered in 2002 The thingwhich, according to Atkinson, was fixed in the remaster.

“People loved the original game, but had some legitimate complaints, such as: “Like the scripted escapes, the difficulty is uneven, the combat was a little rough, the boss fights weren't great,” admits Atkinson. “We’ve been working hard to fix all of this.”

The Thing: Remastered also benefits from the addition of modern gameplay elements such as third-person aiming, quick selection wheels, the ability to use a controller on PC, and more. As for the difficulty level, Atkinson notes, “The game is still fairly hard, but not as inconsistent and sometimes frustrating as the original.” Players also now have the option to select an easier difficulty setting, making the game even more accessible.

Ashtiani supports this, saying that the remaster stays true to 2002 The thingbut with improved gameplay balancing, control systems, UI improvements and other quality of life adjustments.

“Graphically speaking, it’s a big step forward,” adds Ashiani. “We were able to take advantage of all of today's lighting technology as well as higher resolution models and textures. We even managed to add some elements that were removed from the original game, particularly creature variations.”

A team effort

Having a team you can trust isn't just important if you want to survive in the world of industry The thingbut also in the development of a high-quality remaster. Trust, communication and teamwork between the original developers and the developers at Nightdive Studios were crucial to the 2002 revival The thing.

“We made it a point to ensure that Ron and Mark's input was taken into account throughout the development process, consulting with them and sitting in on our team meetings when adjustments, improvements and corrections were discussed to ensure they were in spirit correspond to the original version from 2002,” explains Wimblerly IV.

“Ron and Mark, along with the rest of the team, have definitely left their mark,” praises Welsh. “This is Nightdive/Atari's most ambitious remaster to date and we hope Xbox gamers enjoy it. Remember: No one survives alone!”

However, you don't have to take our word for it. No matter if you are a fan of 2002 The thingor just want to try out a classic game that you've missed so far, you can pay an exciting visit to Outpost 31 The Thing: Remastered launches today on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.