Happy 35th Birthday Samus!

Today is Metroid's 35th Anniversary!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAMUS!

It also happens to be the 5th anniversary of AM2R being released. To celebrate, let me share a (non copyright infringing) story in this universe with you:

PLAY IT HERE


AM2R is 5 years old as of right now. Seeing people recommend AM2R as a way to experience Metroid 2 in anticipation for Dread is really humbling. I'm very grateful for all of this. 

The legal situation hasn't changed, I'm not developing, updating or distributing the game. Nevertheless, the community has managed to add new content via patches, mods have been developed, and the speedrun community is still very active. The game is still alive and relevant.

What happened during these last 5 years? Well...

  • AM2R received a DMCA takedown notice, development and distribution ceased
  • AM2R was nominated for Fan Game of the Year at the Game Awards, for a couple hours
  • AM2R was featured at Pixel Museum in France
  • Awesome youtubers that I admire played the game
  • People created lots of AM2R fanart
  • Several Metroid themed marathons featured AM2R 
  • Very talented fans reverse engineered the game, and have added insane features like widescreen and multiplayer
  • I got a job at Moon Studios as a Game Designer

That leads to today's celebration. I'm sure you imagined my next Metroidvania to be unveiled when you saw that countdown. Five years ago I chose this date to celebrate Metroid, by showcasing the culmination of my work during the last decade.

These last four years, most of my time has been focused on Moon Studios. You can enjoy the fruits of my labor, and the work of the rest of the awesome team at Moon by playing Ori and the Will of the Wisps. It's a beautiful game, and I'm really proud of what we achieved with its level design.

I'm still learning tons every day, working on a new unannounced project at Moon. I also have my fair share of small personal projects, and that's where Skippy came from.

Skippy was built in a couple weeks for this anniversary, using a framework I'm developing for another, bigger project. Hopefully, if everything goes well, I might be ready to share more details about it in the not so distant future. It's going to be pretty unique.

I work as a game developer full time, and I still find the process of learning really interesting. I'm making sure that for every new skill I research, my time and effort doing so contributes towards something special. 

Something that someday, I'll be able to share with you.

That process takes time, but time flies anyway. Five years have just flown by since the AM2R release, and it feels like it was yesterday.

If you like Skippy, let me know and I’ll do my best to add more content. But if this kind of game isn't your cup of tea and you're in the mood for something more Metroidvania-ish, I invite you to try out GBNoid, my entry for last year’s GBJam. It’s short, sweet, and challenging at times. 

PLAY GBNOID

Also, a huge shout out to my good friend Darren from Shinesparkers, a brand new Metroid tribute album just released today. Go give it a listen, it's GOOD.

HARMONY OF A HUNTER RETURNS

Thanks again for all the support. You guys are awesome!

Feel free to follow me on twitter: @AM2RGame - @DoctorM64


Comments

Anonymous said…
My satisfaction is immeasurable and my day is made.
TheLucidGamer said…
Godly. Legendary. Downright Poggers. Right up there with Metroid Eternal. 420/69
Anonymous said…
Can't reqlly do muchvsince I'm at work, but once I'm done I'll return and check what's up. I'm glad to hear from you after all this time!
DoctorQuack said…
AM2R was my introduction into Metroidvania titles, and what an introduction it was. I can't thank you enough!
Miles07 said…
Skippy is awesome. I will cherish Skippy forever. :3
Unknown said…
Thank you for all your work again. I'm happy that even with legal issues all ended in a good way for you.

Funny enough AM2R wasn't just my first metroid game it was my first metroidvania. And ı'm so greatful for it. İt was an amazing experince. İt will always gonna be one of my favourite games.

And hey with Dread Emmi got a little (maybe big if we count this as metroid 2) sibling now.
Camii said…
Woot!!! I remember the day of release, can't believe 5 years have passed. AM2R has truly become something very special. Anything else in addition, including Dread is just icing on the cake :).
satvara said…
Oh, a free game? I'll take it! Thanks!
Good of you to give us an update on yourself and everything. I'm looking forward to whatever you do.
And Happy Anniversary to AM2R and Metroid!
gabobapt said…
Congratulations on everything you've done, I'm very happy for you and I like Skippy. :)
Emily said…
my god
the mad man is gonna go and make gish 2
no way
Unknown said…
This game to me will always the true remaster as it was so well done.
Lucas deep said…
Just played Grime, Hollow Knight, and Ori. All inspired by the original Metroid 2D universe of gameplay. Love the fact Nintendo stuck to the original formula. Why reinvent the rolling sphere? ;)This is probably the best Metroid gamee ever made, after beating this, I can say that with full confidence.
Unknown said…
I remember when I first caught wind of a fan made remake of metroid ii and seeing a really old map of the "new area" way back in 2012 or so and it was mind boggling. 2d netroid was my favorite so it was incredible to play the "zero mission" of metroid ii. Am2r totally has a Nintendo feel to it so it should be widely considered a legitimate metroid entry. As you said about fans "reverse" engineering and adding mods, I wonder if it's possible to port this game onto a cartridge of sorts, like a super Nintendo or n64 cartridge. It'd be surreal to have this game on a physical copy and play on a system with av cables instead of on pc or laptop. I guess connecting a laptop to hdmi port on a TV will do for now. But to me thus is the only metroid game that doesn't exist in physical form. I think if hacks of super metroid can be made on cartridge why can't am2r see physical form? Its too good to stay entirely digital.
Unknown said…
Milton guasti , te felicito , por tan grandioso Fan game of year , de verdad es muy bueno
Aunque es un poco díficil sin una guía

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