Dear Reader:
Dylan Cuthbert talks StarFox 2, Switch interest, trying to bring the original StarFox to 3DS & much more
The following comes from a Reddit AMA with Dylan Cuthbert...
Inspiration behind the Arwing walker mode mechanic in StarFox 2...
I think it's just that we all grew up with Transformers/Gundam and transforming robots and it seemed a natural fit. We also wanted to experiment with foot-based gameplay and a lot of our initial experiments were platform-gamer based (of course back then 3d platform games didn't exist so these early experiments were to prove for Miyamoto that something like Mario 64 could be made). This was all back in 1993 immediately after launching Star Fox.
His Switch impressions...
I think the Switch is awesome - perhaps the res could have been higher but maybe that would have resulted in a smaller screen to keep the cost down. The idea is very cool though and I'm playing Zelda (of course). I'm sure Nintendo must be thinking about StarFox for Switch but we aren't involved in that (I must admit it would be fun to do though!).
On a StarFox remake for 3DS that was pitched, by shot down...
We did a old-school re-make demo like this of the original StarFox for the 3DS back after we did the remake of StarFox 64 and showed it to Nintendo but they weren't interested unfortunately.
On two-player being dropped for StarFox 2...
The CES version was an even older version of Starfox which emphasized two-player co-op, however we dropped that due to performance in the end, and concentrated on the one player game.
On the Super Mario FX prototype for SNES...
I think it was just light experimentation, such as the FX chip based Pilot's Wings experiment too, just to see what could be done and was quickly re-worked on the prototype N64 hardware. They were already experimenting with motion capture for better animation in 1995 or thereabouts.
On what he'd like to see the StarFox franchise embrace in the future...
Good question, but perhaps a little too large to answer here - I'd like to see more sci-fi and story brought back in, with epic setups similar to those you see in the best sci-fi movies and tv shows.
It would have to be epic, the game is always best when it takes on and copies the big classic scenes in science fiction movies such as Independence Day and Star Wars. But at the same time I would want to work on the controls and gaming loops surrounding the player's actions, and arguably this is what I added to the original StarFox too, with the hit-flashes and rings and direction-flickable barriers, that's the stuff that is really good fun.
On working for Nintendo versus working for Sony...
Nintendo is a very rigid working environment where you need to be creative to "break free" of those constraints. Sony is a little too free and the constraints are ill-defined, or even worse the constraints are monetary. There are benefits to both systems and I've built Q-Games to be a hybrid.
On working with Nintendo devs...
I worked daily with Miyamoto and he was one of the first people I met when I was 18. We used to go out daily for lunch and he would practise his english on us. I also worked in Yokoi's group when I was making X and of course Sakamoto (Metroid) is a friend of mine and one of the first Japanese people I met. I also did an Iwata asks.. interview back in the day for StarFox 64 3DS which might be an interesting read for you.
On developing StarFox Command...
That was a ton of fun! Especially as Miyamoto said to take it "elsewhere" rather than just do a copy of the original or the N64 version. So Imamura basically moved into our office and we created something a bit quirkier and hand-held based with a bit of strategy involved as those were the ideas explored in StarFox 2. Eguchi was also involved overseeing the project and he was a driver behind the game going more strategic like that.
On what Nintendo franchises he would like to work on...
PilotWings and F-Zero
On interest in developing on Switch...
I would love to and I have a few quite original ideas to try out for that style of gaming, but we aren't developing anything yet.
On his feelings about StarFox 2 never releasing...
It was very disappointing of course, I had spent two years making the game and put so many ideas into it. I could understand the marketing/publisher logic behind the decision but it was still disappointing.
When asked if he'd like to work on StarFox for the 3DS or Switch...
who wouldn't?
On StarFox Zero impressions...
Hey there, yes, I played Starfox Zero a little, I think they tried out a number of interesting ideas in there and some of which came from Starfox 2, but also there were a lot of original ones too. I'd like to see more experimentation in that direction. Miyamoto always describes StarFox as an experimental title, a title that tries out new ideas for 3d gaming.
On X dev time and sadness over it not releasing in the states...
On X it was all software based, no special chip, I mapped the screen out using a character set and then wrote a polygon rasteriser that drew into memory, then that memory was transferred into the video ram via h-blank interrupts (transferring a few bytes at a time). Pete and Carl did a similar demo for the NES, albeit a simpler one because of the limited nature of that hardware.
It wasn't too hard because we used a lot of optimization techniques honed from doing 3d on other 8-bit systems. Back then there were quite a few tricks of the trade and if you had experience in them you could write a fairly efficient 3d engine even on hardware such as the Gameboy. We even had a simpler demo running on the NES.
Well yes, especially as we made and submitted the english version. NOA decided it was too hardcore for the US market... :( It took about a year and a half all in all.
On Miyamoto's old smoking habit...
he used to refine the StarFox controls by coming into an area with cigarette hanging out of his mouth whilst trying out the latest iteration. (he stopped smoking just after StarFox finished)
On who the StarFox characters are based on...
Slippy was based on Yamada for sure. Falco was Watanabe or Giles, Fox was Miyamoto or myself.