Pretty, Little, Pixels - The THING about NIGHT DIVE STUDIOS
"If none of us make it, at least there'll be some kind of record."
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Edits: Becca Stump and Nathan Miller
“If none of us make it then at least there will be a record of what happened.”
These words are ominously said at the beginning of THE THING REMASTERED, by a soldier whose last priority before he died was to make sure that whoever found him would know the details that led to everyone’s death.
It just felt so appropriate to hear those words at the start of a game that was so carefully excavated and polished for modern audiences.
These same words—this same scene—it’s in the original version of the game too, but they carry so much more meaning this time around.
Art can be like that. It can linger, grow, and even carry different interjected meaning across time. If you let it.
The Thing Remastered showcases the EXCAVATION EXPERTISE and Night Dive’s commitment to its founding principles and PASSIONATE PUNK ROCK ETHOS; pushing past any obstacles necessary to bring forgotten gems to the surface—a record of what happened.
And so it gives me great pleasure to see the original 2002 game’s vision executed and presented as clearly as possible, even though it means there are still parts of the game that are flawed, “of the time,” or perhaps something else I would have done differently if I was making the game for the first time in 2024.
It would have been so easy to move around too many blocks and change too much. It must have been so tempting. But this isn’t Tetris.
This is remastering a game that could have been lost to time.
This is why I am applauding Night Dive for leaving in the “faults” of the original game, the parts of the game that aren’t game breaking bugs but “could be better.”
We all have ideas about what could happen with art but I’m grateful to have a studio in this industry that recognizes that the video game industry only has a history if we can access it.
Night Dive could have altered scenes, perhaps changed how the alien virus infects specific squad mates at predetermined points, but that would have been unnecessary. It would have been dishonest. It wouldn’t have been excavation, or careful preservation.
What we got is exactly what we need more of in this industry; by only changing game breaking bugs and ultimately maintaining the vision of the original 2002 game, The Thing Remastered is a sharp, accessible, and very playable reminder of how special video games have always been.
Traversing across this chilling story and its collection of intimate combat set pieces is like an intense mixture of an early version of Dead Space and all the investigative and cinematic moments from the PS2 and Xbox generation.
I want more of this. I want a sequel.
But in the meantime: I’m so glad I was able to experience the best version of a game I didn’t even know existed—let alone loved.
If you consider yourself a fan of ambitious games, horror, storytelling, or just good atmosphere in something can get lost in, pick up The Thing Remastered on Steam, GOG, Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms.
We can always make more games, but we can’t create more history once it’s lost.
However, once you know art has been preserved properly, what could be more loving and passionate than adding to it?
Night Dive Studio worked with Bethesda to create DOOM + DOOM II, the most moddable and complete version of id Software’s classic shooters to date—containing alternate soundtracks, 187 total missions, and a slew of new gameplay enhancements—but they didn’t stop there.
LEGACY OF RUST is new, canon, and cool as … hell. And it also feels authentic and real, supported in part from the fact that the game is partially built up from unused and cut content from DOOM II—but it also helps having such passionate teams involved, including Xaser Acheron, who has contributed to the DOOM modding scene and other games over the years.
The all-new soundtrack for the game is also from Acheron, and it’s hellishly good.
Legacy of Rust was developed in collaboration between Night Dive Studio, id Software and MachineGames. It’s all available and packed into DOOM + DOOM II, which can be purchased on Steam, GOG, Epic Games, Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms.
Larry Kuperman is the Director of Business Development at Night Dive Studio, but he’s also one of the most down-to-earth people I’ve spoken to from the video game industry. And from any industry for that matter.
Larry knows everyone. He’s been in business since the 1990’s. He would probably make a joke and call it ‘the 1900’s’ before telling you the most interesting story you’ve heard in your entire life.
I made it a point to attend the Michigan Ann Arbor International Game Developer’s Association meet-up in November 2024 when I learned Larry was the featured speaker.
We talked about life, music, and how badly we both want to see the world become a more empathetic place—but we also talked about video games and the importance of games preservation, and what that means to Night Dive Studio.
juno stump: At the Michigan Ann Arbor International Game Developer’s Association, you talked about how a lot of people said to you "Why this game??" when KILLING TIME RESURRECTED was announced.
Can you talk to me about Night Dive's approach to games and art? I get the idea that the team seems to feel that a game doesn't need to be anybody's #1 favorite to get to survive the test of time. I like that a lot. A lot of my favorite games are "6's and 7's" on a 10 point scale.
Art shouldn’t have to be the best to be celebrated—or survive.
Larry Kuperman: I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating:
I don’t want to be the arbiter of whether a game is “worthy” to be remastered or not.
Look at the Steam reviews for Killing Time: Resurrected. The game was clearly meaningful to a number of people. I’m sure it’s not just nostalgia [and that it] was a new discovery for many players too.
I have always maintained that video games are like any other form of art. Some are popular, some are influential, and there are always lost treasures waiting to be discovered.
juno stump: What is it like looking at the edges of things you know you could change, but you know it's equally important to leave the way it is?
Can you talk to me about what it’s like defining the line between “carefully carrying forth our industry’s art and history” and “remaking and changing a game entirely?”
Because Night Dive is quite literally a game changer when it comes to executing on this, and I think it's a conversation worth having, especially as some players and journalists sometimes fail to see the beauty in leaving blemishes and cracks in plain sight when highlighting and executing on the original artist and developer's vision.
Larry Kuperman: There is always the temptation to put one’s own signature on remasters. Our goal is always to recreate the experience that players had when they first played the game. We are careful to try to understand what the original developers had in mind and to execute on that vision. That said, we also know that the original developers were often pushing the limits of both the code and the hardware of their time. Pushing back the fog in Turok (a trick that was used to limit sight distance in order to support more detail) or addressing the infection system in The Thing Remastered isn’t changing that vision; its fixing something that they would have done.
juno stump: I say this as someone who sees The Thing Remastered as one of the best games of the year, a game worth celebrating for years yet to come, a game that cleaned off a once forgotten fossil and brought it back to life, so it's easy for me to see this new version of this game as better than the original game, instead of "equal to, or less good" since "Night Dive didn't change this " or "Night Dive didn't change that"
Night Dive wasn't trying to change this or that.
I think The Thing Remastered showcases the excavation expertise of Night Dive Studio and I hope to see more in this exact light.
Can you talk to me about this and expand on your thoughts? "
Larry Kuperman: Games are art, right, so then it follows that the people that make them are artists. We are living in a great time for games, with many of the people that created our beloved art still being with us, in some measure. For example, we were able to send Paul Neurath and Warren Spector builds of our System Shock Remake to be sure we were on the right path.
With The Thing Remastered, we had a great opportunity to work with the original developers. We brought Ron Ashtiani and Mark Atkinson onto our team. We have done this before too when we worked with the one and only Kevin Cloud on DOOM + DOOM II.
We understood the original vision of the developers because we asked them. And they told us!
juno stump: What are you playing for fun right now? What music are you listening to? Do you have a game that you think everyone should play at least once?
Larry Kuperman: Well, right now I am playing an UNANNOUNCED TITLE that we are working on at Night Dive Studio, but let me not be coy. The world knows that I am addicted to pinball, and I am currently playing Zen Pinball’s The Thing Pinball on my AT Games table. (I should add that I paid full retail for that table and it was worth every penny!) For music, I don’t know why, but I hadn’t listened to The Cars in quite a while. That was this weekend’s jam. For games everyone needs to play at least once? DOOM. See how it all began! Thanks again for the opportunity!
Killing Time Resurrected is available to explore and enjoy across Steam, GOG, Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms. —
I had a great time chatting with Larry and appreciate all of the insights he shared with me. I firmly maintain that if the men in the games industry were all more like Larry, things would be in a much better place. <3 juno ramona stump