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Mark Haigh-Hutchinson (? 1964 — January 15, 2008), also known as Mark H.H., was a British video game developer and eight year employee of Retro Studios.
Early career[]
Haigh-Hutchinson started his career at Artic Software but left for Vortex Software in 1984, and left again, this time for Elite Systems, where he ported Paperboy to the Amstrad CPC. He then later worked at Tiertex. In 1989, he was hired by LucasArts, where he worked until 1999, mostly on Star Wars video games. From 2000-2008, he worked at Retro Studios.
Metroid Prime[]
Haigh-Hutchinson developed the camera system for the Metroid Prime series and was a Senior Engineer alongside David Kirsch. Mike Wikan had an office next to Haigh-Hutchinson, and said that that the Quadraxis battle worked because of his camera system.[1] Haigh-Hutchinson wondered if the Morph Ball would come into play when Samus stood on a plate, similar to sequences in Conker's Bad Fur Day, before he implemented the third-person camera it uses in the series.[2]
During development of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Haigh-Hutchinson raised concerns about how players would view the risk vs. reward of Hypermode, at least the way it was originally concepted. As a result, Hypermode was significantly reworked over the course of a year until both Retro Studios and Kensuke Tanabe were satisfied with it.[3]
Haigh-Hutchinson and Andy O'Neil created the Metroid Prototype, an early version of a Wii port of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. According to Bryan Walker, he worked with a prototype Wii (then codenamed Revolution) that resembled "a circuit board with wires hanging off it", and Haigh-Hutchinson worked in his own office, barred from showing his colleagues what he was doing. He also had to keep the Wii Remote prototype in a safe, and was responsible for creating its APIs.[3]
It took him two months to build the prototype, which involved many late nights, but he enjoyed the process. The prototype was then shown in secret at the Tokyo Game Show in September 2005.[4] The prototype eventually resulted in New Play Control! Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, a Japan-only Wii port of the game, and its inclusion in Metroid Prime Trilogy with Wii controls.
Death[]
Haigh-Hutchinson died in Austin, Texas from pancreatic cancer on January 15, 2008, at the age of 43. He was survived by his wife and two daughters. The credits in the Metroid Prime Trilogy versions of Metroid Prime, Echoes and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption now begin with a dedication to him. Haigh-Hutchinson's death was mourned by those who knew him at Retro Studios, leading to what Walker termed a "cultural setback" for the company.[5]
He was writing a book, Real Time Cameras: A Guide for Game Designers and Developers, up until his death. Several of his Retro Studios colleagues finished it for him, and it was published posthumously on Amazon.[6]
Trivia[]
- According to Kynan Pearson, Mark Pacini and Haigh-Hutchinson worked heavily on the Wii Remote aiming and gameplay mechanics for Corruption, and he enjoyed brainstorming ideas with the two of them.[7]
- Walker said that Pacini and Haigh-Hutchinson were "organic leaders" that served as a "cultural pathway" to the improved development values during production of Echoes.[8]
External links[]
- Wikipedia article
- Haigh-Hutchinson on LinkedIn
- Haigh-Hutchinson on MobyGames
- A November 1997 interview with Haigh-Hutchinson
- Real Time Cameras on Amazon
References[]
- ^ KIWI TALKZ - #105 - Mike Wikan Interview (Metroid Prime Trilogy, Game Design, Crunch, Booz Allen Hamilton etc.) September 6, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2022. (24:09) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlbeRLmfCHk
- ^ Dev Game Club. "DGC Ep 355: Metroid Prime Bonus Interview with Jack Mathews!" July 19, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2023. https://www.devgameclub.com/blog/2023/7/19/dgc-ep-355-metroid-prime-bonus-interview-with-jack-mathews (starts at 38:00)
- ^ a b Reilly, Reece. "#109 - Bryan Walker Interview (Metroid Prime Trilogy, Donkey Kong, Mario Kart 7, Project Management)" (starts at 33:19). KIWI TALKZ. October 2, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
- ^ Casamassina, Matt. A Space Bounty Hunter in Texas. IGN. August 28, 2009. Retrieved on October 4, 2021.
- ^ Reilly, Reece. "#109 - Bryan Walker Interview (Metroid Prime Trilogy, Donkey Kong, Mario Kart 7, Project Management)" (starts at 16:18). KIWI TALKZ. October 2, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
- ^ (2022, January 26). Episode 21 – Jack Mathews (Ex Retro Studios) [Podcast]. Shinesparkers. Shinesparkers. Archived from the original on June 18, 2022. (starts at 46:33)
- ^ Interview: Kynan Pearson. Shinesparkers. November 7, 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ Interview: Bryan Walker. Shinesparkers. May 6, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2022.