The creator of Metroid II fan game AM2R (also known as Another Metroid 2 Remake), DoctorM64, (also known as Milton) announced that he got a job working on level design at Moon Studios for the upcoming Ori and the Blind Forest sequel, according to a blog post on the AM2R blog.
Here is the full blog post:
“Looks like I had to announce it earlier than anticipated. 🙂
Some time ago, the CEO of Moon Studios (creators of Ori and the Blind Forest) reached out with an offer. They needed a level designer for their upcoming sequel, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and I was a potential candidate for the job.
I gladly accepted the offer. Ori is one of the many games I was able to enjoy lately. One can see the love and attention to detail that went into its design. I feel like I’ll be right at home working with this team.
It’s a pretty huge change in my life, since it’s a full time job. But dreams are there to be chased, my family supports this decision and it could be the beginning of a new career.
I want to thank you again, awesome people that kept AM2R alive with your motivating words, your lets plays and reviews. Without you, I wouldn’t be sitting here writing this post with a huge smile on my face.”
As for my personal project, I’ll keep researching and slowly expanding it on my free time.
What wonders await me within the depths of and [an] awesome indie studio?”
His original project, AM2R, was shut down last September after Nintendo sent him a cease and desist letter. In an earlier blog post written that August, he said that despite the DMCA takedowns that were happening on the download hosts, he would continue updating the game. Unfortunately, he was forced to shut it down.
Funny enough, when he announced that he would have to stop his work on AM2R, a fan of the game said that Nintendo should give him a job because of all the hard work he put into it, and how much it paid off since people enjoyed it. Well, luckily for him, he now has a job working at Moon Studios.
DoctorM64 first announced his remake in January of 2008, and said that he worked on the project for over two years at that point. It seems that Moon Studios noticed his hard work ethic (spending this long to create a game he knew may possibly be shut down by Nintendo is remarkable).
Ori and the Will of the Wisps was officially announced at E3 and will be released on Xbox One and PC (DoctorM64 made AM2R for PC). Not much has currently been released about the upcoming Ori title besides a teaser trailer that was shown during E3. If you really want to watch it, I recommend you grab a box of tissues before you do so because, like the previous Ori game, you will feel like rolling over into the fetal position.
I’m glad that the work that DoctorM64 put into AM2R before its shutdown is being payed for in the form of a job for a prestigious studio. Nintendo has been notoriously shutting down many fan projects over the years due to IP protection including Pixelmon, a Minecraft mod (though this mod was specifically shut down by The Pokemon Company, but we all know how close the two companies are).
Many fans of the AM2R project posted “congratulations” below his announcement post. Not to mention that this blog post was his first one since the news of AM2R‘s shutdown (although he did release an April Fool’s joke post announcing AS2R or Another Sonic 2 Remake).
We at Whizord wish him luck in his future endeavors.
Featured image via Flickr/BagoGames.
