Metroid Dread CG/amiibo designer details the incredible detail required for his work

Most gamers know that an incredible amount of work goes into developing any game, and hugely talented groups of developers spend countless hours bringing these titles to life. Still, when you stop to think about every aspect that goes into a game’s creation, from gameplay mechanics to promotional materials, you realize just how many moving parts need to work in sync to get a release out the door.

Uenaka Minoru is a developer at Nintendo who knows the challenge of working with multiple parties to realize a project. Minoru was involved with the creation of Metroid Dread, and he worked on multiple CG elements for the title, as well as the development of the Samus and E.M.M.I. amiibo. Minoru’s work on one side of things helped influence the other, and it was incredibly important to make sure everything lined up for a sense of congruity.

Minoru says he received game data and sketches from the dev team in order to craft CG elements for promotional materials, which ended up being used on Nintendo’s website, the game’s packaging and other media related to promoting the title. According to Minoru, handling this work was no easy task as he had to focus on even the most minute details, as his efforts would be used from the tiniest spots on product packaging up to promotional billboards in train stations.

The work Minoru did with CG also helped realize the amiibo releases for Metroid Dread as well. The aim of the two amiibo was to make them (Samus and E.M.M.I.) look as if they were squaring off should they be placed side-by-side. This proved to be challenging for Minoru, but thanks to the work he had already done and his knowledge of the human body from arts college and graduate school, he managed to come up with two designs that he felt captured the energy of these characters.