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As 'Goldeneye 007' Remaster Finally Leaks Online, Its Original Designer Reacts (bbc.com) 31

Long ago there were plans for a remastered Xbox 360 version of the Nintendo 64 game "Goldeneye 007" — but they never materialized, and that game became a lost legend. But then Monday Ars Technica interviewed longtime Spanish game streamer Graslu00, who had somehow uploaded a two-hour video demo-ing the lost game. The files came with a peculiar note: "Never say never, release coming soon, James."
Days later Engadget reported: This week, a ROM of a canceled 2007 Xbox 360 remaster of the game appeared online, allowing those with a PC to play it using an emulator. According to VGC (via Polygon), the leaked ROM includes the game's entire single-player campaign, as well as its multiplayer component. It also allows players to seamlessly toggle between the remaster's enhanced textures and effects and the original's blocky N64 graphics.
So this weekend the BBC tracked down videogame designer David Doak, who'd worked on the original 1997 game, who admitted it was fun finally seeing the remastered game "out in the wild." "It is always heart-warming to see that the original game is still so fondly remembered and has obviously brought joy to so many people over almost 25 years since release.

"The current excitement over the leak of this 'naughty remaster' speaks volumes for the impact and enduring legacy of GoldenEye 007."

David Doak also appeared as a character called Dr Doak in the original game, but was replaced in the remastered version. Some gamers have already modified the leaked software to put him back in, which he said was "particularly touching."

Since 2009 he's been using the Twitter handle @DrDoak.

In March he'd tweeted, "Dr Doak works in a chemical weapons facility. He washes his hands regularly and is careful to avoid touching his face. This is good practice. Be like Dr Doak."
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As 'Goldeneye 007' Remaster Finally Leaks Online, Its Original Designer Reacts

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  • I've been watching his strims for a long while, and never expected to see him appear here.

  • by Randseed ( 132501 ) on Sunday February 07, 2021 @02:02PM (#61037730)
    Running people over with large heavy vehicles GTA-style, shooting completely inept guards in the face with an AK-47, and mindless destruction has always been a meme in video games. I know some people who back in the day bought GTA5 and played it for weeks without ever tacking the plot because they found it more fun (usually when a little loaded) to run around destroying the city with hijacked vehicles. Today we get Cyberpunk 2077. Have they fixed that yet?
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      The multiplayer game was excellent. Nothing really like it at the time, lots of interesting modes, an all 4 players in front of the same TV.

    • It was an *American* cultural thing. War and money are basically your two cultural properties.
      You just exported it a lot.

      Oh, and, GTA5? Don't you mean Grand Theft Auto, the original? The one where you could use up the game's entire vehicle sprites in one huge pile of burning cop cars? ;-P (The rest of the city was xompletely devoid of vehicles until the burned cars got disappeared.)

    • Today we get Cyberpunk 2077. Have they fixed that yet?

      Even if they did you'd only get 10 minutes of exploring before you're thrown into an hour long conversation with NPCs. I got bored with that "game" just from all the time I had to spend *holding the skip button*.

  • This week, a ROM of a canceled 2007 Xbox 360 remaster of the game appeared online [...]

    I don't think they know what "ROM" means. If talking about a DVD dump, people usually call that a "disc image" or an "ISO". But "ROM"? Come on now.

    • by Vairon ( 17314 )

      In my opinion ROM is appropriate in this context as well. It came from a DVD-ROM as opposed to other DVD Book formats such as DVD-Video, DVD-R, DVD-RW. The DVD Format Licensing Corporation refers to this DVD Format Book as a DVD-ROM.

      References: https://www.dvdfllc.co.jp/ [dvdfllc.co.jp]

    • This week, a ROM of a canceled 2007 Xbox 360 remaster of the game appeared online [...]

      I don't think they know what "ROM" means.

      Uh, yeah, they do.

      The term "ROM" in the context of console emulation has been in use for decades, referring to a file consisting of the contents of the ROM storage of cartridge-based game consoles.

      While disc-based consoles may ship the contents in an ISO format (or bin/cue more commonly, as many games used traditional redbook audio for game music), the file format is of secondary consideration to the contents of the file itself. While the term "ROM" might be vestigial (arguably so, as commercial DVDs are st

      • Jeez, he was already wrong on simpler grounds, and you managed to be *also* wrong on the false grounds that he implied.

        No, a DVD is not a ROM chip. (The implication OP was criticizing.)
        No, somehing is most certainly not correct merely because it has been done a lot. Logic fallacies 101. (The statement you made.)
        Yes, a DVD is ROM becasus ROM stands for Read-Only Memory, and the type of memory is not implied. (The simpler grounds.)

        Why did you accept his false premise, just to fall flat on your face too?

        • No, somehing is most certainly not correct merely because it has been done a lot. Logic fallacies 101. (The statement you made.)

          Actually, in language, something being right just because it is "done a lot" is why we're not all speaking Latin (or whatever, pick an ancient language). That's how language works. If everyone uses ROM to mean something, then that is what it means.

          • by Ecuador ( 740021 )

            Actually, in language, something being right just because it is "done a lot" is why we're not all speaking Latin (or whatever, pick an ancient language). That's how language works. If everyone uses ROM to mean something, then that is what it means.

            That would open a long discussion. Language does evolve through incorrect/novel usage at times, but there are some limits. E.g. should we accept phrases such as the "statue of limitations" or "doggy dog world" as correct just because many people use them and we can understand what they mean?
            But it does amuse me how we've reached 4 levels in this discussion, that are going increasingly pedantic :D
            ROM usage was definitely correct here, we all know what it means, and it even stands up to pedantic standards, I

            • should we accept phrases such as the "statue of limitations" or "doggy dog world" as correct just because many people use them and we can understand what they mean?

              I'd say yes, though I understand why you might say no. It kills me a little inside every time someone says "literally" when they mean "figuratively", but rationally I know that the word is changing (has changed?) meaning, and it is just used to emphasize the speaker's point. It's an eternal struggle for those who try to keep the language in check, and those who don't. In the end, it always changes, no matter how hard anyone tries to stop it. The rate of change of the language just depends on how those two f

        • by Luthair ( 847766 )
          The original poster was being pedantic and the guy you're responding to correctly pointed out that if you're engaging in pedantry ROM is an accurate descriptor for optical media, no where did he say in this case its a reference to chips.
    • This week, a ROM of a canceled 2007 Xbox 360 remaster of the game appeared online [...]

      I don't think they know what "ROM" means. If talking about a DVD dump, people usually call that a "disc image" or an "ISO". But "ROM"? Come on now.

      I don't think you know what ROM means (hint - it is not a synonym for 'cartridge').

      This week, a ROM of a canceled 2007 Xbox 360 remaster of the game appeared online [...]

      That makes perfect sense if you know what ROM means:

      This week, a Read-Only Memory of a canceled 2007 Xbox 360 remaster of the game appeared online [...]

    • by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

      It's not a DVD dump either.

      It was supposed to be a digital download off of Xbox LIve Arcade. At best, it would've also shipped on Rare Replay, but it was original just a downloadable game.

      So what do you want to call those? The only word I see is "rental". (Albeit, a long term one).

  • Here I am really conflicted. I am usually a pro-software-rights guy. Even copyleft requires a working copyright system. However for these kinds of abandoned projects there is a real loss for the public.

    I understand the artists' rights to burn down their own art if they wanted to. However this was not an artistic decision. It was a few companies not being able to come together, and actually limiting the artistic expression.

    I know it is a messy subject, with so many stakeholders, but it should be a crime to b

    • I know it is a messy subject, with so many stakeholders, but it should be a crime to block a game like this.

      I would be appreciative if all of the various rights-holders could get their collective heads out of their collective posteriors and let the game be released, too. However, making not-releasing the game a 'crime' basically means that the government can compel speech. That's a rather problematic precedent to set.

      I submit that the preferable method to address this particular situation would be that the government would refuse to litigate anyone playing the leaked copy. Maybe I could give them at least honorin

      • by stikves ( 127823 )

        Maybe I should have said "crime" (in quotes). Of course I was not talking about taking people to jail.

        However many artists, level designers, programmers, directors have spent time to build a relatively good game. I know they had been paid for their services, but if they were to be asked they would have preferred this to be released. Same with many great games that never saw the daylight, like Star Wars 1313, Silent Hills, and many others.

    • by Pimpy ( 143938 )

      If you read the article, you will note that they didn't even get far enough to approach the artists, because they had to sort out the terms between the companies first. There is nothing to say that even if the companies had agreed that the artists would have.

      The main problem here is that they did not think to include rights for future remakes in the initial terms, at a time where everyone was excited about capitalizing on the brand as quickly as possible and set out an equitable framework already at that ti

      • by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

        The problem is the rights were split three ways - Microsoft (or rather, Rare) (owned the game code), Nintendo (owned complete rights to the game), and EON productions (Formerly Danjaq productions, who owns the James Bond IP).

        Microsoft made a HUGE offer to Nintendo - they offered Nintendo rights to every Rare N64 game in exchange for Nintendo's rights to 007 so Microsoft could release it for Xbox360. This would mean Nintendo would be free to release Rare's games in any form they wanted - from virtual console

  • The Cradle level actually looks vaguely like Arecibo now. In the N64 version I assumed it was some platform on the ocean, because the level's entire background was a formless blue fog.

  • If you can just polish the old shit and re-sell it as if you had actually done the work.

    Your stupid victims *will* be the ones doing the actual work to actually earn that money that they'll give you.

    It's like stealing! Only you get to shame *them* if they don't play along. *rubs hands and grins greedily*

    • Maybe Infocom can re-release their entire library as "remastered" just because they fixed some of the inevitable grammatical errors that always creep into things like that. :P
  • Er... yes they did. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Golde... [amazon.co.uk]

"The vast majority of successful major crimes against property are perpetrated by individuals abusing positions of trust." -- Lawrence Dalzell

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