Editing Metroid Prime Hunters (section)

==Development==
[[File:Nintendo Software Technology.png|right|thumb|''Metroid Prime Hunters'' was developed by Nintendo Software Technology, which is based in [[Redmond, Washington]].|alt=A gray, nondescript building with "Nintendo" written on the top floor, and with trees in the foreground.]]

The development team for ''Metroid Prime Hunters'' at [[Nintendo Software Technology]] (NST) was led by the game's director,  [[Masamichi Abe]] and the lead technical engineer, Colin Reed, who had both previously worked together on several games, including the Nintendo games ''[[Pikmin]]'' and ''[[1080° Snowboarding]]''. The team for ''Hunters'' was composed of thirty people, which Abe noted was larger than the development team of most other Nintendo DS games.<ref name=nst /> [[Kensuke Tanabe]] of [[Nintendo]] came up with the original idea for the game. [[Retro Studios]], which developed previous ''Metroid Prime'' games, was unable to develop ''Metroid Prime Hunters'' because it was already working on a game. Therefore, Tanabe contacted NST with the idea, and let them develop it instead. NST developed the game instead of Nintendo themselves because Nintendo wanted the division to influence ''Metroid Prime Hunters'' with western ideals, styles, and presentation.<ref name=ign-interview />

While developing the game, most of NST's efforts were focused on its multiplayer aspect because of its [[first-person shooter]] gameplay, and to take advantage of the Wi-Fi and voice chat capabilities of the [[Nintendo DS]]. One of the game's designers, Richard Vorodi, noted that "the hardware kinda dictated their focus onto the game's multiplayer mode".<ref>{{cite video|url=http://www.gamespot.com/videos/metroid-prime-hunters-developer-interview/2300-6139380/ |title=Metroid Prime: Hunters Developer Interview |format=Flash video |publisher=CBS Interactive |work=GameSpot |date=November 7, 2005 |access-date=August 11, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105140405/http://www.gamespot.com/videos/metroid-prime-hunters-developer-interview/2300-6139380/ |archive-date=January 5, 2016}}</ref> Wanting to introduce a new element to the ''[[Metroid]]'' series, Abe created several new bounty hunters after he realized that the game's multiplayer mode and the new bounty hunters could both be implemented seamlessly into the game: "We had this idea early on and thought that would be a good way to introduce ''Metroid Prime Hunters'' and the new bounty hunters to the gameplay and take advantage of that in the multiplayer".<ref name=nst /> ''Metroid Prime Hunters'' includes several references to previous games in the ''Metroid Prime'' series. Samus' ship is from the original ''Metroid Prime'', and her suit is the same one that appears in ''Echoes''. The developers decided to add them because they wanted to show that the technology has evolved, and they also wanted to include something that was instantly recognizable to those who had played previous games in the series.<ref name=ign-interview>{{cite interview|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2005/05/19/e3-2005-metroid-prime-hunters-creator-interview |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150629111621/http://www.ign.com/articles/2005/05/19/e3-2005-metroid-prime-hunters-creator-interview |last1=Tanabe |first1=Kensuke |subject-link1=Kensuke Tanabe |subject2=Richard Vorodi |title=E3 2005: Metroid Prime Hunters Creator Interview |publisher=[[Ziff Davis]] |work=[[IGN]] |date=May 18, 2005 |access-date=August 11, 2015 |archive-date=June 29, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> On level design, Abe said that as the game's controls shifted from an [[analog stick]] method to [[touchscreen]] aiming, the developers wanted to avoid making the gameplay and the control scheme more difficult.<ref name=nst />

''Metroid Prime Hunters'' was first revealed at the [[Electronic Entertainment Expo]] (E3) 2004,<ref name="IGN E3 2004 Hands-on">{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/05/12/e3-2004-hands-on-metroid-prime-hunters |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924140905/http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/05/12/e3-2004-hands-on-metroid-prime-hunters |title=E3 2004: Hands-on: Metroid Prime: Hunters |first=Craig |last=Harris |work=[[IGN]] |publisher=[[Ziff Davis]] |date=May 11, 2004 |access-date=August 11, 2015 |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> with ''[[IGN]]'' giving the game their Best Nintendo DS Game of E3 award.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=December 30, 2012 |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/05/22/nintendo-ds-best-of-e3-2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924141256/http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/05/22/nintendo-ds-best-of-e3-2004 |title=Nintendo DS Best of E3 2004 |work=IGN |publisher=[[Ziff Davis]] |date=May 22, 2004 |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |author=IGN Staff |url-status=live}}</ref> When Nintendo received negative feedback at E3 2005 about the game's lack of an online feature,<ref name=nst /> the company announced in August that the game's release was delayed to give the developers time to implement [[Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection|Nintendo WFC]] support.<ref>{{cite web|last=Harris |first=Craig |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2005/08/26/metroid-goes-wi-fi |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924145227/http://www.ign.com/articles/2005/08/26/metroid-goes-wi-fi |title=IGN: Metroid Goes Wi-Fi |publisher=[[Ziff Davis]] |work=[[IGN]] |date=August 26, 2005 |access-date=August 11, 2015 |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> After the game's release was delayed to give NST time to implement the multiplayer feature, the developers took the time to make more changes. They worked on the game's [[framerate]] to make the graphics move more smoothly. The game's visuals were improved; a developer added [[Reflection (computer graphics)|reflections]] to the Morph Ball. The other developers admired the effect, and added it to other parts of the game. NST collaborated with Retro Studios, the company behind several ''Metroid'' games, to design the game's art and characters to make sure that they fit into the overall ''Metroid'' series. When asked why ''Metroid Prime Hunters'' was placed between ''[[Metroid Prime]]'' and ''[[Metroid Prime 2: Echoes]]'' chronologically, Reed noted that the game was not influenced by the story of either game, so there were no continuity issues. He described ''Hunters'' as a side story to the ''Metroid Prime'' series.<ref name=nst />