The project is being handled by a mod team, the game will be recreated on Alien Swarm

Jun 3, 2014 23:45 GMT  ·  By

The original Metal Gear, created in 1987 for the MSX2 computer and later brought to the Nintendo Entertainment System, is being rebuilt as a mod for Valve's Alien Swarm.

Mod team Outer Heaven is currently working on recreating the original tactical espionage action thriller that spawned a beloved franchise and influenced gamers throughout generations, using a version of Valve's Alien Swarm.

Alien Swarm is a free game and Source SDK release from a group of talented designers at Valve, who were recruited from the modding community.

The modders have received the go-ahead from Konami, owners of the rights on the franchise, with the only clause being that they can't make any money from it.

"A few days ago, we received word from Konami that said they were happy for us to go-ahead with our remake of the classic MSX game, Metal Gear, as long as we don't abuse the copyright issues (i.e. make a profit from the project/take donations)," the team reports.

Getting the official approval means that the team is now looking for talent to help them with level design, modeling, texture art, programming, music and acting, and they are actively recruiting on ModDB.

The team has also said that Konami revealed that it might be interested in taking the project beyond a free mod, which was the main clause that came with the thumbs-up, provided that there was enough interest in it.

One of the developers involved with the project offers an outline of the project:

"The game will be a full remake of the original game, new script, new models, the works. The theme compositions will also be revamped with orchestral arrangements and with the Metal Gear Solid 2 style electronic beats."

"The style of the game will be reworked, bringing it more up-to-date with the other games in the series, we're still undecided on some aspects, like what style to have the camera angles, birdseye view or the more traditional Metal Gear Solid/Metal Gear Solid 2 style," Ian Ratcliffe tells Polygon.

This certainly seems like a fan-pleasing move from Konami, allowing a group of devs not affiliated with them in any way to recreate a classic game using new tech. The modders have already expressed their gratitude for being allowed to show their love for Metal Gear in this manner.

"It's excellent that a company that huge, would let us do such a thing, we're very grateful. We received something else too, but for now I cannot disclose, lets just say great GREAT things are happening, and we're very grateful to everyone involved," Ratcliffe concludes.