Metroid Database.com

IGN UK has posted a new interview with Yoshio Sakamoto discussing the origins of Metroid and the ideas that went into the development of both the original and Metroid: Other M.

Mr. Sakamoto reiterates that the designs behind the original came about as a result of very limited resources, a small team, and a very short development schedule. Most of the ideas that are now famous - such as Samus as a woman and the Ice Beam - came about purely by coincidence. For instance, the constraints of development lead to the creation of Bombs and the Ice Beam:

In a way, we were stuck; stuck between high walls and we had to think of a way out. This is the feeling we also put in the game. Maybe, you could blast a little hole in the wall? This might lead you to another room or corridor...So we could blast a hole into a wall. That got us thinking – what else could we do, can we perhaps go up? So we came up with the ice-beam... We had very limited memory. So we decided that Samus should be able to jump on frozen enemies and use them as a platform. And that was a great help for saving memory. All we had to do was change an object's colour and by simply changing the so-called collision-check the former enemy suddenly becomes a stepping stone; a really nice gameplay element that hardly requires any memory at all.

Additionally, Mr. Sakamoto reiterates that many inspirations for his games come from film, but are not "consciously used" from them. These inspirations are more "fragments" of ideas that have taken up residence inside his head and which are drawn out during the development process.

As to whether there will be another Metroid...

...I have to admit that I'm a rather greedy person. If someone asked if I would like to make another Metroid, I would say "yes, certainly". But if someone was to ask me if I wanted to do something other than Metroid next, I'd also say "yes". You know, I always want to do something new, something different. And now I'm trying to identify what I want to do and what I should do.

Whatever it is, we'll wait patiently to find out! I'm sure Mr. Sakamoto wants to know what his next project will be as much as everyone else!

Until next time...
Captain Commando