Difference and meaning between "remastered" and "remake"
Since there are currently rumors that Bethesda is make a "remastered" Version of one of their games(most say Skyrim), I was wondering what exactly is "remastered"? And what's the difference to a "remake"? Same thing?
Or are there certain criteria for either one of them?
What kind of stuff would be expected in such versions? Most of the time the title now contains an HD for HD textures, but I always found that to be a rather weak selling point if that would be the only thing. Are there other improvements too?
Maybe some examples from different games?
For example, related to the naming problem: we have Final Fantasy X | X-2 HD Remaster and Age of Empires II Remake.
Best Answer
TL;DR: remaster=close to original, remake=close or far from original, depending.
These words are meant as analogies to the equivalent in music and films. In music, a remaster specifically means to put together a new "master copy", a recording from which all CDs, Tidal tracks etc will be made. When a song was produced, the vocals and instruments may all have been stored on different tapes, before being edited and processed into one single "master". remastering redo this job.
A "remake" on the other hand, is a new and independent recording of a film, based on an earlier film. When this happens to a brand, such as star-trek, we talk about a "reboot".
In games, a typical example of a remaster would be the new releases of Monkey Island. Gameplay-wise they are exact replicas of the old games, so much that you can switch between new and classic modes at a keypress. A "port" of a game to another platform would also be a remaster. An example of a remake would be Prince of Persia, where the basic concept of a jumping and slashing guy dressed as lawrence of arabia was kept, but the storyline and gameplay otherwise altered.
So.. Crystal clear? Unfortunately not. :-) These words are just analogies that people do with as they please. On wikipedia the article Video game remake use "remake" as I've used "remastered" here and use "reboot" for what I've called a remake. (Being part of a franchise is why you remake old stuff, hence the "reboot"="remake")
You can see the confusion in that Wikipedia has a List of video game remakes and these include several games with the word "remastered" in them, such as "Day of The Tentacle - Remastered" and "the last of us remastered".
Pictures about "Difference and meaning between "remastered" and "remake""
What is the difference between a remastered game and the original?
The most basic way to explain what a remaster is; is that the remastered version is a revamped version of the older game. While adding new content to a video game remaster is not mandatory, the touched-up version can sometimes receive additional in-game content.What is the remastered version of a game?
Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used.Why are remastered games popular?
Remastered titles are a cost-effective way to get hours of playable game time. They are usually sold at a cheaper rate than new releases, or more frequently sold in bundles at the industry standard $60. It's smart money for developers as well.Mafia Definitive Edition vs Original | Direct Comparison
More answers regarding difference and meaning between "remastered" and "remake"
Answer 2
"Remaster" would mean they took the original game (code+assets) and improved it somehow, usually by improving the graphics and/or adding compatibility with new hardware/OS, but possibly also adding features.
"Remake" means just what it sounds like, they completely remade the game from scratch.
The same applies to things like movies and music also.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Karolina Grabowska, Karolina Grabowska, Karolina Grabowska, Karolina Grabowska