Obituary: Metroid Prime Developer Mark Haigh-Hutchinson

Industry veteran Mark Haigh-Hutchinson has died at the age of 43, following a battle with pancreatic cancer, reports consumer website IGN. A veteran of LucasArts and Retro Studios, Haigh-Hutchinson worked on franchises including Metroid Prime and Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire. The British born programmer was senior engineer on Metroid Prime and worked on all three titles in the series, including the recently released Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. While still based in the UK he started his career working on 8-bit computer titles, particularly for the Amstrad CPC – including conversions of arcade titles such as Paperboy and Thunder Blade. Following a move to California in 1991, he worked at Acme Interactive, before accepting a job at LucasArts. There he was involved in classic titles such as Star Wars: Rebel Assault, Sam & Max: Hit the Road, Star Wars: Dark Forces and, as project leader, Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire. Haigh-Hutchinson is survived by his wife and two daughters.