Although the critically acclaimed Metroid Dread was primarily developed by Spanish studio MercurySteam, Nintendo itself was heavily involved in the game's creation and marketing, as you'd expect.
Like many major releases on the Nintendo Switch, Metroid Dread also benefitted from the launch of amiibo, with a Samus/E.M.M.I dual pack available alongside the game itself. Nintendo developer Uenaka Minoru has recently spoken on the creation of the amiibo via a recruitment page and how his studies in 'artistic anatomy' at graduate school helped inform the overall look of the figures (thanks, Nintendo Everything).
According to Minoru, the team wanted the two amiibo figures to look like they were facing up to one another when placed side-by-side, and so he utilised his knowledge of anatomy to create a "dynamic yet natural" pose with which fans would be happy.
"We decided to make amiibo of Samus and E.M.M.I., and I was also involved in supervising them. Therefore, we were particular about posing the two figures so that when they were lined up, it would look like they were facing each other, and we also kept in mind that customers would be happy when they had both together.
"It was difficult to express it, but I think I was able to use the knowledge I learned about the human body during my student days to create a dynamic yet natural pose. I was very happy to be able to be involved in the process of not only creating CG, but actually making something tangible.
"I was also very happy to be able to deliver the carefully made model to the customer, and also to experience the excitement of holding the product in my hands."
Alongside the interview, Nintendo showcased two images of the amiibo in question, one of which appears to be a prototype of the final design, while the other demonstrates Minoru's approach to the product's poses:
Hardly groundbreaking stuff, but it's interesting to know the kind of work that goes into the creation of amiibo; we're often guilty of assuming that the figures are simple adaptations of poses used in promotional material, but it seems that a lot more thought goes into it than we suspected.