23-03-2015 18:21
Playtonic: 'We know what Rare is working on. We may even collaborate'
The small Midlands studio is building the ÔÇÿspiritual successorÔÇÖ to Nintendo 64 classic Banjo-Kazooie. But the team still has one eye on its old employer, Rare
Fledgling game studio Playtonic, currently working on a ÔÇ£spiritual successorÔÇØ to classic Nintendo 64 platformer Banjo-Kazooie, says it knows what Rare is working on ÔÇô and that fans will be satisfied.
Purchased by Microsoft in 2002, the legendary developer had been creating titles in the Kinect Sports series, but many gamers have been desperate to see Rare return to its glory days, when it produced lively platform adventures such as Donkey Kong Country, Banjo-Kazooie and ConkerÔÇÖs Bad Fur Day. Playtonic, formed by six ex-employees of Rare, still has contact with its old employer, which is based only a few miles away.
ÔÇ£I still chat to them, I know what they were working on when I left last year,ÔÇØ says PlaytonicÔÇÖs studio head, Gavin Price, who worked for Rare for 20 years, having joined as a tester in the 1990s. ÔÇ£It sounds really good.ÔÇØ
Xbox chief Phil Spencer has been teasing gamers by suggesting that Rare may be about to move away from the Kinect Sports titles onto an IP more befitting the teamÔÇÖs skills and heritage. Last year, the exec tweeted that he had played the studioÔÇÖs new project, claiming it was an example of ÔÇ£Rare building a uniquely Rare game, as it should be.ÔÇØ In January, RareÔÇÖs head of music Robin Beanland tweeted that 2015 would be a huge year for Rare and made a reference to Banjo-Kazooie.
ÔÇ£I want them to do well,ÔÇØ says Price. ÔÇ£TheyÔÇÖre mates and we left them behind to come and do this. IÔÇÖm looking forward to what theyÔÇÖre doing next ÔÇô people will be really happy to see it.ÔÇØ Asked whether it would be a Kinect-focused title, like the studioÔÇÖs other recent projects, he replied: ÔÇ£I canÔÇÖt say for sure what they are or arenÔÇÖt doing with that piece of hardware that Microsoft isnÔÇÖt supporting much anymore.ÔÇØ
Playtonic recently announced its first title, currently named Project Ukulele, a 3D platform adventure that will stay true to the creative ideals of the old Rare titles. The team has yet to reveal the gameÔÇÖs lead characters, but the action will take place in a series of brightly coloured worlds, that will be open for wider exploration than the old N64 titles.
To this end Playtonic has introduced a new collectible, known as ÔÇÿPagiesÔÇÖ. Each world in the game is accessed via its own magical story book which resides in the hub area; as players collect Pagies, they unlock new areas to the environment ÔÇô the more pagies you put into a book, the more you expand the world. However, players can choose to go off an open new books and experience new worlds rather than expand current ones.
ÔÇ£You donÔÇÖt just go into the worlds, milk them and move on,ÔÇØ says Price. ÔÇ£It will be more open and expansive. There is freedom to go where you want. You can go into another world or you can spend Pagies on your current world and expand it with new areas. I wanted to take away the linearity of the old experiences as much as possible. These days, people want to find their own way through games ÔÇô and if you go off and explore and donÔÇÖt get rewarded for it youÔÇÖre like: ÔÇÿshit, IÔÇÖve just wasted my timeÔÇÖ.ÔÇØ
The team has also talked about including a vast range of non-player characters in Project Ukulele, who will then star in their own spin-off titles. Intriguingly, they have even expressed an interest in working with Rare again in some capacity. ÔÇ£You never know, there are some good old mates of ours down the road, they may might want to do a little multi-studio collaboration,ÔÇØ says Price. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖre just going to be open minded. WeÔÇÖre not trying to look too far ahead. WeÔÇÖll make the right decision when we get there.ÔÇØ
On the subject of old Rare, the popular story is that when Microsoft took control of the studio, it restricted the teamÔÇÖs creativity, and insisted on a more corporate approach, killing the unique atmosphere. Playtonic denies this.
ÔÇ£For me, it was more about [Rare founders] Tim and Chris Stamper leaving,ÔÇØ says Playtonic technical director Jens Restemeier, who worked at Rare handling handheld conversions of key titles. ÔÇ£There was no sense of progression about what the company was going to do from that point on. The story people want to hear is that Microsoft came in and destroyed everything. It wasnÔÇÖt like that. They gave us freedom, almost more freedom than Nintendo gave us.ÔÇØ
Chris Sutherland, a 25-year Rare veteran and now project director at Playtonic, agrees. ÔÇ£When any company grows, youÔÇÖre going to hit problems,ÔÇØ he explains. ÔÇ£At Playtonic, we donÔÇÖt have an upfront design document, but if youÔÇÖve got a company with 50 people then youÔÇÖre suddenly burning money away and you have to give them something to do and itÔÇÖs got to be something you know youÔÇÖll use.
ÔÇ£Planning up front means you know those people are working, but the downside is youÔÇÖre locked into a way of working. ThatÔÇÖs fine when youÔÇÖre writing a sequel to something, but if youÔÇÖre trying to do something original and creative from the start, itÔÇÖs quite tricky to ask ÔÇÿwhatÔÇÖs this person going to be working on in three weeksÔÇÖ. Well, I donÔÇÖt know what the game is going to be in three weeks! ThatÔÇÖs as much of an issue. You see that in any large organisation.ÔÇØ
Playtonic is starting a Kickstarter in May to help fund Project Ukulele. It could be that the game launches within the same window as RareÔÇÖs own take on those classic platforming years. Price, however, is adamant that thereÔÇÖs no rivalry. ÔÇ£TheyÔÇÖre really nice clever guys, cleverer than all of us,ÔÇØ he says. ÔÇ£TheyÔÇÖll do well.ÔÇØ
Fuente: The Guardian
Lo que hablan sobre RARE en español
- Playtonic sabe en que está trabajando Rare desde el pasado año y están convencidos que los fans quedaremos complacidos.
- El nuevo estudio sigue abierto a colaborar con sus antiguos compañeros(RARE) llegado el momento.
- No lo dicen claramente, pero a su manera confirman que lo nuevo de Rare NO va dirigido a Kinect.
- Desmienten tajantemente las historias de los foros acerca de la libertad creativa (o la falta de ella) que les ha proporcionado Microsoft. Dicen que con esta han tenido tanta o más que con Nintendo.
The small Midlands studio is building the ÔÇÿspiritual successorÔÇÖ to Nintendo 64 classic Banjo-Kazooie. But the team still has one eye on its old employer, Rare
Fledgling game studio Playtonic, currently working on a ÔÇ£spiritual successorÔÇØ to classic Nintendo 64 platformer Banjo-Kazooie, says it knows what Rare is working on ÔÇô and that fans will be satisfied.
Purchased by Microsoft in 2002, the legendary developer had been creating titles in the Kinect Sports series, but many gamers have been desperate to see Rare return to its glory days, when it produced lively platform adventures such as Donkey Kong Country, Banjo-Kazooie and ConkerÔÇÖs Bad Fur Day. Playtonic, formed by six ex-employees of Rare, still has contact with its old employer, which is based only a few miles away.
ÔÇ£I still chat to them, I know what they were working on when I left last year,ÔÇØ says PlaytonicÔÇÖs studio head, Gavin Price, who worked for Rare for 20 years, having joined as a tester in the 1990s. ÔÇ£It sounds really good.ÔÇØ
Xbox chief Phil Spencer has been teasing gamers by suggesting that Rare may be about to move away from the Kinect Sports titles onto an IP more befitting the teamÔÇÖs skills and heritage. Last year, the exec tweeted that he had played the studioÔÇÖs new project, claiming it was an example of ÔÇ£Rare building a uniquely Rare game, as it should be.ÔÇØ In January, RareÔÇÖs head of music Robin Beanland tweeted that 2015 would be a huge year for Rare and made a reference to Banjo-Kazooie.
ÔÇ£I want them to do well,ÔÇØ says Price. ÔÇ£TheyÔÇÖre mates and we left them behind to come and do this. IÔÇÖm looking forward to what theyÔÇÖre doing next ÔÇô people will be really happy to see it.ÔÇØ Asked whether it would be a Kinect-focused title, like the studioÔÇÖs other recent projects, he replied: ÔÇ£I canÔÇÖt say for sure what they are or arenÔÇÖt doing with that piece of hardware that Microsoft isnÔÇÖt supporting much anymore.ÔÇØ
Playtonic recently announced its first title, currently named Project Ukulele, a 3D platform adventure that will stay true to the creative ideals of the old Rare titles. The team has yet to reveal the gameÔÇÖs lead characters, but the action will take place in a series of brightly coloured worlds, that will be open for wider exploration than the old N64 titles.
To this end Playtonic has introduced a new collectible, known as ÔÇÿPagiesÔÇÖ. Each world in the game is accessed via its own magical story book which resides in the hub area; as players collect Pagies, they unlock new areas to the environment ÔÇô the more pagies you put into a book, the more you expand the world. However, players can choose to go off an open new books and experience new worlds rather than expand current ones.
ÔÇ£You donÔÇÖt just go into the worlds, milk them and move on,ÔÇØ says Price. ÔÇ£It will be more open and expansive. There is freedom to go where you want. You can go into another world or you can spend Pagies on your current world and expand it with new areas. I wanted to take away the linearity of the old experiences as much as possible. These days, people want to find their own way through games ÔÇô and if you go off and explore and donÔÇÖt get rewarded for it youÔÇÖre like: ÔÇÿshit, IÔÇÖve just wasted my timeÔÇÖ.ÔÇØ
The team has also talked about including a vast range of non-player characters in Project Ukulele, who will then star in their own spin-off titles. Intriguingly, they have even expressed an interest in working with Rare again in some capacity. ÔÇ£You never know, there are some good old mates of ours down the road, they may might want to do a little multi-studio collaboration,ÔÇØ says Price. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖre just going to be open minded. WeÔÇÖre not trying to look too far ahead. WeÔÇÖll make the right decision when we get there.ÔÇØ
On the subject of old Rare, the popular story is that when Microsoft took control of the studio, it restricted the teamÔÇÖs creativity, and insisted on a more corporate approach, killing the unique atmosphere. Playtonic denies this.
ÔÇ£For me, it was more about [Rare founders] Tim and Chris Stamper leaving,ÔÇØ says Playtonic technical director Jens Restemeier, who worked at Rare handling handheld conversions of key titles. ÔÇ£There was no sense of progression about what the company was going to do from that point on. The story people want to hear is that Microsoft came in and destroyed everything. It wasnÔÇÖt like that. They gave us freedom, almost more freedom than Nintendo gave us.ÔÇØ
Chris Sutherland, a 25-year Rare veteran and now project director at Playtonic, agrees. ÔÇ£When any company grows, youÔÇÖre going to hit problems,ÔÇØ he explains. ÔÇ£At Playtonic, we donÔÇÖt have an upfront design document, but if youÔÇÖve got a company with 50 people then youÔÇÖre suddenly burning money away and you have to give them something to do and itÔÇÖs got to be something you know youÔÇÖll use.
ÔÇ£Planning up front means you know those people are working, but the downside is youÔÇÖre locked into a way of working. ThatÔÇÖs fine when youÔÇÖre writing a sequel to something, but if youÔÇÖre trying to do something original and creative from the start, itÔÇÖs quite tricky to ask ÔÇÿwhatÔÇÖs this person going to be working on in three weeksÔÇÖ. Well, I donÔÇÖt know what the game is going to be in three weeks! ThatÔÇÖs as much of an issue. You see that in any large organisation.ÔÇØ
Playtonic is starting a Kickstarter in May to help fund Project Ukulele. It could be that the game launches within the same window as RareÔÇÖs own take on those classic platforming years. Price, however, is adamant that thereÔÇÖs no rivalry. ÔÇ£TheyÔÇÖre really nice clever guys, cleverer than all of us,ÔÇØ he says. ÔÇ£TheyÔÇÖll do well.ÔÇØ
Fuente: The Guardian
Lo que hablan sobre RARE en español
- Playtonic sabe en que está trabajando Rare desde el pasado año y están convencidos que los fans quedaremos complacidos.
- El nuevo estudio sigue abierto a colaborar con sus antiguos compañeros(RARE) llegado el momento.
- No lo dicen claramente, pero a su manera confirman que lo nuevo de Rare NO va dirigido a Kinect.
- Desmienten tajantemente las historias de los foros acerca de la libertad creativa (o la falta de ella) que les ha proporcionado Microsoft. Dicen que con esta han tenido tanta o más que con Nintendo.
