Rareware / Rare / Playtonic

[gunswordfist]

We don't need anymore Donkey Kong, talon. We need something different now.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Livestream archive

They definitely seem to know what they're doing.

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Livestream archive

They definitely seem to know what they're doing.

Thanks for that! Didn't know there was a recording. Will watch later!

[Spark Of Spirit]

I think there are several things in there you'll be pleased with. 

[Foggle]

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 Conker's 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.

"I still chat to them, I know what they were working on when I left last year," says Playtonic's studio head, Gavin Price, who worked for Rare for 20 years, having joined as a tester in the 1990s. "It sounds really good."

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 team's skills and heritage. Last year, the exec tweeted that he had played the studio's new project, claiming it was an example of "Rare building a uniquely Rare game, as it should be." In January, Rare's head of music Robin Beanland tweeted that 2015 would be a huge year for Rare and made a reference to Banjo-Kazooie.

"I want them to do well," says Price. "They're mates and we left them behind to come and do this. I'm looking forward to what they're doing next – people will be really happy to see it." Asked whether it would be a Kinect-focused title, like the studio's other recent projects, he replied: "I can't say for sure what they are or aren't doing with that piece of hardware that Microsoft isn't supporting much anymore."

...

On the subject of old Rare, the popular story is that when Microsoft took control of the studio, it restricted the team's creativity, and insisted on a more corporate approach, killing the unique atmosphere. Playtonic denies this.

"For me, it was more about [Rare founders] Tim and Chris Stamper leaving," says Playtonic technical director Jens Restemeier, who worked at Rare handling handheld conversions of key titles. "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 wasn't like that. They gave us freedom, almost more freedom than Nintendo gave us."

Chris Sutherland, a 25-year Rare veteran and now project director at Playtonic, agrees. "When any company grows, you're going to hit problems," he explains. "At Playtonic, we don't have an upfront design document, but if you've got a company with 50 people then you're suddenly burning money away and you have to give them something to do and it's got to be something you know you'll use.

"Planning up front means you know those people are working, but the downside is you're locked into a way of working. That's fine when you're writing a sequel to something, but if you're trying to do something original and creative from the start, it's quite tricky to ask 'what's this person going to be working on in three weeks'. Well, I don't know what the game is going to be in three weeks! That's as much of an issue. You see that in any large organisation."

Playtonic is starting a Kickstarter in May to help fund Project Ukulele. It could be that the game launches within the same window as Rare's own take on those classic platforming years. Price, however, is adamant that there's no rivalry. "They're really nice clever guys, cleverer than all of us," he says. "They'll do well."

Huh.

[Spark Of Spirit]

The problem wasn't that Microsoft restricted them, it was because they didn't give the studio any direction. Nintendo would help them pick a project and work on it until completion as opposed to Microsoft who would let them futz around wasting time and money unable to decide on what to do. Rare's problem was lack of any direction or structure, which is why every game they made under Microsoft was so all over the place without any focus. It also coincides with the Stampers cashing out and going home.

PlayTonic cutting it down to a small team, and going with a single idea (read: genre) from start to finish, is exactly what Rare has needed to do since the Gamecube/Xbox days.

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https://twitter.com/PlaytonicGames/status/583206957630255104/photo/1

[gunswordfist]

Nice thread title edit.

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[Spark Of Spirit]

Chris Sutherland is probably taking notes.

Lead programmer on DKC2 learning from Tropical Freeze and applying it to a new game?

[Foggle]

That photo is truly a work of art. Tropical Freeze is just asdfsogood. Rumor is that Retro's upcoming game will be using a new engine. Will it be a further upgraded DKC, a new 3D Donkey Kong (would coincide well with the DK64 re-release), or something else entirely!?

Also, Playtonic basically confirmed on their website that the giant penis landmass in Banjo-Tooie was intentional, which has officially made my year.

[Foggle]

Holy shit this thread I'm reading about Retro's new engine is the most cancerous shit. People talking about how disappointing Tropical Freeze was and complaining about Retro making Donkey Kong games. Do these people live in Bizarro World?

[Avaitor]

talon posts on other boards?

[Foggle]

talon posts on other boards?

[Commode]

Holy shit this thread I'm reading about Retro's new engine is the most cancerous shit. People talking about how disappointing Tropical Freeze was and complaining about Retro making Donkey Kong games. Do these people live in Bizarro World?

NeoGAF?

This thread has become a bit of a board meme there in the last couple years since.