Behind the Scenes at Rare – Killer Instinct 2 Interview

Q: When did you start programming KI2 for the Nintendo 64?
A: The Nintendo 64 version of KI2 effectively began as soon as we got the development boards from Nintendo, although this obviously didn’t include the whole team, as they were still working on KI2 Arcade.

Q: Isn’t it true that KI2 was originally planned for a home release only?
A: Yes, KI2 was originally intended for home release only.

Q: At what point did Rare decide to design an arcade version version KI2 and why?
A: After the huge success of the first game, it was fairly evident that there was going to be a huge demand from both players and arcade operators for a sequel.

Q: At what point did the concepts for KI2 begin?
A: As with virtually all games developed, you never get a chance to squeeze in all of the original ideas you had for it in the first place. So many of the features were items that would have gone into the first game if we had more time. We also spent a great deal of time listening to all the player’s comments, on what they considered to be areas that were either lacking or could be improved upon.

Q: How long did it take to develop the art, game design, player interaction, etc., in KI2?
A: All of these aspects of game development took the full duration of the project to complete and were consistently being changed or improved upon.
Even the artists, who normally finish first, were still creating more frames for characters or other graphics for the game, right up to the last few weeks of development.

Q: What hardware is the coin-op KI2 running on, and what are its specifications?
A: The hardware for KI2 is exactly the same as the first one, in terms of performance.

Q: How many people worked on KI2, and what experience do they have with fighting games?
A: There are probably 7 full-time members of the KI team and, at various stages in development, additional artists and programmers would get involved to assist.

Q: Who came up with the KI2 combo engine?
A: The KI2 combo engine was mainly created by Chris Tilston with additional input from Ken Lobb at NOA.

Q: Which fighting games did you draw from in KI‘s design, if any?
A: Obviously we play other fighting games, but at the end of the day, if you want to achieve a new standard in a particular genre you have to introduce something new and exciting to it, and I think we managed to do this with certain aspects of the KI series.

Q: What are Rare’s goals, as far as the KI series is concerned?
A: Our goals with the KI series are to continuously improve upon the last product, until we have what is considered to be the best beat-’em-up by a world wide audience.

Q: What are the different stages and steps a Rare game goes through when it’s being developed? Are there any exceptions to that with KI2?
A: The stages are simply the original concept, then perhaps an on-screen demo to give some clearer example to others and then assembling a full team to create a finished product. I don’t think think that there was any exception to KI2, although we had more to work with the second time around and the team was obviously more experienced and therefore had more of an understanding as to what we wanted to achieve.

Q: What are the differences between Ultra KI and previous KI‘s, conceptually and technically?
A: We obviously don’t want to reveal too much at this point time about KI64, but you can rest assured that we will be doing our utmost to improve upon the last one and utilize some of the unique characteristics of Nintendo’s new hardware.

Q: Who designed the new characters?
A: Many members of the KI team have ideas for new characters or how old ones should be improved, but at the end of the day, Kevin Bayliss is responsible for the final character designs and models.

Q: Is Gargos (the last boss) the only character in KI2 that can be accessed via a code?
A: Maybe!

Q: Why is Gargos so similar to Disney’s Gargoyles cartoon characters?
A: We were not aware of this, and any similarities that occur are purely coincidental. Besides, most gargoyles tend to have a similar look.

Q: Is there one supreme character in the series strength-wise?
A: Many people have their own opinion on this, so we have to say no. It’s all down to an individuals knowledge and ability with a certain character and if they know the weaknesses as well as the strengths of all characters.

Q: What got left on the cutting room floor?
A: As we explained earlier, many ideas don’t make it because of time constraints, but normally end up going into the next game. So if we told you what didn’t quite make it, you would know some of the ideas for the N64 version – and so would the competition.

Q: Are you happy with the end result>
A: Yes we are happy with the end result, but you always wish you could have had just a little longer to just add this feature or tweak to a certain character.

Q: How far along is KI2 for Nintendo 64?
A: KI2 for the N64 is progressing nicely.

Q: There are huge differences between the arcade and Nintendo 64 architecture. Do you worry that you’ll encounter any snags or have any difficulty converting the game?
A: It’s when you have to convert it down to a technically inferior machine that you start worrying.

Q: Will the N64 version of the game replicate the arcade version, if not, what changes will be made, specifically?

A: No comment.

Q: Rumor has it that KI2 on N64 will incorporate real-time 3-D backgrounds. If this is true, will they be from the arcade version or all new?
A: No comment.

Q: How many polygons will you need for the most backgrounds?
A: No comment.

Q: How many new characters will be featured in the N64 version?
A: No comment.

Q: Which Rare team is doing the N64 version – the same people that did the arcade game or a new team?
A: It will be the original KI team.

Q: Do you think a 64-meg cart has enough enough memory to fit the arcade game, especially when the arcade game used a hard-drive?
A: Yes, because it will use custom compression techniques.

Q: Will the N64 controller’s analog function be used for the home version of KI2?
A: No comment.

Q: Rare is getting a reputation for superb fighting games. What new projects does Rare have down the pipeline?
A: We can only mention the ones which are already public knowledge such as Blastdozer, GoldenEye Ken Griffey’s Winning Run, etc., but we can assure you that there are many others that have yet to be unveiled that both ourselves and Nintendo are very excited about.

Q: Does KI2 have any competition? Will Rare continue to produce arcade Killer Instinct games or will the series proceed on home consoles (like the N64)?
A: Competition in the fighting game market has been very tough for the last year or so, and that’s because there’s so many other fighting games out there.
Our immediate plans for the KI series are for the home consoles, but we haven’t totally ruled out further arcade games, certainly not after the success of the last two.

Q: In the year (or so) since Nintendo made the investments in Rare what has changed? With Nintendo at the helm, do you feel that you’ve lost anything you could’ve had or done if you stayed an independent company? How has it been working with Nintendo?
A: To the development staff nothing has really changed, other than the fact that the company has steadily increased its staff.
We still work in the same manner as we did before the Nintendo investment and this is thanks to their trust and faith in our gaming knowledge and ability to produce some of the most exciting games today. They know us well enough to let us get on with the job.
We enjoy working with Nintendo and appreciate their support and assistance with many of our products.

Q: Which Nintendo games do you like, and which ones (if any) influenced any of Rare’s games?
A: It’s not often that a Nintendo game comes out that we don’t like. We enjoy all the popular classics like Mario, Zelda, Pilotwings, Super Metroid, etc., but there’s also some of their other titles which perhaps aren’t so prominent or didn’t receive the kind of glory they should have, like Kirby’s Dream Course or Super Punch Out, which we think are both excellent games and still go back to play today.
Nintendo has an incredible ability to structure their games that just makes them so much better than anything else on any other game system.
When you ask which titles have influenced our products, you should also ask which Rare titles have influenced Nintendo products. Did you ever see Atic Atac on a Sinclair Spectrum? The first Zelda games show some similarities!

Q: With Rare in England and Nintendo literally on the other side of the world, have you experienced any difficulty communicating with them?
A: Phones and Faxes are marvelous inventions that allow us to come to an amicable agreement or solve any problems at the end of the day.

Q: Have you been working at all with NCL, or has it been strictly an NOA/Rare affair?
A: The majority of our communications are through NOA but we certainly have strong links with NCL, and in particular Mr. Miyamoto, who had some involvement with the Donkey Kong games.

Q: What future changes in Rare do you see resulting from the Nintendo investment?
A: The main change will evolve in the next two years, when we should hopefully have a new building designed and built for us, which will allow us to expand up to 200 people. It will be constructed on land about a mile away from our current site, so we will still be situated in the countryside, where we believed we supply the best possible working environment for our staff.
This will lead to more, and hopefully even better, Rare products.

Q: When speaking to other developers, they voice a huge amount of respect for Rare that dates back to the early eighties. Take us back to that time.
A: When home computing first really took off in the early ’80s with the release of the Sinclair machines, Tim and Chris Stamper transfered their skill and experience they’d acquired through working with arcade boards to the Spectrum, and “Ultimate: Play the Game” was born.
Ultimate was to attain near-legendary status among players and critics alike over the next few years and it set out to establish its name from the very start with the launch of Jet-Pac in the summer of ’83. This first release was a massive hit, selling 300,000 copies over a small UK user base, a practically unheard figure at that point in time. A string of hits followed, mainly on the Spectrum between ’83-’86, each one earning critical acclaim and huge sales.
Games such as Pssst, Atic Atac, KnightLore (pioneering isometric title), Sabrewulf and Underwurlde would rank among the all-time 8-bit classics and leave Ultimate with the reputation as the most enigmatic, quietly confident and successful force in the business.

Q: Rare has made games for other publishers for years. Which ones were they?
A: Rare has produced games for Acclaim, Tradewest, MB Games, Konami, Gametek and even Sega.

Q: Tell us about how Rare became the first non-Japanese official developer for the 8-bit NES?
A: In the UK, software piracy had become a huge problem on home computers, so the Stampers sought out another game machine which could perhaps solve this problem for them. It was at this time that the 8-bit NES was starting to take off, and, seeing the huge potential in this console, the Stampers set about reverse-engineering the NES and producing a demo to show Nintendo.
When Nintendo saw what the Stampers were capable of doing without the assistance of any of the manuals of support normally supplied by them, they immediately gained Nintendo’s full approval and went on to become the first official non-Japanese developer for the system.

Q: How did Battletoads for the NES come about? And what about the SNES and arcade version as well?
A: Battletoads came about in our quest to find a successful series of games based around popular characters which we had crated ourselves. The NES version was a great success, but the SNES and coin-op versions came a little too late to follow up on the popularity that the 8-bit version had attained.

Q: Could there be another Battletoads game in our future?
A: There could, but it’s very unlikely!

Q: Tell us the story of DKC. How did that project come about?
A: DKC came about after a couple of year’s research by ourselves into 3D graphics and converting them from high end Silicon Graphics hardware to home consoles. The problem was obviously managing to maintain a truly impressive image from a $100,000 piece of hardware to a $150 SNES!

Q: What do you think of the Virtual Boy?
A: The Virtual Boy is a very ambitious project which has entered a competitive arena of home systems and handhelds which are already very well established.
Virtual Boy is without a doubt a powerful system, which had yet to see that special game that manages to sell a new piece of hardware in any great number, but if anyone can produce the game, Nintendo can.

Q: Do you have any titles in development for it?
A: We have no titles in development for it.

Q: What was it like working so early in the Nintendo 64 project?
A: It was and still is a very exciting time to developing on the Nintendo 64. It’s going to open up a whole new world of gaming to both older and younger generations of game players out there.

Q: Did you have any direct involvement or input in the design of the Nintendo 64?
A: There was no direct involvement but Nintendo was always keen and willing to hear our opinions on the next generation of hardware.

Q: When did you first start N64 development?
A: Just over a year ago.

Q: Were you involved with the 64DD (bulky drive) in any way?
A: None whatsoever.

Q: How difficult do you feel it is to develop for the N64, in general and in comparison to the Saturn and PlayStation?
A: It’s inevitable that you’ll face some problems when developing on new hardware, but with the Nintendo 64 we can honestly say that the positives far outweigh the negatives.
As for the Saturn and PlayStation, no one here is qualified to give an answer, as nobody has attempted to develop for either system, so we would simply be giving other developer’s points of view.

Q: What are some of the things you can do or perform on a N64 that you cant do on a Saturn or PlayStation?
A: We could answer this question in great detail, listing the numerous features that make competitors consoles shrink in fear at the sheer power of the Nintendo 64. But unfortunately, due to confidentiality agreements, you’ll just have to believe us when we say, in performance terms, Nintendo 64 is the best.

Q: What are the biggest challenges of N64 development?
A: Meeting the potential of the machine.

Q: Will the 64DD solve some of the problems associated with cartridge development?
A: No. People imagine the biggest challenge is fitting a game onto a cartridge, but they’re wrong. The 64DD will allow game that are 10 times bigger than the games possible on the Nintendo 64, but that doesn’t mean that games on the Nintendo 64 will be small, by any means. People will perhaps be pleasantly surprised when they experience them for themselves and able to compare them to CD Games.
You don’t need 600 MB unless you want an hour of FMV!

Q: What will you be able to do on the 64DD beyond making bigger games and rewriting information?
A: Besides making bigger games and rewriting information, the implications of having large writable areas are that game players will be able to do certain unique things. For example, you can have a game that evolves with you, molded by you over the years, or a game where you create things instead of just playing, resulting in permanent and unique environments that belong to you. You could have a game which learns from each person that plays it, then impersonates them as AI characters later.

Q: What games or types of games are you planning to develop on the 64DD?
A: The best ones!

Q: What Rare games can we look forward to in ’96 and beyond?
A: As I said before, we can only mention the games which are already public knowledge (Blastdozer, GoldenEye, Ken Griffey’s Winning Run and so on).

Q: Is 2D difficult to do on the N64/64DD?
A: Not at all, and we don’t intend to elaborate on this answer!

Q: DKC3: When and on what platform(s)?
A: Wait a sec!

Q: What about KI3 or Ultra KI2?
A: As above.

Q: What do you like about the 64DD, and what don’t you like about it?
A: Likes: It’s fast and it’s better than cartridge.
Dislikes: It’s smaller than a CD and it’s an add-on.

Q: What do you like most about the N64, and what don’t you like about it?
A: Likes: It’s the best and will be for ages.
Dislikes: Not everybody has one yet.