Scribes – February 28th 2007
Hello there,
I’m not really sure where I should be sending this, but I was wondering if you could do something for me.
Could you give the Viva Piñata team a round of applause/high five/big hug/manly handshake on my behalf? Which one depends on how familiar you are with those talented chaps, I suppose. Basically, just let them know that they’ve done a truly fantastic job.
I didn’t know a great deal about VP before I picked it up (thanks Argos sale!), but I’ve been totally sucked in. Everything about it is just brilliant. Everything. It’s more charming than… something that’s really charming. I don’t think a game has ever made me smile more than this. I think I (at 22) actually gave out a child-like gasp of amazement when I accidentally directed one of my Newtgats towards a chilli and saw the results.
This is the best thing you’ve ever done. (You as a company, not you personally Mr Scribes guy. I don’t know what you’ve been up to in the past.)
Well done, guys.
Stephen
Argos still sells games?
Cheers for the kind words. I think it’s acceptable for me to agree that it’s a bloody good game, as I don’t work directly on the team so it’s not like I’m just blowing my own trumpet. I’m sure others would debate the matter of it being the single best thing we’ve ever done (Atic Atac takes some beating) but it’s definitely something you need to play before being qualified to judge. Sorry forum trolls everywhere, does that sound defensive? STOP CALLING IT GAY THEN.
Oh, hang on, here’s a proper answer from the team. Along with repeated thanks for your repeated compliments.
“If you liked Piñata (which I think you did) maybe you would like to try the Piñata team’s previous game – Grabbed by the Ghoulies? It’s kind of like Piñata, but rather than attracting papery animals into a garden you attract zombies onto the end of your fist and then use their own arms to beat up their friends.”
Here’s a nice quartet for you, O’ Captain of the Scribes!
A) Why do the Worms in Grabbed by the Ghoulies explode?
B) If the Conker L&R Team were to make a special avatar to represent them when tearing it up on Live, what would it be? The Gregg head’s my favorite!
C) Blech. Why was Riptor killed off? He was by far the best character in KI, and to be put on ice by the steroid-packed Combo is insult to inj- erm… death. At least he messed up T.J. something fierce. Ol’ Riptor could be cloned for t3H Ki#!1!!)J+! (He’d have kicked Kim Wu’s arse too.)
D) Ever think of re-inventing the ‘Limbo’ part of the site? I’m sure your cutting room floors are crotch deep in interesting tid-bits you could share. Not Kameo‘s ‘Hot Coffee’ mode though, let the hackers bring that (mystery) gem to the surface.
Zenek
And I saw that screenshot of Viva-Killer Sabre Kong in the Gloom 3 before it was pulled; looks great. Still coming out mid-2009, eh?
Using letters instead of numbers doesn’t make it any more socially acceptable, you know.
A) Team says: “Because they are frustrated with their lowly social standing in video games. Their sacrifice enabled all Worms to get a better deal, as can be seen in Viva Piñata where all gardens need them to thrive.”
B) They’re doing other things these days, man. Move with the times, capiche?
C) It was a brutal no-holds-barred to-the-death fighting tournament – some characters had to end up in body bags or it’d have been like an episode of Thundercats with Cinder, Riptor and Chief Thunder all standing around chortling wryly at the end. We prefer to think of it more as the 24 of fighting games. Besides, there was some poll or something and the most unpopular characters got the axe, so your taste = teh lose.
D) Thought about it, but can’t shake the suspicion that it’d be a lot more complicated and tangled up in red tape and NDAs these days. Besides, it’s impossible to tell which ideas will end up being salvaged from the cutting room floor and incorporated elsewhere, and we’d have to sue ourselves if we’d already made them public knowledge.
Dear the fan-freaking-tastic folks at Rare,
It’s February 4th, the day before the release of Diddy Kong Racing DS. I’m surfing the web finding out more about this amazing game (GameSpot doesn’t know what they’re talking about) and then the commercial came on air on the TV in the other room. Immediately I got an amazing case of nostalgia as the theme I know and love from that wonderful game from nearly 10 years ago echoed through the room. This time it was different though, it had a guitar solo and is an awesome remix of the theme to DKR. The remix from the commercial shouldn’t go to waste Rare! Please give your DKR fans the hookup with an MP3 of that wonderful tune. Can’t wait to play DKRDS tomorrow!
gwiz210
Yeah, not a bad advert, that one. Of course we can only admire it via the magic of YouTube since the game’s not out (and therefore not advertised) in this neck of the woods just yet.
As it’s Nintendo’s ad I expect the remix was also their doing, but let’s check that with Mr. Wise: “I sent them the original DKR theme from the DS, they overdubbed a few parts and there you have it.” So not strictly our work, i.e. I wouldn’t hold your breath waiting for an MP3.
Anyway, what’s the verdict on the game now that you’ve had a chance to play it? Come on you lot, we’ve hardly had any comments on DKR yet. And get spouting some guff for the Piñata Pantsboard while you’re at it, we’re not exactly overrun there either. Kids today, attention span of a goldfish, etc.
Dear Mr. Scribesman of Rare,
I decided to be a bit more formal in this letter than my last instead of making you feel like you’re taking a pop-quiz or something.
So, to start, thanks for vicariously flooding YouTube with Banjo trailers. Every time I want to see footage of fan-made comedy revolving around your famous bear-bird duo, I get at least 50 entries with your Banjo 3 trailer. But, ranting aside, a simple question: Will all the moves be usable in the new BK? Because having to memorize all the moves from the original as well as an overhaul of new moves being moved to a new control scheme just seems a little difficult to follow. And what’s up with Captain Blackeye? I think you should give ol’ Cap’N Crunch there a game of his own so he’d stop binge drinking and remembering suppressed memories of his past misfortunes.
I just got Conker: Live and Reloaded (finally) last weekend and I was impressed with the amazing graphics. They almost looked like Xbox 360 graphics! It was the first time I looked at poo and said “Damn, that poo looks freaking amazing”.
When it was announced the only possible Rare title that could be played on Wii’s Virtual Console was Donkey Kong 64, seeing as Nintendo owns the rights to Donkey Kong, I seemed to remember a recent exchange of rights to the James Bond franchise with EA and Activision. Does this mean that Activision has the say in whether or not GoldenEye 007 would show up in Nintendo’s digital time machine? Or is the decision yours or Microsoft’s?
Very thanks,
Bryan Skinner, Rare fan from across the pond
From my (uneducated) point of view, GoldenEye is caught up in a convoluted web of rights the likes of which would make the Weaver from Perdido Street Station jealous. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen, just that a lot of people with a lot of different perspectives are involved. Oh, and I think you mean Donkey Kong Country rather than Donkey Kong 64, or at least that’s the only one that’s been announced to my knowledge.
You want to see fan-made Banjo and Kazooie comedy sketches? Oh wait, you’re being sarcastic. That’s a relief. You are being sarcastic…? Let’s quickly go grill the team on the issue of moves before this conversation gets any darker.
“Yes, trying to cram about 150 moves onto a single controller would have been a bit daunting. We considered sharing the moves out over multiple controllers (in some kind of cynical ploy to get people to buy more controllers) but even our musician who only ever plays MMOs could see this was a poor idea. What we actually want to do is make the control system easier so that more people can enjoy the game. You’ll have to wait and see what the result is.”
And as for Captain Blackeye: “He did have a game of his own – Dream. Check out a ‘coming soon’ edition of Retro Gamer magazine, which features a ‘making of Banjo-Kazooie’ article. This explains a lot more about how Banjo started off life as a game called Dream that featured boys with wooden swords, a rabbit that looked like a man, a dopey dog, a bear (that became Banjo) and a bunch of rubbish pirates. Confused? So were we!”
Good 11.31pm (maybe plus a couple more minutes) to you, Scribes!
Was just looking at my good friend eBay, when I made a discovery that filled me with curiosity (and possibly goo).
There are two (or more?) different Banjo-Tooie cartridge stickers. But WHY?? My cartridge has a sticker with Banjo, Kazooie and Mumbo on a greenish colour background. One could be saying much like the attached “Exhibit A”. However, there is also the sexy little number I have lovingly referred to as “Exhibit B”, with the light blue cloudy background.
Just wondering if there was any specific reason for this or if it was just because you jolly well could.
Much love, happiness and Chewits!
Katzii Yataki
PS. Speaking of Chewits… weren’t those old adverts just the best?
Seems likely that they’re just versions released in different parts of the world, e.g. UK PAL and US NTSC editions. “That would be my guess,” agrees the head of the Banjo team. It happens sometimes. Even the box art changes occasionally – not sure why. Might be different territorial requirements, might just be some gaming-illiterate middle management types trying to justify their salaries.
PS You mean the ones about Barrow-in-Furness bus depot?
Season’s Greetings,
Could you please add the tracks from the Perfect Dark Promotional CD Soundtrack (titled “The Dark Mission”) to the MP3 archive. Can’t find it anywhere. Assuming somebody at Rare has a copy. I offer this humble piece of Photoshopping in exchange.
Much obliged,
Patrick Concannon
Most impressive Photoshoppery, and worth printing your letter for. Unfortunately, our musicians don’t seem to have too many fond memories of this Dark Mission remix CD – the phrase “nobody should ever hear it” cropped up in our brief conversation – so I don’t think you’re going to have much luck prising anything helpful out of us. Apparently nobody in-house worked on it anyway, or at least that’s what they’re claiming.
Dear Scribes,
I’m going to sue you guys. Because I haven’t stopped playing Viva Piñata since it came out. I used to have a life! And your candy-filled paper monstrosities took it away from me!
And on the topic of Viva, what’s the deal with the box? I don’t mind the weird shape and massive Horstachio, but the plastic feels fairly cheap. I’m almost afraid I’ll break it–of course, I haven’t taken the disc out of my 360 for weeks, though, so no real risk. STILL.
Actually, just to make this email longer, I play Viva on a 4:3 computer monitor through VGA, and it looks really strange. Usually it’s a vertically stretched version of the widescreen 720p image, but when I leave my garden it snaps back to normal widescreen. It makes very little sense. PDZ and Kameo didn’t have this problem, what’s the deal? How about a patch?
See you in court,
Banana Kid
P.S. Hurry up and finish Banjo. I want to play it real bad.
Let’s go for some harsh Paxman-style interrogation of the team to get these questions answered ONCE AND FOR ALL.
Limited edition: “It’s because it’s a real collectors’ item. The most valuable antiques are glass and ceramics, and they are so valuable because they’re so fragile. In 150 years’ time your launch edition Viva Piñata case will be almost priceless.”
Screen dimensions: “That’s Piñata Vision™. In the shop, you’re in a human environment so you see things like a human. In the garden, you’re getting the full effect of seeing things as a papier-mache creature stuffed with sweets sees them. We knew people would appreciate our attention to detail, as your letter proves.”
That didn’t quite turn out they way I’d planned.
Hi,
I just wanted to know if you have any intention within the next, oh, about half a year (before Summer’s over, in case the next Scribes is a-while in the publishing) to make your first game release on Xbox Live Arcade? Is it likely to be a new one, as opposed to the revisiting of a game/franchise we’re already familiar with? I’m just going to say something, no real context, just because I’ve just got to. I think I’m going to explode otherwise, and that won’t be good. Killer Instinct. That’s better.
You should really look into developing an RPG for Xbox 360, next.
Thanking you,
Machetazo
Well, we haven’t announced anything specific yet, even though some unscrupulous online outlets are doing their damnedest to jump in and announce things prematurely. If and when we do have something official to say on the subject, “before Summer’s over” seems like a fair enough deadline.
You really think we should do an RPG? We don’t have that many people here, you know, and business sense dictates that we should probably work on more than one project at a time.
Dear Mister Lovely Day,
All right, I’m gon’ be honest wit’ choo now. The reason I’ve submitted practically nothing but meaningless babble to Scribes for the past 3 years was that I own neither an Xbox nor an Xbox 360 and will probably not buy one for a couple o’ years at least. So, despite having a brief glimpse at an Xbox 360 kiosk last (commercial) holiday season and not being able to roll Mr. Rockmaroll or whatever his blasted name is up a wall, I haven’t really played Kameo. But seeing the game in action was enough to let me ask the team what is hopefully a challenging development-related question.
I know that the cost of games is rising exponentially and that the team size on Viva Piñata was massive compared to past Rare efforts. Still, I’m under the impression that the graphics in games do not currently cost as much as many CG movies, and yet Kameo explodes with detail. The battlefield scene, the textures on the characters, particle effects, and all that crap must have been a huge investment, but the game industry talks about it so little they make it look easy. You rarely hear about graphical glitches from game designers, whereas most CG films costs well into the hundred-millions, and the making-of documentaries are always along the lines of “OMG Princess Fiona’s dress folded into an origami shape LOL!!!!”
Also, CG animated movies have to be rendered and rendered and rendered some more, while games are mostly put together in real-time, and the number of times the images are rendered when the player moves is thankfully not an object. I said it looks easy in the game industry, but it may not be. Did Kameo really cost as much as a good-looking CG movie? Can someone from the art team give me his or her perspective?
I’d love to know, since I intend to go into feature or game animation. Cheers, and maybe I’ll pick up a 360 with Banjo Trois-sie’s release.
JetDog
That’s a bizarrely sensible and thoughtful email. Why on Earth would you send it to Scribes? Can we get back to the meaningless babble next time? I know where I stand with that.
Weighed down by an unfamiliar sense of responsibility, I took this one to Kameo’s lead artist, who said: “If you’re talking budgets of $100 million plus then I can definitely say that Kameo cost nowhere near as much to produce, probably a fraction of this. It’s hard to make a direct comparison as the requirements for a game running in real-time are vastly different to what I know of how a film is produced. It’s definitely not easy making games, we just have different problems to overcome from those of filmmakers, and as I said it’s hard to make a direct comparison because the two finished products are so vastly different even though they share similar tools, technology and techniques. From your perspective of becoming an animator though I think you’d find that the work you’d do in either industry would be pretty similar.”
Dear Scribes,
I am a LONG TIME, beloved fan, of your company. When I first moved to Florida in 1996, Diddy Kong Racing was what made me what I am today (as stupid as that sounds). That game gave me tons of friends in my neighborhood, where everyone came over to my house, when I was in the 6th grade. And in turn, I’ll love that game forever.
I was wondering if you would ever put that game onto the Wii. I know you were bought out by Microsoft, but if we could even just get it on the Virtual Console, I would be the happiest person alive. I know you have it out on the DS, but I don’t like hand games. I would LOVE to see a new Diddy Kong Racing for the Wii or have the original put on the Wii Virtual Console.
Is there any way you guys could think about putting it on the Wii/Virtual Console?
Your devoted gamer,
Troy
What’s wrong with hand games? Hand games are great. Especially when – oh right, you mean handheld games. Well, each to their own, I suppose. It just seems a bit odd to boycott a new and updated version of the game that you’ve been looking for on some random principle, especially as it’s not likely to be available on other formats any time soon. As the latter-day DKR team themselves put it: “Buy the DS version and show your love!”
Will the original ever show its squealing monkey face on Virtual Console? That’s not entirely our call, but with the 2007 version newly released on DS I doubt it’s near the top of Nintendo’s VC priority list right now.
Dear Sir Loveday,
Piñata. Fantastic game as I’ve mentioned to you in the past. Per usual, I’ve got a couple of questions to ask you and the Piñata team regarding something very interesting in the game.
Mr. Ribs. What exactly is he doing buried in a Parrybo’s house, assuming that it’s the true hero of Ghoulies and not some replica pretending to be Mr. Ribs? If it is Mr. Ribs, can the Piñata team lovingly explain how you can, in-game, have multiple Parrybo houses each having Mr. Ribs buried in the house?
Furthermore, Baron Von Ghoul’s Biplane in the woods. What is it doing there on Piñata Island? An even better question to ask would be where he is in the game. Did he get shot out of Piñata Central’s piñata cannon to be beaten up by spoiled brats? The world wants to know.
Seeing how I really want these questions to be answered in Scribes, I have a Rubbish Picture Attachment to provide an incentive for you to send to the Piñata team. Much appreciated.
Thank you for reading this, and may Rare continue to provide excellent gaming in the future.
Mark “darkmark8” Mazzei
I know you people have formed the basis of a popular website on it, but I still can’t help thinking that you take this ‘DK Universe’ thing a bit too seriously. If nothing else, it gives our designers free rein to stamp their evils upon your impressionable minds.
Today, though, it seems they’re humouring you: “Hmmm, that is interesting. Mr. Ribs completed his chef apprenticeship and decided that he needed a change of career. He started an architect’s course. The Parrybo house design is his first commercial success. He’s so proud of his work, and worried that other architects may steal his designs, that he’s had a replica of himself moulded onto each Parrybo house that gets built.”
As for the suggested visitation of a certain Mr. Von Ghoul: “The Baron is in exile and so he decided to visit Piñata Island to enrol in Professor Pester’s School of Villainy. First lesson learned: how to set up a scam.”
Dear Scribes,
Im just taking some time to let you know im a big fan of rare, all your games have been by far my favorites. Im still playing battletoads and i hope you guys are going to make an other one. I wish you guys are working on a new killier instinct right now, and if you do, it will be totally awesome if you can put in pimp or rash in it. Joanna dark would fit in as well.
Right now im playing perfect dark zero online and its absolutely great. thanks for the new maps.
Please, make all your fans happy and make ki3 on the 360. My big concern with ki is that there is no version of the arcade on home console. the snes and n64 were good but not even close to the arcade. If at least youre not making ki3, pls bring the arcade version on xboxlive or something.
Suggestions: for ki3, it should be 2d gameplay but with lots of interaction with the background.
thanks for your time and hopefully KI 3 will be announce soon. and I’m really looking forward for banjo.
David Rochon
That’s right, it’s Token Unedited Letter of the Month.
Killier Instinct should definitely be on the list of potential titles for a new KI game, along with Killiest Instinct further down the line. There would definitely be room for Joanna Dark in it, and the Battletoads – and Captain Skyhawk, Fiddlesworth, Deep Blue, Max Danger, Oscar the Grouch and everyone off the cover of Anticipation. Let’s not be half-arsed about this.
Hello Scribes,
I have a question about the Donkey Kong Country series. What is the story behind the Kremlings? There are ancient ruins and temples scattered across Donkey Kong Island, and they all appear to have been built by the Kremlings, replete with statues and inscriptions. The ruins look far more cultural and sophisticated than the present-day Kremling society, and suggests that they may have once owned DK Island. What happened to the Kremlings?
I find the Kremlings to be the most interesting and mysterious element of Donkey Kong’s world. Incidentally, is there a reason why we have never seen a Kremling woman or child?
Thank you for reading. The Donkey Kong games you created remain as some of my favorite games to date.
Matt Jones
Cheers Jonesy. You should, however, consider the possibility that you’re putting more thought into these things than we ever did. It’s a platform game, not a history-defying real world architectural conundrum. Having said that, I suppose I’d better check with the head of the original team that there aren’t any inch-thick story bibles lying around in a cupboard somewhere.
“We could say that the Kremling Empire was once grandiose and technologically gifted, but they fell out over a game of cards and smashed the place up. The women and children are at home, cooking and that, while the men go out hunting and trying to steal bananas. Final Fantasy has nothing on that story.”
I think that’s probably a no.
Dear Rareware:
I am a young video-game player, who also owns a Wii. I am registered on the Nintendo forums and talk about Wii and Diddy Kong Racing DS, awesome game by the way. Anyway one concern I have is the decision if Rareware titles such as Banjo-Kazooie and others will appear on the Virtual Console. I would like to know if possible you could give me an answer, I know you probably don’t have an answer, but I’d like to know, as I’ve yet the chance to play Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie as I’m 12, and never owned an Nintendo 64 console. I also would like to say what a great job you did making Diddy Kong Racing DS, again I never got to play the original, so it’s nice when titles like these are re-made with new features and gameplay alike. Anyway I hope this question can be answered, and you can continue making great games for Nintendo if possible.
Sincerely,
Steven Schwartz
This is where we finally edge into territory that could see Scribes neutron bombed from management level. The only Rare-developed title on Virtual Console right now is the original Donkey Kong Country, and unofficially there’s a strong likelihood that its sequels will follow. But the Donkey Kong series of games is a Nintendo-owned franchise starring an established Nintendo character, whereas something like Banjo isn’t (and even Diddy Kong Racing is less clear-cut), so it’s nowhere near as easy to call. Especially when you also consider the existence of Xbox Live Arcade. So right now, the best answer we can offer (for either download service) is “it’s possible”. I like your sausage casserole mix, by the way.
Dear Tea Lovers,
I want to thank you guys for doing such a stunning job on Viva Piñata – I asked for and received it at Christmas expecting a decent time-waster, but got a very time-absorbing wildlife sim like no other. Here’s hoping for a follow-up sometime after the next Banjo.
Now for the numbers:
1. Despite all that you fellows have said about being very involved with the Piñata TV series, what I’ve seen doesn’t seem to have a lot in common with the game – the show Piñatas all walk on hind legs, talk, use money, cell phones and numerous gadgets, while the game Piñatas make sounds and generally act more like wildlife normally does. What’s the explanation? Is the game section of the island reserved for short bus Piñatas?
2. Now that it’s safe to assume that Banjo-Threeie, Three-Kazooie, Threeie-Threeie, or even Banjo is Back! is deep in development, maybe two things can be answered- will the traditional gibberish be dumped for full spoken dialogue, and why have the characters been redesigned to look like they stepped out of Madagascar?
3. Nintendo Power released a couple of screenshots of Diddy Kong Racing DS, and thrilled as I am to see that other Kongs are finally being included, I am rather confused by what seems to be a new look for Tiny – did she take hormone pills?
4. Finally, since we’ll never get a Ghoulies sequel, summarize the plot for what would have been in three sentences on my mark.
Go.
Behonkiss
Curse you and your numbers, Honk. Didn’t stop you getting a load of answers through from the appropriate teams though.
1) VP: “I hope you’re following all the intricately woven plotlines of the Viva Piñata TV series. It’s slowly building to the finale where we find out that all the episodes are just dreams that Fergy has had while he’s being put back together after an unusually enthusiastic meeting with a shovel. Next season the cartoon will be much closer to the game, where the piñatas just wander around a bit then out of the blue someone forces them to wear badly mismatched accessories.”
2) Banjo: “We are still mulling over the speech. The original idea behind the gibberish was to avoid having speech, but it has become part of Banjo’s appeal and something that I am reluctant to let go just because full spoken dialogue is considered the norm these days. Regarding the look of the characters, we felt that the decade-old look belonged in a different era and needed bringing up to date.”
3) DKR: “She just got older, entering her teenage years. Don’t know why none of the other Kongs have aged though!”
4) Ghoulies: “Who says there won’t be a sequel? Some of us still cling to the forlorn hope that maybe loads of people will go out and buy it as some kind of retro cult thing in a few years and then we will revive it. The plot for a sequel? 1. It was going to take place in a quaint English village called Neede-in-the-Nuts (this was what the signpost originally read at the end of the game). 2. There would have been lots of different buildings to explore and ‘stuff that didn’t make it into the first game’ to do. 3. It would probably have sold as poorly as the original.”
Good day to you, Sir.
Just a quick couple of questions, and then I’ll bug you no longer. Is there even a slight possibility Rare might be planning an Xbox 360 outing for SabreMan and his wolfy nemesis? You can never have too many jungly exploits, you know.
Lastly, are there any more original IPs and concepts in development at Rare? I’d love to see Rare coming up with more creations like Viva Piñata.
Thanks very much for reading!
Eblel
Yes, there’s a slight possibility that Sabreman will appear on Xbox 360. Of course, there’s a slight possibility of all kinds of things. There’s a slight possibility of me finding a chuffing great ruby at the bottom of this packet of crisps. I appreciate you being so vague with your phrasing.
Of the handful of prototype projects currently being worked on at Rare, I’d say about half are based on original IP. Now see how, in coming perilously close to real information, I fail to produce actual numbers. Still kind of answers your question though – I’d be surprised if something completely new didn’t bubble to the surface in the next year or two.
Hey all at Rare,
I’m sure you get this all the time but thanks for creating some of the best videogames of all time. Anyway…
Having recently been on an N64 eBay spree, I’ve re-completed Banjo-Kazooie (8 years older and it wasn’t any easier…). Anyway, my completely underwhelming question is… how come you end up with 2 spare jigsaw pieces at the end?
Dan Morris
I think we’ve answered that underwhelming question before, but it would probably have been years ago and I struggle to remember stuff that happened more than a couple of hours ago, so let’s ask again.
“The equally underwhelming answer is simple – they provide a bit of leeway so that if players find a particular couple of Jiggies too difficult to get then they will still be able to get everything in the game without having to collect them all. Sadly not everyone can be as good at games as we are (or like to think we are).”
So obviously having two spare means you collected them all. Well done – you win at being a bear.
Dear Scribes,
Viva Piñata‘s addictiveness is not a thing to be underestimated, as all it takes is for one to carelessly pick up a controller with the foolhardy intent of briefly dipping into the action and then going on their way — then they awaken, realising that several days have passed and their bodies are coming dangerously close to total dehydration. Sure, Kameo was good fun to play, but VP is moreish on the same level that heroin is. As impressive as your other Xbox 360 titles have been, and indeed those on the Xbox afore it, I think VP sees Rare really hitting its stride of next-gen ingenuity. All I can say is, more like this ‘un, please. Nice one!
Oh, speaking of which, as I write this I understand you guys are up for several AIAS awards for VP. I imagine this Scribes entry may appear (ever the optimistic one, me) well after the results are announced, so please accept the relevant response:
1) Congratulations on sweeping the board this year, you enviously talented rapscallions! Ever raising that gameplay standards bar, your efforts totally had these babies in the bag! You all deserve everything you get! Er… actually that might have sounded somewhat sinister, but you get the idea! (And it’s great to see that your own hometown heroine Louise was nominated for her voice acting! Her performance was so sweet it gave me cavities! Yay Lou!)
2) You may not have snaffled as many awards as you intended this year, but six nominations is a testament in itself to the many tiers of your awesomeness. And you know what they say, always bet on the second favourite, because you know they’ll try even harder. Good job all the same!
Anyway, I’ve ranted for long enough. Doffs hat I take my leave; peace, love and roll-on next-gen Banjo action! Yeehaw!
Andrew (Relapsing Rare Addict)
Well, Lou won her award and that was about it, so some combination of the two responses would probably cover it. For her own part Louise is particularly awed by the fact that she beat Lynda Carter (aka Wonder Woman) in the process. Now all we have to do is figure out the best way to capitalise on this triumph, so expect Kazooie, Gruntilda and Humba Wumba to all inexplicably turn Irish over the next few weeks.
From Lou herself: “Hey Andrew! Finally, somebody likes me. It was brilliant to win an award for voice acting, a little weird because I’m an animator… but I’m aiming on winning that award for my next game. I love doing the voice acting jobbies, and this one was an absolute blast to do. My daughter Zoe loved it… for about five minutes, then she just kept skipping the Leafos speech bits! I think she’s sick of hearing my voice 🙂 I have found, though, that there’s a drawback from doing voice acting – in my head my voice sounds all sexy, deep and husky… now I know it’s sooooo not!”
Dear Scribes,
Hi! my name is George, I’m Mexico city and I’m fan the videogames of RAREWARE, but a long time ago I read in a magazine “revista oficial de Mexico N64” Number 29, March 2000; in a page 11 said -Next game to exit- to the (dolphin)? I think is game cube, the game “KILLER INSTINCT3″. my question is: exist this game??? Are you making about this subject???
I’ve be waiting for you’re answer….. thank you George.
George
Marvellous. George is Mexico City and he’s a big fan. Nice to hear from you, George – nope, there is no KI3. The rumour’s been careering punch-drunk around the internet since KI2 was released, and even now people are only too keen to cling to its ankles every time it stumbles through some semi-respectable forum or magazine rumour column. I suppose we should be flattered, but alas, it’s not confirmed until we confirm it, fellas.
Dear Earth citizens of the year 2007.
Due to advancements in space travel and the wonders of relativity we on the planet slkjnlkgsb have been able to savour the delights of the 2015 Xbox 720 exclusive that is Killer Instinct 3. I wish to congratulate you on such a fabulous game. I realise that given that development for the game is not due to start until 2010 that this praise is somewhat premature. However due to technical issues we can only send messages to your planet at certain points in your history. IT is working to resolve this but it has already taken them 1020 years without much luck. And people say you guys take a long time!
Hopefully this will not cause a temporal paradox whereby knowing that the game is going to be spectacular you decide to give the job to the pretty girl in accounts who makes a bodge of it.
PazJohnMitch
There you go, see, we’re not even starting it until 2010. Now stop nagging.
I would have thought that we’d have progressed beyond the Xbox 720 by 2015. Or was there a 540 model in the interim? Anyway, as an experiment in the malleability of the time fabric we’re bypassing the Accounts department and handing over the development reins directly to Raredog, a fat black labrador of indeterminate ownership who wanders past the office window sometimes. He looks like he can handle it.
Dear Stamper-brother-less Rare,
I’m a long time reader, first time writer. Anyway, here are some questions:
1. What happened to all the old Scribes? I know the site was just redesigned, but couldn’t you have found a way to keep them? Or better yet, make a movie with just Ricky Gervais reading all the Scribes you’ve done. It’ll be brilliant.
2. In that new Banjo game, will the characters actually speak?
3. Ummm… that’s all, I guess.
I.M. “Trogga” McDaniel
1) I think Ricky Gervais probably has better things to do with the next five years of his life. Use the Wayback Machine if you’re that keen on reading the old Scribes – sounds like an infinitely better plan than me dropping everything to reformat every sentence of every edition to work in the new page style for the benefit of the three or four people who’d actually read them.
2) Seems to be a popular question. See elsewhere on the page for at least two responses to it. Short version if you’re pressed for time: “maybe”.
3) Oh.
Dear Scribes,
I’ve been playing Viva Piñata lately. I can sorta hear some sorta likeness of Banjo in a Fizzlybear’s voice. Then, in the Fizzlybear’s home, feels like I’m in Banjo’s house from BK to BT. I was thinking about Banjo’s attire while playing: Banjo has a sharktooth necklace, and wears yellow shorts, top clothing, and a blue backpack. So I ask, how did Banjo come to be, his origins, before DKR or BK. Was Banjo a beach bear like the Fizzlybear? Meanwhile, is there any concept art of Banjo, small sketches of what he was going to be like in the games? I would like to see the ideas for Banjo before the franchise we know came to be. Before ending this query e-mail… will the new BK game for the Xbox 360 have voice acting like in Kameo or VP? Or will the game stick to its roots and use the sounds for character speech? I would like to hear Banjo speak real words this time, sorta like in your Xbox Sequence video.
Keep up the good work,
TJ Griffiths a.k.a. King Banjo the benevolent king of bears
Time to bat another one over to the head of the team.
“I’ve already answered this one above. The ‘Making Of’ article in an upcoming edition of Retro Gamer magazine reveals quite a lot of Banjo’s history. For those who can’t buy this magazine or are too stingy (like our own Mr. Farmer), here is one of the images of Banjo from the article.” (Mr. Farmer indignantly responds: “Pot meet kettle, is all I’m saying.”)
And more: “We are still undecided about the speech. I think what we’ll do is try both and then decide which we like best. Or maybe all the characters will just use sign language, telepathy or suggestive expressions?”
Or compromise by keeping the trademark B-K mumble but getting Slippy Toad to translate. Kazooie! Do a barrel roll! We’ve got you on ah monitors!
Hello Mr Scribes~
First I would like to thank Steve for all his Kameo bonus tracks on your page, especially the fantastic Castle Fight and Ending theme! He is definitely one of my favorite composers 🙂 (Please tell him that!)
But things even got better! Of course I bought Viva Piñata and wow~ Mr Kirkhope did such a great job with the score, too! The melodies stuck in my head all the time. So you can imagine that I was very, very happy about the four downloadable MP3 files on your website (the new design fits absolutely fantastic by the way 😀 )
So I would like to ask Mr Kirkhope if it might be possible to do some more MP3 files. For example the nice theme when the workers appear the first time or the beautiful piano night theme. And don’t forget to tell Mr Kirkhope that he is one of my favorite composers either! 🙂
By the way: Ever thought of a Rare games concert? Not? Please do~
Mr Boogie
“How can I refuse Mr. Boogie?” asks Grant helplessly. I dunno – all I know is that you can’t blame it on him. Anyway, you’ll notice that we recently posted another couple of VP tracks, with more coming soon. You know we can’t go splurging everything in one go. That’s at least two updates there, son! YOUR GREED WILL BE YOUR DOWNFALL.
Dear Old-School@Rare,
Yesterday, in honour of the people who had to make, place and test them, I went around destroying every breakable object in Bunker 2.
Yes, even all 3 stages of the explosive keyboards. Imagine my horror when after around eight or nine hours, I began to realise that the breakable lights had been respawning when I wasn’t looking. You people are sick…
Martin “Alf-Life” Badowsky
There’s no need for that. According to the lead programmer, “If you practice enough and can destroy everything at once then it may unlock the super secret volcano underground base multiplayer level.” You see, we only want to help. It’s all we’ve ever wanted, Badowsky.
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