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Rare: Kameo should have "scrapped everything and started again"

Z

Zenith

Banned
I've never played Kameo but I thought Gaffers viewed it as one of the better 360 launch titles?

The UK studio has admitted that it wishes it had "scrapped everything and started again" during development of Kameo: Elements Of Power for Xbox
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Speaking in the latest issue of Edge, Rare creative director George Andreas said that, even now, discussing the game is "painful" for Rare.

He admits that after moving a title about a fairy away from the kiddy Nintendo audience towards the shooter-loving Xbox crowd, there was only one thing to do: Lie and say Kameo was an elf.
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He added: "We changed direction slightly because of the new audience we were trying to aim at. We called Kameo an elf, but really she was a fairy. We tried to disguise that a few times, but it didn't really work out. It was a game with a fairy for an audience that likes shooting and killing things.

"In hindsight, it probably would have been best to scrap everything and start again. And then we jumped on 360 as a launch title. We weren't far off finishing [when that happened]."
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http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=263426
 
W

water_wendi

Water is not wet!
Remember, it doesnt matter what the game sold or what it scored or how it was well liked. What does matters is that it could have sold more, scored higher or been more popular as a FPS. Games industry today.
 
C

Celsior

Member
He admits that after moving a title about a fairy away from the kiddy Nintendo audience towards the shooter-loving Xbox crowd, there was only one thing to do: Lie and say Kameo was an elf.
Click to expand...
It was a horrible game that would of bombed harder on the Wii since no one would of touch that shit against Nintendo games. Rare was lucky they had two games 360's launch so they sold well even though they sucked ass.
 
P

Pooya

Member
Zenith said:
I've never played Kameo but I thought Gaffers viewed it as one of the better 360 launch titles?
Click to expand...
It was a lot better than Perfect Dark Zero, both in graphics and gameplay. OST was amazing too. I think it holds up quite well even now.
 
A

_Alkaline_

Member
I didn't play this one until earlier this year, but it's actually a very good game. It has a lot of potential that didn't get lived up to, but what's there is actually pretty refined and fun to play. The visuals are also really freakin' amazing, particularly given that it was a launch title, and the orchestrated score is one of the best in this generation.

Interesting though, this article doesn't seem very negative at all? Mostly that they put a game on a system that went against its audience. Who cares. It's a great game.

It's even more worth playing now since this type of game is very very rare (no pun intended) in the 360's library. I think the game would have been a lot more appreciated at launch had people known that this type of game would barely ever be replicated again on the system.
 
T

Talamius

Member
Isn't Rare going after the audience both MS and Sony have proclaimed to be "kiddy" for the past 4 years?

My head asplode.
 
E

El-Suave

Member
Monty Mole said:
It's still Rare's best game this gen. Shows just how much they still don't get it.
Click to expand...

Exactly, especially for a launch game it was really good and it held up well long after its launch.

More games like this from Microsoft themselves might have helped to soften their "shooter console" image.
 
A

Azure Phoenix

Member
Monty Mole said:
It's still Rare's best game this gen. Shows just how much they still don't get it.
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This.

Seems the lunatics have taken over the asylum at Rare, Kameo was by far the best game Rare has put out in years and still one of the best games on the 360. So much for praying for a sequel, I'd rather see Rare wither and die at this moment in time than continue badmouthing and ignoring all the great franchises they have created over the years.
 
P

Princess Skittles

Prince's's 'Skittle's
Monty Mole said:
It's still Rare's best game this gen. Shows just how much they still don't get it.
Click to expand...
Double this.

water_wendi said:
Remember, it doesnt matter what the game sold or what it scored or how it was well liked. What does matters is that it could have sold more, scored higher or been more popular as a FPS. Games industry today.
Click to expand...
Triple this.
 
NeoGIF

NeoGIF

Member
Say whaaat? That's like one of their best games they've ever created. No, Grabbed by the Ghoulies and Banjo Kazooie Nuts 'N Bolts should've never been created.
 
M

Monty Mole

Member
El-Suave said:
More games like this from Microsoft themselves might have helped to soften their "shooter console" image.
Click to expand...
The problem is Microsoft. They think too short-term.

Ratchet wasn't a big success when it launched, but it helped bring a new audience to Sony's platform. By the second or third iteration of the game, it had accrued a large fan base and sales increased. If this was Microsoft, Going Commando would never have been made, never mind the PS3 sequels and PSP spin-off.
 
I

Ikkarus

Member
I thought Kameo was alright.......

Sure it wasn't mind blowing but for a launch title it held up rather well.
 
T

Talamius

Member
Monty Mole said:
The problem is Microsoft. They think too short-term.

Ratchet wasn't a big success when it launched, but it helped bring a new audience to Sony's platform. By the second or third iteration of the game, it had accrued a large fan base and sales increased. If this was Microsoft, Going Commando would never have been made, never mind the PS3 sequels and PSP spin-off.
Click to expand...

The cold irony is right now would be the perfect time for a new Kameo. If you're going after the Wii audience, a high quality platformer is not a bad idea.
 
S

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
I don't really think Kameo is Rare's best game this gen -- I've made about five attempts to play it and generally given up pretty soon after the beginning (supposedly I have 150/1000 achievements, so I guess that's an indicator of how far I got).

Viva Pinata, on the other hand, is an absolute masterpiece if you're into the simulation genre. It still has a weird disconnect from having childish-cutesy presentation and pretty slick, complex mechanics, but it really is an excellent game, particularly at the higher levels.
 
S

Sho_Nuff82

Member
Like to thank the OP for the rage-inducing glib parsing of the actual quote.

Redesigning a game has now been construed a erasing it from existence.
 
Haeleos

Haeleos

Member
Viva Pinata Trouble in Paradise and Banjo Kazooie N&B are much better games. No Rare, the reason Kameo was a turd wasn't because the main character was a fairy. Along with Inafune's comments, this is "The Creative Director Doesn't Get It"-Day
 
C

C4Lukins

Junior Member
Loved the Kameo. The main problems with the game stemmed from the controls though and not some confusion over whether she was an elf or a fairy. I was not concerned about the species of Kameo when she was morphing into an ant and shooting lave bombs into the massive hordes of enemies.
 
A

_Alkaline_

Member
Haeleos said:
Viva Pinata Trouble in Paradise and Banjo Kazooie N&B are much better games. No Rare, the reason Kameo was a turd wasn't because the main character was a fairy. Along with Inafune's comments, this is "The Creative Director Doesn't Get It"-Day
Click to expand...

Except it wasn't a turd.

Sure the game lacked a bit of polish (common symptom of a launch game) and could have been a lot more fleshed out but it's a still a lot of fun. Good variety, some clever puzzles, absolutely fantastic bosses, really nice visuals both technically and artistically, and an amazing orchestral soundtrack.
 
T

TheFightingFish

Member
Kameo was an alright game, but I am suprised to see folks listing it as Rare's best of the generation over Viva Pinata (my top pick) or Nuts and Bolts. Different tastes and all that, but Kameo was a 3D action / platformer like many others while Viva and N&B were both one of a kind games and I really appreciate Rare going out on a limb with those two.
 
S

Souldriver

Member
BobTheFork said:
Damn, I knew Kameo defenders were hardcore, but defending it from the guys who made it saying it's crap...respect.
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The guy that made it sounds like a troll. Gaf goes against that. It's opposite day.
 
S

Shard

XBLAnnoyance
Stumpokapow said:
I don't really think Kameo is Rare's best game this gen -- I've made about five attempts to play it and generally given up pretty soon after the beginning (supposedly I have 150/1000 achievements, so I guess that's an indicator of how far I got).

Viva Pinata, on the other hand, is an absolute masterpiece if you're into the simulation genre. It still has a weird disconnect from having childish-cutesy presentation and pretty slick, complex mechanics, but it really is an excellent game, particularly at the higher levels.
Click to expand...

Viva Pinata is pretty keen on the DS.
 
C

Coen

Member
He added: "We changed direction slightly because of the new audience we were trying to aim at. We called Kameo an elf, but really she was a fairy. We tried to disguise that a few times, but it didn't really work out. It was a game with a fairy for an audience that likes shooting and killing things

...which they then decided to follow-up with a gardening game and a cutesy platformer/vehicle builder hybrid. That sure makes a lot of sense!

Rare peaked in their early N64 days and are struggling to live up to that name.
 
F

Flavius

Member
I thought clicking the link and reading the article would make this sound like a less ridiculous quote.

I was wrong.
 
S

Segata Sanshiro

Member
I liked Kameo a lot. Not without its problems, but hey, it's a Rare game, they've usually got one or two turds in the Easter basket.

Kind of reminds me of how Kevin Smith talks shit on Mallrats just because it failed at the box office.
 
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