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Rare "evaluating what they want to do next" says Phil Spencer

Wishmaster92

Wishmaster92

Member
Yoshi said:
"Chief of ideas" Gregg Mayles - still at Rare
"Other ideas" George Andreas - left for Sony
Lead programmer Chris Sutherland - still at Rare
programmer Morten Brodersen - left Rare long ago
programmer Paul Machacek - still at Rare
programmer Graham Smith - don't know, probably left Rare after Starfox Adventures
programmer Kieran Connell - still at Microsoft, though I think not at Rare
programmer Rhys Lewis - left for Retro Studios (where he is not anymore)
programmer Mark Wilson - don't know, probably left Rare
"Chief scribbler" Steve Mayles - still at Rare
"Catoony bits and more scribbling" Ed Bryan - left Rare for Creative at Nosy Crow
"Scene Crayoner" Steven Hurst - left Rare for Flippin Pixels
"More Sketching" John Nash - credited for Micky Epic 2, so most likely not working at Rare
"Other Doodling" Chris Peil - left Rare
music Grant Kirkhope - freelancer, could probably be hired for new Banjo music

Rest is business and test players. The major losses from the Banjo-team are probably Kirkhope and Hurst (I guess Scene Crayoner means level designer), but considering the small team size of the Banjo team, there still is a lot of potential left for a nice follow-up (especially considering the Mayles brothers are still there), provided they were motivated for it.
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Thanks for the list.
 
T

tapedeck

Do I win a prize for talking about my penis on the Internet???
1. Help Iron Galaxy with art direction/graphics for Killer Instinct S2
2. Conker Sequel
3. BLAST CORPS

Thanks a bunch.
 
C

Canis lupus

Member
Why are people saying Banjo. The new Rare tried it with Nuts&Bolts and failed to capture the magic of the old games. I want them to make a colorful 3D platformer again too, but then realize they'll fuck up by introducing weird next gen gameplay mechanics like having you build stuff Lego style.
 
S

Stormwatch

Member
Kinect Sports Rivals shows that they know how to use colors and can get the Kinect to work pretty well for them. What if we had a Kinect-enabled (but not Kinect required) Viva Pinata. I think that is something from their past that could work well even if some of the original staff is gone. They could even make it online enabled where you can visit other friend's gardens and trade pinatas.
 
S

SapientWolf

Trucker Sexologist
Canis lupus said:
Why are people saying Banjo. The new Rare tried it with Nuts&Bolts and failed to capture the magic of the old games. I want them to make a colorful 3D platformer again too, but then realize they'll fuck up by introducing weird next gen gameplay mechanics like having you build stuff Lego style.
Click to expand...
Nuts and Bolts kicked the old Banjo games up and down the street. If they went full Minecraft the game would have sold a bajillion copies.
 
M

Markitron

Is currently staging a hunger strike outside Gearbox HQ while trying to hate them to death
Bluemercury said:
Perfect, that way Nintendo can actually make an offer for the ips and brand at least.
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I wouldn't want Nintendo to have the Rare IP's. This is the company that is currently wasting the best IP's in gaming. All we would get from them is a couple of poxy 2D Banjo platformers and Joanna Dark in Smash Bros. Maybe
 
Freeman

Freeman

Banned
With KI MS probably realized they don't need Rare and can just hire third party studios to work on Rare's IPs. I think would be a terrible choice if it ends up being something like this.
 
B

Bluemercury

Member
Markitron said:
I wouldn't want Nintendo to have the Rare IP's. This is the company that is currently wasting the best IP's in gaming. All we would get from them is a couple of poxy 2D Banjo platformers and Joanna Dark in Smash Bros. Maybe
Click to expand...

Retro would probably deal well with these ips...
 
C

clutch.as.it.gets.

Member
I never understood why they never went all in on Banjo Kazooie. What they did with Nuts and Bolts was an joke. The Banjo games were about exploring atmospheric and charming worlds full of stuff to do and secrets to find.

In Nuts and Bolts the levels were shallow, empty and just not fun to explore. Only the hub world - showdown town - fit those criteria and was the only good and fun part from that game.

And - of course - it sucked big time, that they thought it would be cool to remove the platforming/the moves to give us shitty vehicels to drive in those shallow, empty worlds with their 5 mission types/mini games available.
 
Matesamo

Matesamo

Member
As someone who was shocked and dismayed when Nintendo sold Rare to Microsoft, they really have not done all that much since that I really was impressed with. I thought Perfect Dark was good, Viva Pinata cute but everything else was blah. Hopefully they get a second wind and use some of the characters they have the rights to instead of family Kinect games.
 
V

Vinc

Member
Conker please... oh dear... please do Conker. I'm really liking Phil Spencer as head of Xbox, it truly gets me excited about the platform again.
 
S

Senor Kami

Banned
Hale-XF11 said:
They're sitting on a goldmine of franchises and they're trying to figure out what to do? Ha, ok.
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Yeah, but when's the last time they put out an entry in that goldmine that was well received? They haven't done crap with conker other than remake it when everyone wants a new one and there's tons of new movies and stuff to riff on. They put out a new Banjo game and made it a car building game that nobody wanted. They stunk up the joint with Perfect Dark Zero... How many series do they have to ruin before fans stop asking for them to do it one more time? Where on thrice and people still want more.

They only classic Rare franchise not ruined was Killer Instinct, solely because it was given to another studio and Rare wasn't allowed to touch it.
 
M

Markitron

Is currently staging a hunger strike outside Gearbox HQ while trying to hate them to death
Senor Kami said:
Yeah, but when's the last time they put out an entry in that goldmine that was well received? They haven't done crap with conker other than remake it when everyone wants a new one and there's tons of new movies and stuff to riff on. They put out a new Banjo game and made it a car building game that nobody wanted. They stunk up the joint with Perfect Dark Zero... How many series do they have to ruin before fans stop asking for them to do it one more time? Where on thrice and people still want more.

They only classic Rare franchise not ruined was Killer Instinct, solely because it was given to another studio and Rare wasn't allowed to touch it.
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Whilst this is all true it doesn't mean that I want them to stop trying. Like I said in an earlier post, just because it's not the old Rare, doesn't mean they can't make great games. They just need to realise what people liked about them i.e. don't make a sequel to one of the best platformers of all time a car-building game
 
D

DistortionOfReality

Member
Banjo or Conker. Do it.

It would work be job 1 for getting me to buy an XB1...

7vgxxKG.jpg
 
ElRenoRaven

ElRenoRaven

Member
DistortionOfReality said:
Banjo or Conker. Do it.

It would work be job 1 for getting me to buy an XB1...

http://i.imgur.com/7vgxxKG.jpg[IMG][/QUOTE]

NOOOO!!! At least don't touch Conker. What made Conker so great was the folks who made it. Hell Chris who voiced Conker is gone so he wouldn't even have the same voice. So I'd just rather them leave Conker buried. Now Banjo meh they can do whatever with. I was never attached to that series even though I loved the games.
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M

megalowho

Member
Going through this tread and realizing I'm not really enthusiastic about any of Rare's franchises, only Viva Pinata and I doubt we ever see another one of those. Maybe I'm just done with mascot platformers at this point. With the turnover and direction shifts that studio has seen, I'd rather they just work on something original. Maybe a few smaller arcadey projects before ramping up to something more substantial.
 
1

10k

Banned
Not like Microsoft has a bunch of Unused IP's lying around from when they purchased rare.

Perfect Dark, Banjo, Conker's?
 
S

Sponge

Banned
Dunno how Conker could work without Seavor. Then again Microsoft has Halo still going without Bungie so maybe a reboot wouldn't be that bad. I still think they seriously are under using Banjo. He has mascot potential for the Xbox. You can find Halo and Mario toys just about anywhere, if I were a kid I'd buy Banjo merch.
 
S

Sydle

Member
Am I the only one here who wants a controller-based Wave Race game based on their KSR event? It's a beautiful game, just needs more tracks, events, and controller input. Wouldn't that be easy to flesh out and release as a $15 game? I know it's not particularly innovative, but racers seem to do well on Xbox and we don't have a water sports racing game on One. They could layer on different event types, more player customization, and community challenges.

Maybe I just need a new Hydro Thunder, but this just seems like a no-brainer given that so much of it is there to build on and what types of games the Xbox audience gravitate towards. Could probably have something out by the holidays with DLC to follow next year.

The more I think about it the less I want Rare working on only big games that we see every other year. I'd love to see an "Arcade" team working on rotation to deliver a couple titles a year, with a bigger team working on their AAA game(s).
 
Hale-XF11

Hale-XF11

Member
Senor Kami said:
Yeah, but when's the last time they put out an entry in that goldmine that was well received? They haven't done crap with conker other than remake it when everyone wants a new one and there's tons of new movies and stuff to riff on. They put out a new Banjo game and made it a car building game that nobody wanted. They stunk up the joint with Perfect Dark Zero... How many series do they have to ruin before fans stop asking for them to do it one more time? Where on thrice and people still want more.

They only classic Rare franchise not ruined was Killer Instinct, solely because it was given to another studio and Rare wasn't allowed to touch it.
Click to expand...

I agree with all that. However, I still think they have a chance to turn things around and make the games that people want. They just have to make the choice to do that. They have the money and resources. They can make it happen, but only if they choose to make it happen. Granted, I have very little faith that they will make the right choices.
 
D

DanteSparda504

Banned
I love Rare and I feel that their Xbox games have been just as good as their Nintendo games. Viva Pinatas one of my favorite games and Nuts & Bolts was incredible.

However, it is becoming more and more obvious that Microsoft doesn't believe in Rare. From not letting them make games to not marketing their games when they do make them. So if Microsoft has given up on Rare then take their IPs and hire other developers to make games. Like what Sony did with Sly Cooper and what Microsoft did with Killer Instinct.

Ressurect Banjo, Conker, Kameo, Perfect Dark, Battletoads. Market them. Rake in the cash.
 
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