Hey All,
Apologies for not dropping by earlier. I'm the community manager on Team Dakota, the creators of Project Spark. Things have been pretty busy this morning, but wanted to let you know we've been following this thread and others.
That's a completely understandable way to look at it. And it makes sense that anyone who was eagerly hoping to hear the announcement of a new Conker game (and there's many of you, clearly) would be at least somewhat let down.
For what it's worth, I want to give you Team Dakota's perspective. Not that it will (or should) change your mind, but so you at least have a little insight on how we're looking at it.
We love games. Old games, new games, classic games. Conker is something many of us grew up with. We love the heck out of the crazy little guy and we want to hang out with him as much as you guys do, possibly more.
Project Spark is a game that is designed to empower gamers by giving them the tools to make any kind of game they want. It's about letting you make your own rules, instead of just following the rules someone else decided to impose on you regarding how you want to play and experience your games.
Project Spark is a free digital download that anyone can play on Xbox One and Windows 8, the beta version is available right now. We're hoping to support this model is by creating the equivalent of "skins" in the form of DLC packs that provide different assets and visuals to allow creators added flexibility in creating whatever their hearts desire.
This is a pretty good overall model, since it requires us to only focus on the type of DLC we know our community will find valuable. We're a small team with limited resources, so we have to be very selective in what we spend our time creating. Conker has such a passionate and diehard following he was the clear first choice for us.
We're still working out the details of exactly how and when Conker will be available in Project Spark. At the moment, the team is heads down finishing up our Sci-Fi themed, "Galaxies," our multi-chapter adventure Champions Quest, and our multiplayer over Xbox Live feature.
We'll be releasing more details on our plans for Conker in the future. Please know that we love and respect Conker and his (in)famous history. We're huge fans of everyone at Rare and we're a very community-driven team that is always looking for your ideas and feedback. Please let us know your thoughts on what you'd consider the best and most respectful way for us to honor Conker in Project Spark.
One final note on Conkers line in our trailer. It was important to us to be as true and genuine to Conker as possible. Not only was it important to get Conkers voice right, it was equally important to let Conker be Conker. Hes not one to pull any punches, and it wouldnt have made sense for him to gloss over the fact he hasnt had a game in almost a decade. We were poking fun at ourselves, certainly not the dedicated Conker fans.
Thanks!
Mike Lescault
Community Manager
Team Dakota
Thank you for posting here and wanting to clear things up with fans. Here are some key aspects that define Conker:
-Amazing, emotive animations
-Flawless control and movement (Conker controls have a really tight feel that tie into the movements and animations)
-Wide variety of gameplay
-Rediculous characters and situations that he has to deal with (and pisses him off)
-Fully fleshed out, lively environments
-Inanimate objects with giant cartoon eyes
-Love of money, women, and alcohol
-Main hub world
-Robin Beanland Windy theme
The best way to present him in Spark would be a small game/campaign done in premade Spark Levels. The levels could have some old characters (Birdy, Don Weaso, Sunflower, King Bee, etc) as well as new characters. You could sell a Conker DLC pack which includes these campaign levels and all the objects/assets to use for level building.
If you look at the best Little Big Planet DLC you will see that the DLC has a collection of expertly made levels, this is key to the enjoyment of people who are traditional gamers and don't enjoy creating things.
I think I speak for everyone when I say that fans would much rather buy a pack of cohesive levels (campaign) tailored to Conker than have to create their own levels or find others levels online. Most of us arent interested in making our own games and would rather play a premade Conker game. It's no secret that Conker's humor comes from the situations and voice acting.
An additional way to do this respectfully is to get Chris Seavor in a positon where he can make creative decisions.
A great way to promote the pack would be having the original game ported on Xbox One or Xbox 360 for download.
I appreciate you wanting to talk to fans for input.
. Its great you guys love Conker and are giving him a faithful and proper iteration of him within Project Spark; its just that many of us here are bitter with Microsoft's treatment of Rare....so our frustration isn't directed at Project Spark at all, just squarely at Microsoft. 
