Rare has responded to your questions!

by Paul on Mar 24th, 2009

Many moons ago we asked you to submit your questions to us and we’d send the best of the bunch to Rare so that they could reply personally. Yes, we know, we’d forgotten too. However, fortune smiles because Rare definitely did not forget – they’ve just been rather busy – and now they’ve finally been able to take a look and respond to our posers. A little late, but a personalised response ranks very highly in our book. So, what did they have to say for themselves?

1. Is it true that there’s a disc packed in w/ BK3 that contains BK and BT w/ updated graphics? (Jiggymaster)

As you have now learned, we’re re-relapsing B-K and B-T with hi def graphics over XBLA, with the addition of leaderboards and a vastly improved draw distance and frame rate. Hopefully this has left you tickled you pink.

2. What is in the works (that you can talk about) for Rareware after Banjo Threeie? (Icekey)

Still nothing I can elaborate on thus far, all I can say is that it’s very fresh and exciting. However, you’ll be pleased to hear that our four current projects all highlight our willingness to embrace new approaches and our commitment to delivering game-changing experiences to new and existing audiences.

3. Something I’d like to ask regards everyone’s favourite evil sidekick, Klungo. At the end of Tooie, the green guy said he was off to make “ssstupid gamess”. Is Klungo or any of these games going to appear within the new game? Or does it perhaps imply Klungo’s been hired as part of the 360 team instead? (Kowbrainz)

Well, it turned out that Klungo turned his hand to all round game design as you saw in the Klungo’s Arcade area of Showdown Town in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. Last I heard he was so pleased with the reaction “from the fansss” that he’s thinking about making a sequel… but you know what the videogames industry is like, it’s all so hush-hush, so don’t tell anyone I told you. Release date tbc.

4. What is the most stressful part of making a video game? (BlueBanjo109)

It’s probably the last three months and the first month of its release. The last three months is when you know you have a specific deadline to meet, so the pressure’s really on to deliver a quality game on time and up to expectations. The nature of game development means that almost invariably the end of the dev cycle carries more weight than the earlier part, so there’s always a heck of a lot to finish off and polish up for release.

Then, after that you have that horrible wait until it hits the shelves and you can find out the fans’ reaction. That in itself is a bit of an ordeal, as everybody wants their games to be well liked, especially if you’ve worked on it for a long amount of time. Luckily, Rare is blessed with great fans who are never afraid to make their opinions well known!

5. Is there any chance on finding out about possible new items that will be available in BK3? (Nickany)

Sure – there’s a whole heap of info both in the actual game and all over the internet. A good place to start would be www.banjo-kazooie.com and the game’s entry on the Rare Witch Project Wiki.

6. If Microsoft approached Rare saying they had a blank cheque and no deadlines in order to remake any one of their past games either as a 360 title or for the Xbox Live Arcade, what game would it be, and why? (Paul)

This is all hypothetically speaking, right? Well, it really would depend on who you’d ask. I think there’s probably a lot of fondness across the studio for our old 1:1 fighting and FPS games, so I’d expect a lot of people would love to see PD64 and the original KI appear in hi-def on XBLA. They’d both make for great multiplayer experiences and I could see a lot of the guys here having a blast on them over lunch times.

Speaking of blasts, Blast Corps is a game that is often spoken about in warm tones round the corridors at Rare, along with its stablemate Jet Force Gemini. They both still carry that easy to access, pick up and play feel that immerses you quickly in the game and keeps you hooked for hours.

Thinking about it though, and when you consider the popularity of games like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade and Streets of Rare 2 on XBLA, it might be more fun if we added good old Battletoads to that roster of over-the-top side-scrolling beat ‘em ups from the early ‘90s. It’d be interesting to see how people fared now that games have got so much easier in the last decade and a half!

7. Will we ever see another Conker game again? (Thumbsupmaster)

The Many Worlds theory dictates that in an infinite multiverse where all possibilities are actuated simultaneously, a Conker game will be being worked on somewhere (perhaps even by real squirrels) and will have a release date of When It’s Done™.

8. What was your favourite level in the Banjo-Kazooie games? (BlueBanjo109)

From my memories of playing the original, Click Clock Wood’s changing environment always comes to mind. I’ve always thought that it’s really cool how some of the puzzles are affected by your actions in different seasons, and Erie is still one of my favourite characters from the series.

I also love tooling around in Nutty Acres. I’m not exactly sure why I like that level so much, but there’s something about moving around the environment, be it in a plane, boat, or automobile, that’s just so fun. Also, even if it’s a little childish, the “Mumbo’s Nuts” sign still makes me laugh.

9. Is there a chance of a follow up of Banjo-Pilot, either for the 360 (full game or live arcade) or perhaps the DS? (Kowbrainz)

So glad to hear that you enjoyed Banjo Pilot so much a sequel interests you! You know what? That’s not such a bad idea! We do enjoy our light-hearted, (flying) kart-style racers here at Rare – it’s a genre that we hold very close to our hearts. You can still see memorabilia from Diddy Kong Racing, Mickey’s Speedway and Banjo Pilot dotted around the studio. Plus,the Xbox 360 as a platform is missing a kart racing game, so I think there’d be plenty of support from the powers that be within Microsoft. I think I might have to make this suggestion and say that I came up with it myself

10. Will Grunty be the main villain, or this there an even greater menace waiting in the wings? (Red-Egg)

Grunty is, will and always has been Banjo’s arch-foe beyond compare – I don’t think there’s anybody in the world she shares with Banjo that can match her villainy in terms of pure horridness. As you no doubt discovered in Nuts & Bolts, there was the additional challenge in the form of LOG, however he’s more of an unbiased observer than an enemy of Banjo.

11. What form will Gruntilda take in Banjo-Kazooie 3? (i.e. robot, full body, disembodied head, skeleton, etc.) (KazooieBanjo)

Heh, it’s funny but it actually turned out to be a combination of all four in the end, didn’t it? LOG decided to put her disembodied skeleton head on top of a robotic full body. Well, at least I think it’s robotic – i suppose it could be a genetically engineered construct, grown in a vat somewhere… golly, it really doesn’t bear thinking about, does it? Considering that the wicked old witch started her feud with the bear & bird over a desire to be beautiful through any means, she couldn’t be any further from her original aim than she is now, could she? What’s the moral of the story? Best leave well enough alone!

12. Will there be end of level bosses, like in ‘Tooie, and will you be able to replay them once they’ve been defeated? (genius41)

Replayability was at the very forefront of our minds when we were making Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, some of the most fun you can have is going back to challenges you may or may nit have had troubles completing early on in the game when you’ve collected some of the more advanced parts and built super tricked out contraptions later on in the game.

As far as boss battles goes, you have to confront Grunty at several points throughout the game before the final gigantic showdown with her at Spiral Mountain so she’s a more frequently encountered boss than in any previous Banjo game. As for more traditional boss battles (where you have to hit the weak spots for massive damage!), I’m sure you’d agree the epic battle with Mister Patch certainly fits that bill.

13. In Banjo-Threeie (or whatever you end up calling the new Banjo title), will the Furnance Fun Quiz Show make a return in the final hours of the game? I found this event to be quite unique and it’s always the highlight of the game after traversing all the worlds. (Banjofan360)

Well, we don’t like to do re-runs of old TV shows, which is why Furnace Fun didn’t make a return in its entirety, but it wouldn’t be a Banjo game if there wasn’t at least some kind of quiz section at the end. Did you get all of LOGs question right? He was keeping track of all your answers for his future games, you know…

Lots of applause and thanks to George Kelion for sorting this out for us. We love you man.

Categories: Interviews