Grabbed by the Ghoulies Excerpts (2007)
The following excerpts detailing the development of Grabbed by the Ghoulies was originally published on Rare’s Scribes letter page in 2007. We’ve scoured each edition for that year in order to provide you with every mention of the title to be found in Rare’s posted answers in chronological order below.
We’ve also included a link above each heading which will re-direct to the original letters page that the question was featured in should you wish to view it in the original context – otherwise you’ll find that the entries below only focus on answers related to Grabbed by the Ghoulies for a comprehensive listing for any fan wanting further information on pre-release content, hidden easter eggs, abandoned features and development secrets:
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 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!”
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 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.”
Dear Scribes,
Earlier today, I was casually shopping at a Food Emporium, which is a pretty big supermarket. Anyway, at the checkout counters, there were DVDs and stuff for real cheap. Like, we’re talkin’ the first Spider-Man movie for 10 dollars! Anyway, I decided to take a look at what’s behind one of the DVDs.
Eh… 50 First Dates. OK movie, but…
Oh boy, some generic fishing ga-
OH MY GOD IT’S GRABBED BY THE GHOULIES BRAND NEW FOR ONLY 10 DOLLARS
Needless to say, I bought it immediately. I never played it before, and having heard good things about it (not limited to Leafos’s dialog in Viva Piñata talking about it) inspired me to buy it. Plus, it was a Rare game. I couldn’t go wrong! I can’t wait to play it. I’m writing this letter having just arrived home five minutes ago!
Steve Q.
Volleyed back to an understandably excited Banjo/Ghoulies team leader…
“Someone buying a new copy of GbtG? Now that is good news! Even better that our crafty not-so subtle advertising in VP did the trick. I think we’ll try that tactic in all our games from now on – so don’t expect to see any actual gameplay in the new Banjo as the bear will just be talking at length about why everyone should buy Viva Piñata.
“As it has taken me ages to respond to this letter you’ll probably have played (and hopefully completed) the game by now. Hope you enjoyed it!”
Ten dollars is pretty good going. I found Genma Onimusha for four quid the other week. Felt right at home as it’s got basically the same controls as Knight Lore.
You fine stallions,
I have recently become aware of a distinct lack of decent Baron Von Ghoul renders on the internet. Quite disgraceful, really – a villain of such class should be treated with greater recognition and respect. The old Ghoulies tepid seat feature offers one, but it ain’t too big. Anything hiding in the Rare archives that you could bless us with? The self portraits from the Baron’s Quarters would be, like, even more awesome.
Still a fan.
watkinzez
We are fine stallions, aren’t we? Thanks for noticing. Have a big old render.
From the Ghoulies team: “Shameful isn’t it? For such a quality boss bad guy with a silly name to be so criminally underrepresented. All I can say is – hold onto your game those that still own it (i.e. probably about 17 of you) as they will become cult classics that you can flog on eBay for big dollars in about 20 years. I’ve personally got a garage full at home and I’m hoping to retire on the proceeds.”
Dear Scribes,
Congrats on the many nominations for Viva Piñata, the award for Leafos’ voice work, and creating Jetpac Refuelled to be excellent. Actually, when I recommended it to a friend, I called it a sophisticated Geometry Wars with heart. That’s pretty close to it, don’t ya think? And without further ado:
Cat Litter) As for the Killer Plant Ghoulies whose soil pots shattered on the cutting room floor of GbtG – why were they pruned from the final game?
Berry Skittles) Eyedol’s ending in Killer Instinct doesn’t make any sense. Car crash? Billy? Bracelets? Did someone from the team create the monster’s ending after consuming some illegal fungus? Is it something to do with the epic struggle between Eyedol and Gargos? Care to explain that one?
Those Oreos with the extra icing inside) DKRDS is tied as the most accomplished remake/special edition Rare’s done to date, along with Conker: L&R. Bravo! However, there is one problem that irks me and it’s as bad as censoring the Poo Song. Spinning the tires while trying to watch the top screen for the “GO!”, then tossing my stylus like a mini-javelin so I can steer the damn car doesn’t work for most people with the limitation of owning two arms. Octoman has no problems with the game though! Why wasn’t there an option for the classic manual boost?
Green Apples) Yay! Jetpac Refuelled is out! Here’s a quickie: How many folks from the team will have the “Infection” Achievement to begin with?
Gee, looks like I accidentally spliced my Scribes letter and my shopping list. Ah, well – I’m sure there are letters with crappier formatting. I’m off to some assemble some rockets while keeping an eye out for the Rare Coin so I can unlock DK64. Oh, nearly forgot, not knowing the title for the new Banjo game’s driving me batty. Thanks a lot. Until I dig up more random stuff,
Zenek
I’ve restored the missing ‘L’ to Jetpac Refuelled for you. Somehow you managed to make the exact same typo twice. Let’s not mention it again.
Goldfish Food) “I think it was mainly due to the fact that they were immobile. In a game which required the baddies to chase you all over the house, the static plants that patiently waited for you to be stupid enough to venture close enough for them to attack seemed a bit limited. Also many of the areas that they were due to feature in were also cut (the graveyard that formed part of the church / graveyard / catacombs area that was accessed from the garden and came out in the cellar if I remember rightly).”
Fruit Polos) It makes a lot more sense if you’ve seen Blanka’s ending in Street Fighter II. But you’re entirely at liberty to think of it as some meandering drug-addled paranoid rant.
McVitie’s Boasters) Been there, tackled that – see Marko’s letter elsewhere on the page.
Crunchy Nut Corn Flakes) “I’d say you about got it with your statement, but Geometry Wars is no less sophisticated – gotta love that game, so hard but so good! As far as Infection is concerned, three of the dev team, erm… ‘Infected themselves’ before passing it onto anyone who wanted to play with them. This started a little rash of XBLA players getting the achievement, see if you can find someone to give it to you.”
My shopping list is clearly superior to yours. I wanted to put ‘Millipede Food’ rather than ‘Goldfish Food’ to give a shout out to my giant millipede – the pet of champions – but you can’t actually buy packaged millipede food so it would have been DECEPTION.