Rare Connection – Nintendo Power Interviews Mark Betteridge on Killer Instinct Gold

Ahead of the race.

Twycross, England is not a place where you would expect to find one of the world’s top video game development companies, but there amidst the sheep and hedgerows you’ll also find SGI Challenge computers and Lotus sports cars. “It’s a bit nicer than Liverpool,” says Simon Farmer of Rare Ltd. with expected British understatement. “It’s very green and quiet and I think that keeps everyone focused on the work.”

These days, Rare has focused much of its programming and artistic talent on the creation of Nintendo 64 titles. Killer Instinct, Blast Corps. and Goldeneye 007 will be Rare’s first N64 offerings from Nintendo, which holds a minority stake in the British company. Chris and Tim Stamper started the software house more than a decade ago and, over the years, they have proven that they have stuff to make hits. The Battletoads (NES), Donkey Kong Country (Super NES) and Killer Instinct (arcade) each broke new ground and set new standards for the video game industry.
For Rare, the creation of games has always been something like the creation of a sports car, an analogy which isn’t so farfetched when you see the Rare parking lot.
Tim Stamper designs the sleek look of the car while his brother, Chris, builds an engine to match. That philosophy remains intact today, although the company has grown to include a development and support staff of almost one hundred and Tim and Chris no longer work intimately on every project.
Simon Farmer, who recruits computer and art school grads for Rare, looks for a dedication to quality in new hires. During Power’s recent trip to Rare, we saw evidence of that talent everywhere.

Killer Graphics

One of the highlights of our trip was the discussion we had with Killer Instinct‘s creator, Mark Betteridge. Mark was obviously excited by the prospects for the KI N64 game, in part due to a recent breakthrough achieved by the development team.That breakthrough allows the new 3-D backgrounds for Killer Instinct to be displayed at 60 frames per second, equaling the speed of the rendered character sprites used in the arcade games. Mark demonstrated the difference between 30 frames per second, which is common to most N64 games, and the speed of the new KI.
The phrase “as solid-as-a-rock” comes to mind, because there is no shimmy or blur even when the camera moves quickly.
The biggest change for the N64 version of Killer Instinct will be the use of 3-D backgrounds and dramatic camera movements highlighting the effects of combo and special moves. “The camera can zoom in or shift its angle to highlight moves,” Mark explained as he moved the camera perspective of the Alias-rendered background for TJ Combo’s home arena to demonstrate how it will look on the Nintendo 64.
“You can use subtle camera shifts to emphasize the drama of a move and the 3-D backgrounds. For instance, the camera could drop to a low angle and tilt upward to watch the fighter make a particular combo. On another combo, the camera could zoom in to capture the action.”
Mark also explained why they didn’t create 3-D polygon fighting characters in addition to the new backgrounds.
“Certain views may not play well, even though they might look cool. For instance, you don’t want to block the view of one player during the action. The way we’re doing it, you’ll still get the dramatic views, but the 2-D game mechanics that players already understand won’t be compromised.”
Another benefit of using a limited 3-D view is to maintain the sophisticated look of the rendered KI characters. Mark revealed that two or three new characters will be included in the game and that most of the characters used in KI 2 will return. “We get a lot of feedback from arcade players on which characters are the most popular,” said Mark. “In most cases, that’s what guides our decision to include or exclude a character.”

Natural Born Killer

Killer Instinct for the Nintendo 64 will be more than a perfect arcade translation.
“The goal has always been to make it even better than the arcade game,” Mark pointed out. “In each KI we’ve made improvements and that will be true of the game mechanics in this version, as well.”
The new fighting engine used in KI 2, however, will be the basis of the game, including such innovations as Super Moves and parrying.
“The most important thing is to balance the play so that both pros and novices get something out of it,” Mark continued. “KI does that with the idea of combos. You have all these moves that you can string together to get something even more incredible, but you can also just hit and block.”

This eight megabyte Killer will also include stereo music, vocals and sound effects, blending four digital samples at a time. The richness of the music will be matched by the graphics since there is no loss of colors on the N64. The game’s speed will also match the lightning quick play of the arcade game. Mark and his team are looking at ways to include handicaps and saves in the one-player mode. Some parts of the game are still in the think tank, Mark admitted. For example, they haven’t quite decided how best to take advantage of the N64 controller.
They also have yet to decide which of the characters will be in the game, including the new characters. We do know that Fulgore and TJ Combo will be included, since we’ve seen the backgrounds for those two characters.
Finally, we asked Mark what he thought about working on the N64.
“It’s very well thought out,” he began. “Some of the things I particularly like are the quality of the polygons, the speed and high end functions. You can do incredible things with reflections, for instance.” Players will see many of those functions reflected in the new Killer Instinct.

Equally Rare

Power’s visit to Rare also included stops with the teams working on Blast Corps. and Goldeneye 007. We found the same mix of enthusiasm and talent in both groups. The Blast Corps. team works under the eaves of the converted farm house, which is the central building at Rare. The red brick building dates back about 300 years, but the Onyx and Indigo SGI computers found beneath its roof contain some of the most sophisticated technology available. We found that several of the team members were rookies in the world of video games, having been hired straight out of school, but veteran designer Martin Wakeley and programmer, Richard Wilson, admitted that the rookies were showing them a thing or two. “I actually started out as a video game artist,” Martin told us, “but when I look at the things these guys are doing it amazes me.” Some of the most amazing graphics are the animations of explosions, which actually look better on the N64 than on an SGI workstation.
We also discovered hidden talents in the Goldeneye 007 team. Prior to our arrival at Rare, the team had gathered new motion capture data in the studio.
Since they didn’t have Pierce Brosnan handy to make the moves, they conscripted game designer Duncan Botwood.
“I had to die 20 different ways,” Duncan admitted with a smile. “It’s a lot harder to die than you might think.”
Of one thing we can be certain. Rare’s Nintendo 64 (and other) video games won’t die for lack of creativity and quality. It goes to the heart of what Nintendo and Rare have always tried to achieve, which is to give players the most fun in the most advanced games. It’s truly a rare partnership.