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Jeph Perez - The Rare Historian

@peg-leg-perez.bsky.social

Historian of game studio Rare Ltd. Formerly of everything. Once appeared in an E3 trailer for a cool pirate game. Overly fanatical about Rare and Rare-adjacent studios Bylines at @rareandfriends.bsky.social, @rare-gamer.bsky.social, and @windowscentral.com

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Jeph Perez - The Rare Historian@peg-leg-perez.bsky.social · last mo.

From the June 1996 issue of Nintendo Power Nintendo Power visited Rare HQ at Manor Farm in Twycross, England, a few years prior to their move to their current home at Manor Park (just down the road). They covered Killer Instinct Gold, Goldeneye, and made brief mention of Blast Corps.

Rare Connection 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 the 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, product manager 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-ren-dered background for T 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 back-grounds. "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 con-tinued. "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 exam-ple, 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 T 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 qual-ity. 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.
Rare Gamer@rare-gamer.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Did you know that Conker's Bad Fur Day had three chapters that were cut for time? Here's the three sequences that would have had Conker riding a hog air balloon, fighting a cheesy king, and revealing what was meant to be hidden inside the Windy Windmill!

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Jeph Perez - The Rare Historian@peg-leg-perez.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Wishing Craig and Louise all the best as they move on to their next adventures. They have both been amazingly kind to me over the years, and they have both made a personal impact on my life in countless ways.

VGC@videogameschronicle.com · 3mo ago

Xbox Game Studios boss Craig Duncan has announced he's leaving the company, 18 months after taking on the job. Former Everwild producer Louise O'Connor is also leaving her role as Xbox chief of staff. vgc.news/news/xbox-st...

Graslu00@graslu00.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Playing Perfect Dark in VR was the best shooter experience I've had with virtual reality and it's just an alpha version. It's insane how well these games go with VR!

Jeph Perez - The Rare Historian@peg-leg-perez.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Somehow missed entirely that this was coming out. I’ve never actually considered ordering one of these til now. I don’t need it. I don’t need it. I don’t need it. I don’t need it. I don’t need it. I don’t need it. I don’t need it. I don’t need it. I don’t need it. I don’t need it. I don’t ne

A first4figure statue of the Jinjonator from the video game Banjo-Kazooie
DK Vine@dkvine.com · 6mo ago

Your pirate can get a free Jinjo emote, complete with a mention of Treasure Trove Cove in the description, right now in the Sea of Thieves Pirate Emporium.

A purchase screen for the Help Me emote in the Pirate Emporium showing the pirate Captain Cussin’ Russel doing a Jinjo “HELP!” pose. “In far-off Treasure Trove Cove, this is recognised as a plea for help. On the Sea of Thieves, people will just think you've had too many grogs.” Screenshot from Sea of Thieves.
Jeph Perez - The Rare Historian@peg-leg-perez.bsky.social · 6mo ago

This artwork is wonderful, and the ignorance in the replies accusing Rare of using AI demonstrates a sad reality we live in. Folks are quick to accuse and jump on the bandwagon based on terrible AI detectors, and are too lazy to zoom in and verify brush strokes and that there are no AI oddities.

Rare Ltd.@rare.co.uk · 6mo ago

It was Conker's Bad Fur Day's 25th anniversary last week, and to mark the occasion @robinbeanland.com, the original composer of that bawdy ordeal, has whipped up a remix of its iconic club music! 'Rock Solid Revitalised' is available now on a bunch of music platforms. Marvellous.

The cheery faces of Conker and Berri, a red squirrel and chipmunk respectively, smile at you over a green grid-like background disappearing into the distance. Title below reads 'Rock Solid Revitalised', and the image also features the logos for Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Apple Music, Deezer, Tidal and TikTok.
Chris Marlow@chrismarlow666.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Just to clear things up. This cover artwork was definitely not created by AI, but by the incredibly talented Pete Hentze, a long time Rare artist, and one of the concept artists on Conker: Live and Reloaded! 🙂

Rare Ltd.@rare.co.uk · 6mo ago

It was Conker's Bad Fur Day's 25th anniversary last week, and to mark the occasion @robinbeanland.com, the original composer of that bawdy ordeal, has whipped up a remix of its iconic club music! 'Rock Solid Revitalised' is available now on a bunch of music platforms. Marvellous.

The cheery faces of Conker and Berri, a red squirrel and chipmunk respectively, smile at you over a green grid-like background disappearing into the distance. Title below reads 'Rock Solid Revitalised', and the image also features the logos for Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Apple Music, Deezer, Tidal and TikTok.
Jeph Perez - The Rare Historian@peg-leg-perez.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Cheers to 25 years of Conker's Bad Fur Day! From the first time I saw the cutscene that opened "The Assault" on IGN, I became obsessed with this game and followed it closely for the rest of its development. I paid an older kid to buy it for me at launch because I was 15 when it came out. Legendary.

A photo showing the instruction manual and N64 cartridge for Conker's Bad Fur Day. The cartridge is autographed by Robin Beanland and Chris Marlow
Rare Ltd.@rare.co.uk · 6mo ago

Want to carry 14 @rare.co.uk games in your pocket, but lack the spacious leg wallets of a '90s skater? Enter: The HyperMegaTech Super Pocket Rare Edition! 14 classic Rare titles built-in, Banjo-Kazooie optimised to work on a D-Pad, plays @evercade.co.uk carts, available in June.

Rare Gamer@rare-gamer.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Back when Viva Piñata was released, Burger King gave away these fab figurines (they are hollow shells with a small gift inside) with their kids meals. Anyone else got these in their collection?

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