Rare Working On Natal Projects

[Keane Ng]

Rare Working On Natal Projects

Banjo Kazooie devs Rare were missing in action during all of this week's E3 convention, because they're too busy working on mysterious projects for Microsoft's new Natal technology.

Since Microsoft gobbled them up Rare has always played a prominent role in the company's new initiatives, usually with some sort of project showcased during the E3 expo. But this year Rare was basically absent from the E3 spotlight, a no-show at Microsoft's press conference and the show floor alike. What gives? Were they too afraid of coming to LA because of the swine flu?

According to Microsoft's Shane Kim, swine flu had nothing to do with it. Rare were just too busy to come to E3. Too busy doing amazing things. "Rare is intimately involved with Project Natal in a number of different dimensions," Kim told Kotaku [http://kotaku.com/5279213/microsoft-rare-working-on-numerous-natal-projects]. Natal, if you've been living under a rock or without internet for the last week, is Microsoft's just-debuted magic device for the 360 - a camera that can recognize motion, visuals, and sound, and, Microsoft hopes, the way to a lucrative "controller-free" game experience.

So what exactly is Rare working on for Natal? Kim obviously wouldn't say, but it sure does sound mysterious! "They're doing an awful lot of work, even outside the traditional game space, I would say," Kim revealed. "Unfortunately I can't go into a lot of detail about that. Rare is alive and well and really having a broader impact on the entire Xbox world than just doing the games they traditionally have in the past."

I can imagine Viva Pinata working really well with Natal, maybe you can even interact with your piñatas a la Peter Molyneux's "Milo" virtual boy project. Actually, scratch that. That could get a little bit inappropriate [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/92169-Molyneux-Unconcerned-About-Milo-Abuse].


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[Virgil]

Although, I've heard that PDZ is bad, and that's the only Rare game that I can think of that I haven't played..

It's not bad. It's just not Goldeneye.

 

[Aardvark Soup]

I still have the idea Rare is better at designing games where you fight an opera-singing poo with a squirrel than this uncanny valley-stuff. Seriously, that boy is creepy.

 

[Utarefson]

They would need to come up with a good camera control.
Or they make a classical horror game/anything else with a fixed camera.
Seriously, the golden days of rare are over, i doubt they'll make something new

 

[The Shade]

Hmph. Come back when VALVe is making something for Project Natal.

I'm afraid I'm not as familiar with the collected works of RARE to really know if their games would translate to motion control very well.

 

[-Seraph-]

NO Rare, get back to making me Killer instinct 3...NOW!!! I will not tolerate anything else.

 

[HardRockSamurai]

It's a shame RARE didn't present anything for E3 (personally, my inner child is praying for them to remake Jet Force Gemini), but if they're working on something involving Project Natal, then it's bound to be good (unless it's something involving those damn avatars.)

Either that, or they're wallowing in despair for what they did to Banjo Kazooie.

Hell yes? I love Rare for all they've done, despite alot of fanboys being bitchy about Nuts and Bolts being a racing game.

Dude, they took the platforming out of a Banjo Kazooie game..........it doesn't even sound possible..........

 

[ElArabDeMagnifico]

I don't even get how project Natal is supposed to make the experience better or something. How are you supposed to "jump forward"? What happens when you get 'shot' - are you supposed to grab your chest and go "ARGH!" so that Natal knows that you know you got shot? Seriously this seems to be made for minigames like that ball bouncing thing they showed. Though after looking at milo, I could really use that for a game like Mass Effect or something.

 

[KeyMaster45]

Hell yes?

I love Rare for all they've done, despite alot of fanboys being bitchy about Nuts and Bolts being a racing game.

So keep bringing in the good games Rare, I love you for them.

I consider myself a banjo fanboy in the regards to my world stops at the mere hinting at a possible game with them in it. But I enjoyed Nuts and Bolts immensely, I can't tell you how many hours I spent just enjoying the vehicle building system. Sure it was a huge deportation from the original banjo formula, and I must admit I'm slightly saddened by it and hope for another one with the old formula. Nuts and Bolts though was exactly what Rare wanted it to be, a banjo fan's wet dream. So many subtle (and unsubtle) inclusions of the first two games. Hell Banjoland was basically a theme park designed for fanboys (for the record I'd pay $50 a ticket to get in). I can't tell you the nerdgasm I had at the sight of the original N64 rendered transformation statues in Banjoland.

It was almost Rare's last hurrah for its bygone series with references ranging from Grabbed by the Ghoulies to Viva Pinata. It was a great game in my opinion and a great way to bring banjo and his crew into the current generation of gaming. I can only hope with Grunty locked up within L.O.G's video game factory plotting her most diabolical game yet Banjo will don his backpack once more for a jiggy hunting adventure (on foot this time please?) in the near future. Mayhaps Natal will have us beating the old witch in even more interesting ways than before.

Flapping your arms to make Kazooie fly? Swatting at the screen to make Banjo punch enemies? Dear god the possibilities are endless! An opportunity to beat what little is left of Grunty's body into the dirt with my "bear" (oh yes I went there) hands!

 

[murphy7801]

milo is the pedophiles dream game and seems super creepy i can imagine rare making something really fun with it and im looking forward to that (is Peter Molyneux on crack find out 2010)