Rare focusses on casual titles, I thought? Their next game is supposed to be another Kinect title. Maybe they are resurrecting Joy Ride 2?
Microsoft making at least four new IPs
- Thread starter GarthVaderUK
- Start date
Rare focusses on casual titles, I thought? Their next game is supposed to be another Kinect title. Maybe they are resurrecting Joy Ride 2?
While their current output is Kinect games and contributions, it's not impossible that they work on a "core" game - it even is rumored they work on two games and two new ip's.
I just hope they move away from "menu gameplay". N&B, VP and even KS suffered from core gameplay being either interrupted or framed by tedious, multi layered menus. It destroyed the pacing of N&B in many places.
I have thought about it, but then I remembered that usually these threads start off with a lot of trolling and actual discussion never happens untill most of them leave. I'll keep dumping info here once and a while, people who are interested keep up with this thread and know I'll usually post something worthwhile
CrunchinJelly
formerly cjelly
I have thought about it, but then I remembered that usually these threads start off with a lot of trolling and actual discussion never happens untill most of them leave. I'll keep dumping info here once and a while, people who are interested keep up with this thread and know I'll usually post something worthwhile
It is sad how true this is.
I still believe in Rare. I believe they are making a couple of great games right now. It is sad to me how people are willing to just poo-poo the entire studio. Kinect Sports games were fun and oozed Rare charm. They've still got it.
I have thought about it, but then I remembered that usually these threads start off with a lot of trolling and actual discussion never happens untill most of them leave. I'll keep dumping info here once and a while, people who are interested keep up with this thread and know I'll usually post something worthwhile
I agree, this thread has all the infos I guess. I could not take any mroe "lol kinect" for the first 3 pages.
Maybe with the right title it could work?
I wonder how "core" gaming can become with Kinect though
I dunno, and I don't know what Kinect 2 can do, maybe it's pretty sweet.
GarthVaderUK
Banned
I have thought about it, but then I remembered that usually these threads start off with a lot of trolling and actual discussion never happens untill most of them leave. I'll keep dumping info here once and a while, people who are interested keep up with this thread and know I'll usually post something worthwhile
I wonder if the mods have the ability to transfer post ownership? Maybe they could give you mine in this thread...
EagleBurnn
Banned
Please don't start a new thread. The "all games are Kinect lawl" from users who I know only game on PS were quite fucking annoying.
Crackdown 2 actually did pretty damn well considering the (8 month?) development time, shows how much potential the IP has, it'll be a shame if it fades away, but I wouldn't be surprised if it does under incompetent Microsoft.
I agree, this thread has all the infos I guess. I could not take any mroe "lol kinect" for the first 3 pages.
Maybe with the right title it could work?
I dunno, and I don't know what Kinect 2 can do, maybe it's pretty sweet.
No matter what, I'd take something like Kinect Adventures or Kinect Sports over yet another FPS or action-adventure anyway. Those games were great fun with friends.
Yeah I thought it bombed but looks like it still was profitable considering the very short development time. And with the tweets from MS higher ups, I'm 99% sure we will see more Crackdown next gen.
GarthVaderUK
Banned
No joy on the post ownership change. If you want to throw it all together for the OP at some point, just PM it to me and I'll post it up for you
quickwhips
Member
I guess I was only one that like crackdown 2. I enjoyed the 4 player coop. Flying around the city was really cool. I felt like a bad ass at the end just like crackdown 1. I hope they make a 3rd one. I wish they would do more with the vehicle transformations. I just thought they were so bad ass. Also hoping that we get a new splosion man game. Shadow Complex 2 would be amazing. I also would love to see a 3rd person battle arena game like wow for xbox. I think with some classes this could have a great community.
Yeah that shit does get old very quickly. Really looking forward to the possibility of a new Crackdown next gen, especially at launch. I would hope for not only more variety with the gameplay but more interactivity with the city as well, ( actually being able to go into other buildings besides the agency would be a nice start)maybe some destructible environments. Be cool if you could shoot a rocket at an over pass crushing a group of enemies under it, throw people through windows and walls etc.
Sniper:Ghost Warrior 2 uses Cryengine
CrunchinJelly
formerly cjelly
That can't be true... I mean, a developer other than Crytek using CryEngine? 😉
Well, according to this, the game is Ryse...
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-06-27-crackdown-2-studio-working-on-ryse-with-crytek-report
Miles Quaritch
Member
Ruffian weren't fully responsible for Star Wars Kinect, the lead developers were Terminal Reality if I am not mistaken.
It's also very well known that Microsoft didn't Ruffian more than a few months to develop Crackdown 2.
http://uk.ign.com/articles/2010/07/02/ruffians-hell-high-times-with-crackdown-2
What they managed in those 8 months shouldn't be discounted, especially the 4 player co-op.
Miles Quaritch
Member
I have thought about it, but then I remembered that usually these threads start off with a lot of trolling and actual discussion never happens untill most of them leave. I'll keep dumping info here once and a while, people who are interested keep up with this thread and know I'll usually post something worthwhile
I think you should push ahead with a new thread, hopefully if that one is full of "lol Kinect", the mods might actually awaken from their slumber and lay down some guidelines about not using that in every single Xbox related thread.
statham
Member
small team too. around 30-40
HollovVpo1nt
Banned
So does Nexuiz
Unfortunately it is so, but I'm stupid and I continue to hope for a new Conker.I hope MS has more than 4 new AAA IP for the next xbox since it has lost many exclusive to the 360 and can not continue indefinitely only with Halo/GOW/Forza/Fable.I'd like to see new rpg, action, tps, Platform.
Rare is in such a weird place. Their output has been abysmal to be frank, so people not expecting much from them are completely valid. I am still interesting in what the new head and manager will do though. Both of them are known to juggle multiple productions and release products regularly. Then there is Phil Harrison too, he oversees the studio now.
You could say I'm not optimistic, but more how can they screw this up more curious.
You could say I'm not optimistic, but more how can they screw this up more curious.
Plus with the tax incentives to come online at around April it gives them more incentive to try new stuff.
IOnEI Falcon
Member
The potential output that was cancelled is crazy!
Perfect Dark Core
Kameo 2
The two Banjo racers
Urchin
Banjo-X
Arc Angel
SoulCatcher
Cascade
Sabreman Stampede
And several others that have been mentioned by previous developers but have no name...
Yup.
Most of the core staff has already left for iOS land. New head, new manager, new designers, new artist being brought it. Might as well stop calling it Rare.
EagleBurnn
Banned
If Rare makes PGR5, all is forgiven.
It had to happen eventually, right? Rare have survived several generations, but sometimes you need fresh blood and new ideas to move forward and survive as a company.
Personally I would love to see another Viva Piñata, Conker, Kameo and Banjo. At this point I don't even care if they are made by a 3. party studio.
Most of the old guard could come in as consultants though and I'm sure most wouldn't mind it at all - it would boost morale @Rare
ChosenPredator
Banned
having Conker return would be most excellent...i wish i still had the xbox game so i could play it on my og xbox
Best version is still N64 had more weird MP modes and had less bleeping of the swear words.
IOnEI Falcon
Member
Well that has been one of the many rumors flying around...new name. I personally doubt it though.
I can't even imagine the backlash. I doubt they'd do it too, way too much pedigree in the name alone, and I think it'd be even more demoralizing to the people that work there or have worked there for a long time. That they've just become another unit in the MS machine.
This was from an older thread:
That line really stuck out. Rare's new concept artist hires all have a really realistic look to their art: guy one, guy two and guy three.
A gaffer then replied:So Nintex and I did a little diggin:
Take in account that his other clients, besides Rare, are not actually big studios or game related.
Like I have said before, with the recent hirings of race devs, I think they are working on a reboot of PGR.
That line really stuck out. Rare's new concept artist hires all have a really realistic look to their art: guy one, guy two and guy three.
I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouse, but I'm already happy that the Xbox has two fantastic driving game franchises (both under the Forza umbrella) so I would rather see Rare do something else, but hey another good racing game can't hurt. Better than another Kincect game.
EagleBurnn
Banned
I agree, I'm perfectly fine if Rare isn't making PGR5 since we have two very different racers under Forza, but at least we'll know Rare is back in the game if they announce they are. If Rare is making a new IP, we won't know if Rare is back until said IP is released, and frankly, I just don't want to be worried for that long. I want to look forward and be hyped for a Rare title again.
Locking away all Rare's IPs seems like such a waste, even if barely any of the OG team still works there. The least they could do is to farm them out to third parties for XBLA games. I'd be happy to see "low budget" sequels to Conker, Banjo, Battletoads, Killer Instinct, Blast Corps, Perfect Dark, Jet Force Gemini, etc, while the new Rare focuses on new AAA IP.
I feel like Sony would have been willing to test out all those IP's if they had bought Rare, but I totally agree that Rare would be great as one of Microsoft's number one go to XBLA developer for the next console. I'm expecting we're going to see a lot more games like Alan Wake's American Nightmare which are basically big budget games boiled down to their purest form, so I'd love to see Rare make a new Conker, Killer Instinct, etc.
I remember hearing about a new Kameo, but I really don't know how realistic that is. It's been so long since the 360's launch...I think they made Perfect Dark Zero out of necessity, one because it was too high-name of an IP to waste at the time, and the other reason being MS wanted an exclusive, big-name FPS at launch to recapture some Halo magic, and that's likely why it was rushed and felt so sloppy. Kameo was like a nice little surprise it seemed, but I'm not sure how well it did or how much Microsoft saw it as a helper to the 360's eventual success.
When it's all said and done, I'm really excited to see if Microsoft is ready to give Rare the ball again, but I'm also worried that Rare has either lost it's touch, or has lost most of the talent that made it one of the hottest companies in the game when Microsoft bought them.
EDIT: My guess is they keep Perfect Dark buried; too much bad blood and not enough incentive, especially when Halo is still relatively strong. It's a shame because Perfect Dark was one of the most interesting franchises out there, but hey if you don't make good games that sell you're gone. I think Kameo could be possibly revived, but it almost has to have some big Kinect focus since Microsoft loves getting Kinect on the brain for kids. Same for Viva Pinata. Conker is a really strange title, but I could see it being an XBLA game for sure, and selling well. Killer Instinct has a much broader appeal than Conker, but I think it could be another very strong XBLA game. Banjo is really in a strange spot, but there's still hope there.
I really think it would be in Microsoft's best interest to actually let some of their other developers make some new Rare IP based games.
I remember hearing about a new Kameo, but I really don't know how realistic that is. It's been so long since the 360's launch...I think they made Perfect Dark Zero out of necessity, one because it was too high-name of an IP to waste at the time, and the other reason being MS wanted an exclusive, big-name FPS at launch to recapture some Halo magic, and that's likely why it was rushed and felt so sloppy. Kameo was like a nice little surprise it seemed, but I'm not sure how well it did or how much Microsoft saw it as a helper to the 360's eventual success.
When it's all said and done, I'm really excited to see if Microsoft is ready to give Rare the ball again, but I'm also worried that Rare has either lost it's touch, or has lost most of the talent that made it one of the hottest companies in the game when Microsoft bought them.
EDIT: My guess is they keep Perfect Dark buried; too much bad blood and not enough incentive, especially when Halo is still relatively strong. It's a shame because Perfect Dark was one of the most interesting franchises out there, but hey if you don't make good games that sell you're gone. I think Kameo could be possibly revived, but it almost has to have some big Kinect focus since Microsoft loves getting Kinect on the brain for kids. Same for Viva Pinata. Conker is a really strange title, but I could see it being an XBLA game for sure, and selling well. Killer Instinct has a much broader appeal than Conker, but I think it could be another very strong XBLA game. Banjo is really in a strange spot, but there's still hope there.
I really think it would be in Microsoft's best interest to actually let some of their other developers make some new Rare IP based games.
So this job posting reappeared but has been worded a bit differently:
Notice the overabundance of noting "External partners". Plus "Create compelling, innovative experiences from scratch"= other way to word new IP creation?
Yeah, that sounds like a good idea too.
Date: Feb 17, 2013
Location: Guildford, GB
Job Category: Software Engineering: Development
Location: Guildford, GB
Job ID: 823806-101752
Division: Interactive Entertainment Business
Online Tools Programmer
Interactive Entertainment Business: Europe, Middle East, Asia
Location: Lionhead Studios, Guildford UK
Package: Competitive Salary + Bonuses + Benefits
Role Purpose
Lionhead Studios is seeking an experienced and enthusiastic tools programmer to work on an exciting and ambitious new title.
Demonstrating a passion for high quality work in an agile environment, the ideal candidate will be able to develop a variety of tools to support the management of assets, data and online services.
The role will focus on designing and implementing a rich, highly usable toolset to ensure that key studio workflows are efficient and productive.
Team/Department Mission
Are you a highly talented individual who enjoys a challenge and is brimming with drive and enthusiasm? Do you feel your skills and talents are waiting to find the right creative environment in which to thrive?
At Lionhead we strive to create successful, landmark games and to be one of the world’s most respected developers. To that end we are continually looking for bright, talented individuals to join our team. We are well aware that new employees and fresh ideas keep us the dynamic and creative Studio that we are!
Key Accountabilities:
•Development of tools to support asset management, data management and online service monitoring
•Work closely with users, designers and developers to create efficient workflows for the management and operation of key online services
•Ensuring usability of supporting tools whilst maintaining high quality and minimising technical debt
•Create and maintain lightweight technical and user documentation where necessary
•Communicate effectively with non-technical users and stakeholders
Key Success Criteria:
•Studio productivity is improved and maintained at a high level during Production
•Blocking issues and bugs are fixed promptly and correctly
•Existing tools and middleware solutions are identified, used where appropriate and modified when needed
Knowledge, Skills and Experience
Essential Experience
•Proven experience of working with users to define and refine tools requirements
•Experience of developing responsive, usable and clean user interfaces
•Experience of implementing tools within a Microsoft technology environment , such as C#/ASP.NET, HTML5/Javascript and Python
•Knowledge of common web data formats, such as XML and JSON
•Experience of consuming asynchronous online APIs in client applications
•Demonstrated ability to work with existing codebases and middleware tools frameworks
•Strong problem-solving and debugging skills
•Working in an Agile/SCRUM environment as part of a multidisciplinary team
http://www.microsoft-careers.com/jo...ammer-Microsoft-Studios-Lionhead-Job/2384421/
So we can expect from Lionhead finally a new IP and Fable 4.Curious to see the improvements of this software house without Molyneux.
Location: Guildford, GB
Job Category: Software Engineering: Development
Location: Guildford, GB
Job ID: 823806-101752
Division: Interactive Entertainment Business
Online Tools Programmer
Interactive Entertainment Business: Europe, Middle East, Asia
Location: Lionhead Studios, Guildford UK
Package: Competitive Salary + Bonuses + Benefits
Role Purpose
Lionhead Studios is seeking an experienced and enthusiastic tools programmer to work on an exciting and ambitious new title.
Demonstrating a passion for high quality work in an agile environment, the ideal candidate will be able to develop a variety of tools to support the management of assets, data and online services.
The role will focus on designing and implementing a rich, highly usable toolset to ensure that key studio workflows are efficient and productive.
Team/Department Mission
Are you a highly talented individual who enjoys a challenge and is brimming with drive and enthusiasm? Do you feel your skills and talents are waiting to find the right creative environment in which to thrive?
At Lionhead we strive to create successful, landmark games and to be one of the world’s most respected developers. To that end we are continually looking for bright, talented individuals to join our team. We are well aware that new employees and fresh ideas keep us the dynamic and creative Studio that we are!
Key Accountabilities:
•Development of tools to support asset management, data management and online service monitoring
•Work closely with users, designers and developers to create efficient workflows for the management and operation of key online services
•Ensuring usability of supporting tools whilst maintaining high quality and minimising technical debt
•Create and maintain lightweight technical and user documentation where necessary
•Communicate effectively with non-technical users and stakeholders
Key Success Criteria:
•Studio productivity is improved and maintained at a high level during Production
•Blocking issues and bugs are fixed promptly and correctly
•Existing tools and middleware solutions are identified, used where appropriate and modified when needed
Knowledge, Skills and Experience
Essential Experience
•Proven experience of working with users to define and refine tools requirements
•Experience of developing responsive, usable and clean user interfaces
•Experience of implementing tools within a Microsoft technology environment , such as C#/ASP.NET, HTML5/Javascript and Python
•Knowledge of common web data formats, such as XML and JSON
•Experience of consuming asynchronous online APIs in client applications
•Demonstrated ability to work with existing codebases and middleware tools frameworks
•Strong problem-solving and debugging skills
•Working in an Agile/SCRUM environment as part of a multidisciplinary team
http://www.microsoft-careers.com/jo...ammer-Microsoft-Studios-Lionhead-Job/2384421/
So we can expect from Lionhead finally a new IP and Fable 4.Curious to see the improvements of this software house without Molyneux.
It says new title, that doesn't necessarily mean new IP. Although I hope that they could push something other than Fable out the door.
Miles Quaritch
Member
Rumoured to be working on an MMO game as well as a new Fable.
MMO is apparently a new IP.
The old ads were talking about a new IP in single player but with a strong online component.
I do not think it will be a real MMO.
Wasn't the last nugget about Rare was that they were working on a water racing game?
Raven77
Member
Broski, hate to be the dream-crusher here but the heart and soul of Rare left a while back (literally, a few of the guys that basically made Rare "Rare" left Microsoft).
Don't be shocked if we never see anything out of them that matches their previous glory.