Rare’s Thomas and Cook on Viva Piñata

Rare, once a key player in Nintendo’s empire, changed hands in 2002 to join Microsoft Game Studios. Although under new management, the developer continued working on titles begun under Nintendo; Perfect Dark Zero, Kameo: Elements of Power and Viva Piñata.

Gamasutra interviewed software engineer James Thomas and designer Justin Cook designers on the Viva Piñata franchise about being eclipsed by Gears of War, the history of Rare and plan’s for its future.

You’ve no doubt read Gaming Today’s coverage of the bitterness over the marketing of Viva Piñata for its simultaneous release with Gears of War. This innovative title is one of the trade marks of a company not content to stick with the status quo. Rare’s developers have traditionally stretched the boundaries with titles such as Viva Piñata, Grabbed by the Ghoulies and Mr. Pants.

JT: I think anyone can do a generic FPS if they wanted to, but I think a lot of the games we produce have some sort of hook into them that sets them aside from the rest of the market. I think there’s a great big scandal in Formula 1 this week, the managing director of one of the teams basically said, “If you’re going to steal ideas, you’re never going to come first. You always have to try and lead, not constantly play catch-up.” Hopefully we’re leading rather than catching up.

Thomas and Cook talk about the upcoming Viva Piñata for the DS, Mr. Pants, Perfect Dark Zero and Conker’s Bad Fur Day as well as hinting at future projects. Read the full article on Gamasutra.