In violent times, you shouldn’t have to sell your soul
In Mini-Scribes, they really really ought to know…

Q: Yo. Old-school Banjo fan here. I want jumping, Jiggies, Jinjos. Make the vehicles vanish and all that jazz you’ve been receiving, etc. Yeah, I want a new Banjo game that’s a you-know-what-er. I bet all that sounded like the stuff you get all the time. So I’m not gonna spend this letter bugging you guys about the possibility of a new Banjo platformer, even though I personally think the Xbox needs a traditional platforming mascot.
   Rather, I was wondering if you could shed some light on some of those concepts that were being kicked around before the vehicle idea for Nuts & Bolts was decided on. You know, the more traditional follow-up for Tooie. How far in the development process did you guys get with those ideas before they were scrapped? Any fun tidbits you could share about that?
   Merry Christmas, assuming you get this before Santa falls down the chimney faster than Banjo the pumpkin. If it’s after the 25th, happy new year. If it’s after that, er, happy Valentine’s Day? Maybe this letter will fall into the void that all those unsold Grabbed by the Ghoulies copies went to.
   Gregor Machenspiel

A: Marvellous name. Have you thought about being a supervillain? You could have a machete and a glockenspiel. You could even team up with Eda Torpeda from the last Mini-Scribes to form a crime-fighting duo and/or firm of solicitors. We would seriously consider using Machenspiel & Torpeda for any small claims/vigilante needs.
   What was your question again? Oh right. I don’t think it went very far down the brand new traditional platformer route – it wandered briefly down Banjo-Kazooie remake alley and stopped for a sandwich in Banjo vs. Grunty competitive collectathon plaza before thundering onto the motorway of game-altering vehicular twists behind the wheel of a mental flying car with ejector seats and a flamethrower.

Q: Sup Rare,
   I have a few things to ask if I may.
   1. After Kinect Sports, if you were to create a new IP, what would your preference in genre be?
   2. I’ve been playing some games made by a company called Twisted Pixel games and I always get sudden nostalgia when I play. Have you played any of their games and what do you think of them?
   3. Will Kinect Sports have an unlockable Banjo costume? I think fans of Rare would enjoy that.
   Thanks for listening, and I think it’s great that you’re developing Kinect games.
   Jimm

A: 1) That’s a big question, Jim-double-m. We’ve prototyped all manner of stuff over the years, the majority of which you will – melodramatically – never see. Everyone’s got an idea, but these days teams and budgets are so big it all comes down to greenlights and marketability. Plus if we just say “MMORPG” or “3D fighter” it will solidify into fact on the forums in about 45 minutes.
   2) Most of us here are keen gamers – personally I played a lot of ‘Splosion Man (we referred to it on Twitter back in the day as “kind of like DKC for people who’d rather blow stuff up than befriend an ostrich”) until being stopped short by my own bumbling gamer rage. Comic Jumper has also provided many of what the kids call ‘lols’.
   3) Haven’t heard anything, and that’d better not happen before a Mr. Pants costume anyway.

Blast from the Past: April 3, 2003

Q: OK, check this out. I had a 43 year old lady co-worker come over for dinner over a year ago. The last time she played a video game was on Atari. While she was over I showed her Conker’s Bad Fur Day on N64. She was into it so much she went out the next day and bought it and an N64. She was hooked. Now she is playing all kinds of games on the N64 years after they came out. Hey, they’re new to her.
   Now she bugs me at least once every two weeks about when the next CBFD is coming out. All I can tell her is that if it does it will probably be on Xbox. Can I get any info on the next BFD so she will leave me alone? Like if it is even being thought of being made. I loved the game myself but I just want something to tell her to get her off my back?
   Grnsuperman4

A: It doesn’t matter how many different ways you phrase it or how bizarre the story you use to back up your request, the answer to the “is Game X coming out?” question will always be the same (at least until it’s officially announced): maybe. Unless you’re talking about sequels to Taboo or Anticipation, of course, which are slightly further down the priority ladder despite the demands of their small army of scary cultist fans.

Got a question for Scribes/Mini-Scribes? Send it here. We reserve the right to dive on it like a sapphire in a lagoon of anthracite or shun it like it’s complained to the police about our late-night party in a residential area. If it’s good, we will answer. Unless we can’t, or won’t. Or just don’t.