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Wonktonodi on 23 March 2015
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Goatseye said:
Wonktonodi said:
Goatseye said:

Why not? The common perception here on VGC is that MS restricted their creative freedom.

In the article he mentions that. So here is an article debunking a fallacy.


It debunks it and legs to a new perception that's also wrong. Some in hear are saying they must have given to much freedom, others are saying what does almost more even mean.

I think it's best to say the why when it's known, instead of focusing on one of the why nots and leaving people still speculating on an answer that is there because it's not in the text quoted or the main link posted

"Meanwhile, Playtonic's technical director, Jens Restemeier, shot down that whole "Microsoft killed Rare" thing, stating that "It wasn't like that. They gave us freedom, almost more freedom than Nintendo gave us."  Last paragraph of the article.

It's an EX-RAREWARE EMPLOYEE statement, whether people want to believe this time or not, that's up to them. It's not what some of them want to hear/read.

 

 


From the guardian interview linked near the top of the story.

On the subject of old Rare, the popular story is that when Microsoft took control of the studio, it restricted the team’s creativity, and insisted on a more corporate approach, killing the unique atmosphere. Playtonic denies this.

“For me, it was more about [Rare founders] Tim and Chris Stamper leaving,” says Playtonic technical director Jens Restemeier, who worked at Rare handling handheld conversions of key titles. “There was no sense of progression about what the company was going to do from that point on. The story people want to hear is that Microsoft came in and destroyed everything. It wasn’t like that. They gave us freedom, almost more freedom than Nintendo gave us.”

Chris Sutherland, a 25-year Rare veteran and now project director at Playtonic, agrees. “When any company grows, you’re going to hit problems,” he explains. “At Playtonic, we don’t have an upfront design document, but if you’ve got a company with 50 people then you’re suddenly burning money away and you have to give them something to do and it’s got to be something you know you’ll use.

“Planning up front means you know those people are working, but the downside is you’re locked into a way of working. That’s fine when you’re writing a sequel to something, but if you’re trying to do something original and creative from the start, it’s quite tricky to ask: ‘what’s this person going to be working on in three weeks?’Well, I don’t know what the game is going to be in three weeks! That’s as much of an issue. You see that in any large organisation.”