UPDATE: Kickstarter is live, funded, and up until Tuesday, June 16th! Let's hit some stretch goals!


PlayTonic site link

Go check it out! There's only a couple nuggets of info (and a mysterious piece of art), but apparently Edge will be releasing a new issue on Thursday with the first look at this new game, "Project Ukelele." My guess is some sort of Hawaiian-themed 3D platformer? I'm down.


If you’ve made it this far towards our fine internet abode, then you’ve probably worked out that we’re a new game developer, formed by some blokes who did those games you may or may not have liked as a nipper.

However, if you’ve stumbled here by accident in search of non-sexual relationship advice, allow us to explain what on Earth is going on…

Playtonic’s the name, and fun games, unique characters and absolutely-frickin-amazing worlds to explore are our game. Or at least they will be, once we eventually get around to releasing our first project instead of faffing around on WordPress.

Ahem. Currently we’re a sextet of artists, programmers and designers – sort of like The Pussycat Dolls with computer science degress – with one thing in common; we were all once core member of famous UK studio Rare, where we helmed franchises such as Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong Country and Viva Piñata.

We’ve got the bloke who programmed Donkey Kong Country, the character designer behind Banjo and Kazooie, and the artist who made your console fit to burst with lavish environments across a decade’s worth of adventure games.

Together, our all-star ensemble is aiming to build its debut game, ‘Project Ukulele’, into a worthy spiritual successor to those fondly remembered platforming adventures we built in the past.

By now, you might be thinking, ‘hold on mate, didn’t you make similar claims after drinking too many shandies in the pub in 2012, you muppet?’ Perhaps. But this time it’s real! We’re making a real, proper, actual game. Look: we even managed to trick convince Edge magazine to do us some pages!

You can read all about our venture and see the first artwork for our game in Edge issue 277, which is on sale from February 12.

So what’s next? Well first of all you need to know that our journey is at an early stage – we’ve barely left the Shire and Sean Bean’s still an alright guy.

Over the coming months we’ll reveal more about our project and future growth plans, and we very much intend to get you involved and listen to your views on our game’s direction. You’ll ultimately shape the destination of our project and we plan to continue exchanging sweet glances across cyberspace at you until we get there.

So go on then – follow us on Twitter, slap your thumbs up on our Facebook and sign up for updates. ‘ Cos it’s time to get this wagon rolling…


(well, it definitely has Rare's quirky sense of humor and unusual vernacular)

What do you think?

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I'm a huge proponent of indies but yeah, the scope is often not the same. Of course, the line is getting blurred all the time now. We just got The Witness from Jonathan Blow and that sounds like a HUGE game. Yooka-Laylee looks like a game that could theoretically have all of the meat of a retail game. And I know it is 2D but the size, scope and polish of SteamWorld Heist puts it on the same level as any other 2D retail game for me, had it released as a retail 3DS game through a publisher I think it would have fit in fine.

I just find it odd when people say there is nothing to play on the Wii U, but they totally ignore indies. Or more likely, ignore indies except for Shovel Knight. Shovel Knight seems to be the one indie people who won't play indies will play. Kind of reminds me of the people who wouldn't touch the Wii except for Super Mario Galaxy. Like yeah, it's an amazing game, play it for sure but there are other games.

Posted by

Zero

on: 02/13/16, 16:52

Edited:

02/13/16, 16:52

I too kinda miss the days of getting blindsided with a Resident Evil 4. And I'm a fan of indies as well (obviously).

Posted by

TriforceBun

on: 02/13/16, 17:55

We kind of got blindsided with Bayonetta 2, right? I can't imagine much of anyone was expecting that as a Wii U exclusive. And whether it is your jam or not it got a ton of praise and is considered one of the best in that genre.

Then again Nintendo had to fund that personally to make it happen. 3rd parties just stepping up to support the Wii U on their own with brand new, huge retail games is not something we have seen very often. ZombieU I guess? Rayman Legends too, though it turned into a bit of a fiasco.

Posted by

Zero

on: 02/13/16, 19:42

Edited:

02/13/16, 19:49

@J.K. Riki

Nope, I agree with basically everything you said. Well said.

Posted by

carlosrox

on: 02/13/16, 21:06

@Zero

Yeah, Bayonetta 2 was definitely a Resident Evil 4 style amazing blindside! That was a wonderful surprise. I would like to see more! But even more than that, I'd be okay with non-exclusives that were released for everything, too. It just feels like Nintendo gets the shaft so, so often. I know it's partly their own fault, but still, would be nice.

Definitely agree about Steamworld Heist. Shantae also blurs that line for me between "indie" and "third party" for the most part. It's like that series is one "element" or something away from full-on retail release-like feeling... Dunno. It always sits in a strange spot in that way.

Posted by

J.K. Riki

on: 02/13/16, 21:19

@Zero

Good point, I kinda forgot about Bayonetta 2. It does seem like the exception that proves the rule in this case, since 3rd-party biggies like that were more common even in the GCN days. But that's the kind of strong, high-budget 3rd-party (2nd-party?) offering that I'd like to see more of on Nintendo systems.

Posted by

TriforceBun

on: 02/13/16, 21:33

@TriforceBun

Indeed! Make it happen, Nintendo!

(I do often wonder why Nintendo doesn't toss a few hundred thousand dollars into some of these super-Indie devs to allow them to polish up stuff to this GCN-era biggies, and then 2nd Party Publish them. Feels like that's a smart move in many [though not all] cases!)

Posted by

J.K. Riki

on: 02/15/16, 18:01

@J.K. Riki Well, a few hundred thousand dollars doesn't really do much. I mean, to an indie dev like me that'd be like YES PLEASE but to a team capable of making GC-level biggies that'd be like a few months salary tops for all of their employees.

Posted by

Zero

on: 02/15/16, 22:51

Lots of new Yooka-Laylee news today.

http://www.playtonicgames.com/raising-the-curtain/

They revealed the final boss of the game, two additional new characters (or three if you count the unnamed goldfish swimming around in one character's fishbowl helmet), showed off what the Pagies look like, mentioned that Butterfly Energy is the life meter in this game while Quills are this game's version of the Musical Notes from B-K, covered the game's premise, and announced their intention to still stick to the October release window (though they suspect they might end up delaying it). They also announced that the people who ordered the Toy Box demo will receive that in July.

I don't totally get what they're going for with the newly announced "power meter", but everything else sounds excellent.

Posted by

V_s

on: 05/21/16, 00:28

The new YL stuff looks nice, but it does look like a Banjo game with different characters. I was hoping the game would have its own flavor, not just character transplants from the BK games.

Posted by

WrathOfSamus777

on: 05/21/16, 20:26

Edited:

05/21/16, 20:26

It's definitely got a little bit of Donkey Kong mixed in with the B-K stuff what with the mine cart levels and hidden arcade cabinets in each level.

But I'd argue that it does still have a bit of its own flavor since you can apparently visit whatever worlds you want rather than having to follow a particular order, you can alter your characters' stats through new items (and choose how to distribute those stat changes), you've got a very different kind of story it seems like, and then you've got whatever the power meter is since that's brand new and not something that you'd find in B-K or DK.

Posted by

V_s

on: 05/22/16, 04:56

@V_s
Ah ok cool. I'm hopeful. This one should be coming to NX.

Posted by

WrathOfSamus777

on: 05/22/16, 05:40

My only concern is, is this game still releasing on Wii U?

Posted by

Mop it up

on: 05/23/16, 19:43

@Mop it up

Yeah, it is. You can contact them and ask to change to a different console if you originally requested the Wii U version, but they're still planning on releasing it on the Wii U. (They haven't announced any plans for the NX yet though.)

Posted by

V_s

on: 05/24/16, 01:49

@Mop it up

I am fully confident they will not screw over Wii U folks. They HAVE to release it pretty much on Wii U as so many backers were for the Wii U specifically. They'd be going back on their Kickstarter promise if it didn't come to Wii U. I think that was the main console for this no?

Posted by

DrFinkelstein

on: 05/25/16, 03:44

DrFinkelstein said:

@Mop it up

I am fully confident they will not screw over Wii U folks. They HAVE to release it pretty much on Wii U as so many backers were for the Wii U specifically. They'd be going back on their Kickstarter promise if it didn't come to Wii U. I think that was the main console for this no?

True. Thats what Project CARS did, kept their word for the Wii U backers.

Posted by

Mr_Mustache

on: 05/26/16, 02:20

@Mr_Mustache Exactly. And that certainly isn't the only example of something like that. There is no such thing as a "promise" on Kickstarter, which is one of my issues with it.

Posted by

Mop it up

on: 05/26/16, 20:48

@Mr_Mustache / @Mop it up

The team who built their careers on Nintendo are not going to abandon the Nintendo fans who supported them. I guarantee it. Quote this upon release please.

Posted by

DrFinkelstein

on: 05/27/16, 01:37

Haven't really been paying attention to this development, since I'm not a backer, but I'm interested in seeing how the gameplay looks in this Toy Box demo folks will be playing.

Posted by

nate38

on: 05/27/16, 02:35

@WrathOfSamus777

Well, the project was pitched as a "spiritual successor" to games like Banjo-Kazooie, so I'm fully expecting a game like that but with Yooka and Laylee "transplanted" in. That's kind of exactly what I want, to be honest.

@DrFinkelstein

Koji Igarashi should take that approach, too. So far it's worked out well for IGA and Nintendo fans. But that's only because his KickStarter blew the doors off of everything.

Posted by

GameDadGrant

on: 05/27/16, 03:30