I'd always go back to him and say 'Here's some' and he'd go 'No, more things'. " Banjo-Kazooie had a lot of great things about it, so one of the first things told me was 'Make sure there's lots to collect'. For Rare co-founder Tim Stamper, that meant emphasizing item collection above all else:
All three developers had prior N64 experience, which would have made them an asset to this project.ĭuring this time, Rare had already released a successful 3D platformer that carried on some of Donkey Kong Country's traditions in Banjo-Kazooie, and so one of the team's main priorities was distinguishing the Donkey Kong series in a 3D setting. He later stated that, while it was perhaps not the best decision in hindsight (with Banjo-Tooie and Perfect Dark also in the pipeline), he did it anyway because he was friends with Andreas and enjoyed working on the series. Banjo and GoldenEye 007 composer Grant Kirkhope was asked to help DKC3 musician Eveline Novakovic ( née Fischer) with the audio work, and eventually took over the music side (with Novakovic providing sound effects).
To accommodate the new direction, the game's design and software leads were switched out for Banjo-Kazooie co-designer George Andreas and an unnamed programmer (possibly either Blast Corps lead engineer Richard Wilson or Diddy Kong Racing software director Robert Harrison, as DK64's engine appears to share DNA with both titles). If this is indeed referring to DK64's original incarnation, then the game was moved to cartridge format at some point, likely around the time it was rebooted. In July of 1997, IGN and GameSpot (via Dengeki Magazine) reported that a Donkey Kong game was being developed for the 64DD, slated for release sometime in 1998.
A 64DD Title?įind the actual Dengeki article (issue 14?) and see if it adds any extra context (and even lines up with anything else). Observing the trend of 2D series going the Super Mario 64 route in 3D, the team decided to scrap what they had and start over with a similar approach. After about a year and a half, it became apparent that the game in its current form was not going to work out (though artist Mark Stevenson asserts that, given it was the N64's early period and there was no common framework yet, the same amount of time would have been spent "getting stuff up and running anyway"). However, the team was still new to 3D development, and "weeks and weeks" of work would result in extremely short levels that could be completed with minimal effort. Following the precedent set by previous titles, the game was originally conceived as a linear, fixed-camera platformer similar to Klonoa or Crash Bandicoot, featuring a mix of sidescrolling and forward-scrolling sections. Work on what would eventually become Donkey Kong 64 started somewhere between late 1996 and early 1997, just after the team had finished Donkey Kong Country 3. November 22: The final game is released.Ĭonception and Early Development (1996-1998).September: An in-store demo is released.August: The E3 build makes a reappearance at Space World 99.May 13-15: A custom build is shown off at E3 1999.May 12: Nintendo announces that the Expansion Pak, now a requirement for running DK64, will come bundled with the game.January: The game is officially announced with a screenshot in Nintendo Power.Mid-1998: Work on the 2.5D version ends in favor of a 3D free-roaming approach.