Playtonic Universe - Problem?

[Taylor]

Playtonic have made it clear that they want a world of characters that meet in each other's games.

Does this mean Playtonic is 'doomed' at only using cute, mumbling characters for the rest of time?

If Playtonic decided to design a human character that could talk, would they blend into Yooka-Laylee's world?

I guess it's a bit like Banjo-Kazooie crossed with Perfect Dark. I can't see it working...

Thoughts?

[GeneralWalnut]

I think it means for the foreseeable future that doing cartoonier games is what they've elected to do. There were a lot of teams at Rare, and I think that may be the reason we saw stuff like Banjo and also Perfect Dark.

I don't think that means everything Playtonic ever does will have to fit that mold, but I think if their interest remains adding to a shared universe we'll probably see games that are mostly aesthetically similar to Yooka-Laylee for quite a while.

That being said something that may happen is that there are a lot of other Rare vets out there, a number of which have already formed studios. You can bet that a lot of eyes are on the success of Yooka-Laylee, waiting to see what ultimately comes of it, and I think that's something that could spark more of them going down that route.

[Nanirourou]

I reckon not ALL the games will fit in the same universe. That seems extremely restrictive to their creativity and flexibility, which is what they set out to preserve by starting Playtonic. I still want to see lots of cute, cartoony games, but I'd also welcome a more realistic Perfect Dark kind of title. I'm all for letting them make whatever worlds and gameplay experiences they want to create.

That being said, I'd be cool with a dark shooter, and in the secret stealthy infiltration level located in the Siberian tundra you walk by a snow plow colored like the Y-L transformation!

[Taylor]

[Scrubber]

Although I am more than happy for all their games to be colourful and cartoony, if they wanted to do something a bit more realistic it could simply be unrelated to Y-L and set in a different universe.

[BlackKoromon]

Could you not see, for example, Hot Gruntilda working in Aperture or Solid Snake on the phone to Trowzer about some unusual and much needed weaponry? There are ways to cross over the characters without breaking the veil of seriousness of the setting for those not in on the joke.

[Werehog]

While I do see the possibility of some problems arising with putting more comical characters in more serious works, on a visual design stand point there shouldn't really be a problem. For example, Trowzer in a dark gritty shooter could look vastly different than his look within Yooka-Laylee and visual appearance is a good part of atmosphere building.

Also keep in mind that less serious characters incorporated well could bring needed levity to a tragedy or drama.

[John]

Yes, the Playtonic Universe will be the same style of characters as Banjo/DKR/DK64. While Rare had Goldeneye and Perfect Dark, those teams had a lot of developers who aren't in Playtonic (except for Kirkhope's music). The Banjo Team is a better representation of the type of guys who are working in this studio.

[Rueckkoppler]

[Meinhard1]

Interesting question!!!

The vibes I get from this team is that they prefer to keep things fun and lighthearted.
And that's not necessarily a limitation. Pixar and Miyazaki films go all sorts of places artistically and explore the gamut of human emotions, while sticking to a generally colorful, fun aesthetic. That is all within an audio-visual language that appeals to children.

In a way, the sort of "limit" of placing games in the same world can make their games more unique.
Like how Nintendo's approach to a survival/scary game was Luigi's Mansion. Bringing that sort of game into the Mario Universe posed interesting challanges, and Ninty came up with equally interesting solutions (speaking of Luigis Mansion GCN, especially.)

I think we can all think of times in our lives where having a set of limits, force us to think outside the box in innovative ways. (Similarly we've all had time's where endless possibility has left our knees shivering!)
Playtonic are going to bring all these different genres into their world, and it's gonna be great.
...although we maybe won't get a spiritual successor to Perfect Dark from them anytime soon.

[BlackKoromon]

Speaking of such things, I very much approve of Nintendo's take on a multiplayer team-based online shooter. Vastly more compelling than anything their competitors offer.

[NPChilla]

I think it depends on how stylised "realistic" characters are.
It's like Link and Samus appearing with Mario and Pikachu - it works because they're not so designed in such a way that it becomes jarring.

[EekumBokum202]

I don't see how the presence of a single, lone character from another game not made by Playtonic can make people this upset. He probably won't take up that much screentime, heck you probably don't even HAVE to interact with him; the game is designed so that you don't have to collect all the Pagies or go for 100% completion beat the game, you can easily never have to interact with him. But no, it seems for some people, his mere existence within this game somehow "ruins" it, and no longer makes it a 10/10 game.

I seriously can't believe someone genuinely, unironically said that on these forums. X(