It looks lie fans are getting another shot at playing Rare’s furry misfit, Conker, but hardly via the return anyone expected.
Developed by Project Spark creator Team Dakota on the Project Spark engine, Conker’s Big Reunion will follow Conker’s continuing exploits in an ongoing episodic series a decade after his N64 crass cult-classic, Conker’s Bad Fur Day. According to their latest interview with IGN, the development team wants to ensure that Conker’s return is faithful to the “Conker spirit.”
“This meant self-deprecating humor, jokes referencing the original, game jokes and parodies, partying, some adult language, acting quite silly, a bit of violence, and a lot of poo of course,” Conker’s Big Reunion creative director Henry Sterchi said. “Conker has always had a wit to the humor and we focused a bit more on the layered joke approach this go around, but there’s definitely some shock value moments and a bunch of “I can’t believe he/they just said that” types of laughs.”
On top of its naturally unnatural humor, actor Chris Seavor will be back back to voice the squirrel with a ‘tude while Team Dakota’s reportedly working closely with original Conker developer, Rare, on the game’s creation. Project Spark initially introduced the world to Conker’s return this past E3, which Sterchi says was instrumental in spurring Rare’s involvement.
“When the opportunity for Conker came up, we reached out [to Rare] and shared our general plan to make sure we were on the right track,” Sterchi continued.
“As we got near E3, we knew we needed the original Conker, so we reached out to Chris Seavor, who was no longer at Rare. When we shared the plan and showed him what Project Spark was, he was excited to bring in Conker. Rare gave us all the original assets we’ve needed, including the original music. Pretty much everything from tone, to scenarios, to music, etc. Rare has given feedback and help all along the way, it’s been tremendous.”
The “Conker Creation Pack” will give Project Spark players roughly 300 Conker assets, including characters, props, terrain materials, effects, all of them taking nods from Conker’s Bad Fur Day. Some remastered original music and audio files will also be up for grabs.
Sterchi commented further on the idea of bringing Conker back, saying that it was something of a labor of love.
“The team was really excited because there was a lot of love and nostalgia around Conker (funny enough, one of our designers was even a tester on the original way back). Conker broke so much new ground back in the day. From breaking the 4th wall, to the quality and richness of the characters and world they created, to the humor, and what was one of – if not the first real “reluctant hero.”
The Project Spark marketplace will have Conker play and create experiences available individually and or bundled as digital downloads this April 23rd.
We’ve been dreaming of a Conker game for a while now ourselves, but we’re curious: do you want to see Conker in Project Spark or are you waiting for a more traditional experience? Let us know in the comments below as we wait for further word on Conker’s future.
Via IGN