GameCity '07: Rare talks Viva Piñata

NOTTINGHAM--Viva Piñata evolved into the colourful, visually striking game it is because it was originally going to be released as a mobile phone game, Rare told attendees at Nottingham's GameCity event. Concept artist Ryan Stevenson showed the audience the screens from the original version, and said that although they successfully did what Rare set out to do, it just didn't excite them much.

Stevenson also explained how he came to the idea of using piñatas in the game. He said, "I looked at a variety of different things, including aboriginal art--I really liked the patterns, cave paintings, African sculpture animals, and the Mexican day of the dead festival." When he looked at the original drawings based on these influences they reminded him of something--a piñata he'd seen in a Mexican restaurant in New York.

Stevenson thinks it's important to do things this way as a concept artist. He told the audience that he thinks it's best to start with a clean slate, and avoid being influenced by other games and versions. Otherwise artists will just end up with a watered-down version of what they're emulating.

He also revealed that the Rare team became rather obsessed with the game during development. He said, "At the time we had a list of 140 animals and one of the designers had a board up with all the names and how they linked like a mad underground map...We even concepted what the game disc was going to look like. That's how obsessed we became."

He also let slip how a lot of the sound effects were made in the game. He laughed, "A lot of the noises are members of the team being put in a studio and told to do things like quack like a duck. It was lots of fun."

Of course, that game was only the beginning for the Viva Piñata franchise. Stevenson said, "It's a big IP--and it's only just beginning for us. We think it's got legs." Merchandising will follow, with piñata-themed toys going on sale in the US and UK, a cartoon which is currently being shown on the 4Kids TV network in the States, Viva Piñata: Party Animals coming out on the Xbox 360 for the holiday season, and a Nintendo DS version of the original game in the works.