Early AccessAttract Mode
wfmag.cc \ 13 Nature’s beauty acted
as one of Tamarin’s four
core creative pillars. Heading off the beaten track
can lead to secret areas full of
surprises.NORDIC AND NICE
“We tried to make different locations based on that sort of scenery, so you go through
forests, coastal areas with fjords, and mountains,” Sawi explains. “We also researched
{arious species that li{e thereŬ 8e haP specific flowers anP trees, anP we chose them
very carefully so that they’d stay true to that biome – bluebells, spruces, and hazel
bushes – and tried to use them in the right places. I actually had a plant expert from
France, who is also a 3D modeller, so he helped to make some of those. His knowledge
helped a lot. Also, the fact that I could go home and just study these things, take
pictures, and reference these things where I grew up helped as well.”this iconic character that could be recognised.”
Eventually, he adds, things turned in a more
stylised direction.
In choosing such an agile creature in the
Tamarin, Chameleon was able to plough
headfirst with its desire to create an adventure-
platform-shooter hybrid, that mixed genre itself
being reminiscent of famed Rare games.
“We spent a lot of time just getting the basic
controls right,” Sawi explains. “The way you
move, jump, and just the way they have to
catch things. You can run
around in quadruped
mode, which is the
animalistic perspective, to
use your acrobatic moves
to solve puzzles or get
around environments by swimming, leaping, and
running. And then you have the shooter parts
where you’re in bipedal mode. You’re walking
like a human and can use weapons and tools
that are the key to how you proceed through
the environment.”
Collaborating with veteran Rare developers
enabled Tamarin to incorporate elements from
the company’s back catalogue. The inclusion of
helper characters, akin to Bottles from Banjo-
Kazooie, is a cool throwback to the studio’s
golden era. Collectables form part of the
experience too, such as rescuing innocent birds,
which gives players the opportunity to explore
Tamarin’s idyllic settings and locations. Even the
game’s soundtrack will have a familiarity about
it, with former Rare composer David Wise’s
soaring score helping to direct your emotions
throughout Tamarin’s plot.
“David’s music is very beautiful,” Sawi says.
“I think that’s a really good fit for a game
about nature because, for example, you have
the Donkey Kong Country series that were in
natural environments and they had a really nice
atmosphere. That was something we wanted
to capture, and the music helped so much with
that to create that contemplative or darker
mood from those older SNES games.”
Tamarin isn’t the first game to try and
revitalise those halcyon Rare days. Playtonic
Games’ Yooka-Laylee, also developed by ex-Rare
personnel, received mixed reviews following
its release in April 2017. While capturing the
feel of 3D platformers from that bygone era, it
struggled to shake off concerns around such
genres being outdated. There could be an
inclination to pre-emptively critique Tamarin
similarly thanks to its own Rare-esque style.
For Sawi, however, keeping these gaming genres
alive in an industry increasingly focused on
whatever is profitable and nothing else is more
important now than it ever was.
“There are so many games nowadays that
start by exploring DLC or games-as-a-service
or they don’t focus
on giving you a good,
traditional experience,”
he says. “I think a lot
of big companies just
want to get the money,
and games these days are all about grinding.
I hope there will be more games like Tamarin
and that genre won’t go away. We need single-
player or story-based games where it’s possible
to finish them, and there’s a satisfaction from
concluding them.”Early AccessAttract Mode
“Blending cute graphics
with adult themes is
something I’m inspired by”wfmag.cc \ 13