''Project Dream'' was the
codename
A code name, call sign or cryptonym is a code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may also be used in industrial c ...
of a
role-playing video game (RPG), ''Dream: Land of Giants'', that served as the basis for the 1998 game ''
Banjo-Kazooie''. Developed by
Rare, it was aimed for release on the
Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), and later the
Nintendo 64
The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and ...
(N64). The plot followed a young boy, Edson, who caused trouble with pirates. The SNES version of ''Dream'' used an
isometric perspective and had a
fairy tale theme. After transitioning to the N64, the project became a more complex
3D RPG that had a greater emphasis on the pirate theme. Eventually, ''Dream'' was scaled back to a linear
platform game
A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...
in the vein of ''
Donkey Kong Country
''Donkey Kong Country'' is a 1994 platform game developed by Rare (company), Rare and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It is a Reboot (fiction), reboot of Nintendo's ''Donkey Kong'' franchise and foll ...
'' (1994) that starred Banjo the bear, who became the protagonist of ''Banjo-Kazooie''.
The game was developed by Rare's ''
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest'' (1995) team over 16 months. It was inspired by
Japanese RPGs and
LucasArts adventure games
From the late 1980s to the early 2000s, LucasArts was well known for their point-and-click graphic adventure games, nearly all of which received high scoring reviews at the time of their release. Their style tended towards the humorous, often ir ...
, and the name ''Dream'' emphasized its fantastical themes. ''Dream'' was not completed because Rare believed it was too ambitious and different from their previous games. The game that became ''
Conker's Bad Fur Day
''Conker's Bad Fur Day'' is a 2001 platform game developed and published by Rare for the Nintendo 64. The game follows Conker, a greedy, hard-drinking red squirrel who must return home to his girlfriend. Most of the game requires the player ...
'' (2001) led them to retool it into a platformer inspired by
Nintendo’s ''
Super Mario 64''. The ''Dream'' concepts were re-integrated into ''Banjo-Kazooie'', which released to critical and commercial success.
Premise
During most of its development period, ''Project Dream'' was a
role-playing video game (RPG) that focused on a boy named Edson and his pets Dinger the dog and Billy the parrot.
In its story, a band of pirates led by Captain Blackeye searched for "floaty", a substance that would allow their ships to fly.
Edson got into trouble with the pirates and set off on a journey with his girlfriend to escape them.
The
Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) version of the game employed an
isometric perspective and had a
fairy tale theme.
Edson used a wooden sword to fight
troll
A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human be ...
s and Dinger performed actions to assist him, such as going ahead and digging holes to find items. Occasionally, a
dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
would appear and attempt to crush Edson by stepping on him; falling leaves and the
virtual camera system
In 3D video games, a virtual camera system aims at controlling a camera or a set of cameras to display a view of a 3D virtual world. Camera systems are used in video games where their purpose is to show the action at the best possible angle; m ...
shaking warned the player when it was approaching.
When development transitioned to the
Nintendo 64
The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and ...
(N64), ''Dream'' became a larger RPG rendered in
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics, or “3D graphics,” sometimes called CGI, 3D-CGI or three-dimensional computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data (often Cartesian) that is stored in the computer for t ...
.
The pirate theme became more dominant than the fairy tale one.
As development progressed on the N64, the game went through radical changes. Edson was replaced twice, first by a rabbit and later by Banjo the bear, who became the main character of ''
Banjo-Kazooie''.
The final version of the game was a linear
platformer
A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action game, action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform game ...
in the vein of Rare's ''
Donkey Kong Country
''Donkey Kong Country'' is a 1994 platform game developed by Rare (company), Rare and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It is a Reboot (fiction), reboot of Nintendo's ''Donkey Kong'' franchise and foll ...
'' games, and bore little resemblance to the earlier versions.
Development
After
Nintendo released the SNES,
Rare used the profits they made from
Nintendo Entertainment System games to invest in
Silicon Graphics
Silicon Graphics, Inc. (stylized as SiliconGraphics before 1999, later rebranded SGI, historically known as Silicon Graphics Computer Systems or SGCS) was an American high-performance computing manufacturer, producing computer hardware and sof ...
workstations. Rare used this high-end technology to develop ''Donkey Kong Country'' (1994), which was a critical and commercial success, becoming the second bestselling SNES game behind ''
Super Mario World
''Super Mario World,'' known in Japan as is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It was released in Japan in 1990, North America in 1991 and Europe and Australia in 19 ...
'' (1990).
After finishing ''Donkey Kong Country'', Rare staff decided to apply the technology to a new game that was not a platformer. They settled on developing a RPG, as they were all fans of the genre. The
codename
A code name, call sign or cryptonym is a code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may also be used in industrial c ...
''Dream'' was chosen because they wanted their RPG to have a fantastical, magical feel.
''Dream'' used ''Donkey Kong Country''s graphics technology to an advanced level.
It was inspired by
Japanese RPGs and
LucasArts adventure games
From the late 1980s to the early 2000s, LucasArts was well known for their point-and-click graphic adventure games, nearly all of which received high scoring reviews at the time of their release. Their style tended towards the humorous, often ir ...
; the team wanted to combine those games to create one with a "Rare flavour".
''Dream'' was developed by Rare's ''
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest'' (1995) team and was announced in 1995.
As development progressed, the team felt it was too large for an SNES
cartridge
Cartridge may refer to:
Objects
* Cartridge (firearms), a type of modern ammunition
* ROM cartridge, a removable component in an electronic device
* Cartridge (respirator), a type of filter used in respirators
Other uses
* Cartridge (surname), a ...
and the introduction of the N64 rendered the Silicon Graphics technology obsolete.
Thus, Rare made the decision to switch development to the N64.
After this transition, the fantasy theme gradually was dropped. According to Rare's
Gregg Mayles
Gregg Mayles (born 29 April) is a British video game designer currently working for video game company Rare as creative director. He is one of the longest-serving members of the company, having worked there since 1989.
Career
Mayles began h ...
, the team did not want the game to be too childish.
They brought the pirate theme from ''Diddy’s Kong Quest'', as Rare staff felt they "could have a lot of fun with it" and believed it would have a broad appeal due to Mayles’ love of the
Golden Age of Piracy
The Golden Age of Piracy is a common designation for the period between the 1650s and the 1730s, when maritime piracy was a significant factor in the histories of the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, the Indian Ocean, North America, and West Africa ...
.
While some aspects were kept in the transition to the N64, ''Dream'' became a much larger RPG.
As the game changed, Rare began to feel Edson was losing his relevance and began looking for an alternate protagonist.
He was replaced with the rabbit and eventually Banjo.
The decision to use Banjo, who was already in the game as a minor side character, was made by Rare cofounder
Tim Stamper.
Banjo was designed to have human qualities and was given a backpack to put items in.
Some time passed, and the team began to believe the game was too ambitious and different from their previous games. They also could not find how it would be enjoyable to play.
Composer
Grant Kirkhope
Grant Kirkhope is a Scottish-American composer and voice actor for video games and film. Some of his notable works include '' GoldenEye 007'', ''Banjo-Kazooie'', ''Donkey Kong 64'', and '' Perfect Dark'', among many others. He has been nominate ...
noted Rare struggled to get the game running at a decent
frame rate.
Meanwhile, another Rare team was working on what would become ''
Conker's Bad Fur Day
''Conker's Bad Fur Day'' is a 2001 platform game developed and published by Rare for the Nintendo 64. The game follows Conker, a greedy, hard-drinking red squirrel who must return home to his girlfriend. Most of the game requires the player ...
'' (2001), a platformer. Impressed by how this game was looking, the ''Dream'' team retooled their game into a ''Donkey Kong Country''-esque platformer, something they felt more comfortable with. At this point, few elements from earlier incarnations remained.
Overall, ''Dream'' was in development for sixteen months and development restarted four times.
The soundtrack was primarily composed by Kirkhope;
David Wise also contributed but left partway through development to compose ''
Diddy Kong Racing
''Diddy Kong Racing'' is a 1997 racing video game developed and published by Rare for the Nintendo 64. The game is set on Timber's Island and revolves around Diddy Kong and his friends' attempt to defeat the intergalactic antagonist, a wizar ...
'' (1997). Kirkhope wrote 107 tracks with "strong" themes. Some were reused in later games Kirkhope scored.
Aftermath and legacy
When ''Dream'' staff saw Nintendo's ''
Super Mario 64'' (1996), they realized it was going to set the standard for 3D games and ruin their project. They scrapped their work on ''Dream'' and began developing a new game inspired by ''Super Mario 64''. Banjo was kept because the team liked the character. The fantasy theme was restored, and within another 16 months, Rare had finished ''Banjo-Kazooie''.
The game was released in 1998 and was a commercial success, topping the United Kingdom all-format charts—a feat a Rare game did not accomplish again until its 30th anniversary game ''
Rare Replay'' in 2015—and attracted critical acclaim.
The antagonist of ''Dream'', Captain Blackeye, has
cameo appearance
A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...
s in ''Banjo-Kazooie'' and its sequel ''
Banjo-Tooie
''Banjo-Tooie'' is a platform video game developed by Rare and originally released for the Nintendo 64 console in 2000. It is the second game in the '' Banjo-Kazooie'' series and the sequel to '' Banjo-Kazooie''. The game follows the returnin ...
'' (2000); in ''Tooie'', he gripes about how a bear stole his glory, referencing the development of ''Dream''.
Numerous assets from ''Dream'' were also reused in ''Banjo-Kazooie''. ''Dream''s pirate theme was eventually recycled in Rare's 2018 game ''
Sea of Thieves
''Sea of Thieves'' is a 2018 action-adventure game developed by Rare and published by Microsoft Studios. The player assumes the role of a pirate who completes voyages from different trading companies. The multiplayer game sees players explore ...
''.
''
GamesRadar+
''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites '' Total Film'', '' SFX'', ''Edge'' and ''Computer ...
'' expressed relief ''Dream'' became ''Banjo-Kazooie'', believing it would have been a "snoozefest" if it had not been retooled.
For many years, little was known about ''Dream''.
Only a few images of the game were released, although Kirkhope revealed some information about it on his
blog
A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order s ...
.
In May 2015, Tim Stamper confirmed fan speculation that he was in possession of a
prototype version. The following December, Rare released "''Rare Revealed'': A Rare Look at ''Dream''", a short
documentary about the making of ''Dream'', on their
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
channel to promote the release of ''Rare Replay''. The video features developer commentary from Rare staff that worked on the game, as well as previously unreleased gameplay footage.
References
{{Rare
Banjo-Kazooie
Cancelled Nintendo 64 games
Cancelled Super Nintendo Entertainment System games
Nintendo games
Rare (company) games
Role-playing video games
Video games scored by David Wise
Video games scored by Grant Kirkhope