Ex-Rare dev's Killer Instinct 3 vision

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 13 October, 2011

"You'd have to do a WOW to it."

The former lead designer and gameplay programmer of the Killer Instinct series has outlined his vision for Killer Instinct 3 - and offered up his services should IP holder Microsoft wish to revive the fighting game franchise.

Chris Tilston, who joined Rare in 1993 and left in 2009, told Eurogamer in a new interview if Microsoft asked his new studio, Starfire, to making a new Killer Instinct, he'd incorporate elements from Blizzard's MMORPG World of Warcraft.

"You'd have to update it and reinvent it," he said. "You couldn't do what they've done with Street Fighter. KI wasn't designed for the home. It was designed to go into the arcades and be loud and be brash and be in your face for the arcade market. It was never a home game.

"We've definitely got ideas of where it should go. It's almost like you need to do a WOW to it. You can't just have the traditional thing. It's like, how can you make it more accessible in a way?"

Tilston left Rare to help start independent developer Starfire Studios, which has just announced its first game: ambitious XBLA sci-fi twin stick shooter Fusion: Genesis.

Fusion: Genesis is published by Microsoft Studios - and was snapped up following a pitch to Microsoft executive Ken Lobb, who himself worked on the Killer Instinct series while at Nintendo.

"Ken does mention KI3," Tilston said. "You never know. One day. You never know."

Microsoft, as owner of Kinect Sports developer Rare, owns the Killer Instinct IP.

But Tilston said he would be happy to make a new game in the series if Microsoft sounded the call.

"Yeah. We'd consider it, yeah definitely," he said. "But they've got a team of guys at Rare. There's nobody from the original team left. That's the thing. But yeah, I'd love to revisit it. But you'll probably all chase me down and string me up based off what we'd do. It was designed for the arcade and that's it."

But Tilston admits his desire to make Killer Instinct more accessible would probably upset the game's hardcore following.

"You're on the tightrope between the hardcore KI fans, who would string somebody up, and new audiences. Maybe we'll leave that one to somebody else."

The first Killer Instinct launched in 1994 in arcades and wowed gamers with its stunning visuals and massive combos. It was later ported to the Super Nintendo and Game Boy.

In 1996 Rare made an arcade only Killer Instinct 2. Rare completed a SNES port, but it went unreleased. Instead, the legendary UK developer created Killer Instinct: Gold for release on the Nintendo 64.

The franchise has remained dormant ever since, but rumours of a revival have cropped up.

In 2008 then Rare studio manager Mark Betteridge told Eurogamer that it was thinking about making a new version of Killer Instinct - but that it would require a "revolution" to make it worthwhile.

"Killer Instinct is an IP that is fondly remembered and we may do something with it, but it's a tricky market to be like the old Killer Instinct," Betteridge revealed.

"At the time there was Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat and we were thinking, 'how do we make our own area here?' and it came from the combo system. The market after that became more and more specialised. And all you do then is make your user-base smaller and smaller and it disappears [to the point where] it's not really feasible anymore."

However, Betteridge insisted there were still great opportunities in the one-on-one fighting genre to be seized with the right innovation.

"Once a market gets like that then it needs a revolution to bring something new to it and to kick-start a new growth," he said. "It will stagnate for a while and then it needs a real significant change of direction potentially.

"It is a law of diminishing returns to recycle the same game. That's why we didn't want to do that with Banjo just to build a Banjo game that was hi-def. We wanted to do a game that not only provided a different gameplay experience that we couldn't do before, but we wanted to build something that we can then build on to do other titles."

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (38) Latest comment 2 months ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Kami #1 4 months ago

    Oh puh-lease. Killer Instinct was a great game for the homes. Fighters of that era were all "arcadey", most of them arcade ports. Killer Instinct was a lovely alternative to the usual fare - it was fast enough for combos and stylish enough to look good running about.

    If someone brings it back, DON'T BLOODY CHANGE A THING. KI, like many games that are buried in embarrassment, needs no change to the formula. Just add a couple more characters, polish it up, sort some controls out and people will buy it.

    Also, if possible, can we have a re-release of the Killer Cuts CD maybe?

  • StolenGlory #2 4 months ago

    A Killer Instinct MMO? I can feel the fabric of reality tearing already! :)

  • StolenGlory #3 4 months ago

    "Also, if possible, can we have a re-release of the Killer Cuts CD maybe?"

    Ha! I remember getting that free with my preorder of the SNES original back in the day.

    Ahhh memories!

  • bad09 #4 4 months ago

    What a load of old tosh. KI, just like every fighter, is great at home. KI Gold got rinsed on my 64 back in the day!

    They'd never make KI3 anyway and even if they did I highly doubt it would be similar to KI 1&2. Those games were far too technical for the "we must make it piss easy and hold their hand so casuals buy it and make us more money" industry of today.

  • Gearskin #5 4 months ago

    Dude is talking crazy.

    C, C, C, C, COMBO BREAKER!

  • chris_ace #6 4 months ago

    Post deleted at 11:55:13 13-12-2011

  • Gearskin #7 4 months ago

    @bad09

    Or they could just layer in game mechanics that make it both accessible and deep. Like Capcom did with great success on SF4 and MVSC3. And Netherealm with Mortal Kombat, come to think of it.

  • StolenGlory #8 4 months ago

    "meh. Killer Instinct has always been clay fighters lite"

    Not really. At least Killer Instinct was playable.

  • -cerberus- #9 4 months ago

    It hasn't even been announced yet but it already sounds like they will fuck it up. What a shit gaming gen this is...

  • Der_tolle_Emil #10 4 months ago

    Killer Instinct Gold was fantastic! I really should dig it out again.

  • Phantom_Dynamite #11 4 months ago

    ULTRA, ULTRA, ULTRA....Madness

    Just stick to a Good fighter look how well the MK reboot worked out for NetherRelm

  • peterfll #12 4 months ago

    The presentation of Rare games (in the day) were so slick. I could just watch the attract mode and be entertained...

  • chris_ace #13 4 months ago

    Post deleted at 11:55:13 13-12-2011

  • Skeletor #14 4 months ago

    Don't turn it into a bloody MMO! Just concentrate on the elements that made it such a great game - namely crazy combos and great character design! Just like these Italian indie guys paying tribute to SNK and Mortal Kombat:
    [link url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player _profilepage&v=1puSFAIBuyM
    ]http://ww w.youtube.com/watch?feature=pla...[/link]
    Releasing it through XBLA for 1200 would also help I guess:-)

  • Razz #15 4 months ago

    I'd like a Killer Instinct Golf HD Remix (characters from both games and a couple extra) release on XBLA

  • Razz #16 4 months ago

    :D Heh! I meant Gold, but Killer Instinct Golf would also be a interesting venture! Glacius could turn his arm into club of his choosing. Poor old Inferno would melt anything he touched ;_;
    Edited by 1 at 13/10/11 @ 21:48

  • JeroenZM #17 4 months ago

    Incorporate mmo elements in Killer Instinct? Is this the same guy who suggested that Banjo 3 should be a glorified Lego Racers toolset?
    Edited by 1 at 13/10/11 @ 13:43

  • Razz #18 4 months ago

    Orchid had a big bum No nudity or porn, but slightly NSFW if you remember that Orchid wore nought but a leotard.

    Edited by 1 at 13/10/11 @ 13:34

  • IronGiant #19 4 months ago

    They really haven't got a clue.. Killer Instinct as an MMO? Ridiculous, probably best they don't bother then.

  • Chrasomatic #20 4 months ago

    Mace: The Dark Age - now that's a game I want to see brought back - Lord Deimos WINS!

    Exactly why couldn't there be a real Banjo Kazooie 3? Sony kept churning out Ratchet & Clank and Jak & Daxter - why no bear and bird.

  • kinky_mong #21 4 months ago

    Spot the idiot in these comments who couldn't work out to link combos.

    Clue: His name is an anagram of Arse_Chic

  • Frosty840 #22 4 months ago

    "Microsoft, as owner of Kinect Sports developer Rare, owns the Killer Instinct IP."

    Well, there's the most depressing line I'm going to read all day... To have Rare, one of the most respected game development companies of all time, labelled simply as "Kinect Sports developer"...
    I need a drink.

  • Liquidoodle #23 4 months ago

    I would love a new Killer Instinct Game, I would love it to push some boundaries and do something interesting, fighters today just don't do enough for me sadly... however I would hate that man to have anything to do with it!

    There's a lot more you could do with a fighting game such as Killer Instinct if you were clever and passionate, however if you lack a clever gland and are only interested in broadening audiences because you love money that's when you resort to ideas such as this "oh yeah WOW makes money, we could turn it into that"

  • shikz #24 4 months ago

    KILLER INSTINCT was frikin awesome, and most people enjoyed spending time in arcades playing it and trying to get the highest combe :))) same time with MK2 and move lists everywhere lol

    GoodTimes :) Bring on KI3 or HD KI

  • shikz #25 4 months ago

    Well saidn 'Kami ....it was a great game i still play it now via arcade rom on Xbox1 :)

    i would prefer an HD version of KI-1 rather than a 3 .cos they will prob break and it will be a awful version then ruin the cred of the others :(

  • Freek #26 4 months ago

    By refrencing WoW he diden't mean turn it into an MMO, he meant taking an established genre streamlining it and making it more mainstream, wich is what WoW did.

    Now if you can that in the same way that WoW did it: maintain the quality and apeal of the game, then yes that would be great. It's what the fighting genre needs to remain relevant. Draw in a new crowd of people.

  • chris_ace #27 4 months ago

    Post deleted at 11:55:13 13-12-2011

  • JadedSoul #28 4 months ago

    Killer Instinct was just....OK.

    I loved it because it was pretty easy to spam attacks - but being on the receiving end was rage inducing.

    It would need a massive overhaul - but then I also think fighting games in general could do with a fresh perspective. I'd love to see someone attempt a fighting game with intuitive controls. I would love to see what Rocksteady could do with the genre since their fighting mechanics in the Batman games are impeccable. It would be great to see a fighting game which looked more into rhythm and reaction times rather than these ridiculous arbitrary button commands which rarely fall in line with the actual movements of the character. I quite enjoyed WWF No Mercy back in the day when AKI were showing everyone how to make a good wrassler. They boiled it down to basic commands and evolved depth from context sensitive positions. Let's see some of that, that's always fun! Something between your conventional beatemups and the likes of Power Stone and Smash Bros would be a good place to aim for.

    I personally find this whole back, back, forward + kick thing to be really off putting. I guess it would mean games designers having to become actual designers rather than corporate yes men who generally just rip off other game mechanics 'because that's what sells'.

  • Kami #29 4 months ago

    See, that's precisely why Killer Instinct was fun. It wasn't concerned with being technically polished and perfect - it was a riot, utterly crazy and that was enough for many of us. I don't HAVE six months, or an arcade near me to show off after that six month training period to individuals who are ten years younger than me and wasting their loose pocket change. That's what fighters today have become - training grounds for professional gamers, where the AI is as cheap as possible in accordance to how people play, where everything is balanced and honed and refined and... just a bit boring, really. Even Mortal Kombat - I like it, don't get me wrong, but they weren't kidding when they said they'd brought in professional gamers to help them tighten it up. It's just... taken some of the lunatic edge off.

    In the olden days, you had your game and by damn, you were happy with it. We had winner stays on nights on Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo on the SNES, later on we had it with KI: Gold, then Tekken 2, then Mortal Kombat Trilogy... you could get a lot out of these games sober and training, but just as much drunk and beating up your mates as well. And when you wanted some solo time, you could set it to as easy as possible and vent all your days angers on a character who fought back, but barely. It's only in recent years that people are competing for big prize money that these games have become a bit... inaccessible. Which is a shame really.

    Killer Instinct was a fireball against the whole trend of fighters when it was released - it wasn't serious, it was enjoyable with tongue firmly planted in cheek. Bringing it back and then endeavouring to make it just like any other fighter out there would rather defeat the whole sodding point of the exercise. Why bring back a game that was so different and then make it compete on the same level as every other fighter? That'd be like bringing back Bloody Roar and removing the animal transformations.

    Some games are unique. They have a quirk, a spark, something that distinguishes them from the rest of the pack - Mortal Kombat has fatalities (again at least after trying to remove them), Soul Calibur has weapons, Tekken has Yoshimi... oh wait, so does Soul Calibur. Umm... okay, skip Tekken then.

    Killer Instinct was style over substance, absolutely. But in a world where fighters are fast losing their stylish edge, that's the appeal of a game like Killer Instinct. No, it's not perfect. No, it's not that balanced. Yes, it has it's issues. But when it moves, handles and plays like KI: Gold did, that doesn't matter. Because it's about dicking about and having fun...

    ... which is something far too many fighting games these days have forgotten how to do.

  • kinky_mong #30 4 months ago

    @chris_ace: It's nice to see you adhere to the stereotype of a beat 'em up snob with your misplaced holier-than-thou attitude. Seriously, who other than a complete shit-of-a-cunt would use the phrase "gamer lites"?!

    Anyway Kami summed up perfectly what made Killer Instinct great, so I'll leave it at that.

  • IMD1_Pk #31 4 months ago

    "There's nobody from the original team left"
    This should send a message to a bunch of the rare-haters. Microsoft has nothing to do with Rare's downfall. Everyone good left for free radical long ago

  • radioactive_bumfluff #32 4 months ago

    If they bring it back I want Chief Thunder back in!! Was dusgusted that Chief, Cinder and Raptor were removed from the sequel!!

  • chris_ace #33 4 months ago

    Post deleted at 11:55:13 13-12-2011

  • The-Bodybuilder #34 4 months ago

    Just let it go. I think we should just accept the fact that KI jut isn't relevant anymore. Looking at that clip just served to remind me of how much of it is tailored to the 90s; music, characters (poor!) design, setting. Without rose-tinted spectacles, it really is too connected to a bygone era.

    Sure MK & Streetfighter are 90s too; but they were iconic enough to transcend it's time and stay relevant (also helped that both series kept going, allowing slow evolution over the years to stay relevant, something KI didn't do).

  • davisorle #35 4 months ago

    Killer Instinct.. OMFG Im so excited, amazed and confused to see this subject coming up from Rare ! I just wish there was a new KI tittle to purchase for ANY platform by next week. Ill just go buy it. Best fighting game experiences and times with my older cousin, who's passed away, ever.

    R.I.P. Niko and Im going to be buying this for ya :)

  • kiforever #36 3 months ago

    ---IT HAS BEGUN!!

  • D2K #37 2 months ago

    @Razz : Reading the absurdity of that interview I wouldn't put ti past them to make a Killer Instinct Golf Kinect Sports game instead of KI3, just because it doesn't make any sense.

  • D2K #38 2 months ago

    The best case scenario I can think of would be for Nintendo to buy back the rights of KI from Microsoft, and then have Retro Studios make KI3 while releasing HD updated versions of KI 1 and 2 on whatever the Virtual Console is gonna be called on the Wii U. With Nintendo behind KI you won't have to worry about drastic changes.

    With all of Nintendo's franchise games like Donkey Kong, Mario, Zelda, Kirby, etc no matter what the storyline was the games always feel like THOSE games. For instance, WindWaker, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword all have different plots, different art-style, and somewhat different controls, but they all feel like a 'Zelda' game. Retro Studios has been able to take classics like DK. Mario Kart, and Metroid and put their own flavor on them while retaining the core playability.

    What Chris Tilson is talking about here makes ABSOLUTELY no sense and is a sign of someone whom years of money and success have distorted his vision. "More accessible?" To whom I would ask? Killer Instinct would not have the following that it does if there was something wrong with it. Capcom has essentially kept the basic foundation of gameplay for Street Fighter for over 20 years. It hasn't hurt them. If they released KI3 with absolutely no updates at all other than graphically it would shatter the sales records for all fighting games. If they released HD updated versions of KI 1 and 2 on XBLA they would easily be the best selling games on XBLA of all time. That's not even an exaggeration.

    The "law of diminishing returns of recycling the same game?" Apparently Mr. Tilson has never heard of a game called Super Mario Bros. SMB was first released back in 1985. New Super Mario Bros. Wii was released in 2009 some 24 years later raking-in over 21 million copies sold. The Mario franchise is one of if not the best selling video game franchise of all-time. So after only releasing 2 Killer Instinct games that comment is beyond laughable.

    I think we should all be glad that this game has not been made. Whatever Rare had in the '90s is long gone. The people have completely lost touch with reality. I hope that Nintendo makes a brand-new fighting game for the Wii U made by Retro Studios.