bob-rafei
Latest
Early Sonic Boom character designs were 'traumatic' for Sonic Team
Have the character designs in the upcoming Sonic Boom by Big Red Button Entertainment ruffled your fur and/or quills? It could always be worse. Bob Rafei, CEO of Big Red Button, told GameSpot that early designs were downright "traumatic" for Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka. "Early on, when we had our first review of all the crazy things we wanted to try, Iizuka-san came down to Los Angeles and looked through all the different concepts," Rafei said. "I felt sorry for the guy because sometimes he couldn't actually look at the screen ... it was too traumatic seeing all the crazy stuff we wanted to do." Rafei said the team experimented with different colors, as well as adding features like fur and scales, but that such designs would have made Sonic "a lot more alien and different from what [the character] is known for." As for the scarf and sports tape that raised so many eyebrows? Rafei said those items are there to show that the heroes are practical, and not vain. "From my perspective, it was important the characters have a practical heroism to them and not vanity, which is more fitting for villains," Rafei said. "When the world is in jeopardy, you don't have time to worry about what you look like." [Image: Sega]
Former Naughty Dog staff form new team, Big Red Button
Naughty Dog, known for their work on Sony franchises, like Crash Bandicoot, Jak & Daxter and most recently, Uncharted, is one of the most well-respected development teams in the industry today. So, when two high-profile former staff of Naughty Dog go somewhere new, heads undoubtedly turn.The two co-founders have a long history with Naughty Dog: Bob Rafei was the Art Director of Naughty Dog for the past 13 years. E. Daniel Arey acted as Senior Designer and Creative Director of Naughty Dog for ten years. The two have teamed up to make a studio focused on original characters -- they want to become "the United Artists of games."According to their website: "Our commitment is to make not just fun, engaging and compelling games, but games that everyone can play, and everyone will want to play. We at BRB share this long term vision, intending to grow the gaming market, both in terms of age and gender demographics, as well as in emotional appeal." Currently, they have six IPs in "concept development." We wish this new team best of luck, but looking at the pedigree of their games, we doubt they need it.[Via Joystiq]
