Davide crying is even more poignant when you consider what people had thought of the project when it was leaked; they hated it, thought it was a ridiculous concept, and weren't willing to give any shake of it a chance (all without a single clip of actual gameplay). Seeing how that room reacted, how Miyamoto praised him, and maybe getting a hint of the turnaround on Social Media, must've been the single-greatest moment of this already surreal chapter of his life.
I feel really bad now, honestly. I want to root for this developer, as a human being with a passion for games, but the rabbids still look like nothing but Minions with the serial numbers filed off, and that's really.. really vile and undesirable.
I don't know if you're aware of this, but the Rabbids actually beat the Minions by four years (Raving Rabbids came out in 2006, Despicable me in 2010), and while they have pretty much the exact same sense of humor, they're toned down in Kingdom Battle. Minions just exploded in popularity over the Rabbids (and it's beleived that's why Ubisoft put them on the back-burner for a few years lest they be compared to the newer fad and accused of copying them).
2006 for the Rabbids, yeah. And it's also less known that there is another kind of stupid mascots : the prinnies. I consider Prinnies to be the forgotten parents of Rabbids and Minions. The first time we saw the prinnies was in Disgaea on PS2, in 2003. It became the mascot of Nippon Ichi Software.
I have to admit, I shed a few tears at the end with Miyamoto talking about Soliani's passion and seeing his reaction to his game being revealed. Just a really touching reminder that, in spite of some of the negativity surrounding the games industry, at the end of the day most people are there because they *genuinely love making games.* Also, thanks for putting together such a wonderfully well researched and written video/article on the subject. This is quality content.
Given several releases across the past several years, you can tell that that passion is non-existent in most games. But for others there is. Always listen and follow game developers to see what they dump into their games: 1 overly specific, insignificant element or the entire game. Miyamoto is certainly one to invest his everything into every part of his games.
Everything about this game is a huge surprise. If someone told you there was going to be a turn-based XCOM-style Mario game with the Rabbids, you'd call that person crazy and that a game like that would suck. Then you play it. And it's actually really frickin' good! And then you hear the story behind it, Davide Soliani's passion and dedication, and it goes from not only the biggest surprise of 2017, but one of the most heartwarming stories in gaming of all time.
When I heard the first rumors I was shocked. "How in hell could this crossover work?", but it worked out a lot better than I imagened it. It was a pleasure playing this game and this comes from a person who usually skips this kind of games. This was a game made with passion and you feel it in every single pixel on the screen. Great work, great game, great people behind it.
I don't really play these games either, but I really feel like I need to pick this one up. It does look pretty fun, even if I'm a bit apprehensive about the genre, and if nothing else it looks absolutely charming. Definitely going to be the first game I pick up when I get a bit more free money to throw around.
And it's a great title. Not the longest game in the Switch library, but definitely a great game with no filler content (Ahem… Mario Odyssey :( ) At first it seems quite easy, but it has a very good difficulty curve and by the end of the game you're actually planning your strategy around 3 turns in advance and considering where the enemies may move in the next turn and everything
When I first heard about it, I thought I was getting trolled. Kinda like when they first announced Kingdom Hearts. I thought it was a dumb internet joke. But then we all crapped bricks. This Mario + Rabbids game is *incredible*, btw. SO CUTE and funny.
@syncYu I feel the exact same way, I heard about it through a friend at Ubi Studios and was confused but then saw it at E3 and when Miyamoto said it himself I was all in, then more came out and it is a game I love on my switch, fun and can help me teach my kiddo some basic fore thinking skills about planning movements and looking ahead to what actions may result in later down the line
HistorIan Eh it's common with the SRPG genre if you can believe it Mario + Rabbids is on the easier end of the genre, while titles like Fire Emblem and XCOM are actually even harder, imagine as unlike Mario + Rabbids unless you have the casual settings on anyone who dies in a battle is usually dead until you start a whole new playthrough of the game from the very beginning so you have to go on without them.
It is for me. It is better than Zelda and Odyssey. Zelda is a really close second. I am not that much into Odyssey. In Odyssey, I am having problems with adapting to the lack of depth when jumping in 3D. I have died so many times just because of the lack of depth perception. But THIS GAME! The levels are so good. The animations, as mentioned in this video, are superb and so cute. And I for one, love the Rabbids humor. Also, the focus on fluid movement unlike Xcom is what made this game for me. I love Xcom but the movement and attacks in this game are so much better. Every match is fast paced. Also, they got rid of the stupid RNGesus from Xcom. Now its either 0%, 50% or 100% chances. This game is definitely GOTY for me, closely beating Zelda.
NostalgiaFactor I have issues with depth in Sunshine for whatever reason that I don't have in every other Mario (including Odyssey). Not really sure why tbh.
Annie really is good, but man, Chris, I don't think you know how rare and good this format is. It's unique and daring and personal and I don't know anybody doing anything like it in regards to video games. You gotta be right up there with Annie
This game truly surprised me! I was so weary of picking it up, the rabbids didn't seem like my cup of tea, but then I started playing a few rounds and instantly got hooked. To me, it's even better than XCOM in some ways. The movement gameplay features are really fun. The humor in it made me chuckle and smile, and the journey to unlock the characters to battle for you, and even the enemies were all awesome to reach. This made my switch purchase not just an exercise in dipping my toes back into nintendo waters, but it elevated the experience towards a new direction of possibilities of experiences I could have on the Nintendo Switch. I had no idea about the backstory, but it's incredibly interesting and cool, and seeing someone with so much passion for these games and characters brings a smile to my face. Thanks E.G. for the hard work and great upload!
This is seriously the biggest surprise of 2017 for me. Not only did one of the craziest crossovers in gaming happen, but it was great. It's such a fun game and everything from the animations, music, bosses and small details were so well done.
I mean, I know the end of my lunch break is gonna come. So if I get to hear the heroic Zelda theme when I go back to work, making me feel pumped up and heroic myself, I'll count that as a blessing.
I picked up a switch and Mario + Rabbids a week ago now & I can't put the damn thing down! Such a delightful game. Davide Soliani & his team should be very proud of what they have achieved, Bravo, Davide, bravo!
I love seeing a developer being so passionate about a project like this. I wish we could have someone this passionate making a Sonic and Mario crossover.
I may be tired, but after hearing the whole story and seeing the footage of the creator crying had me in tears, if the clip had been any longer I'd have been a ball of inconsolable sobbing
14 people to create Mario vs Rabbids, countless people to create Wildlands, the results of both are quite funny considering how bland Wildlands is compared to Mario vs Rabbids, also great video.
I dont know what is wildlands, frankly I dont care but, 14 people made not the full game, but the prototype. I am sure the full game took a lot of people
Ghost Recon: Wildlands, the other videogame project that Ubisoft were pouring most of their time and developers into. Whereas a handful of passionate employee's created MvsR, a lesson in bigger not always being better
TheCouchViking a game can have the biggest, most talented dev team behind it, but if that team does not believe in the game, then no matter what, that game will never be good. Thus, a smaller game, made by a smaller, less experienced but passionate team can sometimes defeat the bigger budget title
Who the hell dislikes these vids? Do you wake up in the morning aspiring to be mean, or is it on a case by case basis? Good job, Bratte. That was informative and adorable. And the illustrations were fabulous!
I kind of feel guilty because when this game concept first leaked and those first few pics emerged, I was really critical of it. It seemed like a bad mix to me at first and I was expecting nothing. However the more I looked the more I liked it, and I ended up buying it at launch and absolutely loving it. The team made an absolutely cracking strategy game that oozes Mario charm, has a great sense of humour and is just as polished as any 1st party Nintendo game. They have every right to be proud of their creation, especially in an industry where publishers often don't let developers follow passion projects.
I flipping love this series. Always enlightening, well presented, concise and focused and just plain old interesting, even when it's about games/studios I have no real experience of.
I dont remember the last time I cried, but somehow I have tears rolling down my face right now after watching this. Maybe I'm projecting meeting Miyamoto and getting his approval...
DavrK how about the world's greatest cuisine? One of the most interesting historical legacies? That time you guys assisted the Nazis in WW2.... Actually scratch that one, nevermind. What about Italian Opera? What about the Italians who built East Coast USA with the Irish?
DavrK lol, it took me 2 seconds to google it: "Raving Rabbids, known in France as Lapins crétins, is a video game franchise spin-off from the Rayman series". They are French.
Wow. I loved playing through the game, and I felt like a lot of heart went into it, but I never imagined the game itself had such an interesting backstory. From humble beginning I suppose.
I, I knew they didn't have a big team but. I didn't know they didn't have a programmer for so long and that their first programmer had no experience making games in any way. So glad that this game turned out to be so great.
These videos continue to be amazing Bratterz. The love that you put into them shines through and you're fantastic at finding niche subjects that are fascinating to learn about. Keep it up!
Awesome video! It was so weird to see this mashup when it was announced, and even more surprising when the game turned out as great as it did! Inspiering!
I had planned to buy the Switch in the summer of 2018, but when I found out what Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle was, I went to buy a Switch within the next two days. To me, it was the game that sold th system to me.
When I found out about this game I was like “How in the world is this going to work? Like it’s basically XCOM!” But after seeing a few gameplay videos this game looks really fun! If I ever get a switch this will most likely be one of my first switch games.
This was a really amazing video! I didn't realize the back story behind this game. I didn't really pay it much mind, buy now I can't help but see it in a new light. This is a really inspiring story and I'm really glad you took the time to tell it :D
This video is so well made and explained 😄👍 I already knew and heard the story - but it is one of my favorites in game history 😊 I mean how Miyamoto a legend talked about Davide 7:37 and the moment you see him crying tears of joy and gratitude and the Realisation that he and his team made his dream and idea work is just so wholesome it gets me every time 💕
This story made me feel more moved than I expected it to be. Especially when I realize I was one of the people who were skeptical at first when it was first revealed.
He was probably having a stress induced panic attack at that hospital. I've had one myself in similar conditions of frantic working and worrying and it truly does feel like you're having a heart attack, complete with numb arm and chest pain. I'm still so impressed by what they pulled off in that time frame!
Respect to david, not everyone gets to meet their hero twice and impress him with your own work. I will definitely buy this game just for the reason of how passionate david was to make this game
The video is awesome, as are the animations but....but is no-one else going to address the fact that animator is called Annie? Annie the Animator? That has to be a pseudonym!!? Surely!? A really interesting story, I don't have a switch but loved hearing about it all the same - my pals wee boy has one though so I'll have great fun showing him this on Saturday when I go visit - cheers! :)
Thank you so much for making this video! We have been wanting to get Mario + Rabbids Kingdom battle fore quite some time now, and knowing the history of it's development has moved it to the #1 spot for our games list.
What a journey that man must've been through. To be THE guy to pitch an entirely new game to the creative minds behind Mario and a ton of other Nintendo games as well as be ACCEPTED by them after so many hard months of nonstop back-breaking work. I know I can't be that guy even if I wanted. Thank you Ninty for allowing this game to be made and thanks to the developers of Kingdom Battle for making this game what it was.
Thank you to everyone who works to make these stories known. Thank you to Davide and his teammates that had the passion and hard work to bring this to life. Thank you to the executives who gave this a chance. This was a really eye-opening experience for me. I want to be a game designer. I NEED it. Game design is the best. But I have lots of ideas that I really want to do. And I have many great ideas, but this story has helped me realize which ones I have this type of giddy passion about, not to mention this clarity of vision - and which ones I don't. At least, not now. It's given me some clarity into who I am, what's important to me, and why. It's an important thing to know and I'm very glad I get to see other people find that for themselves.
I remember seeing the leak and thinking this is so stupid and unimpressed then I saw it at E3 and realized this was XCOM and was sold. Bought it on release and never regretted it
Davide clearly is a treasure to Ubisoft. He made a collaboration no one else on staff would've ever dedicated themselves to and it certainly feels like the most polished, best developed, most complete game to come out of Ubisoft in YEARS.
I always had a good feeling about the potential of the crossover but even I was surprised how well it worked when I got to play it. Bring on the sequel.
Hearing the story of how this game came to be, has made me go out and buy it. When someone puts that much time and effort into something, it really should be celebrated. Thanks for telling us the tale.
In these days of constant AAA BS, loot boxes, rusehd/unfinished games charging full price, and all that other crap, it's even more important to highlight the good games made by devs that still put effort into the games they're making.
Indeed! Sure the game market is a business, but there are still those out there with the will and drive to keep making the games they want for art and entertainment.
it's extremely common and just as unhealthy as you'd imagine, but as it stands it often comes between that or a substandard / no demo (or game) at all. ubisoft COULD divert lots of people to work on the prototypes for this game that might not even be approved, let alone successful (thank god both happened though!) but that would mean both spending a large amount of money on a possibility and also severely hampering their already in production game, if not even throwing it totally off schedule. all in all it's sad but also the only option - hopefully this should give soliani more people to work with in future on his wild projects, which will definitely reduce his workload and help his health out.
It's the self-imposed bit that's weird. You have to really give a crap in order to crunch yourself, as opposed to it being imposed upon you by some higher ups. As for those higher ups, why they couldn't wait longer for a demo or prototype when they've put nearly zero resources into it is beyond the realm of logic. The increasingly sweatshop nature of game development (at least when it comes to the big companies) is a really worrying trend that can only end very badly for everyone involved if something isn't done to stop it soon.
As a programmer myself (although I don't work on video games. Low salary + shitty working conditions kept me out of it) my first thought was holy shit Ubisoft seems like a shitty place to work. This video is like an anti-advertisement for them, lol.
Oh that's who that was in the audience? I remember people talking about that and who he was, but I had forgotten. Interesting to hear his life's story, or at least the bits pertaining to the Mario + Rabbids game.
I've played this game. I've never really enjoy tactics based games before but this one caught my interest early on. What can I say..... it's fantastic! The game doesn't take itself seriously, pokes fun at itself constantly. The combat, my god the combat. There are times when I was in a battle and I'd think to myself,"I can't believe that f$&king worked!!!". Absolutely brilliant stuff!
The only thing I have to criticise is of the romanticisation of “crunch time”; It’s a toxic part of the games industry, and even in a great success story like this, I think we need to speak out about how this isn’t acceptable.
Crunch time isn't exclusive to the games industry and most adults in any industry do exorbitant hours to meet dead lines; especially folks working in IT and construction trades.
I am glad you brought that up! It sort of sends the message that "if you want to be a good game developer, overwork yourself to the point of hospitalization"... Soliani's passion is a beautiful thing, but for his sake (and for the sakes of those who would be inspired by him), I would have preferred if he could have toned it down a little bit.
If you enjoyed the illustration in this week's episode, we've uploaded a speed drawing you can watch: th-cam.com/video/YWGl8rvg1I0/w-d-xo.html
The animation was a cut above in this video. Thanks for the BTS look too.
Davide crying is even more poignant when you consider what people had thought of the project when it was leaked; they hated it, thought it was a ridiculous concept, and weren't willing to give any shake of it a chance (all without a single clip of actual gameplay). Seeing how that room reacted, how Miyamoto praised him, and maybe getting a hint of the turnaround on Social Media, must've been the single-greatest moment of this already surreal chapter of his life.
Rodin Claus
I want a bio-pic right now.
I feel really bad now, honestly. I want to root for this developer, as a human being with a passion for games, but the rabbids still look like nothing but Minions with the serial numbers filed off, and that's really.. really vile and undesirable.
I don't know if you're aware of this, but the Rabbids actually beat the Minions by four years (Raving Rabbids came out in 2006, Despicable me in 2010), and while they have pretty much the exact same sense of humor, they're toned down in Kingdom Battle. Minions just exploded in popularity over the Rabbids (and it's beleived that's why Ubisoft put them on the back-burner for a few years lest they be compared to the newer fad and accused of copying them).
2006 for the Rabbids, yeah. And it's also less known that there is another kind of stupid mascots : the prinnies. I consider Prinnies to be the forgotten parents of Rabbids and Minions. The first time we saw the prinnies was in Disgaea on PS2, in 2003. It became the mascot of Nippon Ichi Software.
Prinnies are coherent though so if anything they're just misfit peons.
I have to admit, I shed a few tears at the end with Miyamoto talking about Soliani's passion and seeing his reaction to his game being revealed. Just a really touching reminder that, in spite of some of the negativity surrounding the games industry, at the end of the day most people are there because they *genuinely love making games.*
Also, thanks for putting together such a wonderfully well researched and written video/article on the subject. This is quality content.
Tears? no! it... just looked like this because i'm cutting onions right now while watching this video.
Given several releases across the past several years, you can tell that that passion is non-existent in most games. But for others there is. Always listen and follow game developers to see what they dump into their games: 1 overly specific, insignificant element or the entire game. Miyamoto is certainly one to invest his everything into every part of his games.
Everything about this game is a huge surprise. If someone told you there was going to be a turn-based XCOM-style Mario game with the Rabbids, you'd call that person crazy and that a game like that would suck. Then you play it. And it's actually really frickin' good!
And then you hear the story behind it, Davide Soliani's passion and dedication, and it goes from not only the biggest surprise of 2017, but one of the most heartwarming stories in gaming of all time.
MonkeyxMoo35 idk what to reply, but replying makes the comments even higher.
that high
When I heard the first rumors I was shocked. "How in hell could this crossover work?", but it worked out a lot better than I imagened it.
It was a pleasure playing this game and this comes from a person who usually skips this kind of games.
This was a game made with passion and you feel it in every single pixel on the screen.
Great work, great game, great people behind it.
I don't really play these games either, but I really feel like I need to pick this one up. It does look pretty fun, even if I'm a bit apprehensive about the genre, and if nothing else it looks absolutely charming. Definitely going to be the first game I pick up when I get a bit more free money to throw around.
And it's a great title. Not the longest game in the Switch library, but definitely a great game with no filler content (Ahem… Mario Odyssey :( )
At first it seems quite easy, but it has a very good difficulty curve and by the end of the game you're actually planning your strategy around 3 turns in advance and considering where the enemies may move in the next turn and everything
When I first heard about it, I thought I was getting trolled. Kinda like when they first announced Kingdom Hearts. I thought it was a dumb internet joke. But then we all crapped bricks. This Mario + Rabbids game is *incredible*, btw. SO CUTE and funny.
@syncYu I feel the exact same way, I heard about it through a friend at Ubi Studios and was confused but then saw it at E3 and when Miyamoto said it himself I was all in, then more came out and it is a game I love on my switch, fun and can help me teach my kiddo some basic fore thinking skills about planning movements and looking ahead to what actions may result in later down the line
SyncYu Ikr, I'm don't really like rabbids usually but I loved this game, it's very funny, the gameplay is amazing and Spawny is so cute !
"How do we make one of the best games of 2017 even better".
"Add Donkey Kong"
Works for me.
It's all preference. If you didn't like it that's fine but I really enjoyed it.
HistorIan Eh it's common with the SRPG genre if you can believe it Mario + Rabbids is on the easier end of the genre, while titles like Fire Emblem and XCOM are actually even harder, imagine as unlike Mario + Rabbids unless you have the casual settings on anyone who dies in a battle is usually dead until you start a whole new playthrough of the game from the very beginning so you have to go on without them.
It is for me. It is better than Zelda and Odyssey. Zelda is a really close second. I am not that much into Odyssey. In Odyssey, I am having problems with adapting to the lack of depth when jumping in 3D. I have died so many times just because of the lack of depth perception. But THIS GAME! The levels are so good. The animations, as mentioned in this video, are superb and so cute. And I for one, love the Rabbids humor. Also, the focus on fluid movement unlike Xcom is what made this game for me. I love Xcom but the movement and attacks in this game are so much better. Every match is fast paced. Also, they got rid of the stupid RNGesus from Xcom. Now its either 0%, 50% or 100% chances. This game is definitely GOTY for me, closely beating Zelda.
Vaibhav Shah
Dude I've never heard of anyone having trouble with depth perception in Mario games before? Did you not grow up with 64 and Sunshine?
NostalgiaFactor I have issues with depth in Sunshine for whatever reason that I don't have in every other Mario (including Odyssey). Not really sure why tbh.
Annie really is good, but man, Chris, I don't think you know how rare and good this format is. It's unique and daring and personal and I don't know anybody doing anything like it in regards to video games.
You gotta be right up there with Annie
Great video, really enjoying a feel good developer story. We need more of these mini docs that focus on the passion of gaming.
Ha, it felt a nice antidode to the last episode! -Chris
This game truly surprised me! I was so weary of picking it up, the rabbids didn't seem like my cup of tea, but then I started playing a few rounds and instantly got hooked. To me, it's even better than XCOM in some ways. The movement gameplay features are really fun. The humor in it made me chuckle and smile, and the journey to unlock the characters to battle for you, and even the enemies were all awesome to reach.
This made my switch purchase not just an exercise in dipping my toes back into nintendo waters, but it elevated the experience towards a new direction of possibilities of experiences I could have on the Nintendo Switch.
I had no idea about the backstory, but it's incredibly interesting and cool, and seeing someone with so much passion for these games and characters brings a smile to my face.
Thanks E.G. for the hard work and great upload!
Just shows the hard work behind the scenes devs put in. We all recognize games by big publishers and not the people who worked their ass off.
This is seriously the biggest surprise of 2017 for me. Not only did one of the craziest crossovers in gaming happen, but it was great. It's such a fun game and everything from the animations, music, bosses and small details were so well done.
I think I'd be in hospital for a while too after Miyamoto said he was impressed
4:41 I love how expressive the animations are in this game. so much work went into them, you can tell
Nintendo employees must really despise the Zelda theme if it signals the end of a lunch break.
Or they really enjoy their work
I mean, I know the end of my lunch break is gonna come. So if I get to hear the heroic Zelda theme when I go back to work, making me feel pumped up and heroic myself, I'll count that as a blessing.
Trying not to sound generic here but great video.
Trying not to sound generic here but thank you so much, I really appreciate your comment! -Chris
I picked up a switch and Mario + Rabbids a week ago now & I can't put the damn thing down! Such a delightful game. Davide Soliani & his team should be very proud of what they have achieved, Bravo, Davide, bravo!
I love seeing a developer being so passionate about a project like this.
I wish we could have someone this passionate making a Sonic and Mario crossover.
I may be tired, but after hearing the whole story and seeing the footage of the creator crying had me in tears, if the clip had been any longer I'd have been a ball of inconsolable sobbing
14 people to create Mario vs Rabbids, countless people to create Wildlands, the results of both are quite funny considering how bland Wildlands is compared to Mario vs Rabbids, also great video.
I dont know what is wildlands, frankly I dont care but, 14 people made not the full game, but the prototype. I am sure the full game took a lot of people
Ghost Recon: Wildlands, the other videogame project that Ubisoft were pouring most of their time and developers into. Whereas a handful of passionate employee's created MvsR, a lesson in bigger not always being better
No. They were just a few during the prototyping phase. Once the game was greenlit, the whole team was on it. Just check the game's credit roll.
Fair enough, still shows the difference between a passionate developers
TheCouchViking a game can have the biggest, most talented dev team behind it, but if that team does not believe in the game, then no matter what, that game will never be good. Thus, a smaller game, made by a smaller, less experienced but passionate team can sometimes defeat the bigger budget title
Who the hell dislikes these vids? Do you wake up in the morning aspiring to be mean, or is it on a case by case basis?
Good job, Bratte. That was informative and adorable. And the illustrations were fabulous!
Thanks, will pass that on to the illustrator! -Chris
People with poor eyesight that makes them click too far to the right, clearly :)
Well, with that many likes I imagine a small number of people accidentally clicked the wrong thumb and didn't realise.
Its always Sony fanboys downvoting these videos.
This comment alone made me want to dislike the video
I kind of feel guilty because when this game concept first leaked and those first few pics emerged, I was really critical of it. It seemed like a bad mix to me at first and I was expecting nothing. However the more I looked the more I liked it, and I ended up buying it at launch and absolutely loving it. The team made an absolutely cracking strategy game that oozes Mario charm, has a great sense of humour and is just as polished as any 1st party Nintendo game. They have every right to be proud of their creation, especially in an industry where publishers often don't let developers follow passion projects.
What a great, heart-string pulling, story!!
i haven't gotten the chance to pick this game up yet- this story makes me want to get it!
I grew more accustom to this game over time, but this story truly does sell it to me! What you described is nothing short of a fairytale!
The quality of this video is through the roof. Thank you for sharing it with us!
I flipping love this series. Always enlightening, well presented, concise and focused and just plain old interesting, even when it's about games/studios I have no real experience of.
What a great amazing story, fantastic as always Chris.
I dont remember the last time I cried, but somehow I have tears rolling down my face right now after watching this. Maybe I'm projecting meeting Miyamoto and getting his approval...
I love this series. Learning about game details like this is awesome and something new. Keep up the awesome work.
This is like the only thing that makes me proud of being Italian... and to be called Davide
It makes me proud to be Italian, too. And I’m not even Italian!
DavrK how about the world's greatest cuisine? One of the most interesting historical legacies?
That time you guys assisted the Nazis in WW2.... Actually scratch that one, nevermind. What about Italian Opera? What about the Italians who built East Coast USA with the Irish?
Is he italian? Because you know that the rabbids are French
Wuchta "Rabbids" aren't french, Ubisoft is. And btw yes, the guy who made this game is Italian. He works for Ubisoft Italia
DavrK lol, it took me 2 seconds to google it: "Raving Rabbids, known in France as Lapins crétins, is a video game franchise spin-off from the Rayman series". They are French.
Wow. I loved playing through the game, and I felt like a lot of heart went into it, but I never imagined the game itself had such an interesting backstory.
From humble beginning I suppose.
I, I knew they didn't have a big team but. I didn't know they didn't have a programmer for so long and that their first programmer had no experience making games in any way. So glad that this game turned out to be so great.
Thanks for a great vid, Chris! This really made me smile! :)
These videos continue to be amazing Bratterz. The love that you put into them shines through and you're fantastic at finding niche subjects that are fascinating to learn about. Keep it up!
They made my cry. Incredible video. Those guys are crazy. Thanks a lot Chris 😄
That end brought me to tears. So incredible.
Wonderful video, and the illustrations are superb!
That bit of trivia about Nintendo playing the game themes to announce lunch times is great!
Awesome video! It was so weird to see this mashup when it was announced, and even more surprising when the game turned out as great as it did! Inspiering!
Great video guys. Loved the illustrations and commentary.
Love these doc style insights. More please! Great job!
Grazie Davide, and thanks for this excellent video!
I had planned to buy the Switch in the summer of 2018, but when I found out what Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle was, I went to buy a Switch within the next two days. To me, it was the game that sold th system to me.
I watched this video originally a week or so ago and have watched it a few times since then. Really love this content, please keep up the great work!
Just watched it again. Still love it.
Very lovely video :) I just started Mario + Rabbids about hearing a lot of good things ... and it is amazing!
This series is just the best
When I found out about this game I was like “How in the world is this going to work? Like it’s basically XCOM!” But after seeing a few gameplay videos this game looks really fun! If I ever get a switch this will most likely be one of my first switch games.
The XCOM developers were also impressed with the game!
Christian Dauz
Wow really? That’s great!
This was a really amazing video! I didn't realize the back story behind this game. I didn't really pay it much mind, buy now I can't help but see it in a new light. This is a really inspiring story and I'm really glad you took the time to tell it :D
this was a really cool story Chris, and very well told! I like this format, I hope you keep making them!
Love these videos, great stuff. And excellent work, Anni!
Mario to be voiced by Chris Pratt and Wario to be voiced by Chris Bratt
that was cool never heard this story before my god I'm happy now more than ever this worked out so well for him
Great vid! Still need to get this game (playing everything else) but it's on "my list" along with golf story and stardew
A fantastic video on a fantastic story. Great work and thank you for sharing it with us :)
Make me appreciate that the game was only 4 worlds. That man worked way to hard. Ubisoft should have gave him a bigger team.
This video is so well made and explained 😄👍
I already knew and heard the story - but it is one of my favorites in game history 😊
I mean how Miyamoto a legend talked about Davide 7:37 and the moment you see him crying tears of joy and gratitude and the Realisation that he and his team made his dream and idea work is just so wholesome it gets me every time 💕
Man what a legend. I’m so glad all his hard work paid off. He made such a great game and got praise from his hero. I hope his career keeps improving!
This guys love and respect for Miyamoto is absolutely adorable and it makes me really happy for some reason. He cried! Now I'm crying!
This story made me feel more moved than I expected it to be. Especially when I realize I was one of the people who were skeptical at first when it was first revealed.
He was probably having a stress induced panic attack at that hospital. I've had one myself in similar conditions of frantic working and worrying and it truly does feel like you're having a heart attack, complete with numb arm and chest pain.
I'm still so impressed by what they pulled off in that time frame!
Respect to david, not everyone gets to meet their hero twice and impress him with your own work. I will definitely buy this game just for the reason of how passionate david was to make this game
The video is awesome, as are the animations but....but is no-one else going to address the fact that animator is called Annie? Annie the Animator? That has to be a pseudonym!!? Surely!?
A really interesting story, I don't have a switch but loved hearing about it all the same - my pals wee boy has one though so I'll have great fun showing him this on Saturday when I go visit - cheers! :)
Fantastic! i love this series.
I take part in full contact martial arts tournaments(not MMA), and I can confirm that 2mins is a long time.
Thank you so much for making this video! We have been wanting to get Mario + Rabbids Kingdom battle fore quite some time now, and knowing the history of it's development has moved it to the #1 spot for our games list.
That team should keep making games. They should make a new rabbids game, like the good old wii days.
What a journey that man must've been through. To be THE guy to pitch an entirely new game to the creative minds behind Mario and a ton of other Nintendo games as well as be ACCEPTED by them after so many hard months of nonstop back-breaking work. I know I can't be that guy even if I wanted. Thank you Ninty for allowing this game to be made and thanks to the developers of Kingdom Battle for making this game what it was.
Such a great story! And nice job getting Rabbid Mario in the frame :)
Nice work, Bratterz. This was really interesting. Thanks.
I loved seeing this...thanks to you and Davide! I guess Miyamoto-san helped too...
Thank you to everyone who works to make these stories known.
Thank you to Davide and his teammates that had the passion and hard work to bring this to life.
Thank you to the executives who gave this a chance.
This was a really eye-opening experience for me. I want to be a game designer. I NEED it. Game design is the best.
But I have lots of ideas that I really want to do. And I have many great ideas, but this story has helped me realize which ones I have this type of giddy passion about, not to mention this clarity of vision - and which ones I don't. At least, not now.
It's given me some clarity into who I am, what's important to me, and why. It's an important thing to know and I'm very glad I get to see other people find that for themselves.
Once again it's great content being delivered by some of the best talent working in video game journalism today.
I remember seeing the leak and thinking this is so stupid and unimpressed then I saw it at E3 and realized this was XCOM and was sold. Bought it on release and never regretted it
Davide clearly is a treasure to Ubisoft. He made a collaboration no one else on staff would've ever dedicated themselves to and it certainly feels like the most polished, best developed, most complete game to come out of Ubisoft in YEARS.
I can overlook the Hatred for the Rabbits for such a passioned man and such anazing story
Great video for one of the great games of last year!
I always had a good feeling about the potential of the crossover but even I was surprised how well it worked when I got to play it. Bring on the sequel.
Great video about a great game. I’m really happy for Soliani about how great this game came out.
I have the same T-shirt that Miyamoto was wearing, he got it from Uniqlo!
This game looks awesome and this back-story is just pure epicness! I wonder how long this giant smile will be paining my face x)
And with a sequel on the way, you could say that the pitch worked on the customers as well.
That's a hell of a story. I got a tear of my own hearing it. :)
well put together video and very interesting. thanks!
Ah yes, he had to meet Myamoto, even with a fever. Nothing screams admiration more than getting somebody sick.
Hearing the story of how this game came to be, has made me go out and buy it.
When someone puts that much time and effort into something, it really should be celebrated.
Thanks for telling us the tale.
In these days of constant AAA BS, loot boxes, rusehd/unfinished games charging full price, and all that other crap, it's even more important to highlight the good games made by devs that still put effort into the games they're making.
Indeed!
Sure the game market is a business, but there are still those out there with the will and drive to keep making the games they want for art and entertainment.
I've never heard of self-imposed dev crunch before. It makes me worry for Soliani's longterm wellbeing, if I'm honest..
it's extremely common and just as unhealthy as you'd imagine, but as it stands it often comes between that or a substandard / no demo (or game) at all. ubisoft COULD divert lots of people to work on the prototypes for this game that might not even be approved, let alone successful (thank god both happened though!) but that would mean both spending a large amount of money on a possibility and also severely hampering their already in production game, if not even throwing it totally off schedule. all in all it's sad but also the only option - hopefully this should give soliani more people to work with in future on his wild projects, which will definitely reduce his workload and help his health out.
It's the self-imposed bit that's weird. You have to really give a crap in order to crunch yourself, as opposed to it being imposed upon you by some higher ups. As for those higher ups, why they couldn't wait longer for a demo or prototype when they've put nearly zero resources into it is beyond the realm of logic. The increasingly sweatshop nature of game development (at least when it comes to the big companies) is a really worrying trend that can only end very badly for everyone involved if something isn't done to stop it soon.
As a programmer myself (although I don't work on video games. Low salary + shitty working conditions kept me out of it) my first thought was holy shit Ubisoft seems like a shitty place to work. This video is like an anti-advertisement for them, lol.
TheRealXartaX welcome to the industry, if you want to be treated well you work in a different one and, as you pointed out, thats exactly what you did.
Indie devs as myself usually do that, as much as we shouldn't.
such a lovely story!!!! and such a cool game,
and kudos to Nintendo for giving this team of another company a shot at their precious IP.
Great episode!!! Well done.
What a great video. I'm definitely picking up the game now.
And thank you for this video!
Wow very good video, very good how you explain it and all. I come from eurogamer spain but now i see from where comes all that talent XD
Oh that's who that was in the audience? I remember people talking about that and who he was, but I had forgotten. Interesting to hear his life's story, or at least the bits pertaining to the Mario + Rabbids game.
Damnit. This video has made me cry twice now.
I've played this game. I've never really enjoy tactics based games before but this one caught my interest early on. What can I say..... it's fantastic! The game doesn't take itself seriously, pokes fun at itself constantly. The combat, my god the combat. There are times when I was in a battle and I'd think to myself,"I can't believe that f$&king worked!!!". Absolutely brilliant stuff!
And I first played mario + rabbids yesterday.
This made me smile, like a lot!
this hit my feels and inspired me to my core
The only thing I have to criticise is of the romanticisation of “crunch time”; It’s a toxic part of the games industry, and even in a great success story like this, I think we need to speak out about how this isn’t acceptable.
HELLO IT IS ME CAPTAIN BUZZKILL
+Wil Cornish tfw you have to reply to your own comment
Crunch time isn't exclusive to the games industry and most adults in any industry do exorbitant hours to meet dead lines; especially folks working in IT and construction trades.
I am glad you brought that up! It sort of sends the message that "if you want to be a good game developer, overwork yourself to the point of hospitalization"...
Soliani's passion is a beautiful thing, but for his sake (and for the sakes of those who would be inspired by him), I would have preferred if he could have toned it down a little bit.
I love the baby winston right beside his head
It’s amazing how far it’s gotten now
So happy to hear this game is getting DLC. Well deserved.