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Tim Stamper is one of the co-founders of Rare, along with his brother Chris Stamper. He was the Creative Director of the company between 1985 and 2007.
History[]
Tim and Chris Stamper initially established Ultimate Play the Game in 1982 as a video game company, where they developed games for the British console ZX Spectrum. Tim was mostly in charge of graphic design, while his brother Chris programmed the games.
In 1985, after the Stamper brothers reversed-engineered the NES, they established Rare as a studio that would work on games developed for the console. Notoriously, Nintendo backed them up with an unlimited budget, which allowed them to produce several titles for the NES and Game Boy.
During the SNES era, the Stamper brothers invested in Silicon Graphics workstations, which allowed them to create games such as Donkey Kong Country and Killer Instinct, which showcased advanced graphic models. Nintendo became impressed with their efforts and, as a result, they bought a 25% stake in the company (which eventually became 49%), making Rare a second-party developer for Nintendo. During that era, Rare (under the Rareware brand) released several titles for the SNES, Game Boy, Nintendo 64, and Game Boy Color, including some of their most renowned franchises such as Donkey Kong, Banjo-Kazooie, Perfect Dark, Conker, and many others.
In September 24, 2002, Rare was purchased entirely by Microsoft, ending their second-party status with Nintendo; however, they would still develop some titles for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS.
Tim and Chris Stamper left the company in 2007, pursuing other opportunities.
List of games[]
- Slalom (1985)
- Wizards & Warriors (1987)
- Marble Madness (NES) (1989)
- World Games (NES) (1989)
- WWF WrestleMania (NES) (1989) - Designer, Director
- Cobra Triangle (1989) - Graphics, Design
- Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II (1989) - Moving Graphics, Concept, Critiquing
- Double Dare (NES) (1990) - Director
- Captain Skyhawk (1990)
- Pin*Bot (1990) - Background Graphics, Moving Graphics, Director
- Ivan "Ironman" Stewart's Super Off Road (1990)
- Solar Jetman: Hunt for the Golden Warpship (1990) - Additional Material
- Battletoads (1991) - Original Concept, Design
- High Speed (1991)
- Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat (1992)
- Battletoads (Arcade) (1994) - Original Battletoads Concept, Original Battletoads Design, Producer
- Killer Instinct (1994) - Background Design and Models
- Donkey Kong Country (1994) - Game Director
- Donkey Kong Land (1995) - Game Concept
- Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995) - Executive Director
- Killer Instinct (GB) (1995) - Original Game
- Donkey Kong Land 2 (1996) - Original Game
- Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! (1996) - Executive Director
- Diddy Kong Racing (1997) - Executive Producer
- Banjo-Kazooie (1998) - Executive Producer (credited as "Moving 'N' Shaking")
- Jet Force Gemini (1999) - Executive Producer
- Donkey Kong 64 (1999) - Support Team
- Conker's Bad Fur Day (2001) - Additional Game Design
- Donkey Kong Country (GBA) (2002) - Original DKC Team
- Grabbed by the Ghoulies (2003) - Executive Producer
- Donkey Kong Country 2 (GBA) (2004) - Original DKC2 Team
- It's Mr. Pants (2005) - Game Concept (credited as "We Dream of Pants")
- Conker: Live & Reloaded (2005) - Management
- Viva Piñata (2006) - Original Concept
- Jetpac Refuelled (2007) - Original Jetpac Design
Special Thanks[]
- Killer Instinct 2 (1996)
- Killer Instinct Gold (1996)
- GoldenEye 007 (1997)
- Donkey Kong Land III (1997)
- Conker's Pocket Tales (1999)
- Mickey's Racing Adventure (1999)
- Perfect Dark (GBC) (2000)
- Donkey Kong Country (GBC) (2000)
- Mickey's Speedway USA (2000)
- Banjo-Tooie (2000)
- Mickey's Speedway USA (GBC) (2001)
- Donkey Kong Country (GBA) (2002)
- Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge (2003)
- Sabre Wulf (GBA) (2004)
- Donkey Kong Country 2 (GBA) (2004)
- Banjo-Pilot (2005)
- Donkey Kong Country 3 (GBA) (2005)
- Rare Replay (2015)
Interviews[]
- MCV (2015)