Chris Sutherland (programmer)
Chris Sutherland | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 1, 1956 England |
| Occupation(s) | Programmer, voice actor |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Employer(s) | Rare, Playtonic Games |
| Known for | Banjo Kazooie, Killer Instinct |
Chris Sutherland (born February 1, 1956)[1] is an English video game programmer and voice actor. He is best known for programming several titles while at Rare, including Battletoads Arcade, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, and Banjo Kazooie, before co-founding Playtonic Games with several other Rare employees. During this time, he also voiced several characters for the company, including Banjo and Kazooie, Diddy Kong and the announcer of the Killer Instinct series.[2][3]
Biography
In 1989, Sutherland joined the British video game company Rare as a programmer for The Amazing Spider-Man (1990) on Game Boy.[4][5] Later, he became the lead programmer for Donkey Kong Country (1994), and was responsible for implementing the game's pre-rendered graphics, a process he described as challenging due to the need to reduce the characters' frames of animation.[6] He continued to act as lead programmer for its sequel, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995), and Banjo-Kazooie (1998) and Banjo-Tooie (2000).[7] During this time, Sutherland provided voice acting for characters in several Rare games, including as Diddy Kong in Diddy Kong Racing (1997) and Donkey Kong 64 (1999), as well as the Banjo-Kazooie series' eponymous characters in all of their appearances.[8] Additionally, he has appeared as the announcer for all three games in the Killer Instinct series.[2]
In 2014, Sutherland left Rare and became one of the founding members of Playtonic Games, alongside other Rare employees including Steve Hurst, Steve Mayles, Gavin Price, Jens Restemeier, and Mark Stevenson.[5][9]
Credits
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | The Amazing Spider-Man | Programmer |
| 1991 | Sneaky Snakes | |
| 1994 | Battletoads | Programmer, voice actor (Announcer, Rash, Zitz, Pimple) |
| Donkey Kong Country | Lead programmer, voice actor (GBA version only) (Diddy Kong, King K. Rool, Kritter, Krusha, Gnawty) | |
| Killer Instinct | Voice actor (Announcer) | |
| 1995 | Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest | Lead programmer, voice actor (GBA version only) (Diddy Kong, King K. Rool) |
| 1996 | Killer Instinct 2 | Voice actor (Announcer) |
| Killer Instinct Gold | ||
| 1997 | Diddy Kong Racing | Voice actor (Diddy Kong, Banjo, Krunch, Taj the Genie) |
| 1998 | Banjo-Kazooie | Lead programmer, voice actor (Banjo and Kazooie) |
| 1999 | Donkey Kong 64 | Lead programmer, voice actor (Diddy Kong, Lanky Kong, Chunky Kong, King K. Rool, Krusha), music vocals ("DK Rap") |
| 2000 | Perfect Dark | Voice actor (Daniel Carrington, Trent Easton, DataDyne Guards) |
| Banjo-Tooie | Lead programmer, voice actor (Banjo and Kazooie) | |
| 2002 | Star Fox Adventures | Voice actor (SnowHorn Tribe) |
| 2005 | Grabbed by the Ghoulies | Programmer, voice actor (Banjo Head, Kazooie Head, Vampire Chicken) |
| Kameo: Elements of Power | Voice actor (Old Ma'wood) | |
| 2006 | Viva Pinata | Producer, voice actor (Jardiniero) |
| 2008 | Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts | Voice actor (Banjo and Kazooie) |
| 2010 | Kinect Sports | Producer |
| 2011 | Kinect Sports: Season Two | Project manager |
| 2013 | Killer Instinct | Voice actor (Announcer "Chris") |
| 2014 | Kinect Sports Rivals | Project manager |
| 2017 | Yooka-Laylee | Director, programmer, voice actor (Yooka and Laylee), music vocals ("Yooka-Laylee Rap") |
| 2018 | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | Voice actor (Banjo and Kazooie) |
| 2019 | Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair | Director, programmer, voice actor (Yooka and Laylee) |
| 2020 | Mighty Fight Federation | Voice actor (Yooka and Laylee) |
| 2021 | Terrain of Magical Expertise | Voice actor (Spirit Gate) |
References
- ^ @vas_90s (January 7, 2021). "Today's Voice Artist Spotlight: Chris Sutherland" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b Sarkar, Samit (2013-08-23). "Killer Instinct to offer classic announcer, costumes and music". Polygon. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
- ^ Stuart, Keith (2015-03-13). "Rare talent: inside the studio building Banjo-Kazooie's spiritual successor". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
- ^ Stone, Tom (2016-11-11). "Ex-Rare legend Chris Sutherland gives us the lowdown on Banjo-Kazooie and Yooka-Laylee". Games Radar. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
- ^ a b McFerran, Damien (2022-11-08). "Sacred Spaces: Rare's Manor Farm HQ - Nintendo's '90s Hit Factory". Time Extension. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
- ^ DF Retro: Donkey Kong Country + Killer Instinct - A 16-Bit CG Revolution! (YouTube). Digital Foundry. 16 December 2017. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021.
- ^ "Chris Sutherland on MobyGames". MobyGames. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
- ^ Ogden, Gavin (2008-05-14). "Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts - interview". Games Radar. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
- ^ Handrahan, Matthew (2015-02-11). "Rare veterans form Playtonic Games". Games Industry. Retrieved 2024-06-17.