Pantsboard Responses – May 2009
May 2009's Burning Question:
During the next Rare site redesign, which elements would you like to see added, axed or retained? How do you rate the current site's look, features and functionality?
  Querido Senor Pantalones,
     Change is a very fickle thing, especially when some things really don't need changing in the first place. That being said, I've grown quite accustomed to the light blue color of the site (as opposed to the dark blue in earlier incarnations). Should Welcome to Rare Version 3.0 happen, I'd love to see the classics added again. Of course, I'm referring to Uncle Tusk, Win Stuff, and Limbo. Granted, the former may be impossible, what with the difficulty of locating the guy, yet the latter two seem plausible. It'd be nice to get some competition going. Limbo could definitely use an update considering all of the Rare games that have either been canceled or retooled enough to merit (legal) mentions on the site over the years. Aside from that, I don't think anything current should be axed, and I rate the current site's look, features and functionality a Wipeout Hard out of Wipeout Special.
     May the Pants bless Rare(ware),
     Mark "darkmark8" Mazzei
  I really like the simplicity and layout of Rare's current site design, so the only additions/changes I would like to see, would be to make different sections of the site have a different look to them.
     Like the Pantsboard could look like a crayon mess, yet somehow artistic. I would also like to see some old characters featured on some of the pages. For instance, some Killer Instinct characters or Battletoads members lying on the page. That would be nice to see, some throwback to the older Rare characters.
     That's about all I would like to see, I really like the simplistic flow the site has going now, so just maybe some "skin" updating for the site.
     HuntMac
Mr. Pants says:
Now I just know that your "crayon mess" reference wasn't directed at me, my fine Game Boy Advance property or even my Snakey nemesis with his dangerous concentric horseplay. You're just saying that the Pantsboard itself is largely comprised of mentally deficient scrawlings, yes? Well, whose fault is that, chum buckets?
  Dear Mr. Pants,
     I really like the clean, uncluttered site layout you have currently, but what if Rareware.com went for a more "natural" approach? The company's knack for creating lush video-game environments (from Donkey Kong Country's ambient jungle atmosphere to the lively gardens of Viva Piñata), coupled with the Twycross surroundings of the HQ itself make me believe a design inspired by nature would reflect Rare's background quite nicely.
     The Scribes page would have to be a swamp; as a reader, I always anticipate wading through the waters of DKC family tree theories and button code demands, even though I know there will be at least one scathing remark (like a crocodile or snake bite) waiting for me at the end. Then there are the comparisons between your vague cryptic responses and a swamp's murky water.
     But that is purely aesthetic. In terms of actual content, I would like to see L.O.G. have a page of the redesigned website all to himself. If Uncle Tusk can uphold a service center for as long as he did, and the future of the company website has been placed in Mr. Pants' poorly drawn stick-hands (I kid, I kid!) then I believe the Lord of Games is more than prepared for the job. He could briefly describe what it was like to create some of the more memorable Rare characters and games, as well as give insight on why some things happened the way they did.
     Until next time,
     RawkHawk2010
  You should make it look like the inside of Banjo's house, which would be pretty cool. And you should update the site more for cryin' out loud! That is all.
     Josh G.
  What I like:
     -Music function (add more Banjo please :D)
     -It has a very clean look. Quite slick.
     What I dislike:
     -The only easy way to get to the news page is that odd scrolling bar that never seems to go the way you want it to.
     What I think could be added:
     -More community based pages. Not just things like forums, but things that are interactive. Vague, I know, but it's a start.
     -More Downloads. If you're going to have a downloads page, may as well flesh it out a bit.
     Something to think about:
     -Microsoft's XBOX page has some really neat functions where you can look at your achievements, profile and even send messages and activate downloads through your PC to your XBOX. This sort of functionality is useful and keeps people coming back to the site to check up on things when they aren't next to the console. I'm not saying you should do this exactly, but think about those sort of things and how you could change the user's tools on the site.
     Oh, and of course a page detailing Banjo Fourie. Can't forget that one.
     Duncan Keller
Mr. Pants says:
Achievements! Profiles! Remote activation of downloads! Who do you think we are, Helen – some kind of 25th century galactic empire? I shudder to think what kind of creaky mutant 'user tools' we'd end up with if we shunted this site down that route.
  Really, the one thing I'd love to see on the new site is a section dedicated to revealing information about your older projects, including concept art, planning and ideas that got cut. That was something I remember back from when the original site launched back in '97 (geez, was it really that long ago?) and was a very cool little insight into how the whole process worked was very inspiring. Nowadays, I only seem to see the cool interesting stuff in magazines like Retro Gamer (which had an awesome section on Banjo, including some original concept art of Banjo's save file house) and GamesTM (which just recently did a retrospective on Diddy Kong Racing, and revealed some renders of cut characters, including goggle-eyed woolly mammoths and donkeys). It would be awesome if Rare could unveil some stuff themselves – preliminary world maps, videos of early builds and wacky bugs, early music... stuff like that.
     Although, don't give TOO much away, obviously – that would spoil half the bloody fun of it!
     Ben
  Ghad, where do I begin. First of all, the baby-blue crap needs to go. It's too light, you need something darker. In fact, the entire colour scheme is too light. Baby blue isn't interesting, it doesn't catch the eye. Darker colours give off a better feel. Second, the whole iPod theme needs to go as well. It makes the page too small and hard to navigate. 2/3 of the page is just blank and ugly space. Fill it up a little.
     Pictures– you definitely need more pictures. There's a few pre-rendered pictures from the 90's and early 000's floating around, but try rendering up-to-date pictures and putting them on your website, it'd be more interesting.
     You need to update more as well, it doesn't just have to be a huge bi-annual Scribes and an annual Pantsboard/Tepid Seat, you can add smaller updates too. Even progress reports are nice.
     Well, that's all I can think of at the moment. But seriously, top priority should be getting rid of the baby blue... how I hate baby blue...
     Tanjo
  After visiting the website, I must say it is rather bare. While you do have a rather flashy UI, I think you should drop it in favor of a more traditional website with more features. I couldn't find the forums, do they exist? If not they should.
     Love your games,
     Antinash
     P.S. Put up a Conker teaser site now, then release a new Conker game in 2013. I need something to keep me excited for the next four years :D
Mr. Pants says:
Downgrade to a less flashy site, you say? It's a winner! Seeing as I'm 2D and look like I was drawn in a particularly lowly art program (I was) I'm naturally in favour of technical backpedalling wherever possible. Bring on the calligraphic font and mail submission by horseback messenger!
  I love the current site design! It's so unique and I think it may be the best site design ever.
     There's always room for improvement though. I for one would like to see a secret area... More secret than the current secret area. Maybe a ridiculously secret area.
     How would you enter the area? Hmm... Maybe you get the SnS eggs from Banjo-Kazooie, receive all the prizes in Nuts & Bolts, trade the prizes to Mumbo for the eggs, transfer the eggs to Banjo-Tooie, trade the eggs to Heggy the Hen for some water, trade the water to Captain Blackeye to sober him up, Blackeye will leave Jolly's and reveal his boat, you run on his boat when he is not looking, you are sailed to Dream Island, you talk to Dr. Eam who tells you that a boy named Edison has a serious condition and he needs your help, you find Edison and talk to him, Edison is crying and tries to tell you that he has failed and gives you his sword, you use the sword to fight Captain Blackeye, Blackeye gives you a 3000 lettered code, you decode it to 132 letters and then use it to open the ridiculously secret area.
     Or you could do something simple, but that's not your style.
     Johnathan Taylor
  What ever happened to the game battle toads, that was a great game that could do very well if came out for the 360. offer a 3 player co-op online and a three player offline on one system, of course you would need to add multi-player team based fun and free for all fun. This would give you the option for future DLC. Conker is my next question it has been awhile since live and reloaded, and mind you many people see-sawed on the multi-player, the "come back" the game could make now re-vamped for the 360 and with a bigger and better multi-player system template and graphics it could sell multi millions.
     Thomas Edwards
Mr. Pants says:
Tomboy! You haven't got the hang of this, have you? Even if your typing and grammar weren't so rubbish I couldn't be bothered trying to fix them, you don't seem to understand the purpose of the Pantsboard either. Tell you what though, those Battletoads – I went out cruising for groupies with Zitz and Pimple once after a trade show (Rash said he had to be in bed by 8pm) and we all ended up in a basement working on Duke Nukem Forever in the wee hours of the morning. Crazy times.
     (PS Lawyers: not really, it was Donkey Kong Racing.)
  Well well, who do we have here? How do you do, Mr. Pants?
     So you're still doing these reader surveys every now and then. I must say, that's neat. I hope you'll continue doing them on the new site between your other part-time jobs as a Jet Force Gemini drone enemy and a videogame designer stealing primates' ideas for puzzle games.
     Whatever may be the case, it strikes me as a bit odd that the site will already change again. I'll look forward to a font that doesn't remind me of an army of blue ants lining themselves up for war (read: bigger font please – thank you), but all in all I'd rather have more content instead of just a new coat of paint. I know, it's not like there's nothing on your pages right now, but the site just doesn't feel complete when so many of your classics are only represented in the timeline. These games are one of the main reasons why many of Rare's fans BECAME Rare's fans, so I feel they deserve a spot in the limelight again. Or are you simply keeping them from the public eye because you fear you might accidentally advertise a certain online service of a certain Japanese console manufacturer? Then how about just uploading material about the classics you and Microsoft own every right to?
     Additionally, Limbo would make a neat addition as well. It'd be a nice place to talk a little about stuff like, oh, let's say, the tales behind racing games from the PS2/Xbox/GameCube era who never came to be...
     I hope I'm not demanding too much from you and your webmaster buddy. But you were practically asking for it anyway.
     So then, till next time!
     Graf Saecula
  I like every feature except how everything looks like an iPod. Maybe you also should add a lot more variety to the website. Overall it functions well.
     Yours truly,
     Sonicfan91
  Hello Rare. I've been to your site many times and I love it. Nothing is wrong with the site's look. It's perfect. However I do think an option for custom themes would adequate. (ex: Banjo-Kazooie, Viva Piñata, Perfect Dark, etc.) And it wouldn't hurt to add some more MP3s to your library (enhanced if that's not asking too much). And I would like to see a Piñatapedia for Trouble in Paradise if you please. Other than those things your site is perfect! Keep up the good work.
     Harrison Mays
Mr. Pants says:
Harrison Mays and Sonicfan91 in a TITANIC FIGHT to the DEATH over whether or not the Rare website looks any good. Tickets only 1200 Microsoft Points!
  As a web designer, I have quite a few issues with the current site:
     1) The text is too small, especially on big screens that everybody has now.
     2) The contrast is meh. Dark blue on light blue, white on regular blue, dark blue on regular blue. It would be a lot more readable if you used good contrast again, like back then when you used white or yellow on dark blue. Why does everything have to be so bright and shiny these days?
     3) Flash. It's annoying. I am using Flashblock, so I couldn't see half of the site when I first visited it. Same for people who don't have Flash installed (happens in public places). It doesn't improve the navigability of the site, it doesn't look better because of Flash, the only thing us users notice are the annoying sounds when we visit the site. Do away with all the sounds please. Or at least give us an options to turn them off.
     4) OK, enough moaning, now I'll list what I like about the site. That's the music player (could be bigger though), timeline and Scribes. The download page has some good stuff, too and the secret part is a nice touch.
     5) What I miss: Uncle Tusk and an official forum. But I don't see them happening. Or do I...?
     fraggingBrain
  G'day Rare crew.
     In traditional Rare fashion, you tease us with an offer of speaking directly to the man himself... following what's come in the past however, I'm sure it won't lead to any kind of 'leak' of new information about upcoming games. Which is fine. It's understandable – you CAN'T reveal anything, right? It's this desire though, alongside the actual INPUT of ideas that keeps us dedicated fans following your website. So, with this idea in mind, I propose you create a segment of the site dedicated to revealing a first hand insight into the development cycle of your games... not your new ones, but your old ones.
     I envision a 2–3 page documentary type presentation that includes interviews from the major staff involved, concept art, BETA screenshots and most importantly a detailed discussion of the lead designer's philosophy of the game. A 'this is WHY we did it this way' sort of thing.
     Now, it's important to remember that this insight is not just limited to games that have been completed and released. There's a massive opportunity here to demo some ideas that didn't quite come to fruition within the Rare offices. GBA Battletoads *cough*
     Maybe something with Dave Wise? Damn that guy is good.
     Sean Ware
Mr. Pants says:
Sounds straightforward, doesn't it, tosh? Alas, the reality of old Rare game developers having far too much other work to do/really rubbish memories/misplaced or non-existent design docs/signatures on pesky NDAs/new jobs at entirely different companies tends to scupper one's plans in that area. Also, do you sign your cheques 'S. Ware' then add a random swearword?
  I’m right behind you!
     I think the next site should definitely have a larger font. That has to be the main thing to address. I can easily read it as it is, but I find larger font more friendly. Kinda like the previous version of the site. Very friendly. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go stare at a flower for an hour.
     Darren Borg
  Gez my circular friend, this is like asking me for my Christmas list in late March! Where do I begin…? (*Deep breath*)
     Keep the light blue and futuristic themes, loose the "BWEE-YOUP" sound when you load the page as some people might have to visit via school/work/library computers (or at least give us the option to turn the damn thing off), make it easier to copy & paste the URLs to certain parts of the site in case a certain someone had a desire to promote it on a fan-site or something, leaderboards connected to Conker/PDZ/Kameo/Jetpac/Banjo-Kazooie/Banjo-Tooie/Nuts&Bolts/VP/VP:TiP through the Live system would be GREAT, an online store with plenty of cool swag (like that cool-looking KI comic series I never could get my mitts on), free kittens, more Rare Roots sections because they ROCK, more concept art from stuff that's already established (like Banjo, Joanna Dark, Gregg the Grim Reaper, Mr. Ribs, Deep Blue, etc.), more polls/more frequent polls to show you overwhelmingly what we want. Oh, and a life-size Lackatoad plushie. Make it happen like I know only you can, Mr. P!
     Zenek
  I read that the people at Rare would like comments on the site, so here goes.
     Its navigation is a bit unusual, but its easy to get used to, so no need to change much there.
     Perhaps more game related content would be neat (I know getting GoldenEye screens on the site might be troublesome since Nintendo is sensitive about that), but in my opinion it would be great to get to know more about the classics and how they came to be, so perhaps dev updates (diary style perhaps?) would be welcome, the guys at bungie.net did a decent job, perhaps worth checking out.
     Käy Vriend (a loyal fan :) )
Mr. Pants says:
Holy struthiomimus! The Bungie boys and girls have a small army of people to wrangle their community – we've got, like, a sullen chimp and a cleaner or something. More blog-esque/developer stuff (for non-antique games) would be nice, it just means persuading the devs to overcome their natural pant-envy and dish the dirt...
  Redesign ahoy? Spiffing.
     You know what I think, good sir? Make the site wider! It's one of the thinnest websites I've ever seen. Any thinner, Pantsy, and you wouldn't even fit on the page!
     Make the font size bigger. I think you're trying to give me cataracts.
     Why is the news page hidden away in the company section instead of being part of that menu on the side? Also, I fail to see the real need to have a news page and an updates page separately. Ever thought of just combining them both?
     Now for some praise: The MP3 player is good... the colour scheme is good... it's pretty decent all round... Of course, Mr. Pants, if YOU were the one making the website I'm sure you'd do a far superior job. I for one feel that an increase in underwear-related imagery would significantly increase viewing figures. I'm sure you can at least beg the webmasters to add a "hello everybody... pants away!" voice sample onto the home page. You know it makes sense.
     Tom Cheshire
     P.S. I'm sorry about calling you Pantsy. I am aware that this sounds like 'Pansy,' so remind me never to call you that again. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.
  To the Charming Underwear-Model Chap--
     The site is very sleek and the music player to the side is an awesome idea, especially since one can scroll through the different songs on it. Navigation around the site is easy enough. The only place I'd say it loses points for functionality--to a small extent--would be its use of Flashplayer. On more than one occasion, my desire to read your glorious site during school hours has driven me to madness, as the school blocks my every effort to download Flash (an issue I should, perhaps, take up with the school instead...), leaving me with an only partially functional site.
     On the Extras, you might want to consider either a larger text or larger margins. Everything is very nice and compact when browsing most sections of the site, but then you click on a specific extra and the text spans the entirety of the page. Even when making the text size larger with the use of the nifty buttons in the upper right, it isn't quite large enough to stop the disorenting effect of reading text that spans a few inches and then text which spans a foot.
     Out of 10, the current site gets an 8.0 for overall look and ease of use (also because it's shiny...).
     Keep up the awesomeness.
     Mirage "BK-GiRL"
Mr. Pants says:
Better than trying to read a whole Pantsboard in flip-screen-one-letter-at-a-time-o-vision though, Shirley? I get your concerns about Flash, although the word gives me shivers for different reasons since last Sunday when my curtains fell down (with a slide whistle noise) as I was trying on new pants and my elderly neighbour was walking her Jack Russell past the living room window. Oh man! The police didn't leave for hours.
  Hello Mr. Pants.
     So I happen to float around to the Pantsboards tonight and saw that you're looking for opinions about the website design.
     I really like the originality that was done to this website by your buddies. Personally, I wouldn't know where to go about anything that would make anything such as this better. BUT we all could use something different, or in my case bring back some memories if you're following me. (Normally I would spam this whole message with smileys, but I will attempt to have some kind of manners to the Exalted Pantsman.)
     Ever thought about fixing the website so that it would have a few different themes for our favorite past games? I mean like, whenever someone refreshes the page, the website at random picks a certain video game to play from. For instance; one day I come to this website, and the background, layout along with the website buttons are scripted to operate or sound like my old favorite videogame, Perfect Dark for the Nintendo 64. Then I hit the refresh on the page and BAM we got a theme of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts. I believe you understand where I'm coming from with this.
     Do you guys keep the old designs of the website from the past on how it looked? Kinda like to look back on your work and see its progress and improvement over the years?
     Style: 9. Even with all that great stuff. Yet... something feels like it's missing... perhaps a background image?
     Interactivity: 10. You know, to my tastes, this wasn't too much, and it wasn't too less, I actually enjoy pushing random buttons on this site.
     Functionality: 10. Never once I looked at this website seeing something not working properly, great job Rareware!
     Actually, I can't think of any more ratings, I'm completely satisfied with the way this site looks, but still I bet I could make a pretty good website out of Flash if you guys were looking for ideas.
     But remember this, if you guys do happen to fix up the website with anything similar to what I have said, prepare for the most awesome traditional drawing to go across your eyes!
     ...I feel as if I have run out of subject quite a lot on this...
     Clarence Jones
  The site now is fine and everything, but, well, not all people don't exactly have miniature computer screens anymore. Is there any way that the width of the site could be "expanded" to fit the screen size (the site is Flash-based after all... isn't that supposed to be able to do everything)? The site humor, the radio device thing staring at me, and the downloads are fine though.
     Delibird444
Mr. Pants says:
The whole site isn't exactly "Flash-based", you crazy technofearing Poké-loon, it's just got bits of Flash stuck to it. Although you're not alone in cussing the width. I can barely fit my humongous barrel chest into some of these pages!
  I'd like to see some darker colors for the site, like the original RARE logo's dark blue background being used for borders and tabs, dark charcoal black for the site's background - I say dark "charcoal" because charcoal usually has a worn look to it that, in my opinion, would be perfect behind text – and eggshell white text. Also it would be cool if you kept your game archives and added a higher sized text for – well, everything. It's pretty small for easy Scribes reading. Besides that I think you should keep pretty much everything in one form or another – Scribes MUST remain – and have new monthly background tunes – only one accessible tune for the background of your website every month – and put the tune archives and downloads together, so you could listen to them and download them from the same list. Hm, I guess that's it, oh, wait, I think your tabs should be positioned near the top of the page horizontally under the very top of the site's homepage is, which would have a monthly-updated picture (if the positioning I was referring to on that last one is hard to understand, just picture Banjo-Kazooie.com's homepage, only with a new picture at the top of the page every month). OH, one last thing, could you PLEASE add some community page where you guys pick through projects and fan art people make? That would be better then everything else on my list.
     Okay, well, that's all I can think of, hope my demands aren't too unrealistic.
     Buh!
     Joel Bryner
  Hey Mr. Pants!
     What do I want to see on the new Rare site you ask?! WELLLLLL... I want to see it like the old Rare Where site except FLASHY, SHINIER AND MORE COLORFUL!! Also, a page for each game series with screenshots, videos, game arts, etc. on each page! Even a page for It's Mr. Pants 2 (I know it's coming!)
     Also, here's a picture I made of you. Use it for the new Pantsboard page.
     Banjo-Kazeegan
  Hello there Mr. Pants,
     I think something that should be done is when you visit a different game page, the site would give it a specific theme so it doesn't seem so generic like it is right now. Also, I'm sorry for not buying your game.
     Hammer Bro. Mike
Mr. Pants says:
And that's it, is it, braw? One single, halfhearted line and you think you're absolved? At least Kazeegan had the grace to pretend a Pantsquel was inevitable, and you know, it's probably best if we focus on that part of his/her letter rather than the picture.
  I think one of the coolest (and possibly most requested) new features that Rare could add is a Message Board, since Rare fans are very loyal and like to debate about the company and the games.
     There is no place for the fans to meet; although there is a lot of fansites (and even very good ones), none of them is so well-known that the community can meet there; plus, it would make feedback much easier to give.
     Luiz Felipe from Brazil
  Honestly, I never understood the MP3 player motif, or having Flash and sound effects everywhere. Please, no more sound effects. What I'd mainly want out of a redesign, however, is for the typeface to be larger in Scribes and other such letters-and-responses pages (or for the column to be narrower). And, every page should have an enormous SNES-era render filling the background.
     Aaron Goodier
  If you were to redesign your site I'd like to see a bigger focus on your characters. Have like a "Rareware Character of the Week" or something on the front page. Also have pages for all your major franchises with character profiles. You have such a memorable cast, don't ever let anyone tell you differently, sweetie. *pinches cheek*
     Sailor Moon
Mr. Pants says:
Is that a euphemism? Just don't pinch too hard, Mooncat! I'm all 2D and bits of me might come right off in your hand! Then I'd be unsightly and this page would become the L.O.G. Board or something, and nobody wants that.
  Dear Mr. Pants,
     My only main cosmetic suggestion for a new site design are fairly simple. First off, a larger content area. I'm not really much of a fan of the site content being enclosed in a small, centered box with empty space on both sides. Second, a slightly larger font would be nice. Finally, some colors that are just a wee bit darker would be nice as well, although this one is less important.
     For things I'd like to see added... more music for each of the games would be nice but I don't know how much of a hassle that stuff is to get put up. There's nothing I'd really like to see taken away, as the current features of the site are great.
     Anyway, I am interested to see what ends up becoming the next site design. Hopefully something really good and not rubbish. Or not 'pants'. Dohohoho!
     I'll leave now.
     Larry Keller (bottles98)
  Hi Rare,
     I'm a fan of the current design in terms of presentation and I think it's organized pretty well, but it's not easy to find things. Adding a sitemap and a search function would probably go a long way.
     As for adding new functionality, I do wish you would share a bit more about what's going on inside the company via a collection of interviews, a company blog (with contributions from different teams) and perhaps a podcast. In other words, I think you could do a better job of marketing Rare's value to hardcore gamers by giving a behind-the-scenes look at creative processes, artistic whims and technology developments by the teams within. Earn the interests of the hardcore (i.e. the small, but loud and influencing opinion leaders) that spread word-of-mouth, as well as give you valuable feedback.
     Lionhead's Peter Molyneux does a terrific job of garnering interest for his games by talking up his innovative ideas and the technological ambition that will drive them. He's learned a bit of restraint is necessary, but even now he can still get gamers excited. Having played Viva Piñata and Banjo Nuts & Bolts, it's clear you have both the artistic talent and the technological wizardy that people can get excited about. Additionally, why don't you share a bit about the contributions you make to MGS studios, including Turn10, Lionhead and Xbox Live? It's understandable you can't have full disclosure, but simply making it known that you're working with other MGS teams would earn interests.
     Bungie, Turn10 and Insomniac do a great job at connecting with their respective fanbases, listening to them and improving their games because of it. They're incredibly open and responsive (thanks for the quick text fix in BN&B, btw) that has not been typical of Rare. Get on the social media bandwagon with a blog and a Twitter account at the very least.
     Avatars. You developed them, so I imagine you could integrate them into your site. Imagine letting gamers, adults and children alike, creating patterns for clothes or accessories, and then even sharing them with each other. That's an app that could very well go viral among a wide demographic. Use it as a segue to creating your very own Animal Crossing-like experience. ;)
     I'm excited to see what you do. If you have some kind of notification lists for you when you launch the new site put me on it!
     John
Mr. Pants says:
John? How's your arm, John? Rare doesn't come from the same kind of background as some of these other developers – it's a lot less secretive than it used to be, but it just ain't ready for the full-bore community intrusion just yet. No internal PR, and intentionally no single public mouthpiece like The Molyneux, though obviously I come close and in fact exceed him by some distance in the fashion department. Anyway, we're here right now, ain't we? Interacting and responding? John, I feel good! Just like old times!
 
Totally ovoid! We appreciate all your comments, even if some of them weren't as revolutionary as we'd expected. You expect us to believe you like most of the current website when all anyone ever does is moan about it? Great merciful Van Dammage!
     I expect that at some point we'll see how much of this gets integrated into the next site design. Don't look at me, I wouldn't even be able to design a website for a company called 'Underwear on Plain White Background Ltd.' This is skilled work, mens! So until the next crayon mess of a Pantsboard... play them off, keyboard cat!
Pantsboard Responses – May 2009