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]
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 |
Biography
editIn 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 was responsible for implementing the graphics in Donkey Kong Country (1994), for which he found reducing the characters' frames of animation challenging.[6] He served as the lead programmer for its sequel, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995), and Banjo-Kazooie (1998).[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]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Console | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Battletoads | Announcer | |
| Killer Instinct | |||
| 1996 | Killer Instinct 2 | ||
| 1997 | Diddy Kong Racing | Diddy Kong, Banjo, Krunch, Taj the Genie | |
| 1998 | Banjo-Kazooie | Banjo and Kazooie | |
| 1999 | Donkey Kong 64 | Diddy Kong, Lanky Kong, Chunky Kong, King K. Rool, Krusha | |
| 2000 | Perfect Dark | Daniel Carrington, Trent Easton, DataDyne Guards | |
| 2002 | Star Fox Adventures | SnowHorn Tribe | |
| 2003 | Donkey Kong Country | Diddy Kong, King K. Rool, Kritter, Krusha, Gnawty | (Game Boy Advance version only) |
| 2004 | Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest | Diddy Kong, King K. Rool | (Game Boy Advance version only) |
| 2013 | Killer Instinct | Announcer "Chris" | |
| 2017 | Yooka-Laylee | Yooka, Laylee | |
| 2021 | Terrain of Magical Expertise | Spirit Gate |
References
edit- ^ @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.