The Yooka-Laylee Developer Commentary is a web series on YouTube that details the creation and development of Yooka-Laylee's worlds. The series was the £1,200,000 stretch goal reward from the original Yooka-Laylee Kickstarter. Daley Johnson - Engagement Director for Playtonic Games - is the series' host and editor. Each episode features several different Yooka-Laylee developers to give their insights on each world. Along with that, each episode also contains questions that were asked by Playtonic on their Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter.
Episode List[]
| Title, thumbnail, & video link | Ep. No. | World Featured | Upload Date | Duration | Developers Featured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yooka-Laylee Developer Commentary 1: Prologue | 1 | Shipwreck Creek | December 11, 2018 | 30:51 | Daley Johnson, |
| Yooka-Laylee Developer Commentary 2: Tribalstack Tropics | 2 | Tribalstack Tropics | January 8th, 2019 | 1:20:31 | Daley Johnson, |
| Yooka-Laylee Developer Commentary 3: Glitterglaze Glacier | 3 | Glitterglaze Glacier | January 22nd, 2019 | 1:24:35 | Daley Johnson, |
| 4 | Moodymaze Marsh | February 7th, 2019 | 1:11:28 | Daley Johnson, Steve Mayles, | |
| 5 | Capital Cashino | February 19th, 2019 | 1:16:39 | Daley Johnson, Chris Sutherland, Kevin Bayliss, | |
| 6 | Galleon Galaxy | February 27th, 2019 | 1:00:58 | Dan Murdoch, Andy Robinson, Gary Talbot, Dean Wilson, Hamish Lockwood | |
| 7 | Stationary Cupboard for Capital B (Boss) | April 15th, 2019 | 1:00:23 | Daley Johnson, Gavin Price, Hamish Lockwood, Simon Gerges, Gary Talbot |
Episode 1: Prologue (Shipwreck Creek)[]
The first episode serves as a short 30-minute prologue for the series. The episode begins at the main menu, and ends before the developers enter the first Grand Tome. This episode features Daley Johnson (Engagement director and series host), Gavin Price (Managing director), Hamish Lockwood (Designer), and Steven Hurst (Environmental Art director).
After the introduction of the developers, the Price asks if the heads in the main menu were randomized (the heads in the "Options & Stuff" are randomized, but not the heads on the main part of the menu.) Price then follows up saying that they can't remember if the heads were randomized. He also states that the reason why Playtonic took so long to start this commentary series was due to "genuine reasons which [Playtonic Games] cannot discuss right now." Johnson mentions that she thinks that Vendi is terrifying, and Price responds with "Everyone does. That's Kev Bayliss at his worst."
The original design for Trowzer, drawn by Gavin Price.
During the introduction cut scene, Price says that Dave Rose was the one who put in Dr. Quack's statue. After, they skip the introduction and mentioned how long it took them to add in a skip option. Price says that Lee Jackson (Quality Assurance tester) came into the office with bloodshot eyes saying how fed up he was with the opening cutscene. It's mentioned that the team left Dave Rose to add in the small details of Shipwreck Creek, like the towels, the multicolored paint, etc.
As they talk to Trowzer, Gavin Price states that he designed Trowzer originally on a post-it note. The original personality for Trowzer was that he was supposed to be taken seriously while actually being a loser. Trowzer was also supposed to be in one half of the pants, while the other half was empty to make him look less proficient. Steve Mayles then came up with the current design for Trowzer, which Gavin Price states that the current design is "inferior in every single way." The original reason why the team thought a snake would be the move-tutor for Yooka and Laylee was because the team thought it would be funny if Trowzer demonstrated the moves for the characters and moved in a way that didn't represent the ability at all. While the team was deciding on Trowzer's name, Steve Mayles' wife got mad at Mayles for the character's name, and the team thought that was the perfect opportunity to lock in the name for good.
Random names that are scattered around the game are after some of the developer's children. Inside of the ship Bat Ship Crazy, the name "Penny" is sketched on one of the walls. Penny is the name of Dave Rose's daughter. For about two to three weeks, ideas for the name of the ship itself was passed around in emails before it was finally decided. The developers also mentioned that Yooka and Laylee haven't been living in Shipwreck Creek for very long.
Originally, Blasto was apparently wearing something blue and yellow, which is confirmed that his name is a reference to Banjo from the Banjo-Kazooie Series. The swimming mechanics in Yooka-Laylee was tinkered around with a lot. They let fans during the Toybox to play around with it and most fans said that the swimming controls didn't feel like Banjo-Kazooie, therefore it didn't feel right. Eventually, the developers got used to it and stuck with the original swimming mechanic.
In one of the first demos, the developers stated that the Corplets were one of the first characters created. For the collectibles, the main theme for the Playtonic Universe were books, so they thought that Pagies and Quills would fit perfectly as the collectibles. It's hinted that the Grand Tomes themselves disliked being within Hivory Towers, so the tome's assets were poured out of it into the tower.
Episode 2: Tribalstack Tropics[]
The second episode in the series that features the first world in Yooka-Laylee. This episode features Daley Johnson (Engagement director and series host), Gavin Price (Managing director), Hamish Lockwood (Designer), and Steven Hurst (Environmental Art director).
In the beginning of the episode, Gavin Price says that the beginning of every level, the player is forced to use the ability that's given to them by Trowzer. It's also stated that on the Playtonic forums during development, one of the discussions being passed around was is if Yooka would stop to do a dance if they collected a Pagie. The solution to this was to give the players a set of several emotions, so that if the player wanted to stop and celebrate, they would have the option to do that. During Yooka and Laylee's taunt emotion, Steve Mayles originally had Yooka's middle finger sticking out. The Ghost Writers were inspired by Banjo-Kazooie's Jingos. However, to make them different, the developers added challenges with each Ghost Writer.
Originally, Tribalstack Tropics was originally the level shown off in the Kickstarter. The base of the Duke's Temple was in the original demo, but it was expanded to have more floors throughout development. The theme of Tribalstack Tropics was a callback to their older games back when they worked at Rare, Ltd.
In the Tribal Village where Clara Lost is located, the doorways that don't lead to anywhere used to be huts. Eventually, they were turned into doors. The doors were meant to lead into a different area. Due to time retraints, the doors didn't lead to anywhere. The developers sarcastically said that the reason why they didn't animate Clara getting out of the pot was definitely not due to "the lack of animation resources", or the fact that Clara's "legs aren't secretly not modeled". Potty Mouth also originally didn't have a face in early development.
The existence of the Power Meter was very divisive. Some of the team felt like it was necessary, while the other half of the team thought the player should be able to use abilities without energy requirements. They're considering to not use it in future sequels. The Tribalstack Tile Puzzle's symbols are actual Aztec glyphs.
The Yooka-Laylee Kickstarter raised around £2,090,104, but Gavin Price stated that after taxes, they really only earned about £1,300,000. Price states that they considered budgeting things differently and have some things come as DLC packs like Rextro Sixtyfourus' Minigames.
Episode 3: Glitterglaze Glacier[]
The third episode in the series that features the second world in Yooka-Laylee. This episode features Daley Johnson (Engagement director and Series host), Gavin Price (Managing director), Gary Talbot (Technical animator), Dean Wilson (Creative director), and Hamish Lockwood (Designer).
Episode 4: Moodymaze Marsh[]
The fourth episode in the series that features the third world in Yooka-Laylee. This episode features Daley Johnson (Engagement director and series host), Chris Sutherland (Project director), Gary Talbot (Technical animator), Simon Gerges (Senior software engineer), and Ross Bullimore (Designer).
Episode 5: Capital Cashino[]
The fifth episode in the series that features the fourth world in Yooka-Laylee. This episode features Daley Johnson (Engagement director and series host), Chris Sutherland (Project director), Kevin Bayliss (Character designer), Ross Bullimore (Designer), and Dan Murdoch (Audio Director).
Episode 6: Galleon Galaxy[]
The sixth episode in the series that features the fifth world in Yooka-Laylee. This episode features Dan Murdoch (Audio Director), Andy Robinson (Writer), Gary Talbot (Technical Animator), Dean Wilson (Creative Art DIrector), Hamish Lockwood (Designer).
Episode 7: Capital B[]
The seventh and final episode in the series features the final boss: Capital B (Boss) in Yooka-Laylee. This episode features Daley Johnson (Engagement director and series host), Gavin Price (Managing director), Hamish Lockwood (Designer), Simon Gerges (Senior software engineer), and Gary Talbot (Technical Animator).
Trivia[]
- Despite Tribalstack Tropics being listed as episode 2, Daley mistakenly calls it episode 1 in the beginning of the episode.
- The series is edited by the Playtonic Engagement Director Daley Johnson's ex-fiance Edward Gizzi, who is a freelance editor.
- Episode 3: Glitterglaze Glacier introduces the first eight notes from the Yooka-Laylee melody, played by a marimba, as an intro. The outro sound effect is faster as well.
- Episode 6: Galleon Galaxy is the only episode that does not feature Daley Johnson
- Despite being included in Episode 6: Galleon Galaxy, Andy Robinson retired from Playtonic Games before the episode was released.
- On March 27th, on a Yooka-Laylee Discord server, Daley Johnson stated that there are plans for another future video series.