PAX East 2013: LocoCycle

Twisted Pixel attended PAX East once again, this year, and this time, it demonstrated its newest upcoming title for Xbox Live Arcade, LocoCycle.  We got to grab footage from one of these romps through the Canyon stage, and you can see that splendor above.

LocoCycle has players assume control of the sentient, super-powered motorcycle weapon I.R.I.S. which, after being struck by lightning, decides to no longer be a weapon.  With the unwilling help of her mechanic Pablo, she rushes off into the desert, and it is there that her creator Big Arms decides to put an end to her existence, much to Pablo's chagrin on the whole matter.  Over time, she will face off against multiple operatives from Big Arms and eventually the dark motorbike S.P.I.K.E. to impede her escape.

From the gameplay demo we saw, the game primarily plays like Spy Hunter, as players drive I.R.I.S. swiftly through the landscape.  On occasion, players will have to shoot down the oncoming opposition, and if shooting them does not work, I.R.I.S. can leap up into the air and beat up the enemies with melee attacks, including the use of Pablo as a bludgeon or boomerang.  Furthermore, there are times in the missions where QTEs dictate the action within the sequence.  All the while, the game ranks your performance with each section, like a true action game. Not to mention that the game is filled to the brim with Twisted Pixel's patented humor.  Looks to be quite an intense and equally hilarious game when it finally releases.

LocoCycle will be released for Xbox Live Arcade in the coming months.

Twisted Pixel Pulls Kinect's Strings

Developer Twisted Pixel announced this week an upcoming game for XBLA which exclusively uses Kinect for game control: a shooter-platformer entitled The Gunstringer.

The Gunstringer is a combination of a shooter and platformer, in which players control a skeleton cowboy as if he were a puppet. Based on the trailer, players hold both hands outward as if they were holding puppetteer hardware, and by making a hand into a gun, players should be able to point and fire at enemies as they make their way toward the Gunstringer. The game has both on-rails segments where players can shoot and move the Gunstringer to dodge enemies and side-scrolling levels where players can use the puppeteer equipment to pull him up and make the jumps necessary to survive.

The reveal trailer opened by poking fun at gaming controllers (but not a 360 controller, oddly enough) before providing players with the Kinect gameplay mechanics. It looks a little rough right now, but we have no idea when it will release, so perhaps it has a little longer to cook.

The game will apparently feature cooperative gameplay modes, but whether the game will be retail or XBLA is unknown currently. Seeing that Twisted Pixel's last ventures have been on XBLA (some exclusive), it seems logical to assume an XBLA release. No date has been given.

Besides The Gunstringer, Twisted Pixel is currently working on Ms. Splosion Man, a sequel to the XBLA hit Splosion Man, expected for release this summer.

TRAILER

OFFICIAL SITE

Capcom Gets Twisted

Capcom Mobile, a division of Capcom focusing mostly on smaller titles on iOS, is reported to have taken a large majority of ideas from Twisted Pixel's Splosion Man in its most recent release, a game titled MaXplosion.

Late Summer 2009, Twisted Pixel released its second IP, a platforming adventure titled Splosion Man, in which players control a wild living explosion who uses explosions to jump off walls, destroy obstacles, and attempt an escape from the laboratory in which it is created. This month, Capcom Mobile released MaXsplosion, a platforming adventure game in which players control an out-of-control creature who uses explosions to make jumps, destroy obstacles, and escape the laboratory in which it resides. Sound close enough for you? Heck, even the music style is extremely similar (see the videos below).

Twisted Pixel noticed swiftly, and a large amount of tweets arose surrounding the ordeal, many of which you can see in the sources below.

Not sure what to say about MaXplosion. Pisses me off.

- Michael Wilford, CEO, Twisted Pixel

Borrowing is great. Hell, we do it all the time. But that game is a complete theft.

-Mike Henry, Programmer, Twisted Pixel

According to Wilford, the company had originally submitted Splosion Man's concept to Capcom and was rejected, which makes the scenario all the crazier. However, Twisted Pixel will not be suing Capcom, mostly because the developer cannot afford to fight against a much bigger publisher over game design similarities. Also, the lawsuit would detract from actual game development, which would hurt its current projects, too. Instead, Wilford claims that the team should fight fire with fire, producing a game on the mobile space to greatly outdo what Capcom Mobile has created.

We'll just have to make our own mobile game and I'm hopeful that Capcom will see that robbing our s*** wasn't worth it in the long run. We'll let you know when we have something on the mobile front to talk about, but now we have added incentive!

-Michael Wilford, CEO, Twisted Pixel

Capcom Mobile has made an official statement regarding the matter, too.

While Twisted Pixel did have discussions with our console game team about publishing 'Splosion Man' on game consoles, Capcom Mobile is a different division of Capcom with separate offices and as such, had no prior knowledge of any meetings between the console game team and Twisted Pixel. 'MaXplosion' was developed independently by Capcom Mobile. Nonetheless, we are saddened by this situation and hope to rebuild the trust of our fans and friends in the gaming community.

- Official Statement, Capcom

The game has not yet been removed from the App Store and most likely will not be removed without any particular claim from Twisted Pixel. Furthermore, responses from Twisted Pixel regarding the above statement are not necessarily improved, either.

Speaking of Splosion Man, it will be the first IP from Twisted Pixel to get a sequel. The developer is currently developing Ms. Splosion Man for XBLA this upcoming summer. No doubt it will be a bit harder to copy this product without a lot more red flags in the air (if there are any more to raise).

Videos (Splosion Man, then MaXsplosion)

SOURCES: PocketGamer
Joystiq / 2

Ms. Splosion Man Splodes Next Year

Crazy game developer Twisted Pixel has announced that it is producing a sequel for its hit title Splosion Man, starring a new character and bringing with it an unexpected homage.

Presenting Ms. Splosion Man, a direct sequel to the escapades of 2009's Splosion Man.

The game takes place the instant the original Splosion Man is captured by the scientists. Using a cake decoy, he is lored into a Splode-proof dome, and the scientists throw a party to celebrate. Unfortunately, some of the champagne spills in the wrong spot and ends up turning on the machine which created the monstrosity. As a bow falls onto the machine, a female version of the living explosion is formed, creating the protagonist of the new adventure.

Not much is entirely known about the game itself, but the game will be arriving mid 2011 as the company's first sequel. As to whether The Maw or Comic Jumper will get sequels, it really depends on how the team moves forward. The team is explicitly making sequels if it can find a way to improve the game style and provide something very unique; if that is true, then Ms. Splosion Man is going to be interesting, to say the least.

For those worried about new franchises, do not fret. Alongside Ms. Splosion Man, Twisted Pixel is working on a new franchise title, most likely to see a 2011 or 2012 release for download services.

ANNOUNCEMENT TRAILER

SOURCE: Joystiq

Twisted Pixel's Secret Contract

Located on developer Twisted Pixel's website is a newly-added segment dedicated to an unknown, upcoming MMO title for Turbine.



There has been reports that Turbine has been making a new MMO title for the last year and a half, and with this posted discreetly on the company's games page, it might just correlate.

Twisted Pixel is the developer of The Maw, Splosion Man, and the upcoming Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley. We interviewed CEO Mike Wilford at PAX East last March as Game On for Rowan Television Network, and we can only expect more insanity in the near future.