
For those of you who have seen the gameplay trailer for Explodemon, it would seem that this is just the type of game the WiiWare service has been in need of lately. Curve has just sent out the official press release announcing the game and you can now check out the full contents of it below for more information on the game.
Independent developer Curve Studios today announced Explodemon!, the developer’s first self-published original title for digital download.
Explodemon! is a 2.5D platform action game influenced by classic Japanese games from the golden era of the SNES. The game is based around Explodemon, an exploding hero that uses his explosive ability to combat enemies, propel himself through the air, destroy anything in his path and solve puzzles using the game’s solid physics system. Explodemon! is packaged up as a loving parody of badly translated action games and everything that they embody.
The game came into being after Curve’s Design Director, Jonathan Biddle, decided to try making his own games. “I’d been a games designer for many years, but had always wanted the ability to prototype ideas myself. I decided to learn Game Maker and started making a platform game about an exploding man. After a working silently away for a few months in my spare time, I let a few people at Curve play Explodemon! and it became obvious that I’d managed to create something very fun.”
Jason Perkins, Managing Director of Curve, is enthusiastic about the title. “Due to the prototype, we’ve been in the fortunate position of having been able to play Explodemon! for a long time now. The gameplay has been honed through iterative playtesting so many times, that we are effectively now releasing Explodemon II. We’re excited to now be able to marry this solid gameplay with cutting edge 3D visuals and effects and release it via digital distribution for others to enjoy.”
Biddle continues, “Explodemon! is best described as what Treasure would create if they mixed Yoshi’s Island with Half Life 2. It includes many elements from games as diverse as Street Fighter II, Halo, Super Metroid and Bangai-O. As lifelong gamers, we’re huge fans of these titles and feel we’ve managed to bring together something that captures something from all of them. We think that there are many gamers out there like us who feel that there aren’t enough absolutely amazing action platform games on the current download services and we really can’t wait for people to see that we’ve managed to create exactly that with Explodemon!”
Explodemon! is planned for release in Q4 2009 on the PlayStation®3 via the PlayStation®Network. Subsequent versions will be released on the PC through various online portals, and for the Wii on Nintendo’s WiiWare service. Visit www.explodemon.com for a trailer of the game.
We'll have more information on Explodemon as it becomes available, as well as a full review of the game once it hits the WiiWare service.
[source curve-studios.com]
Comments 22
doesnt look 2 bad might pick this 1 up
THIS...Is what I'm looking for.
Just the screen shots include better gaming parody than I've seen in a long time. That mixed into a some good 2D action makes me really excited for this one. (the city building phallus' and tentacle aliens are really funny here; great stuff)
"Biddle continues, “Explodemon! is best described as what Treasure would create if they mixed Yoshi’s Island with Half Life 2"
Big words, Biddle.
If anything the trailer gave me a Pulseman vibe.
Its looking real good. Definate buy for me =)
Although Explodemon sounds like Pokemon, it looks more like Super Contra, Super Metroid or Turrican with 2.5D Graphics. I like these games on the SNES and Explodemon could be really interesting. - To say that something like this is needed on WiiWare is an understatement. But I'm afraid, it takes at least 100 years until it comes to Europe. I'm still waiting for LIT, Gradius ReBirth and Bit.Trip Beat. sigh
It is obvious that these screenshots, as well as the trailer, aren't from the Wii version.
Explodemon! is planned for release in Q4 2009 on the PlayStation®3 via the PlayStation®Network. Subsequent versions will be released on the PC through various online portals, and for the Wii on Nintendo’s WiiWare service.
What part of "the Wii is the best selling console ever" do developers have trouble understanding? Is it the millions of customers waiting to fork over their dollars? The massive install base in all regions? The superior release methodology of the WiiWare service, that gives every game title a chance to shine? Oh, I got it! It's the better royalties, isn't it? Developers just can't stand that WiiWare provides better royalty rates.
Seriously. WiiWare has to wait last for the game? Oscar Mike Golf Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Bravo Bravo Quebec. You'd think a company that could develop a competitive 3D title would be a little smarter than that.
@thewiirocks
Amen brudda.
@thewiirocks
Just because they mention it last on the list doesn't mean it will come out last of all the services. It could launch within weeks of the PSN version. It could also come a long while before the PC versions as well.
@Thewiirocks: I thought the DS was the best selling, then the Wii (and then PS2).
I don't trust a man named Biddle!
He brought Treasure into this....Treasure! How dare you bring them, Yoshi's Island, BANGAI-O, Street Fighter 2, Super Metroid, and Mario?
He's a madman-MADMAN!
He's a Mainstream Gamer too I like that.
@Thewiirocks:
It's not that developers don't get something that you do get. From good sources:
Good news of article: a date has been announced for the game.
Bad news of article: the game isn't coming until Q4 2009.
Oh, well. No matter who's getting this game first, we all have to wait some time. Hopefully it comes sooner than later.
@Ninomojo - That would be a fair argument if we were talking about XBLA. But we're not. We're talking about PSN, which isn't quite the runaway success that XBLA is. Also, we're talking about individual games.
Using World of Goo as a case study (mostly because they publish numbers), 2DBoy has claimed that 60% of their sales came from the Wii. The game is also on Steam and PC direct download, so that's saying something right there.
While a small percentage of owners may use Wii Shop, we're still talking about a significant chunk of the market. Enough to where developers who make a concerted effort can see significant reward.
Downsampled textures is an interesting point, but ultimately neither here nor there. Downsampling is as easy as running a script, and most versions of games are often developed in parallel anyway. Of course, they might be developing in a more serial manner, but inevitably creates different games.
Of course, the fact that the versions are probably being developed in parallel suggests that it doesn't matter what order they're released in from a technical perspective. My complaint is that it simply reinforces this impression that developers take a dump on the Wii as an afterthought rather than treating the Wii as a first priority. Which also suggests that the controls might end up as some horribly tacked on waggle scheme. (I hate those.)
Unfortunately, there's a lot of truth to that impression. Developers tend to see the Wii as a necessary evil and nothing more. The fact that the most money can be made there if they'd put a bit more focus into their Wii titles is lost on most developers. They keep treating it like the GameCube ports that they used to do and are suffering for it.
Must be the fault of those casuals. Yeah, that's it. No one buys real games on the Wii. </sarcasm>
@thewiirocks:
Here are two reasons why World of Goo is not a good case study, in my opinion:
1) It's one of the most successful WiiWare games. So you can't really generalize its data, it's not representative of the average game. Granted, it's so successful because it's actually, for once, a very good game, not question about that, I think you will agree.
2) 60 % of their sales might come from the Wii, but it's a known fact that they suffer a 90% piracy rate (http://www.joystiq.com/2008/11/13/world-of-goo-has-90-piracy-rate/). It's obvious that most of these pirated copies run on the PC. So there are a lot more people playing World of Goo on the PC than there are on the Wii, but the sales are on the Wii.
I can assure you that most multiplatform independent or developer-funded games aren't developed in a parallel manner, because that would be even harder and more expensive (but with good technology, a port quick and easy).
About sales in general, this has been reported to me by several developers. WiiWare sales are poor, period. There are many logical reasons to that, the main one being that Nintendo hasn't made any effort in promoting the service (even the PSN outsells WiiWare by a mile). Nintendo even apologized behind the curtain to developers, and said they were going to promote WiiWare decently in 2009, as long as with DSiWare.
However, your main point remains a valid and I agree. The Wii is seen by too many people as the dump for shovelware, because they have a culture of fear of taking risks (but can we blame them when they're small developers that can put the key under the door if ONE project fails?).
It seems rather obvious that among all the shovelware, a good WiiWare title WILL sell (and DOES sell), but it's just a lot more financially safe and interesting at this point for most developers to go PSN or XBLA (but it's harder to access development and release titles, so most of the "good" developers don't really do WiiWare yet. Didn't say all of them, I just said "most").
I personally believe a lot in WiiWare, it's a wonderfully accessible platform (which is also probably the reason why all the shovelware gets here so easily), Nintendo has made things relatively cheap and easy for developers, and I have no doubt that when they finally market the service to a wide audience, numbers will go way up. I also hope, that "real" games will make their way to this platform.
Wow, sorry for all the typos in my previous post. When I type from my macbook I tend to make a lot of mistakes. Hate those keyboards
One thing Nintendo needs to is get rid of "points". Not all of us want to shell out a $10 minimum every time they want to buy a VC/WiiWare game.
Yeah, points can be annoying but won't go anywhere since it leaves them the option of raising the relative price of points/ dollars, thereby raising everything equally without changing the cost of games in 'points', or even using the same system for a later console.
also I agree with all the above comments in that the WiiWare service seems to be seriously getting the backburner unfairly, by everyone which is what keeps it there starting with Nintendo > Devs > consumers. Nintendo has failed to promote it, so games aren't selling well so the Dev money isn't going to it, so many games are substandard, so the people who even know about it buy less of them. Advertise it, and people will buy it, and companies will invest more, wash, rinse, repeat. Duh! Pretty simple math, not sure what N is waiting for, but it looks like DSi might change that, and lump in WiiWare awareness. A lot of people are simply like "really?" when I explain that I mostly play the cheaper, fun, download games on WiiWare. People don't know it exists, even some with Wii's.
@Ren:
Totally. I know of someone who never heard of the shop channel and never used it, despite the shop being right before her eyes when she turns on her Wii.
when the heck is this coming out!?
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...