stubbs-the-zombie
Latest
Ray's the Dead partially resurrects Stubbs the Zombie on Kickstarter
Ray's the Dead is more than an action zombie puzzler – it's a feat of electrical engineering. As a twice-removed successor to Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel without a Pulse, Ray's the Dead offers 1980s undead-centric gameplay inspired by Pikmin and, most adorably, a main character with a glowing lightbulb on top of his head. Yes, his name is Ray. Ragtag Studio – composed of former Wideload, Disney and Ensemble Studios developers, including one who worked on Stubbs the Zombie – needs $75,000 from Kickstarter backers to add audio effects, music and quality writing to the game. They want to hire out these positions to Jake Kaufman (Double Dragon, Shovel Knight, DuckTales soundtracks), Ben Crossbones (Tony Hawk Pro Skater, Organ Trail sound design), Matt and Ed (Twisted Pixel writers) and a larger curated team. Ragtag can finish the game without the Kickstarter funds, but that would result in a pared-down version of Ray's the Dead, Ragtag co-founder Chris Cobb tells Joystiq. "With many Kickstarters, they promise additional features that can potentially lengthen the development cycle of the game," Cobb says. "With ours, we have specifically tailored the Kickstarter campaign to help us add features that do not affect the development cycle in a negative way, and in many ways will make it more likely that we can make our target release date. We planned out the scope of the game itself a while ago, and didn't feel it would be wise to add or remove gameplay features, levels, characters, etc., based on the failure or success of our campaign. "We haven't had any funding, but we can continue working on the game for a good long while as we are all being supported by our wives right now. Without funding, anything we can do ourselves will be done, but things outside of our skill set will have to fall to the wayside. And none of us are musicians or writers."
Stubbs the Zombie devs on quasi-spiritual successor, 'Ray's the Dead'
Matt Carter and Chris Cobb, two former Wideload employees, started Ragtag Studio to create a game that they can almost define as a "spiritual successor" to Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel without a Pulse, called Ray's the Dead.Ray's the Dead is a PC game that might migrate to mobile eventually, where players control a group of 2D zombies in a 3D environment, with two storylines told through playable events rather than cutscenes, Cobb tells Polygon. Cobb can only almost call it a Stubbs the Zombie successor because he doesn't own the Stubbs license, and for an indie studio, navigating that grey legal area can be tricky.Ray's the Dead will focus on controlling the zombie horde and using different undead abilities to solve puzzles. It draws from games other than Stubbs, with Pikmin as a notable shout-out, and the main character, Raymond, has a lightbulb on his head. We're not sure why that last detail is relevant, but it certainly is cute.
Disney hires Bungie co-founder Alex Seropian, acquires Wideload Games
The story of Alex Seropian is a perfect reminder of why it's a good career move to help make one of the most popular game franchises in history. Because when you co-found Bungie, it's OK if you make Stubbs the Zombie followed by Hail to the Chimp -- you can still be hired to oversee creative development for Disney's video game development arm! Seropian's company, Wideload Games, which is also being acquired by Disney, had used an interesting model where game programming was contracted out after his team had designed the title. We'll be interested to see if the business plan re-emerges in some way at the House of Mickey.
Stubbs and Gauntlet now on Xbox Originals
It's time for some new Xbox Originals, kids! This time we get Stubbs the Zombie and Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows. Stubbs was created by Wideload, the studio behind the upcoming Hail to the Chimp. Those who fancy playing the role of a zombie (as opposed to ruthlessly slaughtering them) should definitely take note. Seven Sorrows successfully managed to fall off the radar, probably thanks to the fact that it launched in December of 2005. You may recall a certain console that launched a month prior. While it may have been overlooked, Seven Sorrows is unique in the Gauntlet series as it was originally developed by industry vet John Romero (best known for the awesome Doom series or the awful Daikatana, depending on your point of view). He left the project (and Midway) just months prior to completion.Of the two 1200 MS Point ($15) titles, Stubbs seems to be the better value, as Amazon has the retail version's used price pegged at around $25, whereas Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows hovers right around the $17 dollar mark with shipping.
Stubbs the Zombie and Gauntlet coming soon to Xbox Originals
Microsoft's Xbox Originals collection on Xbox Live continues to slowly grow, with two new titles to add to the list next week: Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse, and Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows.Stubbs the Zombie is an under-appreciated 2005 release from Wideload Games, featuring a satirical film-noir approach to the zombie genre. Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows is, well, another Gauntlet game, this time handled by veteran Doom designer John Romero. Reviews for Gauntlet were, at best, a mixed bag, so Stubbs looks to be the cream of the crop in this Originals installment. Both titles are due for release Monday, May 19 for 1200 MSP each.
Stubbs and Gauntlet to become Xbox Originals
Microsoft just announced that both Wideload Games' Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse and Midway's Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows are headed to the XBLM as Xbox Originals next Monday, May 19th. Yuppers ...As always, each title will cost 1200 Microsoft points, have no achievements and play exactly as it did on the original Xbox plus any quirks that are introduced thanks to the 360's emulation. But we're going to be optimistic this time and be excited about these new Xbox Originals, because we've been told that we've been too negative in the past when talking about these oh so grand downloads. So, as we smile from ear to ear, enjoy next Monday's entertaining, convenient and affordable Stubbs and Gauntlet Xbox Originals downloads that are sure to put a smile on any fanboys' face. Insert awkwardly large fake smile here.
Joystiq interviews Wideload Games' Alex Seropian
As one of the first to leave Bungie Studios after co-founding the developer, Alex Seropian transitioned from creating Xbox's then-surprising megahit Halo to starting afresh with Wideload Games, a small development firm he founded in Chicago. After finding success with the humorous Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (which sports a pretty hip soundtrack, we might add), Wideload went silent until earlier this week, when they revealed Hail to the Chimp as their sophomore title. The game, which is a political-party title involving animals vying to become head of the animal kingdom, is being published by the fowl-loving, former Gathering of Developer heads now known as Gamecock. With the candor and humor, Alex endured bad audio quality to talk to Joystiq about gaming, politics, and chicken suits. How did the Gamecock deal come about? I've known Mike Wilson for a number of years back to the Gathering of Developer days, and we kind of became friends back then when we were both working with Take Two. This is when I was running Bungie; we had a distribution deal with Take Two, like Gathering did. We've kept in touch for a long time and he kind of gave me some fair warning that he was going to try and get something started up again about a year ago, which is about the same time we were coming off of Stubbs and planning our next project. We were trying to figure if it would be possible to do something together and the timing worked out really well, and the whole way that they are set up and the things that are important to them kind of aligned really nicely with how we're set up and what's important to us. It was like getting our chocolate and their peanut butter or something. [Laughs]
Stubbs developer unveils new title: Hail to the Chimp
Claiming to be bringing "the party back in party politics for the first time since the Caligula Administration," Wideload Games announced that its next title will be Hail to the Chimp, a four-player party game where players vie to become the new leader of the Animal Kingdom. The website is live but currently lacking anything other than the main page.Little else is known about the title. The press release promises online play (still only four players) and that they are expecting a Spring 2008 launch for an as-of-yet unnamed new-gen console. It will be published by Gamecock, who promptly broke through a wall and danced the funky chicken to someone playing "No One Knows" on Guitar Hero.Wideload Games have previously only published one title, the heralded gem Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse. The company was founded by Alex Seropian, whose previously co-founded Bungie Studios and headed up development of Halo.
Design challenge: weekly game idea
Patrick Curry, lead designer of hidden-gem Stubbs the Zombie, has challenged himself to produce one new game idea per week, every week this year. His first two game ideas included Toothache, a Nintendo DS dentist simulator, and It's all Business, a text-based, multiplayer, cell phone title. This week's title is the most elaborate. Mountain Bike Mike is an "extreme-sport racing adventure game." Curry details the control scheme, calling it his inspiration for the idea: "I love control schemes that evoke the real-life activity, and I think you could do some cool stuff with mountain-bike controls. The first part of the idea is that you control your steering separately from your body weight, as controlling your weight on a bicycle is important, but especially important when you’re barreling down a mountain. The second part of the idea is that you control your front-brake independently from your rear-brake. While this might sound cumbersome, anyone who’s ever flipped a bike will tell you that there’s an important distinction here."I know of a guy who might not only need a lesson in mountain bike controls but is also in a position to green light Curry's idea. Any interest in making a next-gen extreme mountain biking title J?[Via Raph's Website]
Holiday 2005 best bets for Mac gamers
While PC gamers are up to their armpits in Strog, exploring new ages and civilizations, and infiltrating Nazi strongholds sequel style, Mac enthusiasts can only sit back and wait as Aspyr, MacPlay, and MacSoft prepare ports of today's Windows hits. In the near future, Intel Macs might make it easier to share the love, but until then there's plenty of fun to be had with these stocking stuffers for your G5s and Minis: Call of Duty: Deluxe Edition Civilization III Complete (coming soon) The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer LEGO Star Wars Myst V: End of Ages (Limited and Collector's Editions only) Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 Sims 2 University Star Wars: Battlefront Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel Without a Pulse Tiger Woods 2005 World of Warcraft Zoo Tycoon 2 With the exceptions of Stubbs and Rise of the Underminer, this roundup looks like last year's PC shopping list, but hey, there's something for everyone. Check out Apple's gaming page for more titles.
