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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.
Avengers Initiative lets Hulk loose on iOS and Android tomorrow
The first episodic Marvel game, Avengers Initiative, will debut on iOS and Android devices tomorrow for $6.99. The first episode, starring The Hulk, is reminiscent of Chair's gesture-based combat series, Infinity Blade. We've got some preview code and will write up a Portabliss soon.Avengers Initiative foregoes the typical episodic price model, instead offering updates free of charge. Each addition will be a new character from The Avengers' huge HR folder – the initial teaser image suggests Iron Man, Captain America and Thor are amongst planned characters. And with each new character comes personalized stories and content, so they'll be more than just skins over the same frame.%Gallery-164310%
Bill Roper named Disney Interactive head of game development
Bill Roper's been flying under the radar since leaving Cryptic Studios in 2010. He briefly surfaced as VP of the Marvel Franchise division of Disney Interactive Media Group last summer, and he's now stepping into the role of head of game development. Roper replaces Alex Seropian, who helped found Bungie in the 1990s before joining Disney when it acquired his Wideload Games studio in 2009. Roper is a former Blizzard vice president and founder of Flagship Studios, which was mostly known for developing the original incarnation of Hellgate: London.
Disney Guilty Party review: Waggle, She Wrote
Oh great, a Wii game with "Party" in the title. Do we really need another one of these? I mean, we've already got Raving Rabbits TV Party, Pool Party, Game Party, Babies Party, Mario Party 8, Boom Blox: Bash Party, and ... trust me, I could go on. Wait a second. What's that? Disney Guilty Party's actually fun? It doesn't look like the developers were locked in a closet throughout the design process? Oh, fine. I guess I'll give it a shot. %Gallery-86428%
Meet the detectives of Disney Guilty Party
They're not exactly an intimidating bunch -- we've got a masked brat, a soft-spoken granny and a let-himself-go gumshoe in here -- but the investigative attendees of Disney Guilty Party look like they can crack a case and hook some crooks with flair on August 31. See the new trailer after the break.
Disney Guilty Party flees into August
A new video for Disney Guilty Party offers some insight from Wideload Games staff about the flow of gameplay in the mystery-solving title. It includes footage of several of the activities, including fingerprint analysis, lockpicking, and ... suspect tickling ... as well as a bit of information about some of the personalities involved, including our first look at the villainous Mr. Valentine. It also serves as the vehicle for an announcement of a delay. Along with this trailer, Disney revealed that the release date has been bumped from July 27 to August 31, where it "now kicks off the holiday season on August 31st, 2010." We've got our first mystery to solve: finding the person who moved the holiday season to August.
Interview: Wideload Games' Patrick Curry talks Disney Guilty Party, life after 'Stubbs'
Some of the most fun to be had during multiplayer video games isn't actually in the game itself -- it's outside of the games, where players chat with each other for fun, break down a strategy during co-op, or trash talk in-between deathmatches. You don't usually get XP for taunting over voicechat or telling your team where the enemy is, but there's a reward nevertheless, a social bonus completely independent of the code that developers write. Wideload Games has done a great job of focusing on that gameplay in Disney Guilty Party. I got to play the same co-op Party Mode as Randy at a pre-E3 event this week, and while it's definitely a family game, it competently serves up custom-made mysteries for families to take on. In hunting down and accusing various colorful suspects, that out-of-game conversation and interaction becomes just as important and fun as the in-game button pressing and Wiimote waggling. Game Director Patrick Curry was my partner-in-crime-solving, and since we have common roots in Chicago (I used to work in the same building, one floor below Wideload's studios), we had a quick chat about the studio's direction towards family games, and its acquisition by Disney Interactive.
You're invited to Disney Guilty Party on July 27
Click to solve "The Case of What's in the Gallery"Wideload Games' "Clue meets Guess Who meets adventure game" for Wii, Disney Guilty Party, will be available for investigation (and also purchase) in North America on July 27. The game lets up to four players use their Wiimotes as magnifying glasses, fingerprint kits and other detective tools as they rush to solve crimes orchestrated by the diabolical "Mr. Valentine." Along the way, players must gather clues about the identity of the culprit in each particular case, through investigation and investigation-themed minigames. While you wait for the July release, feel free to take a magnifying glass into our gallery and see what can be deduced from the new screenshots. %Gallery-86428%
Hands-on: Disney Guilty Party
On my list of games I expected to see from Stubbs the Zombie dev Wideload Games, "multiplayer mystery game" ... well, wasn't on my list. But I have to say that I was excited by what I saw (and played) of Disney Guilty Party during the Nintendo Media Summit. It was funny, clever and, simply, different. Though it will support four-player cooperative (and even competitive) mystery-solving (think: Clue meets Zack & Wiki), the session I participated in was a two-player affair. From levels that include a train, mansion, aquarium, and other settings, I ended up playing the gumshoe character on a cruise ship that was missing its wheel and anchor. Along with my partner in crime ... solving, I came pretty close to solving the whodunnit (you need to find evidence as to the perp's hair length, sex, shape, and height, before accusing anyone) as I used my allotted moves and turns to investigate the dollhouse-like cut-away of the ship. Special cards came into play (the over-arching story's villain might, for example, lock off a room -- there's a card that counters that) as did some ... err, unique "interrogation" mini-games, including "staring" into a suspects eyes, paying a bribe and tickling the truth out of an NPC using the Wiimote. The writing's sharp and funny, the classic adventure game underpinnings are noticeable, and I'm eager to play more. %Gallery-86428%
Disney Guilty Party spurs television-crowding bedlam
We're not convinced that anyone outside of Disney Guilty Party's target audience will stand up and dance when the music for the above trailer really ramps up, but that doesn't mean we're trying to dissuade you from viewing it. Quite the contrary, as Guilty Party's revelry in the family-friendly nature of its cartoon sleuthery shouldn't necessarily be a reason to ignore it (yes, the music is a tad obnoxious). We'll have a hands-on with the game going up later today, but from what we can see in the trailer above and the screenshots below, it seems to be a lighthearted puzzle game suitable for a room full of friends. The jury's still out on whether or not that room full of friends plays good games or not. %Gallery-86428%
Disney Guilty Party: A Wii detective game from Wideload
Click to investigate What's Disney doing with Wideload Games, the development studio it acquired last year? It's going to take some detective work to find out. No, really, if you want to play through Disney Guilty Party, the new game from Wideload, you'll have to do some sleuthing. Because it's a detective game, you see. Never mind. Disney Guilty Party is slated for release in the second half of 2010. %Gallery-86428%
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.
A political Hail to the Chimp demo now on the XBLM
Stuff your vote in the ballot box and decide on your favorite zoo animal, because it's time to get political with a new Hail to the Chimp demo that just released to the Xbox Live Marketplace. The demo, which is only available to U.S. and Canadian Live subscribers, features "presidential party game" style shenanigans and enough animal-based jokes to last you a few years. Download if you're interested, ignore this post if you're not ... but we really didn't have to tell you that did we?[Via Game Stooge]
Pre-order Hail to the Chimp, get $10 in Onion bucks
Our fearless leader and overall cool cat Christ Grant, from the widely popular video game news site Joystiq, recently got a chance to chat with the crew working on Hail to the Chimp and, using his finely tuned negotiation skills, was able to setup a special deal for Joystiq network readers. If you pre-order Hail to the Chimp at Gamestop stores before June 15th, Gamecock will send you a FREE $10 gift card to the Onion Store. And we don't have to tell you how awesome the Onion is. Not too shabby of a deal, so make the jump and read all the fine print pre-order details.[Via Joystiq]
Preorder Hail to the Chimp, get $10 of Onion Store credit
I had the distinct pleasure of spending some time with the folks from Gamecock while they strolled through Philadelphia in the middle of Pennsylvania's Democratic presidential primaries in April, seeing firsthand how the independent publisher was promoting Hail to the Chimp, one of their flagship releases. Oh, did I mention I was wearing a giant, female polar bear suit for part of this? Anywho, more on that later in the month, closer to the game's June 24th release date ...In the interim, the guys and gals at Gamecock have offered Joystiq readers an exclusive offer: preorder HttC at GameStop and get a free $10 gift certificate to the Onion Store, the virtual storefront of the popular fake (and funny!) newspaper. So, to recap: you preorder the $40 PS3 or Xbox 360 politcally-themed party game before June 15th, send the Gamecock people a copy of your receipt (details here), and get ten bucks of free Onion Store credit. No polar bear suit required!
Hail to the Chimp delayed to end of June
*Sigh* More delays. This time it's Hail to the Chimp, the arena-fighting, politically-charged, animal-filled cel-shaded game from Wideload studios. Originally set for release at the end of this month, Hail to the Chimp has been delayed a month for "polish." As former QA experience tells us, this is likely a good thing, as there was probably a choice between hitting ship with a certain amount of bugs or delaying the game and getting to fix the bugs. When it does finally hit on June 24th, Hail to the Chimp should hopefully be that much better.[Via Joystiq]
GDC08: Opposable thumbs-on with Hail to the Chimp
Developed by Wideload (Stubbs the Zombie), Hail to the Chimp is a party game infused with political humor. As the story goes, various animals -- ranging from an octopus to an armadillo -- are competing to be elected as president of the animal kingdom. To do this, players engage in a series of arena fighting games with various goals. The game plays more or less like a simplified version of Power Stone with objectives thrown into the mix. The gameplay is simple with few nuances, as one might expect of a party game. The real question is whether or not the gameplay is too simple to maintain the attention of discerning gamers. Strange as it may seem, the satirical humor that frames Hail to the Chimp may be more endearing than the game itself.%Gallery-4895%
GDC08: Wideload's Hail to the Chimp bus
When we first heard that the Gamecock published Hail to the Chimp would be showcased on a bus rather than in a booth, we assumed the worst. Even now, given our previous evidence, we aren't ashamed of that assumption. We imagined a bus of debauchery and decadence. A place of foolhardy revelry. Immediately we began to guess just what the bus would be called. After a long and passionate discussion, we settled on Shuttlecock as the most likely moniker. Alas, no wacky transpirations took place, and we are left with an empty feeling. That is, until we saw just how nice the bus was on the inside. As the gallery below will no doubt prove, the folks at Wideload really know how to travel in style.%Gallery-16678%
Wideload Shorts' Cyclomite coming early 2008 via Instant Action
Wideload Games' new shorts division, appropriately titled Wideload Shorts and obviously using sex appeal to sell the brand (mmm, hippos) have announced that one of the first titles from the division, Cyclomite will debut early 2008 on InstantAction, a service developed by GarageGames where you play the game within your browser and against other gamers.In Cyclomite, players control a multi-colored ring whose purpose is to catch meteors as the storm of space rock tries to destroy the universe as we know it. 1UP has a preview of the game.The game is being dubbed the "premier" title from Wideload Shorts in the press release, though it also states later that the studio will "release its first game in late 2007," so we guess premier means the first project they begun developing. No word on what that other title is. Wideload has stated it will support handheld, cell and online game platforms.[Via Press Release]
Hail to the Chimp wants to prove politics are fun
Wideload Games has released the first trailer and bits of information for their new PS3/360 party game, Hail to the Chimp. Dubbed an "over-the-top party game" with "biting political satire," the title appears to be a cross between brawlers like Powerstone and the political comics like Doonesbury. Sporting a cartoony look with subtle cel-shading, the game looks bright and colorful but fairly unremarkable. You have a mixture of political/racial stereotypes done up in animal form smacking each other around, with 'hilarious' and 'topical' newspaper headlines tossed in. Gameplay looks extremely generic and uninspired, but it's hard to tell from the short trailer. What do you guys think? Does this game have any promise? Do our brawlers really need second-tier political comedy to make them more entertaining?
