curve-studios
Latest
Lone Survivor migrating to PS3 and Vita
Lone Survivor, the side-scrolling survival-horror game from developer Superflat Games, is coming to the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, creator Jasper Byrne has revealed. After months of being stranded on the PC and Mac, Curve Studios will rebuild the entire code base from scratch to bring Lone Survivor to Sony's gaming platforms.Curve Studios is the London-based house responsible for Fluidity and Explodemon, the latter of which is a quaint retro-inspired game that shows the studio has chops when it comes to pumping out the pixels. No release date on the PlayStation versions has been revealed, but Byrne says he'll offer updates through his Twitter account as progress is made.
Stealth Bastard Deluxe quietly leaps onto Steam in November
Stealth Bastard: Tactical Espionage Arsehole is poised to hit Steam in November with a deluxe edition, Curve Studios design director revealed on Twitter. Stealth Bastard, described as Metal Gear Solid meets Super Meat Boy, has been available since November as freeware via its official site. You might recognize Curve Studios from its previous games, Explodemon and WiiWare's Fluidity.The deluxe edition of Stealth Bastard will feature, at the very least, some new stealth equipment, as pictured in the above image. Below we've snuck in an image of the new greenscreen-monitor menu. There's no word yet what Stealth Bastard Deluxe will cost, if anything.
Look behind you, it's Stealth Bastard: Tactical Espionage Arsehole
Metal Gear Solid HD Collection offers a new look at three stealth classics this week. Meanwhile, Explodemon!/Fluidity dev Curve Studio gives us a new look at the concept of stealth, with its high-speed, side-scrolling stealth game Stealth Bastard: Tactical Espionage Arsehole. Stealth Bastard offers a sort of Super Meat Boy-style action game full of small, self-contained rooms featuring platforming challenges and deadly traps -- with stealth as a new wrinkle. Not only do you have to run and jump, you have to stay in shadows or you'll end up juiced. Stealth Bastard is free to download for PC right this second, and even includes a level editor. As a nice bonus, it's called Stealth Bastard: Tactical Espionage Arsehole.
Explodemon review: A blast from the past
"I am have destruct!!! Always be prepare!" - Explodemon The titular character of Curve Studios' long-in-development platformer is a little ... special. Like its hero, Explodemon isn't the smartest game around. It isn't the prettiest, nor is it the most polished either. But, it does have one thing to spare: heart. Design director Jonathan Biddle has described Explodemon as "a loving homage to SNES-era Japanese action games" -- and it nails the vibe, Engrish included. Within seconds of loading the game, you'll be transported to the '90s, with B-quality dialogue juxtaposed atop manga-styled panels. This will not be everyone's cup of tea; to some, it may even look and feel a little cheap. But anyone that's spent a bit too much time importing Japanese games from the 16-bit era will feel right at home.%Gallery-115980%
Explodemon launch! Trailer! Is very! Exclamatory!
We've been! Inspired! By the! Launch! Trailer! For Explodemon! And! Its use! Of exclamation! Points! Every! One or! Two! Words! It adds! A lot! Of! Intensity! To the! Trailer and! We! Think! It will! Add some! Heat! To! Our Posts! As! Well! Check! Out the! Trailer! Below! Floor slide!
Explodemon detonates Feb. 8 on PSN for $10
Unlike certain Capcom Mobile games that make us feel all weird inside, Curve Studios' Explodemon for PS3 reminds us of Twisted Pixel's Splosion Man franchise ... but in a good way (it helps that it's not a direct ripoff -- and that it was announced the same week that SM was). After Explodemon was given an amorphous "January 2011" release window late last month, the PSN-exclusive game is now set to officially launch on February 8 in North America and February 9 in Europe, for $9.99 and €9.99/£7.99, respectively. We're using the coming weeks to prepare our blast suits, and we suggest you do the same.
Curve Studios director spills about Fluidity's inspirations, origins
On December 6, Nintendo and Explodemon developer Curve Studios released Fluidity for WiiWare, an unusual platformer in which you tilt the level to guide a puddle of water through puzzles, changing it to ice or vapor as necessary. This is framed as taking place entirely within the "Aquaticus," a sort of magical, living encyclopedia about water. Design director Jonathan Biddle explained the evolution of the concept to Joystiq. "Early on, we were pursuing a more scientific presentational style that focused on teaching the science of water," he said. "We liked the idea that the game was an interactive school book from the future that taught you by letting you play it. As the game dropped its scientific slant, we retained the book presentation – since we still thought it was fresh - but took it in a much more colorful direction." That direction now involves guiding a small amount of water through the landscape of the book, picking up "Rainbow Drops" and clearing away the evil Influence -- an ink spill. %Gallery-109311%
Explodemon trailer features puzzles, upgrades, secrets -- oh, and explosions
Curve Studios' long-in-development Explodemon is finally coming out in January -- just one month after the release of their excellent WiiWare offering, Fluidity. In this trailer, you'll see how Explodemon's titular gift of detonation goes beyond blowing enemies up.
Explodemon delayed until January
Apparently, a Q4 2010 release date was too precise a target for Curve Studios' volatile PSN action game, Explodemon. The developer sent a note out this morning to announce a delay for the title. Fortunately, the delay is teensy -- a mere bang snap of an announcement, really. Explodemon will burst onto PSN in January 2011. In the interim, Curve will release wallpapers, avatars and such PSN goodies, which were likely intended to accompany the game, but will now precede it. A new trailer is also forthcoming. And if you're really in the mood to play a Curve-developed game this month, Fluidity will be available on WiiWare December 6.
Explodemon gets new debut trailer
Here it is, the second "debut" trailer for Explodemon. Wait, what? Curve Studios explains that the original video "was a pre-vis ... to try and get publishers interested," adding "it's changed a lot since then." It certainly has, experiencing a few delays and shrinking down to one platform (PS3) along the way. Pay close attention to the video to see the combo system in action, and its Bangai-O inspiration in effect.
Curve Studios 'focusing only on' PS3 version of Explodemon
Yesterday, Curve Studios announced a Q4 2010 launch window for the PSN version of its retro-inspired blow-em-up platformer, Explodemon, though the WiiWare, PSP and PC versions were not mentioned. We contacted the developer about these omissions, and PR Manager Ed Fear confirmed our suspicions, explaining, "For the moment, we're focusing only on the PS3 version." Fear added, "We're a small(ish) company, so it doesn't make sense for us to split our limited resources between several different versions, especially given that there'd be quite major graphical differences for the Wii/PSP editions. So, in order to really make Explodemon shine, we're putting all of our efforts into the PS3 version." Fear did note that the studio still wants to see the game on as many platforms as possible, though Curve will have to "seriously evaluate other targets once we've shipped the PS3 version."
Explodemon detonating on PSN in Q4 2010
Explodemon, a platformer featuring a supergroup of inspirations such as Super Mario Bros., Bangai-O and 'Splosion Man, has been given a release window by developer Curve Studios. The chemically unstable title will land on the PSN sometime during Q4 this year. The PSP and WiiWare versions weren't referenced at all in the studio's press release -- we've contacted the developer just to make sure those two versions haven't been blown to smithereens. While you wait, check out the latest batch of screenshots for Explodemon in the gallery below. We could try to use some synonym for "explosive" to describe them but, honestly, that well's running a little dry. %Gallery-98479%
Explodemon prototype videos reveal explosive gameplay, Bangai-O inspiration
Remember Explodemon? If you don't, don't blame yourself -- the title was revealed back on April Fool's Day and hasn't been heard of since. While its core concept -- a superhero powered by self-detonation -- may seem familiar after the XBLA release of 'Splosion Man, these prototype videos show a very different direction for the upcoming PS3/PSP/Wii platformer. Perhaps an analogy would best sum up our impressions: Explodemon : Mario :: Splosion Man : Sonic (the good 2D kind, mind you) Jonathan Biddle, design director at developer Curve, recently wrote about the various inspirations of Explodemon, a design that has been four years in the making so far. According to Biddle, players are encouraged to get as close to enemies as possible when exploding themselves, a mechanic ripped from Dreamcast's Bangai-O. "It's risk/reward in a distilled form, and is pure Treasure genius." You can see it in action after the break.
Explodemon! gets smaller, still as explosive for PSP Go
Curve Studios, developer of Buzz! Master Quiz for PSP, is returning to the portable platform with a version of its upcoming action-platformer, Explodemon!, designed for PSP Go. Already slated to hit PSN, WiiWare and PC, the game will arrive in downloadable form for the Go in 2010. It looks and sounds promising, with retro-inspired design and a title character who does everything by exploding. Jason Perkins, Curve Studios' managing director, has also confirmed that the developer has "a number of" other titles in the pipeline for PSP also set for release next year. Hopefully we'll see more of its current, explosion-filled project at Cologne Gamescom -- where, it just so happens, an iPhone-style "app store" for PSP is rumored to be unveiled by Sony.
Explodemon! is a mix of 'Yoshi's Island with Half-Life 2'
We instantly fell in love with Curve Studios' upcoming Explodemon! when we saw its debut trailer. The retro-styled downloadable game is described as "what Treasure would create if they mixed Yoshi's Island with Half-Life 2" by designer Jonathan Biddle. "It includes many elements from games as diverse as Street Fighter II, Halo, Super Metroid and Bangai-O." Those are some hardcore names to drop, Biddle -- you sure your game is ready to compete with these big names? Explodemon! has us quite excited, but we're going to have to wait quite a while before we can play it. The game is currently scheduled for a Q4 release on PlayStation Network, with PC and WiiWare versions to follow.
Explodemon! blows up on WiiWare, PSN in 2009
It's generally best to keep your character from exploding in most games. That's not the case in the latest effort from Curve Studios, developers of Buzz! Master Quiz for PSP. Explodemon! (we're guessing from the logo it's "explode" plus "demon," not "Explodémon") is described as "a loving homage to SNES-era Japanese action games," in which your Mega Man-esque character must explode to survive. Paradoxical much? Judging by the trailer's content -- which, by the way, appears to be of the PS3 version -- the side-scrolling game takes its central mechanic quite seriously. Explodemon explodes to double jump, dash, attack and knock objects into enemies. The game, set for 2009 release on WiiWare, PSN and PC, seems like a potentially sweet, retro-inspired treat. Hopefully it doesn't bomb. [Via GamerBytes]
'Play Factory' found on Curve Studios website
The PlayStation Eye is looking to get its own minigame compilation, much like the EyeToy's EyeToy Play launch title, if Curve Studio's website is to be believed. On the list of games the developer has made, it shows a title named Play Factory which includes "six individual games developed for the PlayStation Eye." There's no indication on when it's due out, or what sort of games we can expect to find on the disc, but it's nice to know that with this and EyePet Sony isn't just ignoring the PlayStation Eye. Hopefully we'll see something a little more advanced than the downloadable interactive screensavers we've seen so far.
