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The first taste of Super Meat Boy mobile art
Edmund McMillen of Team Meat has so far been coy about what the mobile version of Super Meat Boy is, but he's fairly vocal about what it isn't. Super Meat Boy: The Game won't be a shallow, easy-to-play money-making machine like so many other mobile titles today, McMillen writes in his latest update. He even tells us a little bit about what it will be: "We want to make a game that WE would love to see on the platform, a feature-length reflex-driven platformer with solid controls that doesn't manipulate you with business bullshit in order to cash in. We want SMB:TG to show the player we respect them, not only by not manipulating them, but also by understanding they want a real challenge and they want a real sense of fulfillment when they have achieved something that's difficult... you know, like real games do."Team Meat has also revealed the first bit of art from Super Meat Boy: The Game, the chapter screen for The Green Hills you can see above. McMillen assures us that even though there are only eight visible level pads, the mobile title "will rival the original" and have dark worlds.
Super Meat Boy mobile to be twitch-based, but 'not about memorization'
Team Meat's Edmund McMillen has made some more comments as he goes mobile with a completely new version of Super Meat Boy. According to McMillen, Canabalt is providing some basic inspiration for development."Canabalt is closer to what we're thinking about. But Canabalt is very surface-level stuff," McMillen told Polygon. "[The original] Meat Boy was a twitch-based game about memorizing things. [iOS] Meat Boy is the opposite. That's the foundation of its design. But it's also on a touch device, so there's that as well. We want to make a twitch-based platformer that's not about memorization."As for the art style – the mobile version forgoes the pixels for a more hand-drawn look – McMillen says the more "gentle" approach allows Team Meat to lull players in, only to surprise them with some shocking visuals. "I'm happy about the art style. The more gentle and nice we make it look, the more vicious the story can be. Wouldn't it be so awesome to bait kids in with this happy little Meat Boy thing and then, the ending of the first chapter, instead of the squirrel getting his head knocked off, Meat Boy gets his face sawed in half? Like a skinned looking face looking at the screen?"Ultimately, McMillen said, "My goal is to scare the shit out of my three-year-old nephew."
Mobile Super Meat Boy may look something like this, may not
Above is the first proper look at the prototype, "probably going to change a lot" vision of Super Meat Boy on iOS. No, this isn't an April Fools' joke, unless Team Meat have decided to reveal sensible, already-announced information as part of its months-long ruse to get everyone excited for mobile SMB before stripping it away entirely -- a plan they decided to ditch once they realized what a genuinely good idea that is. However, we really don't think that's the case here. In February Team Meat's Edmund McMillen divulged the first details of SMB on iOS, saying that if the idea was good enough, they would create it as an entirely new game without the "shitty touch controls" standard in most mobile touchscreen titles. Looks like the idea was good enough. Mobile SMB is "a feature-length touch-controlled platformer SPECIFICALLY designed for Touch devices," McMillen wrote today, continuing to say it isn't "a shitty port of an existing game with non-tactile buttons spread all over the screen blocking the player's view and making for frustrating controls" or "the Super Meat Boy you're used to: There are aspects of Super Meat Boy in there, obviously, but this is a brand new game with new art, new sound, everything."
Binding of Isaac not coming to 3DS eShop
It seems talks to bring The Binding of Isaac to 3DS have broken down, according to Team Meat's Edmund McMillen. "After a long internal debate," tweeted McMillen, "Nintendo has decided not to allow The Binding of Isaac on the 3ds." He elaborated that the game's "questionable religious content" was the reason for Nintendo's decision.For those who don't know, the story of Binding of Isaac involves a child running away after a godlike voice asks the child's mother to sacrifice him. We've reached out to Team Meat for further comment.
Super Meat Boy's super boys explain what it means to go mobile
Yesterday Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes of Team Meat dropped a gigantic, raw bomb on Twitter (gross), announcing their plans to strip down Super Meat Boy and rebuild it completely for mobile touch devices. They were vague on details apart from an intent to create a brand new game in the Super Meat Boy universe, and that they definitely wouldn't use "shitty touch controls."We thought they were being coy, but it turns out they don't know much more about the touchscreen version than we do. It's still in the engine phase of development, McMillen told Joystiq, and they're pretty much winging it, playing with things that work and throwing out ideas that don't -- even if that includes the entire game."I mean, honestly, this is simply a challenge for us," McMillen said. "It's easy to poo-poo a new system because of its horrible use of touchscreen on ported titles; it's harder to attempt to try and figure out a design that works and make something worth checking out."So that's basically what we are doing -- no idea how it will turn out -- but Tommy and I wanted to jump back into dev again with something that isn't going to take a year-plus to make, so prototyping this idea seemed most appropriate and inspired."
Super Meat Boy to be torn apart, rebuilt for touchscreen devices
Super Meat Boy has seen success on Xbox Live, PC and Mac, but as is often the case while playing SMB, Team Meat have decided that's not good enough. Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes of Team Meat announced via Twitter today that they're rebuilding Super Meat Boy from scratch for a potential launch on mobile touch devices.In a six-part tweetfest, Team Meat disclosed the following details: The touch title will be remade from scratch and won't play like Super Meat Boy; it will be a larger, more traditional game, unlike titles such as Doodle Jump; and they promised it won't use "shitty touch controls.""if you liked SMB im sure you will enjoy this (if its good enough to continue on :) ) we just had a few cool ideas and wanted a challange," one of Team Meat's tweets reads.Team Meat said that if the project fails and turns out to not be any fun, they'll scrap it and move on to the next idea, which we can only assume is a Super Meat Boy live-action point-and-click adventure title in 3D. Those adventure things are all the rage these days, we're told.
'Everything's happening now:' Indie Game: The Movie at Sundance
In many ways, documentaries are not truly tools for documenting events. Instead, many documentaries choose to delve into the minds of their subjects, presenting not documentation, but something else entirely -- an up-close trip into the human psyche.During one such moment from Indie Game: The Movie, which I caught at a screening at the Sundance film festival, game designer Phil Fish states that if he couldn't finish his long-awaited game Fez, he would commit suicide. The camera remains on him for an awkward moment, and the line draws a number of uncomfortable chuckles from the audience. He seems to rethink his outrageous statement and then states once more: "I will kill myself."This attitude for the most part represents the majority of the film. Focusing primarily on the development and production of Fez and Super Meat Boy, Indie Game is really the story of obsessed developers pouring their insecurities and hearts and souls into a game, without leaving much, if anything, for themselves.%Gallery-145969%
The Binding of Isaac: Unholy Edition splats across UK retail shelves March 16 [Update]
The Binding of Isaac: Unholy Edition is a DRM-free PC and Mac version that includes a free Steam gift key, the full soundtrack, a poster and a 40-page art book. Developed by Edmund McMillen of Super Meat Boy's Team Meat, The Binding of Isaac premiered on Steam in September along with an adorable plush from the Team Meat Shop on Etsy.If you don't yet know why that darling doll is crying, go ahead and pick up The Binding of Isaac on Steam for $5, or wait for the Unholy Edition to launch in Europe at an unknown price. Or you can just listen to this song, whose recurring line is "To the basement, people, to the basement / Many surprises await you / In the basement, people, in the basement / You hid there last time, you know we're gonna find you."Update: Merge Games, the publisher behind Isaac's Unholy Edition, is based in the UK. While it doesn't list the retail version specifically as UK-only, we assume that is, in fact, the case. All you North Americans can just crawl back into your basements now, thanks. We've reached out to Merge Games for clarification.Update 2: Merge Games has confirmed The Binding of Isaac's retail launch for the following regions: UK, Ireland, the Nordic countries, the Benelux, Italy, the Czech Republic, Greece, Turkey and South Africa. Merge Games also handles publishing in Australia and New Zealand.
Choice Piano Cuts, a Super Meat Boy piano tribute album
Remember Brent Kennedy, the guy who created those wonderful piano arrangements of the Super Meat Boy soundtrack early last year? Well, it looks like we weren't the only people impressed by his work: Super Meat Boy's composer, Danny Baranowsky, has been working with Kennedy for nearly a year, and the two have recently released the fruits of their labors on Baranowsky's Bandcamp profile. Super Meat Boy! - Choice Piano Cuts is a $4.99 (or more, if you're feeling generous) collection of 10 tracks from the SMB soundtrack, composed by Baranowsky and arranged/performed by Kennedy. The purchase also includes a PDF of the Kennedy's sheet music for the entire album, which in itself is well worth the price of admission for the musically inclined out there. The soundtrack's original arrangements are great and everything, don't get us wrong, but there's a deeper level to Baranowsky's skill as a composer that's exceptionally brought to life by Kennedy's mastery of the ivory keys. Do yourself a favor and give it a listen.
Super Meat Boy surpasses 1 million sales
The little infuriating platformer that could, Super Meat Boy, has surpassed a million sales. The announcement was made late yesterday by Team Meat on Twitter. Super Meat Boy passed the milestone last month, maintaining a healthy sales clip since jumping past 600,000 customers last April. Super Meat Boy made our top ten games of 2010, deftly leaping into a not-so-deadly fifth place. %Gallery-103429%
Humble Indie Bundle 4 revealed, nab Meat Boy, Shank, Jamestown and more
As if you didn't already have enough fantastic games to play from this past year, the Humble Indie Bundle crew have made it their mission to completely overwhelm you with excellence. The fourth and latest package from the altruistic organization features an unparalleled lineup which includes Super Meat Boy, BIT.TRIP.RUNNER, Jamestown, Nightsky and Shank -- are and if you beat the average price with your choose-your-own-donation-level, you'll also grab Gratuitous Space Battles and Cave Story+. Note that all of these are PC, Mac and Linux compatible; a new feature for Jamestown and Shank. As always, you can choose which portion of your donations go to the developers, to the charities (Child's Play and the Red Cross!) and to the Humble Indie Bundle platform itself. We think we speak for everyone when we say that this is an insane value that you'd be insane to pass up, you insane person. [Update: Tim Ambrogi from Philly-based Jamestown-dev Final Form Games told us, "It's been our goal since launch to reach as many gamers as possible, so a Mac and Linux port were always our plan if we could afford the resources to develop them. Humble Bundle presented us with a cost/benefit proposition that made creating them now a low-risk decision." That's your money hard at work, people!]
Binding of Isaac gets a big ol' Halloween update
Edmund McMillen's slightly disturbing indie dungeon crawler Binding of Isaac has been extended and expanded on this, the most spookiest of days. Don't expect any seasonal additions, however: In lieu of Jack O' Lanterns and mutant candy corn monsters, the free update features new bosses, a new playable character, an additional ending and a fifth chapter, which, in a fittingly bizarre twist, is "unlocked after 10 mom kills." Check out all the new features after the jump. The game will be updated on Steam by 3 p.m. ET today. It's probably not the scariest thing you could play today, though. If only it were as utterly horrifying as its launch trailer!
Super Meat Boy goes on sale on XBLA next month, more 'Teh Internets' levels coming
In honor of the first anniversary of Super Meat Boy's release on Xbox Live Arcade, Team Meat is planning to drop the price of the tenderizing hardcore platformer. The game will go on sale sometime next month ("so save your points," the team notes). The price hasn't been set, but it'll be less than the full price of 1,200 points, and thus better. Next month will also see a free update adding "tons" more levels to Super Meat Boy's "Teh Internets" area. To keep you occupied until then, you can send Team Meat a picture of you "dressed up as something Meat Boy related for halloween" for a shot at copies of all three Super Meat Boy comic books. Please don't put raw meat all over your body.
Update bound for The Binding of Isaac, demo available on Newgrounds
Edmund McMillen's biblically based body horror roguelike nightmare factory The Binding of Isaac is slated to receive a rather substantial and delightfully free update this Halloween, via Steam. THe update will provide over 20 new items, 3 new bosses, a new playable character, more achievements and a new "final chapter" for those who have already completed the game. "This final chapter should be a much bigger challenge," McMillen said in an email to fans. "Isaac will become exactly what I wanted to release but didn't have the time to finish." McMillen has also released a flash demo of the game on Newgrounds, which features two levels and contains 60-plus items and 8 possible bosses. It's good to see McMillen continue Team Meat's proud tradition of free, continual community support; we just hope he'll be able to patch out our night terrors, at some point.
Team Meat teasing Mac/Linux version of SMB with anniversary celebration
Super Meat Boy is coming up on his birthday, and his two dads are celebrating the only way a dad can mark any milestone: A really great mug. They're $15 and frankly they're just adorable. But friends, we didn't entice you here with promises of new drinkware choices, no, you want to know about the possibility of SMB on Mac or Linux. Fair enough. While teasing the SMB birthday festivities (planned throughout November) Team Meat's Tommy Refenes wrote "perhaps you non-PC people will finally get what you are constantly bugging us for," which sounds an awful lot like the arrival of the aforementioned ports. Usually, we'd have to be pretty desperate to cook up meat that's a week old, let alone a full year, but we'll make an exception in this case. (Other exception: Stew. You put some year-old meat in a pot, add some broth, a potato, baby, you got a stew going.)
Team Meat bashes MS, Zen Studios hits Meat, both have lunch date in Bay Area
The right to a personal opinion is the crux of humanity, freedom and guns, and Team Meat and Zen Studios are exercising their liberties to the fullest. Super Meat Boy's Team Meat has been vocal about its displeasure with developing for Microsoft's Game Feast promotion in 2010, and raised the issue again on the IndieGames Podcast this month. Team Meat say Super Meat Boy didn't receive the promotion it was verbally promised, which was supposed to include a review from Major Nelson and an exclusive launch week. Neither happened, and McMillen promises that Indie Game: The Movie captures much of Team Meat's Microsoft frustration, including what felt like being tortured in a concentration camp (IndieGames Podcast 27:35).
The Binding of Isaac will cost $5; Steam preview page up now
Thrifty fans of roguelikes should be delighted to hear the latest on The Binding of Isaac, the current project of Super Meat Boy developer Team Meat's more artistic half, Edmund McMillen. Today, via Twitter, McMillen revealed that the game will cost $5 and that the Steam app page is now live. Oddly enough, the Steam app page contradicts previous statements that the game would launch in August, instead pegging it for September 2011. McMillen says that's "to be safe" -- the goal is still late August.
Super Meat Boy UK Ultra Edition revealed, extra meaty
Lace Mamba Global has revealed the contents of its previously announced special boxed edition of Super Meat Boy. The Super Meat Boy Ultra Edition is headed to the UK and Ireland and, along with the game, will also include a 40-page comic and sketch book, a poster and a download of the game's soundtrack. For a few more bones, players can pick up the Ultra Rare Edition, which includes everything from the Ultra Edition to a snazzy Super Meat Boy T-Shirt. The Super Meat Boy Ultra Edition will be priced at £19.99, while the Ultra Rare Edition will run £24.99. Both will hit UK and Irish retail on August 26. %Gallery-128992%
The Binding of Isaac bound for Steam this August, new screens bound for right now
Team Meat's Edmund McMillen just loosed a few more details and screenshots for his recently announced rougelike The Binding of Isaac. McMillen had previously hinted that Isaac would take some of its design cues from his "favorite game of all time," and judging by these screens, he wasn't kidding. Isaac will be a mix between roguelikes, twin-stick shooters of yore, and The Legend of Zelda. The player uses Robotron-esque controls to navigate randomly generated dungeons in a "semi RPG world" littered with power-ups and items. These items have replaced a traditional leveling system according to McMillen, and as your character progresses they will "change into a monstrous powerhouse not only in stats and abilities but also in appearance." In its current iteration, the game spans "3 chapters, 6 bosses, 36 enemy types, 4 unlockable characters and tons of dynamic happenings," however the team hopes to push those figures even higher before the game hits Steam this August. While no price-point has been set, McMillen maintains that it won't break the bank. Oh! And there are flies that poop blood at you. Sounds about right.%Gallery-128519%
Team Meat's McMillen working on new game, The Binding of Isaac
Edmund McMillen, one half of Team Meat (the dev duo behind Super Meat Boy), has been working on a secret undertaking called The Binding of Isaac. The side project, which has nothing to do with Team Meat's next "feature length" project, finds McMillen working with programmer Florian Himsl (Coil, Triachnid, C word), and a score by Danny Baranowsky (Canabalt, Super Meat Boy, Cave Story 3D). McMillen plans to reveal release date and platforms when the title is finished in about a month. The only hints we get for now are, "It's a play on my favorite game of all time," and that it's a roguelike. He hopes to share more information next week.
