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Three Super Meat Boy tracks coming to Rock Band Network
The indefatigable Danny Baranowsky -- soundtrack composer for both Canabalt and Super Meat Boy, among others -- confirmed to us this morning that three tracks from Super Meat Boy are headed to the Rock Band Network. "The Battle of Lil' Slugger" and "Can o' Salt" will be released as remixed, extended versions, while "Betus Blues" is getting a retro remix for the RBN release. "I wanted to have some stuff in there for the people who delight in 100-percenting expert Dragonforce," Baranowsky told us of the remixes. From what we heard this morning of the extended, retro-ized "Betus Blues," we expect those folks to be handily challenged (as well as thoroughly entertained). No release date or price has been applied to the tracks yet, but the pack's author has them pegged as arriving "soon" -- it also labels them as coming to RBN 2.0, so we'd expect the tracks to arrive some time after February 15.
Super Meat Boy patched on XBLA, new levels to follow
If you envision Microsoft's nebulous certification process as a sadistic Super Meat Boy level -- some lava pits here, a few saw blades everywhere -- you may understand why a tiny weakling of a file, less than 1MB in size, spent over 3 months attempting to survive the gauntlet unscathed. Yes, the Super Meat Boy patch, which should cover up all of the squishy protagonist's oozing faults (including that auto-save glitch), is now available on Xbox Live Arcade. Just launch the game to download it automatically. With the XBLA version corrected, Team Meat can continue pushing new content to "Teh Internets," the in-game hub that hosts free, downloadable levels. Indie developer Gaijin Games is constructing a level pack for Commander Video, and Michael "Kayin" O'Reilly -- indefensibly evil creator of I Wanna Be The Guy -- is making some Kid-unfriendly levels. Team Meat's Edmund McMillen says that a pack remixing Super Meat Boy's best bits is also on the way. "We also have a few other devs lined up but we want to space level updates out a bit," he tells us. The game's level editor and level portal will be live on Steam "as soon as possible," he adds, and "we will also have a few cool bits of info about the future of SMB around that time as well." So ... that's a lot of incoming levels. When you've conquered all of them, it'll be time to concern yourself with a different kind of certification -- that of your inevitable insanity.
Super Meat Boy meats 3D in fan short
"Bandage Get!!!!" is the name of this appropriately titled -- and very slick -- Super Meat Boy fan short by Joseph Manalaysay, in which the anthropomorphic cut of beef navigates the perils of a 3D-rendered city to (wait for it) get the bandage. It's great, but the more "realistic" Boy is creepy!
Russian Super Meat Boy box art winner revealed, delightful
Team Meat's contest to find new box art for the Russian release of its beloved, nightmarishly difficult platformer Super Meat Boy has been fruitful, indeed. Check out the winning art after the jump -- then soak in all the other wonderful submissions over on Team Meat's site. We want posters!
Super Paper Meat Boy is exactly what you think it is
No, seriously -- it's a paper cube of meat dodging deadly paper traps. And it's a completely wonderful homage to Super Meat Boy.
Super Meat Boy piano arrangements are delightful
Brent Kennedy's piano arrangements are, to put it lightly, very impressive. His latest renditions of Super Meat Boy tunes are no different, urging us to loop "Betus Blues" while charging once more through level two's Light World. It's so much more harrowing when the music sounds classical!
Team Meat's next game to be smaller, possibly on handhelds
Super Meat Boy's co-creators Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes don't want to make another platformer. "We've farmed this. It's done. There's no more coming out of us," McMillen said in a recent interview with Game Informer. In fact, the duo's next game could very well be dynamically generated, a brawler, a shooter, or something more casual, and could end up on a handheld -- but "not like iPhone or anything," Refenes notes. "Me and Tommy love video games. I don't think we discriminate on what genres we'd want to do," McMillen explains. And it certainly won't be as difficult as SMB, or as difficult to make. "Kind of like eating the ginger between sushi entrees. Just kind of cleanse it, make a new little game, and then start on the next big one," he explains. Super Mint Boy, perhaps? Not likely, as McMillen definitively states, "After the level editor comes out, it's done. Cut it off. No more meat boy." In the pages-long interview, Refenes and McMillen wax on a variety of topics, from undiscovered gaming references within SMB, to working with Microsoft and Nintendo, to the genesis of Meat Boy's death replays. Get a cup of hot coffee, put on that kickin' SMB soundtrack, and get reading.
Joystiq Top 10 of 2010: Super Meat Boy
Super Meat Boy is so simple in concept that it's downright pretentious to read so much into it. But what else is a critic good for? On the surface, SMB -- a repurposing of the initials of probably the most famous video game of all time -- is a quintessential "indie" work. Essentially the product of the Team Meat twosome of Edmund McMillen (the creator) and Tommy Refenes (the programmer), Super Meat Boy is equal parts professional perfectionism and total unprofessionalism. The game "oozes with the blood of artistic independence," as McMillen put it ... on his "Dev Blog for Gay Nerds." What's arguably the most technically excellent 2D platformer ever designed can't be separated from its adolescent humor. Team Meat are folk heroes for the Twixter generation: enviably talented young artists, who use their powers in defiantly uncouth ways.
In Russia, Super Meat Boy retail cover makes you!
Okay, not quite. But fans of Super Meat Boy in Russia now have the opportunity to design the cover art for the PC box-copy release in the territory (so team Meat doesn't have to). Published by Buka Entertainment, the Russian release will be the first box copy of the game available in the world, so it's ... sort of a big deal? To enter the box art contest -- well, first you have to be a resident of Russia or any of the former Soviet Union countries, and then -- just put together a 709x709-pixel image using this set of SMB assets (.ZIP link), send it in to Buka before midnight on January 15, 2011, and calmly wait for the results to be announced a day or so later (more specific instructions can be found here). Not only will the winner become "like semi-popular," but he or she will also receive an Acer monitor! A personal message from Team Meat's Edmund McMillen spells out the intentions behind the contest, which you can view after the break. If you don't watch it for the pitch, watch it for his totally sweet hat.
Team Meat explains what went wrong with WiiWare's Super Meat Boy
If Super Meat Boy were to launch on WiiWare today, it would have no leaderboards, no Dark World levels and no support for downloadable additions. Boss fights and cutscenes would have no musical accompaniment, and only six music tracks (including just one for retro-themed levels) would be present. In the words of designer Edmund McMillen, it would be "a piece of shit version of Super Meat Boy." When McMillen and programmer Tommy Refenes, who together form Team Meat, tested a version of their loopy platformer that could fit under the (previously disputed) 40MB file-size limit imposed by Nintendo's WiiWare service, they weren't satisfied with the compromises and decided to cancel it. "There is no way to avoid the fact that if we released a 40MB version of Super Meat Boy it would be a shit version of the game," McMillen told Joystiq. "It's a lose lose situation, but the fact of the matter is if we release a shitty game, we will have to live with that for the rest of our careers and have to cop to the fact that it is a shitty game."
New Super Meat Boy hub world, level editor and portal coming next month
While we already knew a level editor was on the way for the PC version of Super Meat Boy, news that it will also add an online portal for the custom levels is, um, news! Additionally, both the PC and Xbox Live Arcade versions will soon be updated with a new hub-world chapter, which will be home to new levels uploaded by Team Meat. All the new content is expected to be released mid-January, according to the developer. The PC-only online portal will catalog all user-created maps (created with the level editor, of course) and allow players to rate them and sort them based on a variety of criteria, says Team Meat. As for the new hub-world chapter, dubbed "Super Meat World," it will unlock as a destination prior to the first chapter (The Forest) on the chapter select screen once the player has collected 20 bandages. "Super Meat World" will behave a bit differently on each platform. On both XBLA and PC, this world will become the default destination for all new levels uploaded to the game by Team Meat (but not "Teh Internets" world, which will continue to reside in its own spot and even get some additional level love via this impending update) and will gain levels designed specifically for some of the hidden characters in the game. Also, Team Meat says that while a level editor won't be gracing XBLA, it will upload "all compatible user made level packs that we deem 'awesome'" to the XBLA's "Teh Internets" world. On the PC, "Super Meat World" gets an additional exclusive feature: an "Enter the Unknown" area which will feature a dynamic playlist of random, highly-ranked, custom maps made by the community each time you play. Players will need only to choose a level of difficulty at the outset on PC, then they'll be thrust into multiple levels that meet both the rating prerequisite and toughness level chosen.
Super Meat Boy WiiWare canceled, retail 'looking grim'
The saga of the WiiWare version of Super Meat Boy has come to an abrupt, disappointing end, with Team Meat tweeting today that the project has been canceled altogether. The team is still considering retail, but adds that the possibility is "also looking grim." We've contacted Team Meat for further comment. Keep an eye here for updates as we get them.
Super Meat Boy's devmode uncovered by modding community
If you can't wait for the Super Meat Boy level editor which the game's creators plan to release within the next six months, there's another, slightly more esoteric option for customizing your super difficult platforming experience. The game's modding community has uncovered a "devmode" within the PC build of Super Meat Boy, giving the keys to the kingdom to anyone willing to learn how to use the (very user-unfriendly) tools with which Team Meat created the game's original batch of levels. Team Meat was even was nice enough to post a few tutorial videos explaining how to access and use the tools. We're probably going to hold off for the proper level creator to get released, but hey -- if you guys want to go ahead and make a whole bunch of levels for us to enjoy, we're not going to stand in your way.
Super Meat Boy receives beefy bandage guide
The folks at XBLA Fans have put together a fantastic Super Meat Boy bandage guide, complete with pictures and jumping guide lines. One should feel no shame in referencing it: the game stands as one of the most difficult (yet satisfying) experiences of the year.
Super Meat Boy PC box art is a nightmare made tangible
We thought that nothing related to Super Meat Boy could possibly be more upsetting than that I Want to Be the Guy level, but there's no way we could have foreseen ... this. Graphic artist Dave Rapoza, who caught the eye of Team Meat with an equally disturbing piece of fan art earlier this year, has drawn up a new hyper-realistic design that will make its way onto the box of the Super Meat Boy PC special edition. Check out the full illustration after the jump. We can't place our finger on what makes our initial reaction to the painting one of immeasurable horror; it really is an incredibly creative and beautifully drawn interpretation of the game's tiny, pixelated lead characters. Maybe that's what's so upsetting -- we never imagined that hidden within that blocky frame was a totally ripped physique.
Mr. Minecraft is a god in Super Meat Boy
With players barreling through the PC version of Super Meat Boy, Minecraft's main character ("Steve") has been discovered to be ... more or less omnipotent. You could say he breaks the game ... or you could say he's totally boss. We're going with the latter.
Tofu Boy being added to Super Meat Boy PC in next patch
Team Meat has cheekily responded to yesterday's PETA Super Tofu Boy parody by announcing that it will add the soy-based protagonist as a downloadable character in the next Super Meat Boy PC patch. The character will only be available on PC, since the XBLA can't be patched in the same fashion. In a blog post, Team Meat's Edmund McMillen said he "repeatedly made fake user names" in PETA's forums, trying to push the game in hopes of a response. Well, he got one -- and so did they. McMillen added that the parody was "beyond flattering and amazingly helpful," but also had some harsh words for PETA's stance on animal testing. He also reiterated, just in case some folks weren't aware, that Meat Boy isn't actually made of animal meat, "he's simply a boy without skin." And here come the Robbie Williams "Rock DJ" flashbacks again. Update: According to Team Meat, the "bit malnourished" Tofu Boy will be playable by typing "petaphile" at the character select screen following the next Steam update.
Super Meat Boy fried by PETA's Tofu Boy
Animal activist organization PETA has released its latest parody, Super Tofu Boy, an extra firm lampoon of the beefy Super Meat Boy. Using the basic gameplay of the superb platformer as its inspiration, PETA's take has Tofu Boy saving Bandage Girl from Meat Boy, who has kidnapped his now ex-girlfriend for dumping him for the silken lover. Even if you don't believe that delicious, raw meat is "bad," Tofu Boy is still an amusing distraction, even if it's ultimately a processed imitation. We've contacted Team Meat to find out if Meat Boy has a response. You may recall that Cooking Mama found her PETA parody quite "runderful." Update: Team Meat's Edmund McMillen wrote back to tell us he finds PETA's attention "extremely flattering." He expressed, "For them to do a parody of Meat Boy during our launch week on Steam... there's no way we can complain about that." He did note, however, they had beaten PETA to the Tofu Boy gag with a comic for their beefy bundle of joy.
Super Meat Boy PC adds RunMan to the roster, up for pre-order on Steam
You may not be familiar with RunMan: Race Around the World, "a totally awesome platform game" created by Matt Thorson and Tom Sennet, but sadists the world over will get a fresh look at the titular character when Super Meat Boy brings its blend of punishment and pleasure to the PC. He's the second-to-last mystery character in the PC port, revealed today via the IndieGames blog, and sports a speed burst ability (natch). Oh, you had no idea? Yeah, RunMan is fast. So, in case you were looking to keep score: on top of RunMan, we've also got headcrabs and goo, a robot, Captain Viridian and the Minecraft dude. Sheesh -- who's next, our own JC Fletcher? Hey, some poor Nintendo intern already did all of the heavy lifting. Just an idea! Update: Aaand ... it's Naija! Who? From Aquaria, duh. Additionally, we'd also like to point out that you can now pre-order the Steam game here for 33 percent off the sticker price, for a limited time. Basically, its the same thing they did for Xbox Live.
Super Meat Boy's 'Sewers of Dross' DLC now available, Team Meat details five more additions
"Teh Internets" of Super Meat Boy got an additional 20 levels of precision platforming madness this morning, with "The Sewers of Dross." The free pack features Gish as the only playable character, leading the character-specific DLC charge for SMB. Free DLC chapters made specifically for Commander Video and The Kid will also be made available in early 2011, along with a "best of" user-submitted level pack, featuring 20 levels created by PC/Mac players. Two non-character-specific DLC packs will arrive via "Teh Internets" in December: Meat Boy (a retro chapter "based on the best of the Meat Boy flash prototype") and I Meat Boy (a pack of remixed levels from the main game, made more difficult). As Team Meat's Edmund McMillen explains in the comments of the announcement post, some of these DLC packs will be available on PC and Mac as well, but some (TSoD, for example) won't make it due to exclusivity agreements with Microsoft -- Gish is exclusive to Xbox 360.%Gallery-108015%
