Explodemon! Message Board

“What did you do during the great bundle wars of Winter 2011, daddy?” “I posted about them, sweetheart. I posted about them all. I… I’ve seen so much. I’ll always carry that with me.”

We already know about pay-what-you-want charity bundle LittleBigBunch, but until 2pm today we weren’t able to so much as look at its website. Now we can, for it lives and is live. It’s a grand old package of PC games – Frozen Synapse, Explodemon, Serious Sam Double D, Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee and New Star Soccer 5. A pleasantly varied package, I’d say.(more…)

Today I feel like the Sisyphus of games blogging. “You believe you have completed your trial of posting about a pay what you want indie games bundle, mortal? You fool. For now you must immediately post about another one! Ahahahahahaha. Yes, there are worse circles of hell to be in, but I trust you’ll agree this one is slightly annoying.”

Oh well, c’est la news-vie, non? LittleBigBunch – due next week – ups the charity factor, as it’s orchestrated by sterling industry philanthropists GamesAid. And it’s got some pretty cracking contents. Frozen Synapse! Explodemon! Serious Sam Double D! Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee! New Star Soccer 5!(more…)

Taking up my trusty, weatherbeaten pickaxe’o'electronic delights, I chip another gleaming nugget from the mountain of indie games lurking in the RPS inbox. What new gem will I mine this time? It has a fine name indeed. That name is Stealth Bastard: Tactical Espionage Arsehole. It has a core philosophy, and that philosophy is “why does stealth need to be so slow?” Turns out, it doesn’t.(more…)

Deliberate spontaneous combustion would be an incredibly useful tool, provided one could survive the ensuing explosion and that it caused significant propulsion in a direction of choice. Jolly good news for the star of Explodemon! who has such powers and is therefore able to navigate the obstacle-laden levels in which he finds himself. The game is available now, after a prolonged vacation in PSN country, and looks like a cross between Megaman and Splosion Man. There’s an interesting piece on the latter similarity here, and a bright and boomy trailer below.

(more…)

I haven’t played well-received PSN platformer Explodemon! as yet, but I have taken note of the fact that it has the best name. Or is it just me who thinks it sounds like someone gleefully detonating Pikachu into a shower of bloody yellow bits? Now, I can also take note of the fact that, as of next month, it will be a PC game.

Curve Studios’ self-exploding minihit is due in August, though a specific date hasn’t been announced as yet. This means it’s potentially up against erstwhile peer/rival Ms. ‘Splosion Man, which may also be PC-bound. You spend ages waiting for one game starring a combustive hero, then two come along at once. TYPICAL. A few facts and some footage of Explodemon! await below. Yes, it does have an exclamation mark in its title. Yes, it does make including its name in sentences incredibly troublesome.(more…)

Use the bouncers to explode, mon.

"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.

Catch the Coen's latest western or go old-skool platforming?

Two heavyweights headline this particular installment of the PSN Euro update: Double Fine's latest, Russian doll-centric puzzler Stacking, and Curve Studios' molecularly unstable action-platformer, Explodemon. Man, can you imagine if these two games could somehow merge into one? It'd be about robots inside of robots inside of robots -- all of whom are capable of exploding with little to no provocation.

Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)

Hello again, readers! I can’t believe this day has come, but it has: Explodemon is out TODAY on the wonderful PlayStation Network! To celebrate the launch we’ve got a brand-spanking new trailer, carefully designed to amaze you so much that you can’t resist buying a copy:

So, what do you get for your low-low $9.99? An epic story spanning three diverse worlds jam-packed with funny one-liners, comic situations and deeply heartwrenching pathos (maybe). You get 12 massive, sprawling levels filled with secret areas, devilish puzzles and perilous traps. You get tons of unlockable abilities and permanent character upgrades, all crucial in evolving Explodemon into the ultimate badass exploder-dude. You get a finely nuanced control system designed to make speed-running a graceful and compulsive experience. AND – most of all – you get the undying love of an indie developer that believed in its vision too stubbornly to give up.

Everyone here at Curve is “double rainbow” -levels of excitedness about the fact that you’ll soon be getting your mitts on our labour of love, so make sure you let us know what you think!

If you haven’t yet read about the long development history of Explodemon, check out our previous post here, and there’s lots more information about the game and an early trailer in our very first post here – see if you can spot how much has changed between then and now!

Oh, and if you’re a little light on money this month, fear not: we’re giving away THREE copies of Explodemon RIGHT NOW! If you want to know more, make sure you follow @curvestudios on Twitter!

I’ll be hanging around in the comments section if you’ve got any questions (related to the game, of course – still having nightmares after last time). Otherwise, I’ll see you on the leaderboards, chump!

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!

Add this game to the list of quality PSN exclusives.

Explodemon! promises supercharged platforming mayhem and a colorful environment.

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.

Curve Studios' over-the-top ode to the old-school has been delayed.

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.

Hello there, wonderful PlayStation.Blog fans!

My name is Ed Fear and I’m the PR & Community Manager at Curve Studios, an independent developer based in London, England. I’d like to take a moment of your time to introduce you to Explodemon, an awesome action-platformer coming to the PlayStation Network this Winter 2010.

I think the best way of telling you about Explodemon is with a suitably bombastic trailer, so take a look at this:

If that’s piqued your interest, hooray! If it didn’t pique your interest then, well, shame on you. Watch it again until it does.

Ready to continue? Okay, then let me set the scene: the nefarious Vortex have mounted a surprise invasion on the planet Nibia, destroying its entire Guardian defence force in the process. Only one hope remains: the malfunctioning prototype Guardian Explodemon, locked in stasis after a, shall we say, ‘devastating’ activation experiment.

As his name suggests, Explodemon’s problem is that he’s ‘prone’ to exploding. It turns out that, surprisingly, Explodemon’s explosivity (so totally a word) will come in useful for fighting back the Vortex onslaught, navigating around the environment, and solving tricky physics-based puzzles.

Featuring 12 huge levels of pulse-pounding platforming, a deep control system, devastatingly up-close-and-personal combat, upgradable special abilities, comic-book style cutscenes and a story that’ll make you giggle, cry, or simply sigh with indifference, Explodemon isn’t your average game. No way. It’s above average, at least. No, wait – so way above average that it’s pure awesome. That’s more like it.

We’ve been working on Explodemon for almost five years now, in some capacity or another, so we’re immeasurably excited to actually get it out to people before the end of the year.

If you’re thinking ‘Five years?’ then, well, that’s understandable. It’s a very long and dramatic story, featuring MYSTERIOUS BENEFACTORS! LAST-MINUTE DEAL BREAKDOWNS! HIDDEN USURPERS! and BOUNCY CASTLES! – well, okay, not the last one (I can dream). But it ultimately culminates in us deciding to follow our instincts and venture into the brave new world of self-publishing. But you look a little fidgety, and I don’t want to go on too much, so let’s save that for another blog post. Or possible movie rights.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little introduction to Explodemon, and that you’re suitably excited for what I can personally guarantee is the most EXPLOSIVE game to launch on PSN this Winter. If you’ve got any questions or comments, post them below – I’ll be skulking below in the comments section like a lonely man at a house party, gripping his drink and staring intently at his shoes, desperate for a snippet of conversation to latch on to.

P.S. Oh! I almost forgot! Make sure you follow us on Twitter @curvestudios to keep up-to-date on all the latest information and get exclusive screenshots not seen anywhere else. There are free copies of the game up for grabs too!

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.

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, PlayStation Mini (PSP compatible) 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, 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 Go 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.

Our first look at the old-school-meets-new-school PSN title.

The developer is borrowing from all over the place in hopes of making a polished platformer.

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.