Joystiq

Super Meat Boy development for mobile paused

Alexander Sliwinski — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 12:30:00 EST

Developer Team Meat has stopped production of the next Super Meat Boy - the mobile version - to focus all efforts on Mew-Genics.

"We decided to officially pause work on the next Super Meat Boy and remake Mew-Genics outside of flash, making it our new full time project," the developer noted on its blog. Team Meat co-founder Edmund McMillen elaborated to Joystiq, "It's the new Super Meat Boy made for touch and other platforms. We pitched the idea as a re-envisioning of Super Meat Boy on iOS and people assumed it was just a remake or port, but it's actually a completely new Super Meat Boy game. But yes it's on hold til Mew-Genics is done."

Mew-Genics was announced late last year and Team Meat's Edmund McMillen said it was the strangest game he's ever worked on. This is coming from the guy behind The Binding of Isaac. Hold us, we're scared.

Super Meat Boy development for mobile paused originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 05 Feb 2013 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The first taste of Super Meat Boy mobile art

Jessica Conditt — Mon, 07 May 2012 22:15:00 EST

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.

The first taste of Super Meat Boy mobile art originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 07 May 2012 22:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Super Meat Boy mobile to be twitch-based, but 'not about memorization'

David Hinkle — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 23:30:00 EST

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."

Super Meat Boy mobile to be twitch-based, but 'not about memorization' originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 30 Apr 2012 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mobile Super Meat Boy may look something like this, may not

Jessica Conditt — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 14:00:00 EST

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."

Mobile Super Meat Boy may look something like this, may not originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 01 Apr 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Super Meat Boy's super boys explain what it means to go mobile

Jessica Conditt — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:15:00 EST

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."

Continue reading Super Meat Boy's super boys explain what it means to go mobile

Super Meat Boy's super boys explain what it means to go mobile originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Super Meat Boy to be torn apart, rebuilt for touchscreen devices

Jessica Conditt — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:30:00 EST

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.

Super Meat Boy to be torn apart, rebuilt for touchscreen devices originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft discounts Super Meat Boy, other content across its platforms

David Hinkle — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 04:00:00 EST

This week, Microsoft is offering discounts across Xbox Live, Windows PC and its mobile platforms. It's being billed as a fan appreciation sale and we're sure Microsoft would appreciate if its fans spent money. It's kinda how these things go.

Highlights include Super Meat Boy for $5, a few discounted add-ons for Left 4 Dead 2 and Homefront, half-off Indie Games titles Flotilla and Weapon of Choice, and a few PC and mobile joints for good measure. If you want to spend, there's a good chance you can find something to spend money on here. The only thing we'd suggest is that perhaps you hold off on the five different premium Xbox 360 themes available. There's no word on whether or not they'll be compatible with your new Dashboard next month.

Microsoft discounts Super Meat Boy, other content across its platforms originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 23 Nov 2011 04:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Super Meat Boy postmortem, Angry Birds and Zynga talks announced for GDC 2011

Ben Gilbert — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 17:15:00 EST

In case you didn't know, it's the 25th anniversary of the Game Developers Conference this year, and that means a load of extra special presentations. Beyond the head of Nintendo keynoting, the laundry list of legendary developers giving "classic" postmortems, and various announcements, it was revealed today that Super Meat Boy devs Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes ("Team Meat") will be giving a postmortem of their own. And hey, we think they're pretty extra special.

Additionally, Zynga VP of product development Mark Skaggs will be discussing his company's evolution, framed around the release of FarmVille and the push towards CityVille over the last year -- we'd suggest fledgling Facebook millionaires not be late. And finally, rounding out today's announcement is news of an Angry Birds talk from Rovio's Peter Vesterbacka (self-claimed "Head Eagle" at the studio). We'll be on hand at GDC bringing you all the meaty, free-to-play, bird-flinging news as it breaks.

Super Meat Boy postmortem, Angry Birds and Zynga talks announced for GDC 2011 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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