'Splosion Man
Encyclopedia
'Splosion Man is a 2.5D
action
platform
video game developed by Twisted Pixel Games
for the Xbox 360
's Xbox Live Arcade
digital download service. It was released on July 22, 2009 as part of the 2009 Xbox Live Summer of Arcade. Players control 'Splosion Man, an escaped science experiment with the ability to explode himself repeatedly, as he works his way through obstacles and traps trying to exit the fictional laboratory known as Big Science.
Splosion Man was received to favorable reviews, averaging 84 out of 100 at Metacritic
and 85.55% and GameRankings, two video game aggregators. It was voted by Xbox Live players as the Best Original XBLA Game of 2009. IGN listed the game eleventh in their top twenty-five Xbox Live Arcade titles of all time. Splosion Man placed thirteenth overall in 2009 sales and as of January 2011 has sold over 390,000 copies. A sequel, titled Ms. Splosion Man
, was released on July 13, 2011.
Splosion Man includes a story mode consisting of fifty levels, including three bosses, as well as up to four-player cooperative gameplay, with fifty coop-exclusive levels. When playing cooperatively the players are each presented in a different color to distinguish them from others. All players share the same screen which zooms in and out according to how close players are to one another. The game does not contain any usable items, but hidden in each level is a cake which can be consumed for extra points or achievements.
, another Twisted Pixel title. The pre-production began in order keep the team working on a title once The Maw was completed. Production began in December 2008, and development began in January 2009. On April 1, 2009, Twisted Pixel released a press announcement that a new game called Splosion Man would be released onto the Xbox Live Arcade. The next day, Twisted Pixel confirmed that the game wasn't an April Fool's Day hoax and that it would be released later in the year. It was featured at the 2009 PAX
convention at Twisted Pixel's booth. Splosion Man was released for Xbox Live Arcade
on July 22, 2009. It was the first of five titles to be released as part of Microsoft
's Summer of Arcade for the Xbox 360. The developers specifically timed the development cycle so in hopes that it would be one of the titles included.
The premise for Splosion Man spawned from a random idea proposed by Sean Riley, one of the developers involved in the game. His idea to develop a game about "a guy who splodes in a world only made of glass". The team joked about the concept until it eventually progressed into a full-fledged video game. Splosion Man was made a downloadable title due its simplicity in comparison to creating a retail game. The developers stated that practically any platform game may have had some influence on Splosion Man, though they credited Earthworm Jim
for his sense of humor and Sonic the Hedgehog
when comparing a sense of speed. The concept art was drawn by retired concept artist Jerome Crackershack, which was picked up by Dave Leung. Leung later became the art lead and, in the words of Splosion Man director James Bear, "ran with [it] and brought [it] to life." Bear explained that the game's humor was not a big part of the pre-development process, and that they "just wanted to make an awesome game." The "Way of the Coward" mode, which allowed players to skip a stage by dying enough times in a row, was added so players could experience the whole game. Using this mode also garbs the protagonist with a pink tutu.
Splosion Man is the first title to provide Avatar Awards to players of the game. Twisted Pixel has no plans to port Splosion Man to either the PlayStation Network or WiiWare
, but stated that it was not out of the question. As of yet, no downloadable content is planned for Splosion Man, but the developers created the game with the ability to sustain it if fans want it. They added in another interview, however, that they had some ideas that they feel will exceed what people would expect of it. Two exclusive levels were later included in Twisted Pixel's Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley
and can be unlocked through gameplay.
and GameRankings respectively. The vast majority of reviews for the game have scored an average of 80% or higher. It was voted by the Xbox Live community as the Best Original Xbox Live Arcade Game of 2009. In August 2009 Shadow Complex
developer Donald Mustard praised the quality of recent downloadable games, specifically mentioning Splosion Man for how unique it and others are. In a September 2010 ranking, IGN
listed Splosion Man eleventh in their top twenty-five Xbox Live Arcade titles of all time.
Splosion Man was a commercial success, along with the four other Summer of Arcade titles. A Microsoft Australia
representative stated that all five of these titles would have made the top 10 best-selling games in Australia
in their first week of release. It launched as the second best-selling game in the week of July 20, 2009, with over 70,000 players. It ranked third in the following week. It was the fifth best-selling Xbox Live Arcade title during the week of August 10, 2009. It later appeared at number eight during the week of August 24, 2009. The game placed thirteenth overall 2009 sales. As of January 2011, Splosion Man has sold over 390,000 copies.
Reviewers generally praised the game's humor, simplicity, and inexpensive price. Brett Todd of GameSpot
called Splosion man "one of the most original platformers to come down the road in a while," adding the price was "very reasonable." IGN
reviewer Daemon Hatfield also lauded the game's humor, gameplay and personality, adding "not a moment goes by without seeing something new and exciting." The level design, overall gameplay length and personality were high points for Eduardo Reboucas of Game Revolution
, who continued with stating that the game was "easy to play, hard to master." Eurogamer
's Dan Whitehead enjoyed the game overall, but occasional repetitive level design and some minor control issues. Games Radar's Nathan Meunier enjoyed the game overall, also citing the comical musical score, but shared the feeling that the level design becomes repetitive.
. The female version of 'Splosion Man was selected, according to Josh Bear of Twisted Pixel Games, as part of an underlying homage to Ms. Pac-Man
. It is Bear's opinion that Ms. Pac-Man was an improvement on Pac-Man
and Ms. Splosion Man is likewise meant to be an advancement on Splosion Man. It was released on July 13, 2011.
released an iOS game entitled MaXplosion, which featured several similarities to Splosion Man, including the same game mechanics. Speaking on Twitter
, Twisted Pixel programmer Mike Henry believed the game to be "a complete theft". Twisted Pixel CEO Michael Wilford also pointed out that Twisted Pixel Games once pitched Splosion Man to Capcom, but the game was rejected. Wilford later explained that the pitch to Capcom was presented to the US branch of the company, and that the UK division handles all mobile game development. He stated that it was unlikely that Capcom US passed on the game pitch to Capcom UK. Twisted Pixel does not plan to take legal action against Capcom. Capcom responded to the allegations saying that the game was developed independently by Capcom Mobile, a different division from the one that had discussions with Twisted Pixel, and the game's similarities to Splosion Man was a coincidence. Twisted Pixel included a hidden jab towards Capcom in the game's sequel, Ms. Splosion Man
. Upon finding a secret area the character Star from Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley
notices similarities to other games, calling it "a ripoff". The character then states "Who made this game? Capcom?"
2.5D
2.5D , 3/4 perspective and pseudo-3D are terms used to describe either:* 2D graphical projections and techniques which cause a series of images or scenes to fake or appear to be three-dimensional when in fact they are not, or* gameplay in an otherwise three-dimensional video game that is...
action
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
platform
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
video game developed by Twisted Pixel Games
Twisted Pixel Games
Twisted Pixel Games is a video game developer based in Austin, Texas. Originally a contractor, Twisted Pixel now releases games based on their own intellectual properties such as The Maw and Splosion Man. The company uses their own proprietary engine, known as BEARD to power their games...
for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
's Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
digital download service. It was released on July 22, 2009 as part of the 2009 Xbox Live Summer of Arcade. Players control 'Splosion Man, an escaped science experiment with the ability to explode himself repeatedly, as he works his way through obstacles and traps trying to exit the fictional laboratory known as Big Science.
Splosion Man was received to favorable reviews, averaging 84 out of 100 at Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
and 85.55% and GameRankings, two video game aggregators. It was voted by Xbox Live players as the Best Original XBLA Game of 2009. IGN listed the game eleventh in their top twenty-five Xbox Live Arcade titles of all time. Splosion Man placed thirteenth overall in 2009 sales and as of January 2011 has sold over 390,000 copies. A sequel, titled Ms. Splosion Man
Ms. Splosion Man
Ms. Splosion Man is an action platform video game developed by Twisted Pixel Games, and was released on Xbox 360 on July 13, 2011. It is the sequel to 's Splosion Man. The game takes place directly after Splosion Man. In the celebration of 'Splosion Man's capture the scientists accidentally create...
, was released on July 13, 2011.
Gameplay
The game's title character, Splosion Man, was created by the fictional laboratory Big Science. The character is made entirely of explosive material. The aim of the game is to "splode" through a series of levels consisting of puzzles, traps, and enemies to escape the facility. A splode is effectively a jump, and can also be used to kill enemies, such as scientists and robots, demolish walls, detonate explosive barrels or trigger other effects. The character can explode up to three times in quick succession at which point he will need to take a breather to replenish his supply.Splosion Man includes a story mode consisting of fifty levels, including three bosses, as well as up to four-player cooperative gameplay, with fifty coop-exclusive levels. When playing cooperatively the players are each presented in a different color to distinguish them from others. All players share the same screen which zooms in and out according to how close players are to one another. The game does not contain any usable items, but hidden in each level is a cake which can be consumed for extra points or achievements.
Development and marketing
Pre-production for Splosion Man began in early 2008, coinciding with winding down of development of The MawThe Maw (video game)
The Maw received above average ratings from critics. It currently averages 75 out of 100 on Metacritic for both the Xbox 360 and PC versions. GameRankings reports similar scores of 76.06% for the Xbox 360 and 73.33% for the PC. Accolades came from outlets such as Games Radar and GamePro with...
, another Twisted Pixel title. The pre-production began in order keep the team working on a title once The Maw was completed. Production began in December 2008, and development began in January 2009. On April 1, 2009, Twisted Pixel released a press announcement that a new game called Splosion Man would be released onto the Xbox Live Arcade. The next day, Twisted Pixel confirmed that the game wasn't an April Fool's Day hoax and that it would be released later in the year. It was featured at the 2009 PAX
Penny Arcade Expo
The Penny Arcade Expo is a semi-annual gamer festival held in Seattle and Boston. PAX was created by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, the authors of the Penny Arcade webcomic, because they wanted to attend a show that gave equal attention to console gamers, computer gamers, and tabletop...
convention at Twisted Pixel's booth. Splosion Man was released for Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
on July 22, 2009. It was the first of five titles to be released as part of Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
's Summer of Arcade for the Xbox 360. The developers specifically timed the development cycle so in hopes that it would be one of the titles included.
The premise for Splosion Man spawned from a random idea proposed by Sean Riley, one of the developers involved in the game. His idea to develop a game about "a guy who splodes in a world only made of glass". The team joked about the concept until it eventually progressed into a full-fledged video game. Splosion Man was made a downloadable title due its simplicity in comparison to creating a retail game. The developers stated that practically any platform game may have had some influence on Splosion Man, though they credited Earthworm Jim
Earthworm Jim
Earthworm Jim is a run and gun platform video game starring an earthworm named Jim in a robotic suit who battles evil. Created by Doug TenNapel and designed by David Perry, the game was developed by Shiny Entertainment and Playmates Interactive Entertainment, released by Sega for the Mega...
for his sense of humor and Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog (character)
, trademarked Sonic The Hedgehog, is a video game character and the main protagonist of the Sonic video game series released by Sega, as well as in numerous spin-off comics, cartoons, and a feature film. The first game was released on June 23, 1991, to provide Sega with a mascot to rival Nintendo's...
when comparing a sense of speed. The concept art was drawn by retired concept artist Jerome Crackershack, which was picked up by Dave Leung. Leung later became the art lead and, in the words of Splosion Man director James Bear, "ran with [it] and brought [it] to life." Bear explained that the game's humor was not a big part of the pre-development process, and that they "just wanted to make an awesome game." The "Way of the Coward" mode, which allowed players to skip a stage by dying enough times in a row, was added so players could experience the whole game. Using this mode also garbs the protagonist with a pink tutu.
Splosion Man is the first title to provide Avatar Awards to players of the game. Twisted Pixel has no plans to port Splosion Man to either the PlayStation Network or WiiWare
WiiWare
WiiWare is a service that allows Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications can only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel under the WiiWare section...
, but stated that it was not out of the question. As of yet, no downloadable content is planned for Splosion Man, but the developers created the game with the ability to sustain it if fans want it. They added in another interview, however, that they had some ideas that they feel will exceed what people would expect of it. Two exclusive levels were later included in Twisted Pixel's Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley
Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley
Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley is an action video game developed by Twisted Pixel Games and co-published with Microsoft Game Studios. It was released for the Xbox 360 via the Xbox Live Arcade Marketplace on October 6, 2010 as part of Microsoft's Game Feast promotion...
and can be unlocked through gameplay.
Reception and sales
Splosion Man has been met with favorable reviews, receiving an 84 out of 100 and an 85.55% at MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
and GameRankings respectively. The vast majority of reviews for the game have scored an average of 80% or higher. It was voted by the Xbox Live community as the Best Original Xbox Live Arcade Game of 2009. In August 2009 Shadow Complex
Shadow Complex
Shadow Complex is a platform-adventure video game developed by Chair Entertainment in association with Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox Live Arcade, and is powered by Unreal Engine 3...
developer Donald Mustard praised the quality of recent downloadable games, specifically mentioning Splosion Man for how unique it and others are. In a September 2010 ranking, IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
listed Splosion Man eleventh in their top twenty-five Xbox Live Arcade titles of all time.
Splosion Man was a commercial success, along with the four other Summer of Arcade titles. A Microsoft Australia
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
representative stated that all five of these titles would have made the top 10 best-selling games in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in their first week of release. It launched as the second best-selling game in the week of July 20, 2009, with over 70,000 players. It ranked third in the following week. It was the fifth best-selling Xbox Live Arcade title during the week of August 10, 2009. It later appeared at number eight during the week of August 24, 2009. The game placed thirteenth overall 2009 sales. As of January 2011, Splosion Man has sold over 390,000 copies.
Reviewers generally praised the game's humor, simplicity, and inexpensive price. Brett Todd of GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
called Splosion man "one of the most original platformers to come down the road in a while," adding the price was "very reasonable." IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
reviewer Daemon Hatfield also lauded the game's humor, gameplay and personality, adding "not a moment goes by without seeing something new and exciting." The level design, overall gameplay length and personality were high points for Eduardo Reboucas of Game Revolution
Game Revolution
Game Revolution or GR is a gaming website created in 1996. Based in Berkeley, California, the site includes reviews, previews, a gaming download area, cheats, and a merchandise store, as well as webcomics, screenshots, and videos...
, who continued with stating that the game was "easy to play, hard to master." Eurogamer
Eurogamer
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...
's Dan Whitehead enjoyed the game overall, but occasional repetitive level design and some minor control issues. Games Radar's Nathan Meunier enjoyed the game overall, also citing the comical musical score, but shared the feeling that the level design becomes repetitive.
Sequel
On December 3, 2010, Twisted Pixel Games announced a sequel to Splosion Man titled Ms. Splosion ManMs. Splosion Man
Ms. Splosion Man is an action platform video game developed by Twisted Pixel Games, and was released on Xbox 360 on July 13, 2011. It is the sequel to 's Splosion Man. The game takes place directly after Splosion Man. In the celebration of 'Splosion Man's capture the scientists accidentally create...
. The female version of 'Splosion Man was selected, according to Josh Bear of Twisted Pixel Games, as part of an underlying homage to Ms. Pac-Man
Ms. Pac-Man
Ms. Pac-Man is an arcade video game produced by Midway as an unauthorized sequel to Pac-Man. It was released in North America in 1981 and became one of the most popular video games of all time, leading to its adoption by Pac-Man licensor Namco as an official title...
. It is Bear's opinion that Ms. Pac-Man was an improvement on Pac-Man
Pac-Man
is an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution in the United States by Midway, first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. Immensely popular from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is considered one of the classics of the medium, virtually synonymous with video games,...
and Ms. Splosion Man is likewise meant to be an advancement on Splosion Man. It was released on July 13, 2011.
Controversy
In January 2011, CapcomCapcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
released an iOS game entitled MaXplosion, which featured several similarities to Splosion Man, including the same game mechanics. Speaking on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, Twisted Pixel programmer Mike Henry believed the game to be "a complete theft". Twisted Pixel CEO Michael Wilford also pointed out that Twisted Pixel Games once pitched Splosion Man to Capcom, but the game was rejected. Wilford later explained that the pitch to Capcom was presented to the US branch of the company, and that the UK division handles all mobile game development. He stated that it was unlikely that Capcom US passed on the game pitch to Capcom UK. Twisted Pixel does not plan to take legal action against Capcom. Capcom responded to the allegations saying that the game was developed independently by Capcom Mobile, a different division from the one that had discussions with Twisted Pixel, and the game's similarities to Splosion Man was a coincidence. Twisted Pixel included a hidden jab towards Capcom in the game's sequel, Ms. Splosion Man
Ms. Splosion Man
Ms. Splosion Man is an action platform video game developed by Twisted Pixel Games, and was released on Xbox 360 on July 13, 2011. It is the sequel to 's Splosion Man. The game takes place directly after Splosion Man. In the celebration of 'Splosion Man's capture the scientists accidentally create...
. Upon finding a secret area the character Star from Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley
Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley
Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley is an action video game developed by Twisted Pixel Games and co-published with Microsoft Game Studios. It was released for the Xbox 360 via the Xbox Live Arcade Marketplace on October 6, 2010 as part of Microsoft's Game Feast promotion...
notices similarities to other games, calling it "a ripoff". The character then states "Who made this game? Capcom?"