Ska Studios is an independent game developer founded by James Silva in 2001 as Totally Screwed Software. The name was changed in 2005 to Ska Software, and then in 2007 to Ska Studios.

The studio is well-known in indie gaming for its games that utilize graphic cartoon violence. The games often pay tribute to the retro gaming scene, with the first two entries of its Zombie Smashers X

Zombie Smashers X

Zombie Smashers X is a 2D sidescrolling fighting game for Microsoft Windows from Ska Software. It was released in 2001 as shareware and then re-released in 2006 as freeware...

 series paying tribute to River City Ransom

River City Ransom

River City Ransom, released as in Japan and as Street Gangs in PAL regions, is a video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System . It was developed by Technōs Japan and originally released in Japan on April 25, 1989. It is the third game in Technos' Kunio-kun series released for the console,...

, while Blood Zero is a tribute to The Legend of Zelda

The Legend of Zelda

The Legend of Zelda, originally released as in Japan, is a video game developed and published by Nintendo, and designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. Set in the fantasy land of Hyrule, the plot centers on a boy named Link, the playable protagonist, who aims to collect the eight fragments...

.

Awards and receptions

Their games have generally received good ratings, and have also won a few awards:

Zombie Smashers X2: Punx and Skins – Reflexive Arcade entry, average reader review: 4.2 out of 5 stars
Zombie Smashers X2: Punx and Skins – GameTunnel.com 2005 Action Game of the Year
Zombie Smashers X2: Punx and Skins – Download.com average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
Zombie Smashers X3: Ninjastarmageddon! – GameTunnel.com number 15 of Top 100 Games
Zombie Smashers X3: Ninjastarmageddon! – Gizaim! Score 7.75/10
Zombie Smashers X3: Ninjastarmageddon! – Bytten.com Overall Score: 91%

Their most recent and notable award came from 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...

, who hold the Dream-Build-Play contest. In this contest, independent developers are challenged to use the XNA Game Studio software to create a game. Whoever creates the best one gets a publishing contract to have the game distributed on Xbox Live Arcade. James Silva tied in first place with his game The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai

The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai

The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai is a beat 'em up game developed by independent software developer James Silva for the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade service.-Gameplay:...

, beating out over 4,500 other entrants from over 100 countries.

Games

• Zombie Smashers X
  Zombie Smashers X
  Zombie Smashers X is a 2D sidescrolling fighting game for Microsoft Windows from Ska Software. It was released in 2001 as shareware and then re-released in 2006 as freeware...
  
   (2001/2006)
• Blood Zero (2003)
• Survival Crisis Z
  Survival Crisis Z
  Survival Crisis Z is a video game within both the role playing and survival horror genres for Microsoft Windows. The game was published in 2004 by developer Ska Studios. The game takes place in a city during the wake of a zombie apocalypse...
  
   (2004)
• Zombies and Pterodactyls 2k5 (2005)
• Zombie Smashers X2: Punx and Skins (2005)
• Zombie Smashers X3: Ninjastarmageddon!
  Zombie Smashers X3: Ninjastarmageddon!
  Zombie Smashers X3: Ninjastarmageddon! is the third installment in Ska Studios Zombie Smashers X series. It was released in 2007 and boasted a brand new 3D engine as well as an entirely different style game play.- Story :...
  
   (2007)
• Zombie Smashers X4: Guitarpocalypse (2008)
• The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai
  The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai
  The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai is a beat 'em up game developed by independent software developer James Silva for the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade service.-Gameplay:...
  
   (2009)
• I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES 1NIT!!!1 (2009)
• ZP2K9 (2009)
• The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile
  The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile
  The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile is a 2D side-scrolling beat 'em up video game. It was developed by Ska Studios and released on XBLA on April 6, 2011. It is the sequel to The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai, also by Ska Studios, released in 2009...
  
  (2011)
• Charlie Murder (upcoming) - coming in 2012

External links

• Ska-Studios.com
• Zombie Smashers X2: Punx and Skins website
• Zombie Smashers X3: Ninjastarmageddon! website