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Games

Off to Sea with Pi-Rats

Thanks to Furry.Today we found out about Curse of the Sea Rats — a new multi-player animated game currently in development. This “ratoidvania” (their word for it) adventure is interesting because the animation is actually hand drawn. Here’s what the web site says: “Curse of the Sea Rats is an epic hand-drawn ratoidvania starring a group of heroes transformed into rats by a pirate witch. Help Douglas, Buffalo, Akane, and Bussa to rescue the Admiral’s son, capture the evil pirate Flora Burn and break the magic spell. Curse of the Sea Rats packs all of the best features from the Metroidvania genre featuring beautiful 2D hand-drawn animation and 3D environments, combined with unique real-time combat mechanics, and of course, lots of rats!” The web site features a press kit, plus more information on the current Kickstarter campaign.

image c. 2020 Petoons Studio SL

Birds and Bubbles Go Boom

They’re still a thing, and they just keep getting stranger. This we got from Animation World Network: “Rovio Entertainment has released the first season of Angry Birds Bubble Trouble, a bite-sized 3D-animated series where the young Angry Birds flock – Red, Bomb, Chuck, Stella and Silver – let their imaginations ‘go wild’ in their bubble garden. They play games and solve problems together, while getting into all kinds of trouble.” The first season of 1-minute animated shorts is up now on Amazon FreeTime Unlimited. The AWN article includes an introductory video, which shows just how odd this series can be!

image c. 2020 Rovio Entertainment

For A Comfy Hibernation

Bear & Breakfast is a new video game developed by Gummi Cat for Armor Games Studios. The basic idea seems simple: “Bear and Breakfast is a laid-back management adventure game where you build and run a bed and breakfast…but you’re a bear.” Okay. A little more detail, please: “Join Hank, a well-meaning bear, as he and his friends find an abandoned shack and turn it into a money-making bed and breakfast scheme for unsuspecting tourists. As your business expands so do the mysteries of the forest, and Hank soon finds himself uncovering a plot deeper than the wilderness itself.” Ooo, mysteries too! Check out the trailer over at furry.today, or the preview over at the Steam Store. It’s “coming soon”.

image c. 2020 Armor Games Studios

Meet the Dork — and Friends

So furry fans (and many others) have been going crazy lately creating new art in celebration of Spyro the Dragon — new art of many sorts, of course. Well if they need some more inspiration, they could do a lot worse than The Art of Spyro: Reignited Trilogy, new from Blizzard Entertainment. “In 2018 Toys for Bob Studios thrilled fans worldwide by releasing SpyroReignitedTrilogy, a faithful remaster encompassing all three titles from the beloved Spyro™ trilogy introduced in 1998. The Art of Spyro™ is a meticulously crafted compendium filled with in-depth behind-the-scenes content, insightful quotes from top illustrators in the industry, anecdotes from the game developers, and a dazzling assortment of incredible concept art, some of which has never been seen by the public. It is a must-have for art lovers, gamers, fans… and the fun-loving adventurer in all of us.”  Compiled by writer Micky Neilson (Pearl of Pandaria), The Art of Spyro book is available now in hardcover.

image c. 2020 Blizzard Entertainment

The Good Guy Wears The Mask

Hey, look what we found on Twitter: A new “pixel art” game developed by EggNut and available on Steam. “Backbone: Prologue is the first act of a noir role-playing detective adventure. You are raccoon private eye Howard Lotor, a second-class citizen of a dystopian Vancouver, BC inhabited by animals. Interrogate a diverse cast of characters, collect evidence, and choose which leads to follow.” There’s a better trailer up on YouTube as well.

image c. 2020 EggNut

Games By Hand. Egad!

Something interesting has just hit the shelves (so to speak). The award-winning (and Ursa Major Award nominated) game Cuphead has a new tie-in book from Dark Horse Press called — wait for it — The Art of Cuphead. “Get transported back to the golden age of 1930s animation with an art book celebrating the acclaimed run & gun platformer Cuphead! Each page of this curated collection of artwork is designed to capture the vintage look and feel of the Thirties. Take a gander at the game’s traditional hand-drawn, frame-by-frame animation. Peek at the early concepts, production work, and early ideas that went into the making of Cuphead’s characters, bosses, stages, and more! And relive the most cherished and challenging moments of Cuphead and Mugman’s adventure to reclaim their souls from the Devil! Guided by personal insights from game directors Chad and Jared Moldenhauer, take a trip through the Inkwell Isles and discover a new appreciation for Cuphead’s animation style and challenging retro game-play.” It’s available now in hardcover from the Dark Horse web site.

image c. 2020 Dark Horse Press

Quest of Bat and Lizard

Hey, remember that game we talked about called Yooka-Laylee? Well recently D.M. Cumbo and the folks at Dreamprism Press completed a successful Kickstarter campaign for Yooka-Layle and the Kracklestone, a new hardcover full-color graphic novel. “The story sees Yooka and Laylee plunged into a brand new secret tome world in a race against the evil Capital B to reach the legendary ‘Kracklestone’, an ancient artifact fabled to grant its holder invincibility. To reach the treasure, they’ll run, swim, trip, tumble, and fly through nine distinct, character-filled landscapes. They will encounter friends, foes, and some in-between… including plenty of fan favorites from the game!” The Kickstarter page is still up, and it features lots of art and background materials.

image c. 2019 Dreamprism Press

Wolves After Mankind

Our thanks to Changa Lion over at Furry.Today for letting us know about this: Mooneye Studios have recently released the game Lost Ember for the PS4 system. “Go on a journey as a wolf able to possess any animal you meet and [make them] her companion. Experience the contrasting stories of the fall of mankind and the lush life in the world that nature reclaimed.Check out the preview over at the official Playstation web site.

image c. 2019 Mooneye Studios

Two Cups Make… A Pint?

Word has been going around that the Ursa Major Award-nominated video game Cuphead (developed by Studio MDHR) is now being turned into an animated TV series. We got this from Animation World Network: “Netflix has joined forces with King Features on The Cuphead Show!, a new kids series based on the Studio MDHR video game. The show will expand upon the characters and world of Cuphead, with an animation style inspired by the classic Fleischer cartoons from the 1930s… The character-driven comedy follows the unique misadventures of the impulsive Cuphead and his cautious but easily swayed brother Mugman. Through their many misadventures across their surreal home of the Inkwell Isles, they’ve always got one another’s backs. The series will be produced by Netflix Animation and is executive produced by Emmy and Annie Award-winning producer, Dave Wasson (Mickey Mouse Shorts), with Cosmo Segurson (Rocko’s Modern Life: Static Cling) serving as co-executive producer.” That’s some good talent behind the project! No word on a planned release date yet.

image c. 2019 Studio MDHR