Twisted Pixel Lifts Curtains On Comic Jumper

This time last year even those inside the industry mostly hadn’t heard of developer Twisted Pixel. Since then, though, the Austin, TX-based team has quickly made a name for themselves via two high-profile 2009 Xbox Live Arcade releases: The Maw and Splosion Man. At the SXSW conference in Austin, I had a chance to see the first-ever gameplay demo of their next downloadable hit in the making, Comic Jumper.

The concept behind Comic Jumper is pretty much entirely explained in the title: You jump into a variety of comic books and play through some adventures contained within. The first book they’re showing, The Adventures of Captain Smiley, is a traditional superhero tale. You take on the role of titular hero Captain Smiley, a do-gooder with a huge, round smiley head for a face and a talkative Star on his chest.

The comic theme is presented both visually and in gameplay. Cutscenes include goofy voice acting (a first for the team), but they also feature speech bubbles. As you bash through enemies during the game, you’ll cause sound effects to pop up as text; each punch landed on a baddy earn you a satisfying “BOOM!” “THUD!” or “CRASH!” And in one of the coolest effects I saw, transitions between scenes are shown with the hero actually jumping out of the panels and across pages into the next area.

Though they’ve already shown that they can do 3D gameplay with The Maw, Comic Jumper will continue Splosion Man’s stylish 2D. The gameplay begins rather simply with a focus on melee that came across like an old-school beat-em-up – a bigger, flashier Double Dragon. Later in the first level, though, Captain Smiley obtains a gun, and the gameplay becomes something more akin to Contra or Gunstar Heroes, two inspirations that the team listed alongside Earthworm Jim.

There are actually multiple ways to control the action here. If players prefer using the face buttons, ‘X’ shoots the gun while ‘A’ operates as jump. However, players can also use the triggers for shooting and jumping. If they focus on this control scheme, the right analog stick can be used to aim, allowing for more precise shooting when needed but also requiring a slightly higher level of skill. Both control schemes are active at the same time, so players can switch at will or even mix and match elements of each.

One element that’s probably the most important to fans of The Maw and Splosion Man, the team’s sense of humor, is very clearly still alive and well in Comic Jumper. The first level begins with Captain Smiley confronting the evil Dr. Winklemeyer, a crazed scientist and leader of a rogue eastern European nation who has decided to rob a bank due to the annoying hidden fees he received when he signed up for a free checking account. This imposing super-villain also talks about “making bathroom on the bank couch,” so you know that there’s plenty more to laugh at than be scared about.

Captain Smiley also finds a rival in the form of Brad, a dashing Dudebro-type who rides around the city in his Bradcopter with two robotic babes on his arms. Despite Brad’s insistence that Captain Smiley and Star are “dillholes,” Star desperately wishes he was Brad’s partner instead, an admiration that further builds Smiley’s hatred for Brad and will surely be explored throughout the game. Brad will also have his own theme song, and though I wasn’t able to hear it at the event, I’m hopeful that it’ll will match the awesome silliness of the “Donuts” song from Splosion Man.

The Treasure inspiration doesn’t stop at the Gunstar Heroes-style gunplay. One sequence had Captain Smiley crushing an enemy robot and then riding its body down a sloping building like a snowboard, shooting up other jetpack-equipped baddies along the way. Twisted Pixel also promised lots of crazy bosses and mini-bosses throughout each level.

Though I only got to see a single level, and it was still early, the foundation for Comic Jumper already has me excited to see more. Twisted Pixel is planning to release new screens and video in the coming weeks along with new updates on the game every month from now until its unannounced release, so stay tuned for more info soon, including screens later this week.