CUPHEAD: A GAME THAT LOOKS LIKE A 1930s CARTOON
By: Michael Subong and Kristian Edinni Palma
Cuphead, a deceptively challenging trending game developed and perfectly executed 1930’s animation have found many audience. This game features a unique type of graphics that used pre-retro artistic design where all characters and animations were hand-drawn with pencil on paper and then hand-inked before being digitized and colored with stunningly animated watercolor background, paired with original jazz soundtrack and accurately fuzzy voice and sound.
Every element nailed the feel of those old cartoons we used to watch and play. Let’s take it for example Disney cartoons and the run-and-gun gameplay same as Contra, Metal Slug, etc.
The gameplay is all about the quest for the devil’s debtors. There’s a greater chance to get addictive and challenged to the boss fights for the game teaches us persistence. You will get to encounter different boss having special pace, rhythm and attack patterns. And the more you lose the more it will give you the knowledge about the villain’s attack strategies bringing you closer to victory. However, this isn’t about memorization for there could be chances of encounter with random elements.
Having said all that, this won’t be a game for everyone. If it were a platformer, even a challenging one, I’d be quicker to recommend it, but not eveby a series of boss battles. This is a game designed with challenge in mind, and an easy to goal to lure everyone will be enthralled u. Some things are easy enough to learn while others take a lot of practice. For instance, after nearly a dozen hours as Cuphead, I still haven’t managed to perfect the counter jump. Players can bounce off pink items with a second jump, but it feels strangely unpredictable with some enemies and objects seemingly easier to counter than others. Unfortunately, it is not a game with multiple playstyles in mind so if this doesn’t sound like your kind of game, don’t think you can make it more fun for yourself by finding other ways to beat the bosses.
All told, the gameplay here is strong enough that Cuphead can stand out through the years because of the video gamey art perfectly executed 1930s animation style that makes it something special.
One of the most intriguing game that I ever played, Due to its attractive and minimalistic art style which isn’t really found in most games. It also make practical and effective use of a particular art style also known as rubber hosing animation.
What is Rubber Hose Animation?
Was the first animation style that became standardized in the American animation industry. The defining feature of the style is “rubber hose limbs” — arms, and sometimes legs, that are typically simple, flowing curves, without articulation (no hinged wrists or elbows).
Cuphead is the first game by StudioMDHR Entertainment, an indie game development studio consisting of brothers Chad and Jared Moldenhauer. Additional animation work was contributed by Jake Clark. Its development began in 2010, and they worked on the game from their respective homes in Toronto, Ontario and Saskatchewan. The game was inspired by cartoons produced by Fleischer Studios, Disney, and cartoonists Ub Iwerks, Grim Natwick, and Willard Bowsky,particularly their most “subversive and surrealist” elements. Chad Moldenhauer called Fleischer Studios “the magnetic north of his art style”. The game was developed with the Unity game engine.
