Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP

By: Derek Yu

On: March 29th, 2011

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, the stylish action adventure fantasy game by Craig “Superbrothers” Adams, musician Jim Guthrie, and Capybara Games, has been released for the iPad. The iPhone and iPod Touch version of the game will be released in April.

A teaser for the game after the jump:

Posted in Action, iPad, iPhone | Tags: CapybaraGames, JimGuthrie, superbrothers

Quaz

the fact this is only on overpriced touch devices instead of available on pc saddens me, the largest demographic who wants to play can't :(, and it's largely available to hipster idiots who will look at it and say “GAY, ANGRY BURDS ARE BETTAR”
Metalhead

I really wish there was a PC version of this game. Freaking expensive iStuff – at least for a Student
http://twitter.com/googoogjoob42 googoogjoob

how to make sure i will never play your game: make sure it is never released on pc
fog

Well – Like many I'll probably never get my hands on it but it is one of the most intriguing looking games I've seen in a while!
http://profiles.google.com/gustavel Gustave Leibbrandt

*sad face*…
@fog: I agree.
Why you not release for PC?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://twitter.com/radiatoryang Robert Yang

Borrow a friend's iPad then. (That's what I did.)

The interface (and world design, really) wouldn't make for a good PC game.

Sometimes you have to strum; sometimes you have to press and hold. You have to rotate the screen very often. Those gestures wouldn't be very intuitive (or nearly as satisfying) on a mouse — or in the case of rotating the screen, it'd be impossible on a desktop / laptop.

Plus your character prominently wields a “megatome,” a cheeky mythical version of the iPad. On a desktop or laptop, that congruence between player and character gets lost.

The game was made for an iPad, so let it be what it wants to be?
http://profiles.google.com/kcixis Kevin Campbell

It can be what it wants to be, and I can still lament the fact that I can't play it because I'm not rich enough or lucky enough to know someone with such a device that would let me use it in this way. It may be impossible to port to PC, but what I (and probably most people who share my opinion) feel is that it would be really nice to play a superbrothers game like that, and it sucks that we can't for at least a year or if we randomly come into enough disposable income to facilitate getting this game and an iPad or iTouch ourselves.
Ben_hurrian

Why waste all that effort putting an amazing game on an eDevice no one owns or wants? >:I
Peevish

Or wait a week til it comes out on iPod and iPhone, which apparently everyone in the world already has (minus the above commenters and myself).
Matt

I also own no iThings and wish this game was available on PC. Oh well.
http://profiles.google.com/piecewise66 brad newby

They're releasing it on Ipad because apple is probably paying them a nice chuck of change. They did it for the money they would get, something they probably wouldn't get in pc waters. But no one in their right mind buys an ipad, considering they have less features then a 10 year old tablet pc, so the number of people who play this game is going to be limited to hopeless apple fanatics, idiotic early adapters, or people with so much money they don't know what to do with it.

Here's hoping that whoring one's self out to apple is worth it.
Ivansafrin

You all are the reason why we can't have nice things.
PhasmaFelis

So I watched the demo reel a while back, in which the hero wanders through stunning gorgeous terrain for a while and then suddenly gets jammed into a winking-ironic Mike Tyson's Punch-Out knockoff for some reason. If it keeps on being elbow-to-the-ribs retro references like that, I don't have to feel too bad about not having an iPad.

(But I love all you dudes trying to dry your tears with “at least I'm not a filthy subhuman iPad owner”. Those grapes were probably sour anyway, right, guys?)
broAhmed

I'm still trying to determine the purpose of the iPad. For the price, I could easily buy a brand new laptop with far more capabilities. While I can see the justification with the iPod Touch or iPhone (access to the cloud wherever you go, and in the case of the iPhone a phone), the iPad just seems like a giant iPod touch without the pocket-sized form factor. True, it may be slightly more portable than a full-fledged laptop but I don't think it's by much.
Automaton

Seems like a pretty cool game. I don't know if they've released for the right audience though.
I'm not knocking their decision to make it for iPad, but I think the dev's are really limiting the game's potential. Especially as a game that seems to be geared towards ambience, I don't really see how the iPad can communicate it as effectively as a PC might. I might be wrong here, but on a small, portable medium, wouldn't it be a less immersive experience than say, a larger screen with surround sound?
As far as control goes, surely they'd be able to incorporate some way to play that isn't offputting. Perhaps a gamepad interface could emulate a touchpad feel? Albeit to an extent, I just hope it's something the creators considered.
I also can't really imagine trying to enjoy this style of game in any situation where there might be people around to detract from the experience, say, outdoors, at work or on the bus.
Normally I wouldn't comment on this kind of thing, I know the dev's have their reasons and I'm not saying they were wrong to go about it the way they have. But whenever I see a page like this, for a game like this, on a platform like this, where the majority of commenters are in the “interested but unavailable” mode… I do have to wonder why the end user was chosen over others that seemingly show more potential to receive it.
Anyway, that's my rant. I'll be butthurt about it quietly now.
PhasmaFelis

But whenever I see a page like this, for a game like this, on a platform like this, where the majority of commenters are in the “interested but unavailable” mode… I do have to wonder why the end user was chosen over others that seemingly show more potential to receive it.

Fair point. Basically, I don't think TIGsource represents their target audience. This is a small blog written for an audience of mostly PC gamers and some console gamers (mostly Xbox Live Arcade). They don't represent the really ridiculously large number of people who own iPads–some of whom are probably interested in a game for that platform that isn't yet another PopCap/Nitrome-style slick'n'shallow casual game.

Also, for better or worse, the iPad represents a kind of user interface that you can't really do on PCs or home consoles. If I was a developer who liked to think of himself as ground-breaking and original, I'd be pretty excited to develop for something like that.
http://www.nuverian.net Gavalakis Vaggelis

It seems awesome game nontheless.!
Gameonicon

Yeah because every iPad owner is a hipster idiot…
and every Wii owner is a soccer mom…
and every 360 owner is an angry kid…
and every PS3 owner is a spoiled rich brat…
and ever PC owner an elitist douchebag…
/Sigh
Richiiiiie

What a load of bullshit, no PC release?
This is the epitome of the wolf in sheep's clothing that 'app store' gaming truly is.
Whatever

The site splooges over how excited they are that it will exclusive to iCrap. lol. Way to stand on the shoulder of giants, rip off the coolest of the flash-based indie games, and then make it sound like their unique vision was given to them from God.

Oh wait, sounds just like Steve Jobs, makes sense.
http://twitter.com/pandafresh Christian J. Ruiz

i want this game, but i dont own an ipad, nor have any friends that own one. no iphone/ipad either. oh well. maybe their next game will have a wider (or narrower in a sense?) release? if this was on PC/PS3/360/Wii, i woulda bought the shit outta it!
Briker Ed

Not all of the iDevice users are, like several people here said, jerks, brats, rich people or whatever it was they called them…. Those comments were pretty uncalled for. Where exactly is it written that indie devs should exclusively make games for the PC? Same thing with each of the console releases….

Just makes you look whiny, jealous & spoiled yourselves.
Tiganon

I own an iPod Touch. I mainly game on consoles, or the PC for indie titles. I'll be buying this game when it's released for my device. I understand the butthurt, but there ARE people who own iThings who crave the unique and interesting. Most of the games I see are casual and boring or the equivalent of Facebook games.
http://justonemoregame.wordpress.com/ Gabe McGrath

I am sick sick S-I-C-K of the spammy Twitter updates about this game. If I wanted that sort of thing, I'd hang out on Facebook and read about people's farming prowess.

The game may be good, but the spammy Twitter updates have given me a very, very poor impression of the brand. if you want people to spread the word – do something interesting – make a creative trailer – hell, just make a good game – but don't do spammy tweet functions.

It's your loss in the end.
Frank

Sad to see it not released for PC. Would have happily purchased the game.
Shpydir

It's sad to see so many people typing so much bullshit hate. I'm first in line to call the iPad a limited-use gadget, but you platform warriors are missing the point: an indie made a game and people are buying it.

That's what I call victory, no matter what device it comes on.

It's not PC vs everything else. It's indie vs mainstream. It's two guys in a garage vs corporate behemoths and marketing departments. And it's not really about any of that either. It's about games. Pushing the medium forward through vision, experimentation, and risk-taking. Whoever and however and whatever doesn't matter.
No

I'll never be able to play this unless they port it to something I actually have access to.
Quaz

no, more like, not every gamer is a rich spoiled brat.

Most gamers who dont have money can't afford Icrap, whereas most people who have Icrap are the classic “i dont care” nobs influenced extremely easily by media and outside pressures, I.E. the average everyday street dummy.
Guest

I.E. u are a hipster
PhasmaFelis

Isn't Gamer Entitlement great, folks?
Chris Whitman

Absolutely fantastic game, and definitely would not translate well to PC. Shame about the egregious sense of entitlement displayed in the comments here. People make the games they want to make for the platforms they want to make them for. Why get so worked up about it?
Frank

“It's two guys in a garage vs corporate behemoths”

That's why it was released on Apple devices, right? I can't tell if you're trolling, or just plain retarded.
Shpydir

Apple didn't have any part in making the game. All Apple did was build a device and an app store and give developers access to it. I don't see how that makes two guys (Craig and Jim) and a small indie game company (Capybara Games) corporate behemoths. How are you conflating developers of software with the company that makes the hardware?

Explain it to me, dude who is probably in highschool and has no game credits on his resume. Teach me all about game development, because I must've missed something.
101

From the trailer it looks nice but empty, nothing more than an evocative slideshow (admittedly made from pretty tasty audio / video). It constantly kept on hinting that it will become really good around the corner, but it seems it never does. Reviews I've read about the game just reinforce my impression.

But I don't own an iDevice anyway and am not a target demographic so it doesn't matter I guess.
Gameonicon

You don't have to be rich to buy an iPad and you don't have to be poor to be “normal”.
So how much money has a gamer to spend on being a gamer?
And by gamer do you mean male single 13-26?
Sorry Quaz but you are just using stupid stereotypes.
You should try to see the world, people and products in a broader picture.
Spaniel

Is there any hope for an Android release? Very much like the look of this, like the above posters I would like it on a format I can play it but I can see why it wouldn't work on PC. I too cannot afford an iThingy, but me and most of my friends now have Android phones (UK network operators just throw them at you) so that would be good.

Or do iPhone exclusive games tend to stay exclusive? In which case, maximum sad face.
Negative 0

Much agreed. PC has always had plenty of issues with pirating and wat not. if it weren't for these 'expensive' devices, indie development wouldn't be booming as much as it is now. i'm no apple fanboy, but i certainly don't see the reason for all this useless hate towards a product that's helping improve the indie scene.

Developers are people too – we have to make money somehow, and if going with the current market is going to help us get there, then so be it. it may sound commercial and consumer driven, but it doesn't have to be. who said u can't be passionate about developing something for such an audience purely for the craft and not the cash?
Negative 0

So much bitching and whining from pre-pubescent douche bags. ur a stain to the indie name.
http://www.facebook.com/Zakstudio William Zakeyan

Spaniel> +1, I'll buy it for sure !
KennEH!

Droid port. Droid port!
Knuked

O.o How come I have never heard of this fantastic looking game!? Damn, I need to pay more attention and stop viewing the porn in my other tab!
Anonymous

While he didn't have a terrible amount of tact in delivery, Quaz does (kinda) have a point.
There are probably three types of people buying iPads:
1) iZombies (all hail lord jobs!)
2) Bored people with extra cash (if you already own a computer, an iPad is going to already do *less* than your existing machine).
3) Teens and people who don't “do” anything. (If you don't have an existing machine, purchasing an iPad only makes sense if your primary activity is facebook or browsing the internet. Tablets are pretty much exclusively for consuming content).
Anonymous

Especially with that big, exposed, vulnerable screen.
PhasmaFelis

I'm curious now. Do you think that everything released for iOS was developed by Apple?
Some Guy

I agree with anon there. I'm a gamer, but I wouldn't consider buying an iPad for gaming, it just doesn't seem like a viable platform. I'd be better off spending that money on a 3DS and a whole bunch of games for that instead of an iPad and one game. While there's probably a decent number of games with iPads the number of gamers with computers is higher.
Gameonicon

My parents are over 60 and live in another country. Both have little to no experience with PCs. I call them always via Skype on their phone. Guess what my father asked me last week?
“What about this touchscreen thing from apple? It seems to be easy to use… could I use Skype with it ? I will also need an Internet connection right? 600 EUR seems ok!?”
You see none of the stereotypes applies here. There is a much bigger audience for tablet PCs. It doesn't matter if it is an Android, iOS or whatever platform. People want an easy to use device that has interesting apps, games and so on. They don't want to bother with install CDs, complicated hardware configurations, drivers, security software, defragmentation, administration etc. I applaud Apple for their foresight. Do I agree with their politics? Well not really… there is no perfect company or a perfect device. But calling people that like to use a certain device bored, iTards, iZombies or whatever is just elitist BS.
Richiiiiie

No Droid release, no PC release, no non-iproduct release at all.
Hm, I wonder if Apple threw some cash their way.
Anybody not outraged over no PC release is completely missing the point, even worse are those of you who accuse the outraged of being selfish or feeling wrongfully entitled. We're not saying don't release your game on the app market, we're saying release your game on desktop platforms too, there is absolutely no reason not to.
Furthermore, nobody is buying iphones or ipads for gaming, if people want to game with a handheld there are superior options available. This current trend of everyone either pretending or being completely mislead into believing the app-market audience is a viable demographic is not only completely deluded, but helping to shape independent game development into a terrible thing.
Shpydir

“…release your game on desktop platforms too, there is absolutely no reason not to.”

Consider the additional redesigning of game mechanics that releasing on different platforms requires. PCs don't come standard with a touchscreen. There are things you can do with them that you just can't do on the PC. Same goes for consoles vs PCs or any other pair of platforms. Depending on the platform, it may take just as much time to port as it did to make the game in the first place. This is a small team. They didn't even put out the iPhone version at the same time.

So when you refer to yourself as outraged, you are effectively mad that they only made one game instead of 2…or 3…or 4 all at once. Seeing Steve Jobs cackling in an alleyway and handing them large bags with dollar signs on them is not a logical conclusion. The much simpler explanation is that they just didn't have the time or resources or interest to spend to make a cross-platform release.

One last thing, this app market hate has got to stop. There are people with wallets there and they pay you in real money, just like anywhere else. Saying app stores are not a viable market is ignorant, disingenuous, or both. App stores are not killing everything. Games for other platforms are still being made. Heck, I hear Nintendo just released a new handheld of some sort. Why would they do that if it Apple was eating everybody's lunch?
Frank

“released on apple devices” synonymous with “developed by apple”. These posts are just making me upset now, nobody can be this ridiculously slow.
'Simply pointing out the lunacies in Shypdir's idiotic rant.
PhasmaFelis

Wow. So you really do believe that all iOS apps are developed in-house by Apple?

That's kind of amazing. I'm not sure what to say to that. I thought I was making a joke up there.