GDC08: A look inside the mind of Dylan Cuthbert: PixelJunk's future

by Nick Doerr { Feb 19th 2008 at 8:00AM }

It's really quite impressive how much Q Games' reputation has improved over the last month or so. PixelJunk Racers was an attempt to bring back arcade-style 2D racers, but ended up an eyesore. Their second PixelJunk title, Monsters, was received much better and has become a staple download by many PS3 owners. So what's next? You've seen the Eden trailer -- what's Cuthbert and crew got coming?

The Independent Games Conference had Cuthbert as a speaker and talked a little about Q Games' philosophy: games that are simple, familiar, and original running in 1080P HD at 60Hz. PixelJunk is a brand, not a game title -- it's meant to teach consumers that while the games are different, they'll know what to expect somewhat. He showed off a sketch of the fourth title to be released after Eden -- PixelJunk Dungeons. It's going to be a top-down dungeon crawler. We're excited for that.

That's the end of the first "series" of PixelJunk games. The next round, Cuthbert teases, may use some 3D styles in ways we don't expect. He said that they would, maybe, "take some of the old 3D looks and bring them up to the full HD kind of style." There's so much more to read over at Gamasutra's coverage of the speech -- if you like the PixelJunk games, we recommend reading up on Cuthbert's plans, philosophies, and ideas.

Tags: dylan-cuthbert, gdc08, gdc08fanboy, pixeljunk, q-games

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Mattnz @ Feb 19th 2008 8:40AM

The pixel junk series is shaping up to be a real asset to the PSN, keep up the good work.

RazLeboL @ Feb 19th 2008 9:37AM

Can't wait for PixelJunk Dungeons. The idea of a top-down dungeon crawler in the same style of PixelJunk Monsters made me wet my underwears.

Organic_Shadow @ Feb 19th 2008 10:58AM

Consider my underwears thoroughly wetted as well! I'm actually a little sad though that it will be their last 2D game. I was starting to get comfy with them- especially seeing as racers kinda bombed.

Hopefully they will release (more)expansions for Monsters, Eden, and Dungeons. :)

I HEART PIXELJUNK!!!

Chnkylovrr53 @ Feb 19th 2008 9:57AM

You're not alone Raz... my underwears is soaked :X...

P @ Feb 19th 2008 11:58AM

Leave PJR alone, its a quality single screen overhead racer, its simple, its fun, and its challenging.
If people dont like that kind of game then thats their own opinion, but it doesnt make it a bad game just because its not to their taste, because what it aims to do it does very well IMO. There are dozens of game modes each with their own twist to them, a decent enough number of tracks, and 7 player multiplayer too if its possible to fit that many people round a TV!
PJM is great too, but i dont think PJR gets the credit it deserves because its not what people like, but it shouldnt make it a bad game. How its an 'eyesore' i'll never know.

Akunin @ Feb 19th 2008 8:55PM

I'm totally with you on that! PJR is an awesome game and I can't see what people are bashing it for.

Fiddlesworth @ Feb 19th 2008 12:27PM

@Organic_Shadow

after 'eden' and 'dungeons' there's still AT LEAST two more 2D 'SERIES 1' PixelJunk titles to come.

SERIES 1 (2D)

(1-1) PixelJunk RACERS
(1-2) PixelJunk MONSTERS
(1-3) PixelJunk èdèn
(1-4) PixelJunk DUNGEONS
(1-5) PixelJunk ?
(1-6) PixelJunk ?

SERIES 2 (3D)

(2-1) PixelJunk ?
(2-2) PixelJunk ?

...and so on.

Tony @ Feb 19th 2008 1:26PM

I keep repeating this but Dylan said Monsters has a sequel in the works, as well as an expansion pack. I will submit the email I rcvd if somebody tells me how. :)

Popfrogs @ Feb 19th 2008 3:01PM

Ctrl-c ctrl-v seems to work pretty well for me.

Tony @ Feb 19th 2008 3:05PM

From: "Dylan Cuthbert" To: "Tony K
Subject: Re: PJM Expansion
Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2008 04:01:01 +0900
Hello there,

Thanks for the mail of support - there will be some info about the expansion pack as we finishing knocking the nails in, maybe at some point over the next couple of weeks.

Hopefully we can get it to you sooner rather than later.

Some of your ideas there are in our list of things to do for a PixelJunk Monsters 2 (the ideas that require a lot of extra work), but we are going to add a few extra special features to the expansion pack.

It's great to hear that you are having so much fun with the game though!

Regards

Dylan

----- Original Message -----
From: Tony K
To: dylan@q-games.com
Sent: Tuesday, February 19, 2008 3:14 AM
Subject: PJM Expansion

I am hearing a rumor that PJM has an expansion in the works. This is EXCELLENT news as I am addicted to this game and will pay ANY price for the following additions:

Online co-op (up to 4 players would be stunning)
Level editor and online level sharing
More towers
Possibly some sort of skirmish mode?
More unlockables...

This game is my one true love. Please keep supporting it and my wallet will be forever open. I would even subscribe to PJM updates, you can have my bank account number and credit card number just make it happen.

THANKS!

Tony K