Cuphead

I was recently reminded of the fact that this game is being released this year, as I had forgotten about it until now. Cuphead, announced back in the summer of 2014, is a "run and gun" style game being developed for the Xbox One and PC that looks like it ripped all of its art right out of a 1930's cartoon. The game puts the player in control of the character Cuphead, who, along with his friend Mugman (who can be controlled by another player for cooperative play), are forced to do the bidding of the Devil after losing to him in a bet. The developers of this game said that all of the art is hand-drawn, and it brings a very unique look to an otherwise familiar video game genre. Between the seamlessness of the drawing's animations and the overall wackiness of the art itself, it's hard to look at footage from Cuphead and not think that you might just be watching a cartoon instead of playing a game.

The New Old Video Game

As someone who plays video games (when I have the time) I find it embarrassing that I haven't thought of this sooner. Animation has always been the most important aspect of gaming. The visual components that make up games are what initially attracts us to them. Nowadays it's all about realism. How much more realistic can we get? Releases like Square Enix's "Final Fantasy VII" are (and always have been) pushing for hyper realistic settings and characters. The attention to detail such as the aged look of the armor, individual strands of hair, and amazing world building are what draws people to such games as this.

And for many players this is a practical escape from reality (not so much in the fact that you have super human abilities but rather it's easier to lose yourself to someone who looks more human). However new indie games are popping up with interesting takes on old classics. This year at E3 Studio MDHR released a trailer for their new 2D platform game "Cuphead". With advances in 3D animation it's rare to see 2D work being as widely received (like how Disney shut down their entire 2D department), however "Cuphead" beautifully marries old 1930's styled animated cartoon characters with the fluidity of current animated shows for what looks like a visually pleasing anomaly for a "Old Meets New" video game experience.