TwistedPixel, a small independent game studio has recently hit the big time by becoming the debut Xbox Live Arcade downloadable title available in Microsoft’s second annual Summer of Arcade. The game has become a relative hit simply by providing a solid platform experience along with a glut of content: 50 single player levels, 50 separate multi-player levels, and free unlockable gamer pics, theme, and avatar accessories (to be available with an update once the new Xbox dashboard is available).
For anyone who misses nostalgic platforming, in particular the old-school Sonic the Hedgehog games, this game provides welcome relief from the sometimes bloated game-play systems of first-person shooters and 3rd person action games. There are two controls: move and ‘splode. And yet, Twisted Pixel manages to coax out of these controls a game that contains remarkably little bloat. Every level provides either a new twist on an old mechanic or an opportunity to perfect a previously learned mechanic in a way that is inherently rewarding once it’s pulled off.
Most fascinatingly, Splosion Man provides insight into summer entertainment in general, simply by mocking it. This was first evidenced by the way in which the game was announced. Note the tongue-in-cheek April Fools press release:
Twisted Pixel Games, creators of the award-winning Xbox LIVE® Arcade title The Maw, announced today their plans for a new game – another heart-warming tale of courage and yes, even love. CEO Michael Wilford: “Screw that. Let’s just make a game where stuff blows up.” Creative Director Josh Bear: “Yeah, lots of ‘splosions . . . like a guy made out of ‘splosions, and he’d be like ‘splode ‘splode ‘splode! and then things die.”
Things Die?
“Yeah, but not like regular dying,” explained Art Director David Leung. “He’ll ‘splode people, and they’ll blow up into big steaks and ribeyes and stuff.” Lead Designer Sean Riley added, “Put it in a lab, with lots of glass to break. Then slow motion, and scientists diving away, being all like, Oh no, I can’t believe we made the ‘Splosion Man!”
Adds Sean, “But then they’d get ‘sploded too.”A Game Rich in Tapestry of Story and Depth
No no no no. No. Just ‘splosions. We blow the whole budget on things getting ‘sploded.Nothing Else?
What the hell else do you need?
The next day, a more serious press release made it clear that this was not a joke, or at least the fact that the game was a joke didn’t make it any less of a reality. And so, a game was created in which we are Splosion Man, a lab experiment gone wrong who is totally and completely amoral. The very definition of a psychopath, Splosion Man spends the entire game really enjoying destroying things and killing people. The game is fun precisely because the player views such things within this game world as neutral. They are only good or bad insofar as they bring us joy.
The simplicity of the controls solidify the player’s identification with Splosion Man by reducing distractions and enhancing the unthinking nature of the journey. The levels are designed to cause the player to focus on fast-paced problem solving, with constant ‘splosions rewarded at every chance. Once the player is well into the game, he is Splosion Man. He finds satisfaction not only in problem solving, but in creating “steaks and ribeyes and stuff,” merely by ‘sploding scientists. This could be a revenge mission. It could masquerade as a search for justice against corrupt scientists who created a monster as a result of unethical experimentation. But it’s not. It’s all for the sake of fun. Nothing personal.
This is all perfectly harmless, of course, simply because it is so ludicrous. But the incredible, self-aware hilarity of causing so much destruction and agony while being so oblivious is not far removed from much of the films, television shows, and general entertainment we take in without thought. Action movies, reality shows, sensationalistic news, celebrity feuds, and misleading advertisements all use and destroy real people for the sake of our entertainment culture. This is a inconvenient truth if I’ve ever heard one, but it’s a truth we must force ourselves to think about and deal with in a real way.
After all, in the real world the pain and destruction we cause is often hard to detect. It is often easy to tell ourselves we have nothing to do with it, that we’re merely taking advantage of what the world already has to offer. Of course, it’s often hard to tell ourselves such lies when our mouth is so full of delicious steak.
Richard Clark (Co-Founder/Editor-in-Chief) has spent his entire life writing, reading, listening, and playing. He has a Bachelors in Theology from the Baptist College of Florida and has a Master of Arts in Theology and the Arts from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He lives in Louisville, KY where he is the classroom technology manager at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. In addition to writing at Christ and Pop Culture, he is also a staff writer for 
Richard,
Thanks for a common sense review about a nonsensical activity.
A least they have a sense of humour…i guess?
Goannatree,
Yes, sense of humor, which is a good in the world. I might also add that ‘sploding things, while not always beneficial, still brings pleasure because in it is the experience of control and efficacy (the “capacity to produce an effect”). Don’t we all want to be noticed? Make a difference? Have some level of autonomy like Adam and Eve were given? Experience humor and pleasure?
While I don’t endorse this game, it fascinates me that “good” can’t be wholly removed from any experience. Even violent people want what God can provide.
I just wish, as Richard said, that there were more obviously redeemable elements to the game.
Maybe I should be more clear: I don’t view this game to be harmful at all. It’s about as close to good, clean fun as you can get and is pretty darn useful when it comes to spending some good time with friends. The multiplayer mode is incredibly good.
The difference between this and the other thoughtless entertainment I refer to is that Splosion Man is self-aware and stylized to the point of ludicrousness. The game itself is in my mind a comment on the sort of person who enjoys human destruction. The movie wherein the hero is bent on revenge, or “justice”, or simple heroics are much more dangerous because they provide a justification for something that’s really no more than mindless destruction.
Sorry if my ramblings went elsewhere. The subject of violent people wanting what God can provide is something on my mind, and I saw it here, too.
In response to your comment, I can see how the following might be “fun,” but I can’t see how the following equals “good” and “clean”:
“Splosion Man…is totally and completely amoral. The very definition of a psychopath, Splosion Man spends the entire game really enjoying destroying things and killing people. The game is fun precisely because the player views such things within this game world as neutral. They are only good or bad insofar as they bring us joy.”
Well, let’s point out that it’s the character I’m referencing as “totally and completely amoral,” someone who only exists in a fictitious world where such a thing can exist – not the game. I do believe it is possible not only to play as him without being influenced by or approving of him.
I guess what separates this from other games that I would have a problem with (Mad World, earlier Grand Theft Auto, etc.) is that that the game is very aware of its own twisted ideas. When I am playing Splosion Man, am I equating his actions and motives to those that could exist in real life? No. What does exist in real life is my reaction to what is happening on screen, and my interactions with others around me.
What is “good” about the game? God created fun. Sometimes he calls it joy. It’s something God endorses. It gives us perspective and makes us humble. There is also a multiplayer component that encourages teamwork and cooperation. This is valuable, and a good way to spend some time with friends. So that’s what’s good.
Like all media, Splosion Man is a judgment call. Some won’t find it fun at all. Others, like you I suspect, won’t find it acceptable. But some will. It does what it sets out to do, and it does it well. And what it sets out to do is enable the player to have a heck of a fun time while also mocking various misguided concepts of our culture. That’s something I appreciate, and something I find both good and helpful. And yes, even redeemable.
While you’re right that I probably won’t accept it, I also don’t think playing it will make anyone more violent or amoral (I think game studies have said the same).
Interestingly, this behavior does exist in real life. There are plenty of teens (and others, of course) who break things, shoot things, tie cats together for a thrill, etc. I remember breaking all of the windows in someone’s barn when I was eight. Does it let me off the hook to say that my friend threw the first stone? It was a blast. It even turned into a contest to see who could knock out the small remaining shards first. ‘Splosions everywhere, and then we ran away.
Maybe I’d like the game too much.
Ha, well said.
My XBox has been RROD on a shelf for about 3 months, but thanks to your article, I’m getting it fixed so that I can splode, splode, splode!. I just thought you should know that your work here at CaPC is changing lives — for the better.
Yes! Awesome! We’ll have to play through some multiplayer sometime.