Bill Dugan and Jamie Fristrom, the minds behind Treyarch's Spider-Man 2, have run off and formed their own independent studio Torpex. And while they would eventually like to create grand epics, their first title is destined for Xbox Live Arcade. It's the whole "If we can make a fun XBLA game, then we can certainly make a console game" philosophy. Developed over a matter of months with Studio Express, Schizoid will be the first XBLA game made with XNA.
The really crazy part? Jamie didn't know C# (XNA native programming language) prior to building the first Schizoid demo.
So what exactly are scorpions and/or galactic lobsters doing in space? No idea. The pair was extremely tight-lipped about their project. They did not show it motion. They didn't explain the concept. And they couldn't even confirm whether those glowing exoskeletons were crustaceans. All I know is that it will be released on Xbox Live Arcade and will be the "most cooperative game on the Microsoft platform". Through teamwork, two players fight towards a common goal. One might infer from the title that one player's actions directly impact the other's playing field -- causing a bit of schizophrenia in the game play.
It will, apparently, be out "earlier" than the end of the year. Microsoft is saying no later than Gamefest 2007.
Hit the jump for additional screens.
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