Cookie Cutter Devs Bake Up a Fresh Batch of Violence in their Upcoming Release!

Cookie Cutter Devs Bake Up a Fresh Batch of Violence in their Upcoming Release!

In the last few years, the old-school style 2D action games have been going through a gaming resurgence, and the folks at Subcult Joint LTD in partnership with Rogue Games Inc. are teaming up to bring another great game to the retro genre with the highly anticipated title, Cookie Cutter!

If you haven’t heard of this exciting new title, let’s get you up to speed with the premise:

RAGE AGAINST THE DYING WORLD, SUGAR

The Void. The Matter. The Megastructure. A dystopian world with an egomaniac leader determined to unveil the secrets of the universe. INFONET promised a utopia built on the backs of tireless androids called Denzels. It was a lie.

200 years later the planet is decaying and the mysterious Red Seed has been stolen. Raz, a renegade mechanic, searches a hidden lab and discovers the Denzel Cherry, butchered and left for dead, clinging to life by sheer will alone. Her creator—and the love of her life, Doctor Shinji Fallon—has been taken by a demented sicko and Cherry intends to make him—and anybody or anything who gets in her way—pay.

Fueled by love and powered by rage, join Cherry on a blood-soaked quest for revenge as she explores the massive Megastructure and eviscerates the armies of INFONET in an unforgettable over-the-top 2D platformer that breaks tropes and bones.

In this Metroidvania-style game, you’ll take Cherry on a violent and bloody quest to rescue her creator, using all sorts of weapons including a motorcycle, a chainsaw, and a guitar.  Using all sorts of creative combos, you’ll make your way through a host of baddies and will face off against some tough bosses.  With bright colors and beautifully drawn characters and scenery, this game is sure to keep you drawn in for hours!

I was able to speak with a couple of the developers for this upcoming game and ask them all sorts of questions ranging from the inspiration for the game to the different styles, plans for a sequel, and more!

What was it that got you interested in video games in the first place?

Stefano: Video games themselves! My uncles got the Nintendo (NES) and brought it to my grandma’s house. It was a pure marvel. I was not allowed to play, so I had to sneak a game here and there. A Boy and His Blob, and Super Mario Bros 2. I sometimes tell people that my life and how I perceive emotions developed though the video games I grew up with.

What are some of your favorite games?

Stefano: I’m crazy for Final Fantasy. I passed my youth with Donkey Kong Country 2 (still today the smell of flowers in the summer I identify as “Donkey Kong Country 2 smell”). I’m crazy for GTA, Xcom, and I was addicted to SSX snowboarding games. I like Catherine, Undertale and all the games that want to try a new formula.

How did you come up with the idea for Cookie Cutter?

Stefano: Cookie Cutter blends a lot of my passions together. I’m an ex punk rocker and I used to play gig around Italy. In the punk rock scene there were the anarchic, rude, beautiful, girls with chelsea cuts able to beat the shit out of anyone. This was definitely the seed for the main character Cherry.

But the general tones and imagery of the game comes from 90s manga (Kakugo no Susume, Blame! and Fortified School). When I create, I love to dive deep inside and come out with something that I feel is mine. I blend it with all the flavour I like: music, film, comic books, and more music again. Half of the tone of the game and the colours and compositions come from industrial music, punk rock and The Prodigy tracks.

What was the inspiration behind making it a 2D side scroller as opposed to a different style, like an open world, or even an FPS?

Stefano: I discovered that I was able to animate in Photoshop and I started making this game using that. I had fun doing the animations, so after 2 years of hard work it became a prototype, not for any particular reason but just because it was fun! Later the work involved 14 other people and we had blended our art together to create this beautiful mess.

Were the names of the characters or the characters themselves in the game inspired by any real-life people?

Stefano: Some of them are inspired by music artists I like. In the beginning, Cherry had a surname of Townsend because of my love for Devin Townsend. Raz the mechanic is inspired by MC Ride of the band Death Grips and Salem Garbanzos is inspired by Marilyn Mason.

I read the manga “Bastard” when I was young, and I always wanted to use music reference in my work. So I did! I would love to do more of this in the future and already have ideas for many other characters inspired by my favorite musicians.

A few characters are tributes in memoriam to my friends. Jacko the Rebel, who plays bass in the “bloody den” area of the game, is inspired by the real Jacko who was the bassist in my old band and tragically passed away. Rob the Merchant is also a memorial to a friend.

How did you decide what weapons Cherry would carry?  (or the chainsaw, the motorcycle, the guitar)

Stefano: I wanted to find something really out of the ordinary. The idea behind the game was to be weird and avoid being cookie cutter.

Were there any other settings you thought about putting this game in besides a dystopian pop-punk world?

Stefano: Nope. Cookie Cutter belongs to a world I created when I was 14. I used to draw comic books. Nothing professional but I would draw for months, and I came out with this universe called Capitolo Zero.I drew hundred of pages of this comic. I have so many other stories and characters in this world, like CharlieBoy. If people like our work I would love to show them more.

Are there plans for any type of DLC?  If so, is there anything you can give us a hint about?

Stefano: Our writer originally envisioned Cookie Cutter as part of a trilogy. We have two additional full areas planned out, so it’s possible there could be more if it does well! We’re not closing that door completely. XD

Were there any other designs for Cherry that you had before settling on the final one?

Stefano: Nope, Cherry came out as a discarded character from a Unity project. I kept drawing her and she grew her own personality after 6 years together. Nowadays she practically draws herself! I don’t even need to think, she knows what she needs to do each time I draw her. After all these years she has her own story about her silly outfits and particular behaviors and expressions that show on her face in every frame. She wants to exist so strongly and vividly that it goes beyond just my drawing.

Do you guys have plans for a sequel?  If so, is there anything you can share with us?

Stefano: Yes. After the first part of the trilogy we continue our travel through the world. The first game is moving through the Electrotinium production line. From the caves to the Foundry to the Denzel factory and over. When you finish the game we give you a new trail and leave the story open and unfolded on top of the table. If the players like our work we would love to have the chance to continue working on it, improving both the storytelling and the gameplay.

We learned a lot making this little weird ambitious game. This is the first project from the Subcult Joint team and we would love to have the honour to produce more, to make better, even more beautiful worlds, and yes, to continue Cookie Cutter and Cherry’s journey.