The Gunstringer
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''The Gunstringer'' is a third-person
rail shooter Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs ) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of chara ...
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
developed by
Twisted Pixel Games Twisted Pixel Games, LLC is an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. Originally a contractor, Twisted Pixel releases games based on its own intellectual property, intellectual properties such as ''The Maw (video game), The Maw'' ...
and published by
Microsoft Studios Xbox Game Studios (previously known as Microsoft Studios, Microsoft Game Studios, and Microsoft Games) is an American video game publisher and part of the Microsoft Gaming division based in Redmond, Washington. It was established in March 2000, ...
for
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with
Kinect Kinect is a line of motion sensing input devices produced by Microsoft and first released in 2010. The devices generally contain RGB cameras, and infrared projectors and detectors that map depth through either structured light or time of flig ...
. It was originally planned as an
Xbox Live Arcade Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is a digital video game download service available through the Xbox Games Store, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360. It focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent ...
release, but was later made into a full retail game.


Gameplay

''The Gunstringer'' is a
Kinect Kinect is a line of motion sensing input devices produced by Microsoft and first released in 2010. The devices generally contain RGB cameras, and infrared projectors and detectors that map depth through either structured light or time of flig ...
title which makes use of the player's body to control the game rather than a gamepad. The player controls the character's movement with their left hand, while the right is used to aim and fire the character's gun. Players can mark multiple enemies to fire on and once the player makes a firing gesture all marked enemies are shot by the character. Certain moments in the game are presented as a
rail shooter Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs ) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of chara ...
and allow the player to use both hands to control two guns while the character moves along a pre-defined path.


Plot

''The Gunstringer'' is set as a play that takes place in the
Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
, with some modern and fantasy aspects. The game is played as though it were acted out on a theatre stage. It begins with live-action footage in a theater (The Paramount Theater in Austin, TX) where people have attended to see the show. The setting of the play revolves around a character known simply as The Gunstringer, an undead marionette sheriff betrayed by his posse. The game begins as he rises from his grave, bent on revenge. The game is broken up into four different areas or acts, each one based around a member of the Gunstringer's former gang: the desert controlled by the Oil Baron, the bayou being cleared up and settled by the Brothel Madame, the valley being influenced by the Beard Master, and the wasteland and underworld ruled by the Lady of the Dead.


Development and marketing

The game was first announced February 1, 2011. A trailer showcasing elements of gameplay was released at that time. Prior to the announcement developers
Twisted Pixel Games Twisted Pixel Games, LLC is an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. Originally a contractor, Twisted Pixel releases games based on its own intellectual property, intellectual properties such as ''The Maw (video game), The Maw'' ...
shot live action footage to integrate with the game. The video shoot took place at The Paramount Theatre in the developer's location of
Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
. The character was designed by Josh Bear, President of Twisted Pixel Games. The idea was created during a meeting between Twisted Pixel and publisher
Microsoft Studios Xbox Game Studios (previously known as Microsoft Studios, Microsoft Game Studios, and Microsoft Games) is an American video game publisher and part of the Microsoft Gaming division based in Redmond, Washington. It was established in March 2000, ...
. During a moment while Twisted Pixel were alone in the meeting they noticed a painting of an Old West-styled skeleton and decided to use it as a theme for their character. Bear later revealed that the idea was fleshed out in the few minutes that the Microsoft Studios representative had left the table. Twisted Pixel's original idea could not be done with the capabilities Kinect then had and the team had to change the pitch quickly. "It was really cool, but it didn't have the fidelity to do what we wanted, it couldn't really track finger movements," Bear said. "I was like 'Oh shit, we're going to pitch this whole thing and they're gonna know that it's not possible with the hardware.'" ''The Gunstringer'' was distributed with a code to download an
Xbox Live Arcade Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is a digital video game download service available through the Xbox Games Store, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360. It focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent ...
Kinect title, '' Fruit Ninja Kinect''. A free
downloadable content Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enablin ...
addon was also released, entitled ''Wavy Tube Man Chronicles''. Instead of the hybrid computer generated/live action presentation of the main game, this add on is a live action FMV rail shooter in the vein of laserdisc games like
Mad Dog McCree ''Mad Dog McCree'' is the first live-action laserdisc video game released by American Laser Games. It originally appeared as an arcade game in 1990. The game gained considerable attention for its live-action video style, bearing similarities to ...
.
Troma Entertainment Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror comedy genre. Many of them pla ...
co-founder
Lloyd Kaufman Stanley Lloyd Kaufman Jr. (born December 30, 1945) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. Alongside producer Michael Herz (producer), Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director ...
appears as an actor in the downloadable content. The soundtrack was also made available at no charge via the game's official website.


Reception

''The Gunstringer'' received "generally favorable reviews" according to the
review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
. In Japan, where the game was ported for release on October 6, 2011, ''
Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...
'' gave it a score of 30 out of 40, while ''Famitsu Xbox 360'' gave it a score of all four eights for a total of 32 out of 40. ''
Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.
'' gave it four stars out of five and said, "Teen and adult gamers starving for a more satisfying Kinect experience should be well served by this unique game." However, ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...
'' gave it three-and-a-half stars out of five and called it "one of the best and most original Kinect games to date, and enormously entertaining in the short bursts of play the device is designed for. Perhaps most refreshingly of all, it can be played while seated; couch potatoes discouraged by the activity demanded by most motion-based titles may have just found their ideal Kinect game." ''
Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...
'' gave it three stars out of five and called it "another strong Kinect title let down by a lack of longevity and a few minor issues. Certainly, the short play time is offset by the inclusion of ''Fruit Ninja Kinect'' and the budget price, while occasional control issues are easily overlooked with a little patience. For the most part, Twisted Pixel has crafted another wonderfully outrageous video game, which plays well and offers a great deal of entertainment, however short-lived that may be."


Sequel

On January 3, 2013, a sequel titled The Gunstringer: Dead Man Running was released exclusively for
Windows 8 Windows 8 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was Software release life cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), released to manufacturing on August 1, 2012; it was subsequently made available for downl ...
devices. It was delisted on May 21, 2014 due to Microsoft deciding to delist all titles not owned by them, and they deemed unfit for their current portfolio.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunstringer, The 2011 video games Kinect games Microsoft games Third-person shooters Twisted Pixel games Video games developed in the United States Video games with commentaries Western (genre) video games Xbox 360-only games Xbox 360 games Pack-in video games Multiplayer and single-player video games