How Cuphead Was Made and Struggled Finding The Right Protagonist
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Published 2022-02-13
This Cuphead documentary details the development of indie 2D platformer Cuphead and goes behind the scenes of its creation. Discover more about developer Studio MDHR and its two founders, Chad and Jared Moldenhauer. Growing up as brothers, Jared and Chad loved watching cartoons from the 30s and playing run-and-gun video games such as Mega Man, Contra and Gunstar Heroes. The documentary also explores all the design decisions that Studio MDHR made and shows how the 1930s cartoon style started as a joke.
It also takes a close look at all the hurdles the team had to go through. The two brothers and other members of the team had no prior development experience before working on Cuphead so the learning curve was steep. Additionally, the studio decided to stick as closely as possible to the traditional techniques of early animation, meaning drawing every single frame of animation by hand. This unfortunately slowed down production by 80%. Furthermore, the team went through more than 150 designs for the titular character Cuphead before they landed on the right one. Lastly, Jared and Chad share some advice for aspiring indie developers and talk about what’s next for Studio MDHR.
0:00 Part 1
5:52 Ad
7:02 Part 2
References:
thatguyglen.fun/video/how-cuphead-was-made-and-str…
Outro song: Thank You R.G.E. - Joe Bagale
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All Comments (21)
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It's insane how they were able to complete such an ambitious project with such little experience. These people are super human, much respect
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The fact two inexperienced people can make such a masterpiece and that a triple a company cant even get a game right with a big group of experienced people really says something
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Even with drawing ability, the fact that this dude taught himself TRADITIONAL animation in a classic 40's rubberhose style just for this game is fucking insane. I always assumed he already had years of animation under his belt.
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The presentation here is fantastic. I had a lot of respect for the making of Cuphead before but seeing it all broken down like this increases that tenfold. Excellent work.
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Cuphead is the only game that made me take a break for few weeks, then come back and try to finish it. This game is brutal but fun. Love the video as always Glen!
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I really like how dedicated the team was. Even if it took 7 years, that's not the important detail at all. The important detail was how dedicated they were for this game even for their first time.
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I was initially not that interested in Cuphead, but now after hearing the story behind it, I believe this is a development team that I can support.
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What made Cuphead really stick out for me, is the 1930's artstyle. It was so freaking authentic my cousins even thought the game was super old. I think they also made a right decision of making the game fairly difficult. It's always super rewarding when you beat all the bosses
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Making a game like Cuphead feels like a nightmare to develop. I can't believe MDHR surpassed it. They deserve a Nobel prize.
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Another lesson in taking the time to follow your passions and that it is never too late to start.
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19:18 I’m extremely happy that you are one of the first people to actually mention this in a video. People who don’t actually know much about classic cartoons or jazz music claim that Cuphead’s soundtrack was accurate to the music that were featured in similar cartoons and simply label Big Band as “jazz” but that’s just not the case. As good as the soundtrack is and although they do use ragtime as their choice of music for run n’ gun levels which MIGHT be used in rubber hose cartoons, Big band is often not the type of music that you will hear. If anything it was more of blues, classic jazz, and orchestral scores were used. I know this isn’t necessarily an addition to what you said but I just wanted to point out that I’m glad someone felt the need to add that bit of information
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Been playing this game practically when it released on switch. Got me into Mega Man and the whole indie game scene. I have the soundtrack on CD and Vinyl and I have the Art Book and one of the novels. Definetely going to 200% it sometime.
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Cuphead is really something special, and the devs going all in on it is both nerve wracking and awe inspiring. I remember playing it once with my cousin as his grandpa walked by. He normally doesn't really understand videogames, but he had a blast watching us play and said that it brought him right back to his childhood watching old cartoons. Also ended up binging through all your videos after watching this. Your presentation style and editing are top notch, and the videos are quite well written! Keep up the great work, (that)guy!
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Really inspiring. Cant even believe its been 5 years since the game's release.
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I love the image of the creator breaking down in tears as he accepts he know has to learn not just how to animate, but in a style that died half a century ago.
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At the age of 9 I caught interest into becoming an animator, it was something that always fascinated me and just clicks right compared to any other field. Cuphead came out when I was 10 y/o, and ever since has truly sparked my passion and interest into becoming an animator. While Cuphead wasn't the only thing that made me go "yeah I wanna be an animator when I grow up," still to this day every time I play it, it takes me back to that time me and my older brother started up the game only to be shown a beautifully animated intro with a lovely song, just watching in awe. Core childhood moment tbh, I turn 15 tomorrow so it may have been only 6 years since me wanting to become an animator, but 6 years as a kid and teen feel like forever! That's like, my whole life so far!
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very great video! i had a wonderful time watching! this is really amazing what they did! so talneted and so much hard work! they really deserve many things!
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I didn't know about their lack of experience with classic animation when they started working on Cuphead and now my respect for them has increased tenfold. It's one thing putting in so many hours into a project but working on something solely from your passion and no prior training in that field... it's beyond impressive.
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I played the whole game from beginning to end. You cannot tell me that these two arent cartoonishly sadistic people. That game is appropriately hellish
