Cuphead - A Game | Made with Unity (2024)

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Cuphead - A Game | Made with Unity (3)

Cuphead

by StudioMDHR

  • The studio
  • The project
  • The reveal

They bet everything on a game

Meet the brothers, Moldenhauer. They quit their jobs in the marketing and construction industries, remortgaged their homes in 2015, and threw everything into developing their first video game. Ever since, StudioMDHR (Studio Moldenhauer) and their premier game, Cuphead, has been getting a lot of buzz.

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After being showcased at Microsoft’s E3 2015, the scope and ambition for Cuphead grew, and the brothers expanded their team to 17 strong. And now several years later, the brothers confirm getting Cuphead out the door took a lot of blood, sweat and passion. Luckily they were pushing the game into the hands of eagerly awaiting players on Xbox One, Windows 10, and Steam.

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What happens when Betty Boop meets the Gunstar Heroes?

Cuphead combines two of the Moldenhauer brothers’ life-long passions. It’s a marriage of classic run-and-gun games, like Contra, Metal Slug, and Gunstar Heroes, and the weird, subversive, and iconic art-look of 1930s animations like the Fleischer Studios’ Betty Boop and other cartoons.

Players step into the oversized shoes of Cuphead or Mugman (in single player or local co-op) as they battle across strange worlds to pay off a debt after having made the unfortunate mistake of betting against the devil. The result, according to Mashable, is “a stunningly gorgeous video game that also happens to be lots of fun.”

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50,000 frames of amazing hand-drawn animation

Cuphead is one of the most visually striking games ever made with Unity. All of the game’s animated artwork has been drawn, penciled and inked on paper, and then colored in Photoshop.

“By using the same animating tools and techniques that they did in the 1930s – hand-drawing and inking each frame, animating on the ones, and creating hand-painted watercolor backgrounds – we believe we can closely replicate the 1930s style better than using modern and digital means to create the art,” says Chad Moldenhauer.

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StudioMDHR then sets the animation at 24 frames-per-second – just as it was in the 1930s – while the game runs at a sparkling 60 frames-per-second to ensure truly responsive gameplay.

As well as helping StudioMDHR process the massive amount of their exquisite art, Unity’s out-of-the-box features such as the Sprite Renderer, Sprite Packer, 2D Physics, and particle effects ensured that Cuphead’s stunning results were a sure bet.

StudioMDHR tapped Unity’s powerful tools for 2D games to makeCuphead.

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Cuphead - A Game | Made with Unity (2024)

FAQs

Was Cuphead made using Unity? ›

Cuphead is one of the most visually striking games ever made with Unity. All of the game's animated artwork has been drawn, penciled and inked on paper, and then colored in Photoshop.

Why is Cuphead so difficult? ›

Cuphead's Fast Pace Works Against The Player

As a result, the player must take them on with only a few various attacks and super moves at their disposal. The catch is that players can only get hit three times before a game over occurs.

What language is Cuphead coded in? ›

Some of the popular games developed with C# are Hearthstone, Stardew Valley, Cuphead, and Osiris: New Dawn. Unity, CryEngine, Godot, Microsoft XNA Game Studio, and Stride are some of the game engines and frameworks using C# coding language.

Is Cuphead one of the hardest games in the world? ›

Like its inspirations, Cuphead is an extremely challenging game that requires players to master boss patterns and have near-perfect timing if .

Who coded Cuphead? ›

Cuphead is the first game by Studio MDHR, a Canadian indie game development studio founded by brothers Chad and Jared Moldenhauer. The game was written by Evan Skolnick; additional animation work was contributed by Jake Clark, with programming led by Tony Coculuzzi.

Who is Cuphead's girlfriend? ›

Ms. Chalice is shown to be very cute and charming, but also very manipulative and aloof. She uses her charm to get free stuff, something that prompts Cuphead and Mugman to follow her.

Does Cuphead turn evil? ›

If the player agrees to give the Devil all the soul contracts, this will result in getting the bad ending where Cuphead and Mugman (along with Ms. Chalice if the DLC was purchased) become the Devil's corrupt minions.

Is Cuphead hard for kids? ›

This game is appropriate for all ages but its extremely hard so definitely 10 plus also the game is about going to the devils casino (gambling is shown in a bad light here so as long as your kids understand it's bad it's alright) and Cuphead and his brother Mugman lose their souls to the devil so maybe not appropriate ...

Is Cuphead 2D or 3D? ›

The brief scene-setter is notable because it involves 2D animation tracked over a 3D-sculpted miniature background, in what is known as the stereoscopic rotary process.

Is Cuphead all hand-drawn? ›

They decided that if they were going to make it with a 30s feel, they should use the animation techniques of the era. This way of thinking led to an exceedingly difficult four years of hand drawing and hand inking each and every frame on paper.

Who is older, Cuphead or Mugman? ›

Cuphead is Mugman's older twin brother and best friend. Like all brothers, Cuphead and Mugman often bicker over trivial things like ice cream or simply because they are not supposed to. Despite that, Mugman deeply cares for his brother.

What percentage of people beat Cuphead? ›

13.8% of all Cuphead owners on Steam have completed the game on normal.

Can you beat Cuphead in simple? ›

You cannot beat cuphead with simple mode because it's not a soul contracts , ils just a killing spree to bosses. With regular, the bosses accept . You can't face the final two bosses and finish the story if you play on easy. You have to go back and beat everyone on normal.

Was Cuphead drawn digitally? ›

This way of thinking led to an exceedingly difficult four years of hand drawing and hand inking each and every frame on paper. The only part of the animation process that stepped into the now world was the addition of colour, which was all added digitally.

How was Cuphead art made? ›

The backgrounds in the game consist of watercolor paintings, while every frame of animation was hand-drawn on paper, before being inked and ultimately inserted into the game. The only part of the process that was digital was the coloring.

Who did the animation for Cuphead? ›

The series is animated by Lighthouse Studios, a Kilkenny-based division between Mercury Filmworks and Cartoon Saloon, and stop motion animation was provided by Screen Novelties.

Is Cuphead animated by hand? ›

From its elaborate, scenic backdrops to its wonderfully expressive characters, Cuphead contains 50,000 frames of painstakingly hand-drawn and - . Cuphead being hand drawn adds to the illusion of authenticity that Studio MDHR have undoubtedly achieved, it really does feel like a video .

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