Microsoft's GameFest 2007 is underway as we speak, and a game I've been looking forward to since I first spoke with its creators back at GDC in March is finally officially announced. Schizoid is the first developer created Xbox Live Arcade title built exclusively using XNA Game Studio Express. It is the product of Torpex Games, itself spawned from two of the top talents in the gaming industry, Bill Dugan and Jamie Fristrom, and I go into great detail with them about how they came to create the game in this post here. Dugan especially has a great way with words.

"We truly believe that if you and a friend spend two minutes playing Schizoid, you are going to ignore food, drink, your job and your family and play until they load you up on a gurney and head to the hospital. Schizoid is that rare game that comes along once every few years and we are very proud to make it our first release for Xbox LIVE Arcade."

So it's World of Warcraft? Well not quite.

The mechanic is deceptively simple. One player is red, the other is blue. Enemies matching your color can be destroyed by you hitting them, yet enemies of other colors can kill you. Teamwork is the key to survival in Schizoid, taking co-op to a whole new level. Both players have to be on the ball to survive. It should be an excellent opportunity to call your friends 'fuckwads," which is important to any friendship.

PREPARE TO GO SCHIZOID™! TORPEX GAMES DEBUTS SCHIZOID™ FOR Xbox LIVE® Arcade AT MICROSOFT'S GAMEFEST 2007

Schizoid is First Xbox LIVE Arcade Title Built Using Microsoft's XNA Game Studio Express

BELLEVUE, Wash. - August 13, 2007 - The next game genre is here! Torpex
Games, a developer and publisher of addictive console games, announced
today the upcoming release of Schizoid™ for Xbox LIVE® Arcade and will
showcase the game during Microsoft's GameFest 2007. Possibly the
ultimate co-op game, Schizoid is an action game where teamwork equals
survival and players must team up to protect each other from a seemingly
endless stream of glowing enemies. Schizoid will be the first-ever Xbox
LIVE Arcade title built using Microsoft's XNA Game Studio Express, and
is anticipated to be released before the end of 2007.

"Every few years a game will come out that is so simple, yet so
addictive that it becomes a phenomenon unto itself," says Bill Dugan,
Torpex Games' President. "We truly believe that if you and a friend
spend two minutes playing Schizoid, you are going to ignore food, drink,
your job and your family and play until they load you up on a gurney and
head to the hospital. Schizoid is that rare game that comes along once
every few years and we are very proud to make it our first release for
Xbox LIVE Arcade."

Featuring addictively simple gameplay, in Schizoid one person plays
'red' and the other plays 'blue'. Each player moves his ship around the
level as a seemingly endless stream of enemies attack. Each player can
burst enemies of their own color merely through contact, but each player
can be bursted by enemies of the other color. Both players have to
"step up" on every level to handle the enemies of their own color, so
their partner is not destroyed.

"There are literally thousands of games released every year and yet very
few of them have the originality of Schizoid. It's amazing to me that
this game hasn't been invented before now," says Dave Mitchell,
Microsoft's Director of Marketing for XNA. "Schizoid demonstrates that
developers can really unleash an ingenious game with XNA Game Studio
Express."

Bryan Trussel, Microsoft's Director of Platform Game Services, added,
"Schizoid combines a very fun and innovative game mechanic with really
creative level design. Thanks to its cooperative game-play experience
and variety of scenarios, Schizoid is a great game to play with friends,
either on the couch or over Xbox Live. We're delighted to exclusively
add this creative and unique game to our incredible Xbox LIVE Arcade
library."

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