Over the past few months, we were able to strike a new deal with the band and bring Microsoft on board to publish the Charlie Murder story to the big leagues; the Xbox LIVE Arcade. The terms of the deal are not being made public, but what we can confirm is that the entire Charlie Murder crew is heading to the Happy Times Recovery Center in Atlantic City to complete a mandatory one year rehab stint. You can read more about the announcement as well as Charlie’s reaction to the partnership via this press release.

We also wanted to let everyone know that the transition from Indie Games to Xbox LIVE Arcade means that the scope of the project has changed dramatically. James will be working with the band to create way more content than was originally planned and at a scale worthy of the Xbox LIVE Arcade. The only negative in this ball of happiness is that all of these changes, mixed with the band’s rehab commitment, have resulted in the game being pushed back to 2012. So, if we survive the predicted end of the world, we all will be experiencing the truly epic punk rock story that is Charlie Murder. It’s a long wait, but one that is well worth it.

Amazing $5 Wall Art Is $5!
If you haven’t recently had the chance to virtually window shop the Ska Studios online store, be sure to do so now. We took your feedback into consideration and discounted all posters to $5 and the double pack to an affordable $7. That’s a crazy fantastic deal if I do say so myself. Now most everyone can afford to plaster one or two walls full of Vampire Smile or Charlie Murder poster art. Enjoy.

Dead Samurai Was #1!
As if this week’s Good Morning Gato hasn’t already been full of BIG news, we have one more informative jewel of knowledge to drop on you.

Thanks to your support, the support of friends and Gato fans alike, last week’s Deal of the Week launched The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai into the XBLA sales stratosphere! After the numbers were calculated, we are proud to announce that Dead Samurai claimed the number one XBLA sales spot for the week of April 26th. w00t!

Thanks for your continued support as we know all of the old-school and brand new The Dishwasher fans will absolutely love what we’re doing with the Vampire Smile sequel. Trust that and have a grandtastic weekend!

Schenectady, NY – May 5, 2010 – Ska Studios cleared up some confusion surrounding the release of their arcade title Charlie Murder by officially announcing that the game is being developed with the band’s input and will be released by Microsoft exclusively on Xbox LIVE Arcade sometime in 2012, along with the purported end of the world.

After initially being announced as an Xbox LIVE Indie Games title, developer Ska Studios decided that the Charlie Murder story was worthy of a bigger stage. After intense negotiations with the band and some bribery, Ska Studios was able to convince the Charlie Murder crew to sell out yet again, and commit to bringing their band’s punk rock story to Xbox LIVE Arcade. As part of the agreement terms, the entire band will complete a one year counseling program at Happy Times Recovery Center in Atlantic City, NJ. Their treatment will focus on mending the strife that has kept Charlie Murder on hiatus for nearly a decade as well as addressing, among other things, bassist Tommy Homicide’s recent hoarding tendencies and guitarist Lester Deth’s addiction to other addictions. After the program’s successful completion, the entire crew will join Ska Studios as “Creative Consultants” to make sure the game stays true to the band’s epic story.

“Yeah, the band is in a tough spot, but we’re signed up for that trendy rehab stuff so we can get paid,” said lead singer Charlie Murder. “We sold out and we’ll do our time in counseling. Just know that we are no longer indie, we are Xbox Live Arcade legit and in 2012 we will have the achievements to prove it.”

For the latest on Charlie Murder, please visit us online at www.ska-studios.com, follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/skastudios or like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/skastudios.

The removal of the shader effect was initially done to free up system resources so that things run more smoothly when the action gets intense, but also had the secondary benefit of making the Vampire Smile art look more crisp, rigid and sexified. Heck, I’ll go on record to say that I much prefer the new non-bloom look. That said, if for some reason the shader is reinstated in the final build, you will have to act like you never read this post and I’ll have to learn to never voice my opinion on anything development related. Agreed?

Eee Three Two Ten
That’s super secret code for E3 2010, the biggest gaming industry event of the year that is taking place in Los Angeles mid June and team Ska will be there! (We have hotel reservations, flight itineraries and expensive receipts to prove it.) To be clear, Ska Studios will be ATTENDING E3, not exhibiting anything mainly because we are indie and don’t print money like the Nintendo DS. If you will be attending E3 or will be in the LA area in June, don’t be shy, say hi to us and introduce yourself. We promise not to bite.

Charlie Murder Confusion
So, yeah … Charlie Murder didn’t quite make its promised March release date. That fact mixed with other internet talk has understandably left Charlie fans scratching their heads in confusion. We want to apologize to those who are affected by the delay and are unable to sleep. Our bad.

Right now we can’t comment on Charlie Murder‘s release, but I can promise you that details (and clarity) will be available in the near future. Last we heard, the Charlie Murder band still has some internal band drama to work out and our calls to Dr. Phil have gone unanswered. While we sort out things with the Charlie guys, we just ask for your patience.

L8R G8R!!?
Until next week, enjoy the Spring weather and get a tan. Friend to friend honesty; you’re looking a bit pale.

Previews:
Joystiq – Hands-on: The Dishwasher Vampire Smile (XBLA)
“Vampire Smile looks and plays much better than the first.”

Kotaku – The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile Preview: The Machine Girl Cometh
“The visuals are more defined, the special effects flashier …”

IGN – PAX East 10: The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile Hands-on
“Vampire Smile doesn’t just look good for ‘an indie game,’ it looks good. Period.”

Co-Optimus – Ska Studios Shows Off Vampire Smile And Charlie Murder
“Switching weapons on the fly, using the guns and melee weapons seamlessly, and especially activating the powers to destroy nearly everything on the screen worked very, very well.”

The Escapist – PAX East 2010 Hands On: The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile
“When I killed the demo’s boss, an insane amount of blood shot out of its head. I loved it.”

1UP – Dishwasher Vampire Smile Preview
“The edgy art, the gore, and the over-the-top finishes helped me find a reason to smirk today …”

Giant Bomb – Charlie Murder Is A Great Name
“… the game’s art style is what makes Charlie Murder stand out.”

JoBlo – Game On, Bitches: PAX East, Day One
“The graphics in VAMPIRE SMILE are just as gorgeous as its predecessor …”

DIYgamer – The Five Best Things at PAX East
“The Dishwasher is one of the most technically proficient brawlers I’ve ever played, and Vampire Smile seems even more refined.”

Destructoid – Dishwasher: Vampire Smile makes you its pretty princess
“Dishwasher: Vampire Smile isn’t the kind of game you’d want your kid sister playing. It’s as violent as ever …”

Gamers Daily News – Ska Studios (James Silva) Interview

Jonathan Nunez – Interview With James Silva

Full Motion Video:
GameTrailers – Vampire Smile PAX East 10: Demo Gameplay Pt. 1 & 2

GameTrailers – Charlie Murder PAX East 10: Street Fighting Gameplay Pt. 1 & 2

GameVideos – James Silva PAX East 2010 Video Interview

Inside Gaming – Inside Gaming PAX East Coverage: Day 1

Inside Gaming Plus – The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile with James Silva of Ska Studios at PAX East

Awesome Fan Art:
LittleMofreaky’s Charlie Murder Sketch

click to embiggen

Poster Pack of Savings
Have you always wanted two of our nifty Ska Studios posters but couldn’t afford the $20 admission fee? Well, sir (or ma’am), you are lucky because we’re celebrating our PAX East festivities with a money-savings poster deal!

Head over to our online store to grab both a Charlie Murder AND Vampire Smile poster for the discounted price of only fifteen smackers. That’s a savings of a Lincoln if you were to buy the posters individually. We’ll have similar offers available at our PAX booth, so if you’re in Boston next week, stop by and see what goodies we have.

PAX Deets
We’ve talked about PAX East for weeks and weeks now, not only because we’re excited to see what gaming goodness will be shown off, but mainly because this is the first expo Ska Studios is exhibiting at. If you will not be attending PAX and really wish that we would stop talking about it, then know that in about a week’s time PAX will have wrapped up and we will have gone back to our normal business. For those who are attending or are interested in our PAX travels, here is a list of information that you need:

• PAX East: March 26-28th in Boston at the MCCA. Details here.
• Ska Studios’ Booth: Lucky #116
• Where Exactly Is The Ska Booth?: Right next to the Boston Indie Showcase area and near’ish EA’s big setup.
• What We Have For You: Playable demos of The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile and Charlie Murder as well as FREE mini buttons, and merch for sale.
• More PAX Coverage: Follow James Silva’s tweets at @Jamezila or Dustin’s tweets at @SuperDunner for random updates and PAX pics. We’ll also be posting booth photos here, on the main blog, because we’re self absorbed like that.

We’ll have an early update next week seeing as we’ll be on the road, driving our rent-a-van to Boston early next Thursday. That’s it for now, Ska out.

We partnered with the dudes over at Merch Lackey who will ultimately be the ones you hand over your money to and direct all customer service inquiries at. But James is the one who actually designed the goods and was able to fill the online store with gruesomely fashionable Vampire Smile t-shirts, tour trendy Charlie Murder wearables, Z0MB1ES threads and a couple high quality posters. Swing over to the online store and take a look around or stop by our PAX East booth from March 26-28th where we’ll have the complete Ska Studios collection available for purchase.

Sneak A Peak At Our FREE PAX East Buttons
The last time we talked free PAX mini-buttons we showed off our Z0MB1ES collection. This week we have for you picture proof that Charlie Murder mini buttons exist and will also be available for free as our gift to you just for visiting our PAX East booth. That’s punk rock awesomeness.

Good’morrow
The countdown is on and PAX East nears just over the horizon. We’re busy putting together a demo build of The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile, purchasing booth items, getting all our ducks cats in a row and being all busy and such. So, we’ll get back to work and you continue to be you. Bye now.

Inside the virtual store you’ll find four t-shirt designs crafted by Mr. James Silva from games including The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile, Charlie Murder and GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES. Not only that, but we have super high quality Vampire Smile and Charlie Murder posters as well.

The storefront is managed by the fine folks over at Merch Lackey who will not only take your order, but will also provide customer service. If you have any questions, feel free to contact them over here.

Finally, for all the future PAX East attendees out there, know that the entire Ska Studios merchandise collection will be available for purchase at the Ska booth. Enough reading, get shopping!

Seeing as we’re armpit deep in the idea generation / design phase, we’re open to hearing your merch suggestions. If you have interest in a certain type of product or want to share your design ideas, feel free to comment your thoughts below and we’ll take your feedback into consideration. We’re all about that “listening” thing.

Charlie Murder Is Alive
For the handful of you who live under rocks at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, we should mention that last week we announced a new Xbox Live Indie Games title, Charlie Murder. At the moment, we don’t have much information to share, but we do have this list of bulleted facts:

• Charlie Murder is a punk rock, 4 player beat ‘em up game of indie proportions.
• The tentative release date is March 2010.
• Pricing for the title is considered to be “affordable”.
• Charlie Murder is on Facebook

There you go, it’s Charlie Murder. Indie Games’ punk rock savior.

Getting Social
Ska Studios – along with every person from your kid sister Maggie to auntie Jean and every business sector from auto insurance to cheesecake manufacturers – is hooked up to the social network. That’s our not so pushy way of telling you that we’re on Twitter and Facebook as we’re certain you want to add us. You do want to add us … right?

We Out
And so concludes Ska Studios’ very first Good Morning Gato post of weekly occurrence. Don’t forget to stop back here next week for your second heaping helping of text goodness. Exciting stuff is in the works.

SKA STUDIOS TO PRODUCE CHARLIE MURDER VIDEO GAME
Indie Punk Band Sells Out to Indie Game Developer

Schenectady, N.Y., January 14, 2010 – In a move bound to shake up the music scene, punk rock super group Charlie Murder have agreed to license their names and story for an upcoming Xbox LIVE Indie Games title on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.
Based on the band’s recent spat with rival metal rockers Gore Quaffer,

Charlie Murder is a four-player arcade beat ‘em up featuring all four  members of the revolutionary punk act. The developer, Ska Studios, known for the breakout hits The Dishwasher and I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES 1N IT!!!!, plans to painstakingly recreate the band’s crusade to
retrieve front man Charlie Murder’s girlfriend, Skelekitten, from their chart topping metal rivals.

“A lot of fans and media might see this as a shameless cash grab and
marketing stunt prior to our new album releasing,” said lead singer and founder Charlie Murder. “They are all absolutely right. These dangerous and largely illegal habits we’ve developed on the road don’t exactly pay for themselves.”

Facing off against hordes of bloodthirsty zombies, lethal ninjas and
other things James Silva can draw, the band will find itself pushed to the brink. Also, I heard there is a level where you throw projectiles at enemy ninjas on motorcycles while you drive down the street. It’s pretty rad.

“Being a punk fan myself this really is a dream come true. Charlie
Murder is band with so much depth and such a wide array of talents I really couldn’t pass up this opportunity,” replied James Silva to no one in particular. “I’d also add that I did not write and record all of the music myself. Unless you like it in which case I did.”

Developed by Ska Studios Charlie Murder is the greatest punk rock beat
‘em up ever. It is scheduled for release on Xbox LIVE Indie Games this March. Probably.

About Ska Studios
It’s this guy James Silva and like a whole team of engineers and
artists and sound designers and marketing dudes. Yeah, write that.

About Charlie Murder
Despite no information on the band being available anywhere online and
no record of their existence outside of this press release, rest assured that they are real and have been producing hit punk rock tracks for a long, long time. Ask around.  More information on Charlie Murder can be found online at facebook.com/charli3murd3r because that’s what punk rock bands do. They get on Facebook.

That release of press is courtesy of Nigel Lowrie of The Moonlight Tower.  Thanks, Nigel!

Want to be a fan of Charlie Murder?  Charlie Murder’s got a Facebook page!

And we’ve got shoutouts!  Destructoid’s got a sweet take on it,  Joystiq wants you to know that we’re establishing a name for ourself, and 1UP is stirring up the rumor mill!  We also caught the attention of DIYGamer, 360Junkies.com, Gaming Nexus, South African site (where a web developer who has registered charliemurder.com lives) Xbox Gaming, and many others.

Seems like I’m competing with myself a bit… but… well… anyone remember The Dishwasher?  Remember it now, for the era of the psycho dishwasher genre is upon us!  It’s going up as part of the Days of Arcade promo.  I can’t say when.  But when I can, I will.  Oh yes.  I will.

Also, I’m working a super-dumb street brawler for XBCG called Charlie Murder.  Expect some media soonish.