First of all: an indie developer studio consisting in two brothers. How is it to work with your own family? Is there a total creative connection or do you see things differently at some level? We couldn’t imagine it any other way. We grew up playing the same games together and we developed a very similar appreciation for all types of retro games. Between the two of us we probably played 90% of all Sega (pre-Dreamcast) games, as well as a massive portion of the Nintendo library. We reached an awkward point in our youth where we recorded a play through of every game we rented on VHS, it was our own version of YouTube long plays that we could show our cousins and friends. When creating anything in Cuphead, we cross reference ideas, whether it’s a visual design, gameplay idea or a new character – this back-and-forth with each other happens on all aspects of the game. We definitely have an amazing connection between our minds just like twins do, but mainly for game related stuff. We can cover all bases and perfect our vision easier because we both improve upon each other’s concepts without any egos being hurt. For how long have you been interested in making a game? What have you worked on before Cuphead, before creating Studio MDHR? Ever since we were kids there was a desire to make a game, we always fantasized about what ideas we would put into “our” own game (That’s also part of the reason we have a dream goal to make a Cuphead port on Sega Master System – this was our first system and the reason why we became gamers). Back in 2002 we worked on our first real game, but the huge lack of indie support and our financial capabilities meant that we had to turn our backs on the project. Coincidentally, it was also a run and gun platformer – but it was 2D/3D with actual pencil crayon textures. We made attempts to meet with established studios to see if we could get traction but inevitably it wasn’t right for the market back then. We will eventually dig up the trailer and assets, so everyone can see what we did back in the day. You’re collaborating with people from a lot of different places. How do you find your collaborators? Are you actively looking for new people to join the team or do you just find them and invite them in if you see potential in the collaboration? As a small team it is crucial to be likeminded, it simply makes the process that much easier. Luckily everyone has been a seamless fit. Kristofer Maddigan is an old friend of ours since elementary school (and he has been into music longer than that). Smo shares the love of 30s animation and always has something to add or tweak that improves upon Cuphead’s aesthetic – he approached us and it blossomed from there. And we’ve worked with Cosmin in the past: he understands how to take an idea, code it very fast, and make it work just like we imagined. So, most of the team was already friends and some came from being in the right place and the right time! 
Ok, let’s talk about Cuphead.: how would you describe it to someone who haven’t seen any image or video? It’s as much a love letter to retro games as it is a rebirth of a classic genre. All the classic twitch timing, reactionary, and challenging action one would expect, plus a ton of brand new ideas to guarantee a new experience. Cuphead is a classic run and gun action game heavily focused on boss battles. Inspired by cartoons of the 1930’s, the visuals and audio are painstakingly created with the same techniques of the era, i.e. traditional cel animation (hand drawn & hand inked!), watercolor backgrounds, and original jazz recordings. Play as Cuphead or Mugman (in single player or co-op) as you traverse strange worlds, acquire new weapons, learn powerful super moves, and discover hidden secrets. Cuphead is all action, all the time.
Being a run and gun game, what are your main references? What should players expect if they wanted to compare Cuphead with similar games? Cuphead is inspired by the Contra series, Gunstar Heroes, Adventures of Batman and Robin (Gen/MD version), Megaman, Punchout!, Street Fighter III, Thunder Force, Radiant Silvergun and too many more to mention. Treasure games as a whole have always been inspirational to us, even though all their games are not masterpieces – it’s their desire to think way outside the box that we really love and want to emulate. They always put a spin on an existing staple, for example: Gunstar Heroes added health, melee attacks, and a weapon combination system or Ikaruga’s unique black and white absorbing shield system. It’s this desire to breathe new life into every game that we adhere to. And of course, Shigeru Miyamoto is a major influence to us (and the best game designer of all time). He set the mold for most 2D and 3D games. Almost every good game has some relation to his vast library of masterpieces. You can’t make a game without wondering if he would approve, so we fiddle with all the little details needed to make a game feel ‘tight’ (and we secretly desire that he will play Cuphead one day). 
Cuphead sure looks like a really «game-y» game, but, giving the setting (the 1930s), can we expect something else? Some commentary on how the world was in that post-market crash era? We are focusing heavier on gameplay then on story – but if someone can convince us that Mario 3/World or Gunstar Heroes would benefit from hours of text and cut scenes then we will go back to the drawing board. The only commentary of the 30s will come from the design, but it will be happenstance – there is no great plan to comment on the era. If we discover the meaning of life along the way, we will include esoteric clues that can be deciphered to enlighten the players mind. Then our next step will be to design a church of Studio MDHR, haha. 
Cuphead may be one of these games that attract a lot of attention from people not involved in video games at all, simply astonished by its visual style and concept. How is it to receive so much attention with your first game? Astonishing! We are over the moon with all the support and praise from everyone who expressed interest, from our awesome fans > to great journalists > to cool companies > and more — we owe many thanks to everyone! Can’t wait for our first public display — then we can all shake hands (or fist bumps) and trade knick knacks. The jazz music that is being composed for the game sounds incredible too. How did you brought Kristofer Maddigan into the project? How does it work to create music for a medium like videogames? Does this change the way things are done? As mentioned earlier – we always knew Kristofer (the composer). This means we also spent too many hours gaming together (even when he tried to blame ‘cold hands’ for losing in a match of Night Warriors!). So there is great friendship and similar mindset between us. For as long as I can remember, Kristofer has been training, playing, educating, creating and experimenting with music. By chance we grew up with the perfect person for the job – it’s not easy to find someone with the understanding of both jazz and games. The main goal for Kristofer is to create music that suits the 1930s era AND has a steady, upbeat pace that would fit any Contra game. Aside from that, the music is created as if this was a 1930s LP – it will be composed > arranged for a full big band > and finally recorded with 15+ musicians. I’ve read that Microsoft approached you in January to invite you to their ID@Xbox program. Did you accept immediately? What has this partnership meant to you in terms of development and creative direction? We accepted immediately and then talked for a few months about being console exclusive before jumping all in. This partnership is a perfect fit for us as Microsoft is as hands-on or hands-off as we need during development. We have 100% say in our development and creative direction, and Microsoft wants it that way. The amount of exposure we have now and in the future from this partnership is insane…we are very happy with our choice! Is there any chance to see Cuphead in other platforms some day? Cuphead will be launching first on Xbox One and PC, in the future we will pursue other options.
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