Zeboyd Games is a developer of 8-bit and 16-bit-style 2D role-playing games that was created by Robert Boyd with William Stiernberg. It is most known for its two 2D role-playing games, Breath of Death VII and CthulhuSaves the World. Most recently, they've developed and released the third and fourth installments of the series, as well as the science fiction RPG Cosmic Star Heroine.
Interactive Novels
''Epiphany in Spaaace!''
Epiphany In Spaaace! is an interactive novel released on October 20, 2009 on Xbox Live Indie Games parodying sci-fi through the ongoing travails of Philemon K. Bort. It has sold about 500-700 copies.
''Molly the Were-Zompire''
The interactive novel Molly the Were-Zompire was released on Xbox Live Indie Games on December 10, 2009. It's the story of Molly Desper, who is turned into a were-zombie-vampire It sold about 500-700 copies.
2D RPGs
''Breath of Death VII: The Beginning''
Co-created with William Stiernberg, Breath of Death VII: The Beginning was released on April 22, 2010, on Xbox Live Indie Games. A retro-style comedy RPG, Dem the Skeleton Knight, Sara the Ghost Historian, Lita the Vampire Techie, and Erik the Zombie Prince are customized via a branching ability tree. Robert felt that most turn-based RPGs were too slow, so Breath of Death VII battles employ a combo system based on player character choices with non-player characters receiving a strength bonus based on how many turns the fight has gone, giving the battles a pseudo time limit. Additionally, the number of encounters in an area are limited. With more than 40,000 sales, Breath of Death VII has a 2/3 conversion rate from the trial. Despite its title, it is the only game of its "series", and the previous "six" do not exist. The title is simply a parody of serial RPGs whose sequels are often not in chronological order.
''Cthulhu Saves the World''
Co-created with Bill Stiernberg, Cthulhu Saves the World was released on December 30, 2010 on Xbox Live. Cthulhu, the squid-faced, winged god created by H. P. Lovecraft emerges from the sea after centuries of slumber only to find his dark powers immediately sealed away by a mysterious holy wizard. A narrator then informs the player that the only way to break the curse is to become a true hero. Quickly breaking the fourth wall, Cthulhu informs the narrator that he was eavesdropping and now knows how to break the curse. Like Breath of Death VII, Cthulhu Saves the World has a branching level-up system and caps random encounters in an area. The "Hey There, Cthulhu" music video was produced by Nakatomi HMC using the parody song written and recorded by Eben Brooks. All in-game music was composed and recorded by Gordon McNeil. Zeboyd Games began a Kickstarter fundraiser towards development of an enhanced version of the game for PC and Xbox 360 platforms; it was more than successfully funded on February 16, 2011, garnering over twice the fundraiser's goal. The new version was officially announced on March 14, 2011, retitling the game as "Cthulhu Saves the World: Super Hyper Enhanced Championship Edition Alpha Diamond DX Plus Alpha FES HD - Premium Enhanced Game of the Year Collector's Edition ". The PC version was released on July 13, 2011 together with Breath of Death VII on Valve's Steam service. The Steam version was a financial success, making more revenue in its first week of release than in a year and a half on the Xbox 360. By November 21, 2011, the "Zeboyd Games Combo Pack" had sold over 100,000 copies on Steam in less than four months after release.
''Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode 3''
Zeboyd Games developed Episode 3 of , which was released on June 25, 2012. Robert Boyd and Bill Stiernberg, along with Jerry Holkins and Jeff Kalles, hosted a panel at PAX East in Boston on April 6, 2012.
''Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode 4''
Zeboyd Games developed Episode 4, which was released on June 7, 2013.
''Cosmic Star Heroine''
Cosmic Star Heroine is a science fiction RPG and was released in April 2017 for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4. A Nintendo Switch version later followed. It received positive reviews.
''Cthulhu Saves Christmas''
Zeboyd officially announced Cthulhu Saves Christmas, a prequel to Cthulhu Saves the World, on their personal website on July 29, 2019. It was subsequently released on PC on December 23, 2019. In the side-scrolling JRPG, Cthulhu teams up with Santa Claus’s granddaughter to stop Jack Frost before Christmas is cancelled forever. Along the way he fights Krampus, Mari Lwyd, and other “Christmas League of Evil villains” in turn-based combat. He also builds “R'lyehtionship” levels with his friends.
