The 2009 PAX convention has seen the announcement of Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley. It’s the latest offering from indie developer Twisted Pixel. No release date or target platforms were announced, but the release trailer does hint at yet another offbeat excursion from the creators of ‘Splosion Man.

Anyone who played that insane but enthralling title, is likely to express only mild surprise at the truly bizarre visage of Captain Smiley. Comic Jumper’s heroically proportioned protagonist has a smiley emoticon where you would expect to find a head. Oh, and he also has some manner of creature imbedded in his chest.

This is shaping up to be a side-scrolling shooter with an intriguing point of distinction. As the game progresses, the art style evolves to reflect the ‘comic’ that Captain Smiley is exploring. The brief footage hints at levels inspired by Batman, Sin City and the Powerpuff Girls, amongst others.

While the clip is short on gameplay, I suppose that’s to be expected from an announcement trailer. Instead we’re treated to a barely amusing blooper reel featuring the game’s animated characters. Surely the faux blooper phenomenon has run its course? It was, in fact, quite tiresome to begin with!

Keep an eye on The Black Panel for further news on what promises to be one of 2010’s strangest releases.

How about a little fire, Scarecrow?

Microsoft has announced the winners of its worldwide Dream Build Play competition for 2009. More than 350 titles were submitted, each crafted using XNA Game Studio, Microsoft’s inexpensive toolset aimed at indie developers.

Dean Dodrill’s hand-painted Dust: An Elysian Tail took home the top honour. Featuring a lush fantasy environment and a menagerie of anthropomorphic oddities, Dust is a frenetic side-scrolling beat ‘em up at heart. Panya Inversin’s team finished in second place with their four-player interstellar shooter Max Blastronaut, which, in my view, should have been awarded first prize on the strength of its name alone. Both titles originated from the United States.

Third place went to Spain’s Mauricio Garcia’s team for Rotor’scope: The Secret of the Endless Energy, a block shifting puzzler with a turn of the century aesthetic. China’s HurricaneX2 Evolution took fourth place and provided stiff competition to Max Blastronaut in the ridiculous name stakes. This sprawling 3D brawler from Hu Lin could find a cult following amongst fighting game fans.

The four winners received a combined $75,000 in cash and invaluable publicity for their emerging development careers. These titles could well be highlights of the Xbox Live Indie Games channel when (or more to the point, if) it is launched in Australia.

Join us for a chat about the new Xbox 360, the ups and downs of original IP and the world’s most dangerous pizza. All this and more on the inaugural Black Panel Podcast.