Tim Schafer's Double Fine studio is working on Happy Theatre Time, a collection of eighteen minigames heading through XBLA and for your Kinect sometime this winter. Kotaku are enthusiastic about Happy Theatre Time, having played a little, and describe it as a party game that's best experienced with a sufficient amount of alcohol or number of children at hand. Eurogamer talk some more about the game here. Destructoid has videos.
This whole thing, though, has made me notice a certain pattern, and not for the first time. From the press release:
Created by famed developer Tim Shafer and Double Fine Productions Inc., “Double Fine Happy Action Theater” is a series of vibrant, exciting activities designed to activate gross motor skills, inspire imagination and entertain players of all ages, from preschoolers to grandparents.
Seriously, who is this "Tim Shafer" guy, and why does he always get mentioned alongside Tim Schafer? Is this a subtle way of telling us that Tim, much like Paul from The Beatles, isn't really Tim? Or is this guy's more involved in day-to-day Double Fine things than we know? Because - from the frequency of this mistake - it couldn't possibly be some sort of incompetence, could it?
Source: Eurogamer
SurplusGamer
I still entirely don't get why Trenched (Iron Brigade) gets the bad rep that it does around here. It reviewed very well in most place, apparently is a blast in multiplayer and features robots with TVs for eyes, an aircraft carrier on robot legs, and upcoming DLC which launches the aircraft carrier into space. To me it sounds like EXACTLY the sort of thing Double Fine might do, and I can't wait for the certification to finish so I can actually play the thing.
Jennifer
I'm confused by this comment. I was actually thinking the opposite, since they released a patch on Steam for Costume Quest only a few days after release that fixed some of the problems the forum users were having with the game.
Yeah, they've finally acknowledged the folks in the Trenched forum, so that's something. I just don't understand why they'd have a forum if they're going to ignore the most of the users who are posting questions there. It just becomes a very frustrating experience, even when you're not directly involved.
Of course, I'd rather see something epic from the Mind of Tim (TM) in the most direct sense, but... in the interim, games like this will keep them in business, I figure. That's an important parity to strike as a creative genius; just ask Ron Gilbert.
ThunderPeel2001
Ugh. I have to stay away from the DF forums, otherwise I start hating them as a company for ignoring everyone who is having problems with them. It's like TTG all over again. *sigh*
I'm confused by this comment. I was actually thinking the opposite, since they released a patch on Steam for Costume Quest only a few days after release that fixed some of the problems the forum users were having with the game.
Bankotsu
Am I the only one who's totally hating Double Fine's new line of work?
Trenched and Once Upon a Monster initially didn't fit into the image of Double Fine I had in my head (e.g. it's not very hipster to do a Sesame Street game), but Cosmos Quest and Stapling look great and now that they're on PC I'm excited I'll be finally able to play them!
ThunderPeel2001
Ugh. I have to stay away from the DF forums, otherwise I start hating them as a company for ignoring everyone who is having problems with them. It's like TTG all over again. *sigh*
If this is in regards to the direction the company is heading, there's nothing we can do about it. I don't get why people expect their complaining to somehow override a careful business model.
If this is about something else: what you talkin' 'bout, boy? Link!
http://www.doublefine.com/rss/ActionCast/
(DF need to really get to grips with their PR stuff -- I don't think hardly anyone knows about the new episode.)
But just because the studio is releasing a bunch of games led by different people doesn't mean there isn't one giant Schafer project taking form behind the scenes.
Every time that they announce announcements, I keep hoping for Psychonauts 2. And in the end, it seems their new projects are never interesting for me. I tried CQ and Stacking, maybe I'll try Trenched too. As for the others, I would die in a fire before I buy a Kinect for my X360...
T____T