Why play their games when you can read about them? Double Fine is turning twenty, and what better way to celebrate than to release a coffee-table book filled with concept art and (presumably) entertaining yarns? 20 Double Fine Years -- Jesus Christ, has it been that long? -- is available for pre-order in the US and the UK for $50 ($65 for the luxury "legend" edition) and will ship during the second quarter of next year. Run and buy.
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Remember video game magazines, which you could have and hold? Me neither. But they apparently still exist, and the October 2020 issue of Edge, available now, contains a lovely spread about Psychonauts 2, printed upon tactile pages:
Psychonauts 2 features on the cover of Edge this month, and strangely enough, its premise couldn’t feel more of the moment. We were the very first media to go hands-on with a psychedelic new level, and we’re bringing you all the exclusive details on how Raz’s next adventure is coming along.
We’ve also gone inside the minds of the team at Double Fine – including art director Lisette Titre-Montgomery and Double Fine co-founder Tim Schafer – to figure out what makes a good Psychonauts level tick. A very large Google Doc, set up by Schafer 15 years ago, is one part of it. But elsewhere there’s talk of multiple script passes, algebra, prog-rock jam sessions – even a little bit of Uncharted. And, of course, novelty. The inside of everybody’s head is different, after all.
Naturally, then, we had to bring you something unusual for our Psychonauts 2 cover. The result is a very special glow-in-the-dark treatment that’s positively mesmerising to behold. Draw the curtains, turn off the lights, and take a look for yourself.
You heard them -- take a look:
Source: GamesRadar+
Looking for some Psychonauts 2 gameplay footage? Who better to show it to you than Jack Black himself?
Tim even calls in!
I am currently doing a Coding for COVID-19 fundraiser. This is a game making fund drive with funds being raised through the West Elmira Computers Museum, with game development by my company Cydoca Entertainment with support by Double Fine through use of their
intellectual property.
All proceeds go to charity. 90% of proceeds will be split up evenly among Doctors without Borders, Direct Relief, and Action Against Hunger. The remaining 10% will go to the West Elmira Computer Museum.
Three games are currently being developed: a conversion of Host Master and the Conquest of Humor from Flash to Wintermute, A Host Master Carol - a sequel that sees Tim Schafer work with himself in three time periods to make sure he has a game for each time he hosts, and OpenQuest II, a sequel to Michael Sheail's OpenQuest that takes place right where the last one left off. All games will be available for Linux, Mac, and Windows through ScummVM. More games will be added as the charity drive goes on.
To support the fundraiser, visit https://donorbox.org/coding-for-covid/
The West Elmira Computers Museum is a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization, EIN 83-2343976. Your contributions may be tax-deductible.
In order to celebrate 20 years of Double Fine, Humble Bundle have are giving you the chance to pay what you want for every Double Fine game ever*. And some of their soundtracks, too. And also a ton of their "Presents" games.
The bundle includes Psychonauts, Day of the Tentacle Remastered, Full Throttle Remastered, Grim Fandango Remastered, Broken Age, Brutal Legend. As well as Everything, Gang Beasts, RAD, and 140 just too many more for me to type out!
If you own them all already, why not bestow the give of Double Fine on a friend, neighbour or total stranger?
Partake here: The Double Fine 20th Anniversary Humble Bundle
* There's probably some games missing.
Source: Humble Bundle
Check this out: News while it's still fresh! The YouTube interview show/podcast We Have Cool Friends has just dropped a new 80 minute interview with Tim Schafer. Like three hours ago!
(I told you it was fresh.)
See you in three weeks we spot some news from two months ago.
Source: Kinda Funny
If you, like us, have been waiting for some new Psychonauts 2, wait no more.
There’s a lot to unpack here, none of which I’ll jump into, because, y'know… Laziness. But, a punch list: Muscle Man in logo! Ultra-stylized graphics! Jack Black fronting a psychedelic jam that will make our LucasTones particularly happy! More!
The game will be released next year for PC, Mac, Linux, PS4, and the Xboxes.
(Oh, have some screenshots, too.)
(And if you like the song, here it is in MP3 format.)
DoubleFine's classic adventure, Broken Age, and all their LucasArts remasters, Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, and Grim Fandango can now be played on macOS Catalina. But that's not all. In order to celebrate this fact, DF have made them all FREE to download for the weekend!
If, by some small chance, you don't all these great games (and you're a Mac owner) now is your chance to grab them!
Here's a link to get you going.
Thanks, DoubleFine!
Source: DoubleFine
Despite there being a mad flurry of news during May (by Mojo standards at least), we somehow missed making a big deal of this: Tim Schafer playing Full Throttle for the game's 25th Anniversary.
So here it is, only three weeks late!
And while you're at it, you might also like this little internal WFH update from DoubleFine, that is four weeks old.
And if you liked that, well you'll almost certainly love Tim's little self-isolation update. Also a mere four weeks old.
Honestly DoubleFine, this is what happens when you delete your website. Probably. It's definitely not like we've done this before. Oops.
Source: DoubleFine
Double Fine's Rad, published last year to critical acclaim, is going for pretty dang cheap right now over on Humble Bandai Namco Bundle 4. The average price keeps changing, but currently anything above €8.60 gets you Rad plus a slew of other games, including an entry in the Katamari Damacy series. It's never been more affordable.
Rad is an isometric roguelike about a hero searching a post-apocalyptic wasteland for "respirators," which may restore civilisation in the wake of an apocalypse. Feels prescient. I haven't heard whether there's a pitchfork mob high on hydroxychloroquine out yelling something about reopening the economy despite it killing people, but you can let us know if there is by trying the game yourself.
Source: Humble Bundle
That's the speculation over at SegmentNext, who point out the possible significance of a new job opening at Double Fine:
According to a recent job listing, Double Fine Productions was seeking a Game Scripter to implement “amazing writing and story moments” into Psychonauts 2. The position was closed a month ago and was on a contract basis of six months, which is just about the same time as when the game is expected to be done.
The six-month period also ties up Psychonauts 2 around the release window of next-generation consoles, which in this case implies that the long-awaited sequel could possibly be a launch title for Xbox Series X. Double Fine Productions was already revealed to be working with next-generation technology last December through a different job listing. Hence, seeing Psychonauts 2 release for Xbox Series X at launch will hardly be surprising.
As someone who's fallen somewhat behind on console platforms (any Wii U titles you want to recommend, for when I finally open the box?), I can't say this does much to change my position of I Sure Hope My PC Can Run This, but what do the rest of you think about Psychonauts 2 possibly angling for release on next-gen consoles? And when will Thrik relaunch Razputin's Domain now that Psychonauts 2 is coming out?
In short, hassle Thrik.
Source: SegmentNext
Cognizant that the stay-at-home world we currently live in has come with a rise in video conferencing, Double Fine is offering background clips from Psychonauts 2 and RAD so that you can virtually bond with your loved ones and coworkers while advertising Microsoft product at the same time! The publicly available mp4s can be downloaded directly right here, courtesy of Spaff himself.
Speaking of Psychonauts 2, it's fair to wonder whether the pandemic will impact the development schedule of the oft-delayed sequel. It seems the team itself isn't quite sure yet. Beyond a comment saying as much and a vague statement from Microsoft about first-party studios facing "unique challenge" due to the ongoing situation, it seems the team is very much in the same boat as the rest of the world: figuring it out as they go along.
Source: Twitter
Answer: At least one!
Let me quote iam8bit:
iam8bit, Limited Run Games and Double Fine Productions have joined forces to bring you this exclusive variant to one of our favorite games – the seminal, superb and scrumptious Psychonauts! Originally intended to be sold in person at the 2020 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, the event’s postponement inspired our collective teams to make this an online exclusive release event instead, with only 500 copies of this highly collectible version available on each of Limited Run Games’ and iam8bit’s webstores.
Get ready to pick it up tomorrow at 9 AM PST. I mean, just look at the Scott C. cover. Available for PS4 for a mere $29.99.
If you try to visit DoubleFine's website today, you'll be shocked to discover that you can't! In its place is a farewell message from the website itself. The dear old thing is going to wherever websites go when they die (archive.org?).
You might wonder why they didn't just secretly work on a lovely new website and switch them over when it was done. You might wonder if Microsoft decreed that their old website wasn't Microsoft-y enough and demanded it be taken down immediately. You might also wonder why we're even reporting on such things.
So never let it be said that Mojo doesn't make you think, even when scraping the barrel for news! #foodforthought
Source: DoubleFine
Double Fine Productions, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT), has gotta find some way to occupy its employees after it ships Psychonauts 2 later this year, hence that unannounced title we’ve occasionally heard whispers about. Whatever the game is, it looks like you’re going to be able to play it with a friend, as the studio has an open listing for a "Multiplayer Programmer.
The requirements of the position only give us so much to go on; that’s where your rampant speculation comes in. The first time Tim marshaled the forces of his beloved studio in the service of an online multiplayer experience, we ended up with Brutal Legend, so I’m sure we’ve got something fun to look forward to. Unless you think Microsoft’s pulled a Campo Santo on Double Fine and the big mystery project is just a Halo expansion pack.
But that would be cynical.
Source: Double Fine Actions Jobs
Quoth the Jason, “The bloodletting begins.”
Greg Rice, Double Fine’s VP of business development and arguably their second most recognizable face, has left the company for a “new position elsewhere in the game industry.” A tweet string makes it pretty clear there is no bad blood behind the departure, though it seems somewhat prudent to speculate if the recent Microsoft acquisition would have changed his responsibilities within the company. And that’s what we do. Speculate.
Source: Gamasutra
GamesRadar got with Tim for the tenth anniversary of Brutal Legend, resulting in an interview that comes off as something of a postmortem for the studio's second project, and also arguably still it's last game of a giant scale. Read the article and renew your expertise of the game's wacky development history. Remember that hilarious lawsuit, what with all the laughter it caused?
Tim also talks about how you can play against him in Brutal Legend online every "Rocktober" 13th, but that probably would be more relevant if we'd reported on this article when it was published. We'll try harder next year, as far as you know.
Source: GamesRadar
Tomorrow is Rocktober 13th, the 10th anniversary of the release of Brutal Legend! To celebrate DoubleFine is hosting a livestreaming event where you can play against Tim Schafer and other members of the Double Fine team.
As Lee Petty Tweeted earlier today, "You can beat him! @TimOfLegend is old and nowhere near his fighting weight!"
Join the melee tomorrow between 1 and 4pm PST (9pm to 1am GMT).
Source: Double Fine
PC Gamer has put together a small oral history of sorts about what they -- and probably many of us -- consider the best Psychonauts level, "The Milkman Conspiracy." A quote:
That was only possible because writing all the dialogue came last. After the designers and gameplay programmers had finished, Schafer would assess every piece of the level, and write dialogue based on all the work that came before. "That was the most solid foundation for the jokes to get layered on top," Robson says. "Half of my memory of Milkman is playing it without any of that dialogue, so that stuff still almost feels like a sort of recent edition. And then after you're done with the level, six or eight weeks later, this dialogue appears all of a sudden in the game."
Now run and read it.
Over at PAX West, a thing which was going on last week, Double Fine was on hand to show off Psychonauts 2. Judging by this preview on Shacknews, Double Fine was giving the same demo they were giving back at E3, resulting in said preview offering exactly zilch in the new information department.
But despite the fact that Shacknews has let all of you down in a very personal way, PAX West wasn't a washout. That's because those stalkers at Destructoid chased Tim all around the expo until he "consented" to be interviewed at length. With a gun pressed against his cheek, Tim talks about all sorts of juicy stuff, like the fact the Microsoft acquisition is still an ongoing affair, the unclear fate of Double Fine's publishing arm, hints about the studio's post-Psychonauts 2 project, and how he really feels about virtual reality, now that the cameras are off and Rhombus of Ruin is Old News. And then there's this observation:
I love the Switch, and a lot of people at Double Fine are huge Nintendo fans and I think we always have been and will be. Early on in my career, Super Mario 64 was obviously very influential for me. And it always felt weird that I feel like I just cannot sell a game in Japan. Japanese games people would come to visit at LucasArts and they would look at Grim Fandango and they'd be like "Are these characters done?" One of them actually said that. I was like "Yeah, that's the final art," and he was like "They don't have skin." I always thought that we had very Japanese sensibility in our love of design and love of character. But, I guess our taste and aesthetic are more American than I realized. Some day we'll have a game that Japanese people will like.
Why do you resist Tim, Japan? Why have you not read the full interview, everyone else?
Source: Destructoid