The International House of Mojo

... and still manages to arrive six days late. Double Fine Action News has been updated with a bazillion new updates dating back in time all the way to the 19th. News includes new press hits on the products page, an update on their rodent infestation, and a note of special appreciation to the one person who actually sent in his XBox Magazine recipt in exchange for a naked lady picture. You might also catch some Psychonauts news if you look hard enough. Might.

Also, I'm sure the entire staff of Double Fine (except maybe the really really bitter papyrophobes) would encourage you to vote for Robox in the current Mojo poll.

Oh ho! UGO is also running a for their feature: "The Top Eleven Upcoming RPG/Adventure Games." Psychonauts hit the number two spot(!), and the writer had this to say about it:

Tim Schafer knows how to do character-driven adventure games. The veracity of this statement has been well established by his work on classic titles like Full Throttle and Grim Fandango. Unfortunately, that genre is on the verge of extinction. So what's a designer to do? How about applying the principles that made his past games so great to a format that fits perfectly with the current next-gen console craze: The platform adventure? That's pretty much what Psychonauts is: The illegitimate love child of Mario and Manny Calavera.

Disgusting! But definitely more interesting...give it a read!

Double Fine have updated their news, or rather Tim has updated their news. Its a large post containing not a lot, but does break down what each individual is doing over there on Psychonauts. Also I should mention that he mentions our article about Double Fine. And now the universe should end... or something... GO READ IT.

Evan Dickens has written a great new feature for Adventure Gamers having to do with how fans (over)react to upcoming adventure titles. This one hits painfully close to home, folks, but it's all in good fun. Have a read!

In an unrelated (no, really!) bit of news, some of our dedicated fans have been having trouble accessing the mojo forums. That's because the forums.mixnmojo.com subdomain doesn't work at the moment. To get to the forums, click on this whining sound effect: *whine*

John Delaney, artist for such comic books as Justice League and Dexter's Lab, takes the time to draw various characters at the request of his fans. A poll is set up every week to determine what character John will draw next. In this week's poll, Demon Pirate LeChuck makes the list, so click here to vote! Registration is required, though.

Source: chrisc3po

After a lot of stupid crap which will not be explained here, our latest feature story, Return to Double Fine, is online. Chronicling our latest trip to the offices of Grim Fandango creator Tim Schafer and his gang (currently working on the upcoming Psychonauts for XBox), the story is certain to amaze, amuse, and possibly even disgust.

Some of you may have read the article earlier today when it was miracuously linked from GameSpot hours before running. Good times. If you caught it then, we suggest you read it again!

Also, twifkak, you're on our enemies list.

Tim Schafer updated the Double Fine News for the second time in one day! In this bonus post, Tim informs us that his new game Psychonauts is on the cover of the Official Xbox Magazine (well, sorta), updates us on the rat situation, casually drops his new catch phrase, and more. Give it a look-see.

Double Fine Action News(!!!) was updated today with a massive update about fan mail, emoticons, but especially catch phrases. No new Psychonauts news, but hopefully we'll get some tomorrow. Honest. For now, read!

Tim Schafer has update DoubleFine Productions' website with lots of... words! Like these:

The other point that I am making on accident is this: With the increased frequency of postings, the quality is going to go WAY down. From the very low mark it already set for itself. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the sheer volume of it all.

Check out the site for the full update.

Here is some news that many of you may find interesting. In our recent visit to San Francisco, Tim Schafer informed us that a few of his fellow employees work on an independent comic in their spare time entitled Hickee.

Among the people who work on this comic are Joe White, Graham Anable, Dave Bogan, and Razmig Mavillian (whose name "Raz" is being used for the main character in Psychonauts). All of these guys worked at LucasArts on such classics as The Curse of Monkey Island, Outlaws, and Grim Fandango. But that's not all! Two fellows named Nathan Stapley and Scott Campbell also work on the comic and are currently employed at Double Fine Productions.

If you're a big fan of comics and witty writing, you might want to check this out. You can find out more information on Hickee at this website, which also houses Graham's own comic called Grickle. Or, you can read an interview with these guy and view pictures here.

Double Fine Productions, game studio of Grim Fandango creator Tim Schafer, has turned two years old today, and has a pretty cake on their page to celebrate. You love it! "Two years, no product" - Tim Schafer.

Just a quick note for those of us currently obsessing over Double Fine.com and their fight against infestation: The site's been updated with some of the usual silliness of course, but they've also added a tally running in the left hand sidebar which I assume is the number of rodents squashed to peanut butter coated bits.

Update (telarium): The rodent death toll is now at five! I repeat, the rodent death toll is at five!

Update (Metallus): Be sure to mouse (OH THE PUN) over each rodent to read a brief cause of death. You might be able to find some more interesting secret fun around the site as well by setting your mouse to "hover" over some of the other images. Watch out for traps!

There's no way to put this in a news post so I'm just going to make this update a big blockquote:

Feast your eyes on this monstrosity: Click Here

Looking at it I feel like a perverted psycho, but it is hilarious (I should consult my psychiatrist about that first though)...

Now that I have this, I want to make a sort of a Tim Schafer bullshit fan site, but as a Tim-oriented religion. I call it:... well, I still don't have a name for the religion, and I could make a concours as soon as I can make a website around the picture... As I see it now, the main aspect of the website will be a messageboard with a bio of Our Beloved God... With hymns and a fake Paypal way of paying for indulgences... Whaddayathink?

That was from Kingzjester. Enjoy! (heh)

It seems everyone is crazy (oh the jokes!) for Psychonauts and the man behind the magic, Mr. Tim Schafer. This time, IGN Insider has posted an interview with Mr. Double Fine himself. As always, Schafer has loads of interesting things to say about the state of gaming, innovative game design, the company's relationship with Microsoft, and of course, Jennifer "J-Lo" Lopez! This one's worth the money, folks.

Update (Jake): I'm a big fat liar. The "free trial" they're talking about mysteriously requires that you sign up for at least a month. Then you get a month and a free week! What a ripoff deal!

GameSpot recently got the opportunity to see the latest progress of Psychonauts. Here are two unrelated paragraphs that appear to deal with Psychonauts:

The game's structure seems to be a slightly twisted hub system. As you explore the campgrounds and surrounding areas, you'll encounter people whose minds you'll enter. Each mind is basically an entire new level to explore. Schafer cited the Zelda series as an influence on the game's development, noting that you could view each mind as a "dungeon." In addition, you'll find that there are quite a few hidden areas to discover in the real world.

Graphically, the game was quite impressive, despite being so far off from release (Psychonauts is currently slated to ship in spring 2003). The character models featured a generous number of polygons and a great deal of detail. The real and psychic environments that we saw were richly detailed, and they even featured some small bits of ambient touches such as pollen floating through the air.

If you have paid for a GameSpot subscription, you can continue reading an actual interview with Tim Schafer (Hey Tim, I finally got grimfandango.net!) For those of us who don't have the luxury of paying to read random interviews, check out yesterday's Double Fine update. Popeye is dead! Down with all plague-carrying mice! Err... what am I even doing here.

Double Fine's official homepage has been updated yet again by Tim Schafer. However, this time, Tim does discuss his upcoming Psychonauts title... sort of. But more importantly, Tim continues to tell the saga about the office rodent problem. Check it out!

Luckily, Double Fine's website got an update today. Though it has nothing to do with their upcoming game Psychonauts, it does tell the terrible tale of Tim Schafer's soiled parmesan cheese packet and the (tiny, hypothetical) beast that may be responsible.

Inside I find all these little, plastic tubs that the pizza guy brought years ago--still filled with parmesan cheese, and chili flakes. (Not the gross part yet.) One of them has spilled, and so I pick it up, and see that the lid had been CHEWED OFF BY SOMETHING WITH A LITTLE, TINY MOUTH!

There is a game being worked on in there somewhere, we're sure. But, until that comes out this serves as more than enough entertainment. Clickeh.

Psychonauts, along with other upcoming big name software titles such as Doom III, GTA: Vice City, and The Sims: Online is featured in Popular Science's August focus on Gaming. Here's what they had to say:

Following the finest, funniest computer adventure game ever (Day of the Tentacle), Tim Shafer's latest effort showcases his knack for storytelling and witty dialogue, as a young would-be psychic hero struggles to build his powers by exploring strange subconscious minds.

Also, if anyone can get a scan of this article, or a URL where it can be found online, please leave a note in the comments.

In what could possibly be a new series on DoubleFine.com, Tim Schafer has written The Double Fine Coffee Status Report. Click here to find out how today's coffee tastes in the Double Fine Productions offices, where programmers and artists work bug-eyed on the upcoming Psychonauts title.

Is it me, or do these creative gaming types have an unusual dependency on coffee? I know I've seen Dave Grossman and Tim Schafer talk about it many times... maybe coffee is like a liquid muse that gives you heart problems.

Double Fine Productions' official site has been updated with some interesting tidbits. Double Fine is, of course, Tim Schafer's new company that is currently working on Psychonauts. Here's a quote from Tim's update:

I have come down to the office, not for revenge, but to fix a light in the downstairs hallway. There is no one here but me, and the rat that lives in the ceiling over my desk. At least, I think he's a rat. I hope he's a rat. But really, he makes so much noise up there I think he might be a full-grown raccoon, or one of those miniaturized horses gone bad. Judging by his demonic scampering, I have to imagine that he's wearing four tiny, Gene Simmons-style KISS boots, and that he's dragging a two-foot long tail made of exposed bone, like a museum t-rex.

Tim then seems to have a nervous breakdown of sorts, writes a small song, and displays some unsolicited fan art. Check it out!.