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Watch Microsoft's second E3 showcase here at 1PM ET
Get more details on upcoming Xbox games, including 'Halo Infinite.'
Summer Game Fest's second edition gets underway in June
A Day of the Devs showcase of indie and AAA games is on the schedule.
Double Fine's post-apocalyptic adventure 'Rad' arrives August 20th
Rad, the latest game to come from the minds of indie game darlings Tim Schafer and Lee Petty at Double Fine Productions, officially has a release date. With the help of publisher Bandai Namco, the roleplaying adventure game will arrive on August 20th and will be available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC.
Amazon's 'Costume Quest' animated series hits Prime Video March 8th
Two years after it revealed a show based on the Costume Quest games was coming to Prime Video, Amazon has revealed episodes will start streaming on March 8th. The Costume Quest animated series follows a group of young trick-or-treaters who try to figure out how to use superpowered costumes and defeat monsters that have lived in their world for a century.
Unannounced Double Fine game canceled, 12 staff let go
Double Fine, the development studio behind games like Broken Age and Costume Quest 2, has been hit with a wave of layoffs. Gamasutra reports that 12 staff were let go after an unannounced project fell through with a publisher, though the studio will continue its work on other games unimpeded. "Our remaining projects - Broken Age, Massive Chalice, and Grim Fandango Remastered, were unaffected," studio founder Tim Schafer told Gamasutra. Neither the publisher in question nor the reason for the unannounced game's cancellation were disclosed. [Image: Double Fine]
Costume Quest 2 drags Sackboy to PS4, PS3 next week
Double Fine's dress-up RPG Costume Quest 2 will launch on PS3 and PS4 next Tuesday, October 28, publisher Midnight City announced. The PlayStation versions of the game will also receive an exclusive Sackboy costume modeled after the hero of Media Molecule's popular platforming brand, LittleBigPlanet. The Sackboy costume will be available for free to PS4 and PS3 players as part of an update to the game. To unlock it, quest-goers must find four pieces of the costume tucked away in the game. While there's no set release date for the Sackboy update, it is expected to go live "in the coming weeks." Costume Quest 2 is already available to PC, Mac and Linux players via Steam for $14.99. No launch date has been announced for the Xbox One, Xbox 360 and Wii U versions as of yet. [Image: Midnight City]
Grim Fandango remake also coming to PC, Mac and Linux
The remake of LucasArts' cult favorite adventure game Grim Fandango will also arrive on PC, Mac and Linux in addition to PS4 and Vita. Grim Fandango's resurgence was first revealed during Sony's E3 2014 press conference in June; the game is a console exclusive for the PlayStation platforms. Double Fine's remake came about thanks to some snooping on the behalf of Adam Boyes, PlayStation's VP of Publisher Relations. Boyes told Joystiq at E3 that Double Fine head Tim Schafer caught him nosing around the studio's older intellectual properties, which sparked a conversation between the two about bringing Grim Fandango back from the dead. [Image: Double Fine]
Broken Age delivers a classic adventure to iPad owners
If your iPad is sorely lacking in classically-styled adventure games from the man who spent the 1990s defining what that term means, you'll be pleased to learn that Double Fine's Broken Age is now available on Apple's svelte tablet. Like all adventure games that list Tim Schafer in the credits, Broken Age is an off-kilter adventure, full of humor that oscillates between obscenely clever and gleefully childish. Our four of five stars review slights the game for an overall lack of difficulty, but that only serves to move along an engrossing story, which only disappoints when it draws to a close. Unfortunately, that conclusion comes quickly as the iPad currently hosts only Act 1 of Broken Age. Act 2 has yet to appear on any platform, but Double Fine claims that, once available, owners of Act 1 will be able to pick up the second part of the story as an in-app download. There's no price point established for Act 2, but Act 1 will set you back $10 in the iTunes App Store. [Image: Double Fine Productions]
Broken Age Act 1 now available, have a launch trailer
The first half of Broken Age, the latest adventure from Grim Fandango designer Tim Schafer and his crew at Double Fine Productions, is now available to the general public. As Ludwig points out in our review of Broken Age Act 1, the game is clearly the offspring of the classic point-and-click adventure games that Schafer had a big hand in popularizing, though the archaic elements of the genre are mated with more modern, user-friendly features, resulting in an enjoyable, if staid, adventure. "The lack of challenge and a dearth of branching dialogue (sorry – these dialogue trees resemble bamboo shafts) disappoint, yes, but Broken Age always elicits a smile and a desire to continue," our review states before awarding the game 4 of 5 stars. Whether you prefer the PC, Mac or Linux platforms, you'll find Broken Age Act 1 now available on Steam for $25. Broken Age Act 2 is slated for release "later this year" when it will become available to owners of Act 1 as a free downloadable addition.
Broken Age skips Early Access, hits Steam with season pass
Broken Age is no longer launching as an Early Access game on Steam, instead hitting as a full release with a season pass that includes parts one and two. "You may recall that at one point Broken Age was planned for release under the Steam Early Access program," Double Fine wrote in a backers-only update on Kickstarter. "This is no longer the case. For various logistical reasons, and because we believe Act 1 is a polished and satisfying piece of content in its own right, Broken Age will be a standard Steam release that includes a 'Season Pass' granting access to Act 2 once it is complete. Anyone who has Act 1 – either by being a backer, or by buying the game separately – will receive Act 2 as a free update when it's ready." Double Fine announced in July that it would launch Act 1 on Early Access, intending to raise enough money to complete and release Act 2, but a season pass launch can achieve the same end. Backers of the Double Fine Adventure Kickstarter have access to Broken Age Act 1 today, distributed via Steam keys on the Humble Store. Act 1 requires Steam to download, though once Act 2 launches, a DRM-free version will hit Humble.
Daily iPad App: Costume Quest lets you be a kid again
We may have to wait until early next year for the highly anticipated (an robustly funded) new title from Double Fine Productions, but to help hold us over, the company has released one of its most charming previous games for iOS devices. Costume Quest lets you play as one of a pair of young twins on Halloween night. You soon discover that the neighborhood isn't just filled with spookily dressed kids, but monsters as well. A kidnapping occurs, hilarity ensues and the story marches on at a fairly brisk pace. It's a relentlessly nostalgic experience as you trot the dimly lit streets with fellow trick-or-treaters, but the game takes a dramatic turn during battle segments where you must dispatch the demons that are terrorizing your town. As soon as you enter a battle, your character and their costume transform from cardboard and tin foil to full-sized robots, knights and other heroic figures. Being an RPG at heart, combat in Costume Quest is turn-based, and on the iPad's touchscreen you can tap specific icons during attack or defense to boost your performance. The game may appear a bit cartoonish -- and to be fair, the visual style and overall theme seem very casual -- but this is no walk in the park. Battles will test both the reflexes of your finger and the strength of your character, and you may find that you need to gain an experience level or snag some Battle Stamps before you can best certain foes. The game fits well on the iPad, and moving your character around the screen is done by either dragging your finger to new areas or tapping on the spots you'd like to travel. I played the game on the third-generation iPad, and while it was buttery smooth most of the time, I did notice a few instances of stuttering, though nothing that affected my overall enjoyment. Costume Quest is a bargain at US$4.99, and with its lengthy story and plethora of bonus objectives, it'll take you a while to beat it. It's a perfect game for the Halloween season, and if you've not yet given it a whirl on other platforms, you should do yourself a favor and pick it up on iOS.
Bastion is $3.75 today, more deals in GamersGate 'Spring Sale'
The Spring Sale over at Gamersgate continues with a nice daily deal on Bastion, Supergiant Games' wonderful action-RPG, for $3.75. Other deals today include Endless Space for $17.48 and half-off the Double Fine bundle, a collection of Brutal Legend, Costume Quest, Psychonauts and Stacking for $22.50.This sale is bolstered by ongoing weekly deals, such as the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Collection for $12, Sine Mora for $4.98, Trine 2 for $3.75, Legend of Grimrock for $5.10 and Sonic Spinball for $1.70 – the full nine-page list is available through the source link below.
Double Fine debuts trailer for Broken Age
Double Fine has shared the first footage of Broken Age, the studio's upcoming adventure game starring a girl who is to be fed to a giant monster, and a boy living on a space station with his only companion, a computer.
Ron Gilbert leaves Double Fine Productions
Veteran designer and The Cave creator Ron Gilbert announced his departure from Double Fine Productions to "plot his next move" in the industry. In a post on his blog, Gilbert profusely thanked his former colleagues and studio founder Tim Schafer, saying it was a "true pleasure to work with every one of them," and simply that it was time to move on.Schafer and Gilbert, who co-wrote The Secret of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2, reprised their working relationship in 2010 when Gilbert joined Double Fine Productions. After two years of toil, Gilbert released the literally full-of-junk The Cave earlier this year.Gilbert's short-term plan is to continue working with DeathSpank co-creator Clayton Kauzlaric on an iOS game, which he revealed has the catchy moniker of Scurvy Scallywags in The Voyage to Discover the Ultimate Sea Shanty: A Musical Match-3 Pirate RPG - the man does like his pirates. But clearly Gilbert has intentions beyond that, with the 49-year-old arbiter of adventure pointedly noting there are "so many games left to be designed."
Double Fine dips back into music with Dropchord
Dropchord is described by developer Double Fine Productions as "a music-driven score challenge game" from the same core team that created Kinect Party. Double Fine will offer a glimpse of the game, which supports the upcoming Leap Motion Controller shipping to Best Buy in May, at this weekend's SXSW show in Austin, Texas. A playable build will be on-hand at PAX East later this month.Dropchord will ship this year on Mac OS X, Windows PC and iOS devices, and it'll be available first in Leap Motion's Airspace app store. %Gallery-181061%
The Cave trailer introduces playable characters
This trailer for Double Fine's The Cave has said cave talking about the game's diverse cast of characters. The game is heading to Wii U, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC in January 2013.
Ron Gilbert's platformer / adventure game 'The Cave' also headed to Wii U eShop
The Cave isn't just destined for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, apparently. During a demo at PAX Prime this afternoon, DoubleFine rep Greg Rice pointed out that the game's also headed to the Nintendo Wii U's eShop.The platformer slash adventure game wasn't actually playable on Wii U at the studio's booth, so it's unclear how different (if at all) the game will be on Nintendo's next home console. We're hoping that the Wii U's tablet controller (the WiiPad™) has a giant touchscreen button that simply says "Solve," though it'll probably be something more clever.
Sega publishing Ron Gilbert's Double Fine game
It's been almost two weeks since Double Fine and Ron Gilbert gave us our first glimpse of their new game (different from Double Fine Adventure, the Kickstarter project), and today Sega all but outed itself as the publisher.After tweeting a link to the image above, the official Sega account has been silent on the matte. It's easy to see the images Gilbert's been teasing match up with the shaded area above. All that remains is the official announcement.
Double Fine made this bizarre and hilarious prototype for a Kinect adventure game
Double Fine's Tim Schafer was the guest of honor last evening at New York University's Game Center, joining Zynga New York's creative director (and NYU professor) Frank Lantz for an "Inside the Gamer's Studio" conversation. Schafer, however, brought more than just good conversation. He showed off two separate versions of a prototyped game that Double Fine ended up shelving. The prototype, for no reason at all, is dubbed "*Specs."In the first video (seen above), rudimentary concepts for the game are introduced. Two convicts sit in a prison cell, a shiv on the floor between them. The player character isn't one of the two convicts, or even the shiv, but instead a possessed amulet that's using its power of influence to guide the actions of those around it (inanimate objects included). As it turns out, one of the two convicts has said amulet in his hand when the prototype kicks off.The two emotions that the amulet can produce – love and hate – are represented by blue and red cursors on-screen, each mapped to one of your hands. With just two emotions, a handful of set pieces to interact with, and a Kinect, a variety of potential outcomes with varying levels of hilarity ensued.*Double Fine senior gameplay programmer Anna Kipnis explained the name via Twitter. "We name prototypes after Chinatown bars at DF (running out of bars now)," Kipnis said, in reference to San Francisco's Chinatown. "Psychonauts was Li Po. Brütal Legend was my favorite bar in Chinatown, Buddha Bar." So there's that! This is "Specs."
Double Fine Happy Action Theater pulls back the curtain Feb. 1
When a Double Fine rep told us to expect Double Fine Happy Action Theater in February, we didn't really expect it to be the first day of the month, but here we are. Imagine our surprise when Tim Schafer announced the Feb. 1 launch date on Twitter earlier today. Double Fine head honcho Schafer neglected to include pricing in the Tweet. A rep at CES did tell us it would cost a "reasonable" price. Sadly, that's more of a concept and less of a real, actual price. We've contacted Double Fine and will update this post accordingly.
