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Classic motorcycle adventure game 'Full Throttle' hits iOS
It's been a few months since Tim Schafer's classic LucasArts adventure game Full Throttle got an HD remastered release on PS4, PS Vita and PC. Today, it comes out on iOS: For $5, you can take a rowdy ride into gaming history.
'Full Throttle Remastered' will tear up the road this April
It's been almost a year and a half since Double Fine announced it was giving Tim Schafer's classic motorcycle adventure game an HD makeover, but title is finally almost ready. Today, the company announced that Full Throttle Remastered will be available on PS4, PS Vita and PC on April 18th. Its been a long wait, but for fans of the classic game, it could be worth it. At GDC earlier this month, Schafer described the remake as a sort of preservation project -- detailing the painstaking lengths the team went to recreate all of the game's graphics in HD quality, and the gold mine it found in the original reel-to-reel voiceover tapes.
Why Tim Schafer keeps remaking his classic games
Tim Schafer is smiling and shaking hands with a hovering crowd as I sit down next to him. A college student asks if she can talk with him later about his career. A fan thanks him for his work -- a library of iconic video games that stretches back to the early '90s. He takes the time to respond to each of them, encouraging the student and graciously accepting the fan's gratitude before sitting down to walk me through a demo of Full Throttle Remastered, an HD remake of one of his first games. I ask him if it was strange to revisit a game he created over two decades ago. "It kind of reminds you of the lessons you learned, but forgot," he said. "Like, put a bunch of explosions on the cover of your box. That did really well for this game. I keep forgetting to put more explosions on the covers."
'Psychonauts' in VR is a story Tim Schafer never planned to tell
Tim Schafer's Psychonauts is the definition of a modern cult classic. Despite winning multiple awards and the adoration of critics, Double Fine's first game sold poorly. Good games, however, don't go unplayed. Over the course of a decade, Psychonauts sold over a million copies in digital redistribution and left fans clamoring for a sequel to wrap up the game's loose ends. Now a satisfying conclusion to the original game's story is finally here, but it's not Psychonauts 2 -- it's Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin, a virtual-reality spinoff heading exclusively to PlayStation VR on February 21st.
Yes, 'Beyond Good and Evil 2' is still happening
Beyond Good and Evil 2 isn't dead yet, according to its mastermind Michel Ancel. If you aren't familiar, the sequel is something of an enigma in the gaming world. Merely mentioning its name elicits complex emotions and dreams of publisher Ubisoft showing the game at its next year's E3 media briefing. The first game was a critical hit but didn't sell well. Consumers in the Aughts weren't down with a game about a plucky photojournalist and her anthropomorphic porcine companion; who'd have thought?
'Psychonauts 2' is really, actually, totally happening
You made Psychonauts 2 happen. The $3.3 million Fig campaign's been fully funded and now perhaps the hardest work for developer Double Fine Productions is ahead of it: finishing the game. In the video below, studio founder Tim Schafer says that the campaign will run through next Tuesday, though. "Every [additional] dollar we make goes into making the game better, giving us more time to polish and making the game great," he says. "We don't just want to make Psychonauts 2, we want to make an amazing Psychonauts 2."
Take a trip through the minds behind 'Psychonauts'
Cult classic Psychonauts getting a crowd-funded sequel was perhaps the biggest news out of this past week's second-annual Game Awards. But what about the game that came before it? The one that's celebrating its 10th birthday this year? That's where "The Color of the Sky in Your World" comes in. It features a who's who of Double Fine employees past and present as they talk about the process of making the game, including creative director Tim Schafer and producer Greg Rice.
Double Fine's next games include a 'Full Throttle' remaster
Double Fine isn't counting solely on a crowdfunded Psychonauts sequel to capture your imagination -- it just unveiled a ton of new projects at Sony's PlayStation Experience event. The highlight (at least for gamers of a certain age) is a remastered version of Full Throttle, Tim Schafer's action/adventure classic. It's not certain just when the motorcycle-heavy game will arrive, but it'll be available on both the PS4 and PlayStation Vita.
The adventure game classic 'Grim Fandango' is coming to PS4 and PS Vita
Just because LucasArts as an active game studio is no more doesn't mean that some of its original franchises are going the way of the dodo -- far from it. Double Fine's Tim Schafer has revealed at Sony's E3 event that the classic 1998 adventure game Grim Fandango will be re-released on the PlayStation 4 and PS Vita. Details of the remake aren't available just yet, but it's safe to presume that some visual upgrades are coming to Manny's journey through the Mexican Land of the Dead. Update: Double Fine has confirmed via Twitter that the remake is also coming to PC, Mac and Linux platforms.
Broken promise: Double Fine's 'Broken Age' Kickstarter mess
"The world of video game design is a mysterious one," Double Fine's Kickstarter pitch reads. "What really happens behind the closed doors of a development studio is often unknown, unappreciated or misunderstood." Those words were written around February 2012, ahead of the longtime adventure game developer's Kickstarter campaign launch in order to introduce its latest effort to the world. The project required $400,000, Double Fine's Tim Schafer said -- a goal eventually shattered by more than $3 million in pledges -- and would unfold "over a six-to-eight-month period." A "small team" led by Schafer promised to create a point-and-click adventure game in the vein of Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion. That game, first known as Double Fine Adventure, is now Broken Age -- a fitting title considering what came next. Last evening, Schafer took to the Kickstarter backer page to explain what's going on with Broken Age (now well beyond the "six-to-eight-month period" originally promised): "I designed too much game," he said. That means it's not ready, in case that isn't clear. Moreover, a half-done version of the game -- pared down from its original scope -- will launch on Steam's "Early Access" section long before the full game's planned launch, and long before Kickstarter backers will play what they paid for, in order to fund the final half.
OUYA working with Psychonauts and Words with Friends creators, The Cave also enroute
OUYA CEO Julie Uhrman took to the stage at DICE 2013 today to reveal two new partnerships, one with Psychonauts creator Tim Schafer's studio Double Fine Productions, and the other with Words with Friends creator Paul Bettner. So far, that means both Double Fine's Reds and The Cave are headed to OUYA, while Bettner's Verse studio only announced it was working on two unannounced titles. "I believe we're about to see another disruption even bigger than this last," Bettner said, referring to his previous work in the mobile game space. "Gamers want the App Store in their living room. OUYA will be the first to deliver it," he said. The OUYA arrives in March for Kickstarter backers, and in April for the rest of the world (even later for retail). It's unclear exactly when Schafer and Bettner's games will arrive on the Android-powered console, but we'd expect The Cave to be there sooner than later (it's already available on other platforms). Update: This post originally stated that Tim Schafer created the Monkey Island series, when in fact it was created by Ron Gilbert. While Tim Schafer worked on the Monkey Island series, he is not its creator. Sorry about that, readers (and Ron Gilbert)!
Double Fine releases Psychonauts app
The great game developer Double Fine has released an app for the App Store, and it's related to their very popular game Psychonauts (which recently arrived on the Mac App Store itself), but it's not, unfortunately, a port of the game. The Psychonauts Vault Viewer is instead sort of an ancillary add-on to the title, a compendium of all of the game's "memory vault" animations, along with new commentary from the game's creators Scott Campbell and Tim Schafer. It's interesting but if you've never played Psychonauts, you probably won't find a lot of enjoyment in the app itself. If you love the game, the app is like an extras DVD, with lots of game content and some other features. Vault Viewer is a free universal app, available now on the App Store. We've seen quite a few game companies use Apple's platform in this way, creating ancillary apps to their main games, and making use of the mobile platforms as a sort of a "second screen" for players either while they're playing or for a game on another platform. I wouldn't be surprised to eventually see a full iOS game from Double Fine, but for now, this is what we've got.
Return to Quest Quiz: Tim Schafer
Alright, Tim Schafer, you win. After targeting various industry folks with a typically contrived adventure game puzzle and then assembling their responses in our GDC Quest Quiz feature, we simply weren't prepared for your relentless response to our silly challenge. Not only did you trick us into doing all the hard work, but you successfully navigated through our made-up-as-we-went-along chicane of bizarre logic. But don't grow complacent in your victory -- we'll get you next time.The PlayerDouble Fine's Tim Schafer, designer of Full Throttle, Grim Fandango, Psychonauts and upcoming god of gwar epic, Brütal Legend. Prior to the release of those games, he worked on The Secret of Monkey Island, Monkey Island 2 and Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle.The PuzzleYou're standing in front of a cave. The goal is to get inside the cave, taking care to foil the ferocious robot bear guarding the entrance first.The Inventory (1) perforated parasol (1) rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle (1) sealed manila envelope (1) miniature macaroni Tim Schafer statue Make your way past the break to read our adventurous e-mail exchange.
Tim Schafer would 'love' to make an XBLA game
We, like all good and wise people, love Tim Schafer. What we don't love is having to wait years between fresh infusions of Double Fine goodness. So it gave us no small amount of pleasure to hear that while speaking at the 2007 IGDA Leadership Forum, Schafer said he'd love to make a small XBLA game, even though he didn't have one in the works."We talk about making Xbox Live Arcade games all the time. Who doesn't want to make Xbox Live Arcade games?" he said. "It's like when you see a Great Dane taking a giant shit and then you see a poodle taking a little Tootsie Roll shit. The poodle is so cute, but at the end of the day you're still picking up shit. Seriously though, we'd love to make Xbox Live Arcade games, but we're really busy now." ... We're not exactly sure what you meant by that, Tim. But we're fairly sure we couldn't have said it better ourselves.
Playboy interviews Tim Schafer, among others
Don't worry: the designer and/or writer behind Psychonauts, Day of the Tentacle, and Secret of Monkey Island doesn't take his clothes off, but Tim Schafer does share some other interesting tidbits with Playboy, specifically concerning his entrance into the game industry, thoughts on sequelitis, and how getting turned down by Atari was one of the best things to ever happen to him.The interview with Schafer is part of a series of talks with game designers, which also includes Dave Jaffe, Alex Rigoupolos of Harmonix, and Sony Europe EVP Phil Harrison (who isn't actually a game designer, but we'll forgive Playboy for the lapse because they're trying so damn hard).
Schafer: No new Psychonauts on the way
Alright, the internet, you can officially stop dreaming about a sequel to Psychonauts and go back to dreaming about Brutal Legend. After a darkened version of the game's logo with the words "Coming Soon" on it appeared on the Double Fine site and started the rumor train, chief Tim Schafer had to be the one to put the penny on the track. He told Next-Gen, "the truth is we are just putting together a new page about 'The Excellent Game Psychonauts.' We're not announcing any new games or anything. Sorry if we confused anybody! We lightened up the image to hopefully make things clearer."Why do you build us up (build us up), buttercup? ... And why did we just call a man who could squish us between his meaty palms "buttercup"?
Psychonauts 2 in development?
Hot off the heels of Double Fine's announcement of Brütal Legend, we get this tasty little morsel of potential excellence. On Double Fine's projects page, beneath the link for Brütal Legend, we have the teaser image pictured above. No great mystery regarding its contents -- that's clearly Raz, and the logo for the first Psychonauts. Is Tim Schafer trying to not-so-subtly tell us that a sequel is in the works? Or is this some sort of twisted joke? (Schafer does, after all, have a "twisted mind," as many a press release have said). Not much else to speculate here. We'll keep our eyes peeled for any further announcements or information.[Update: Sadly, it seems that the "coming soon" image was merely intended to indicate an eventual info page for the original Psychonauts. Double Fine has recognized the confusion, and quietly un-darkened the image to make it more apparent. So no Psychonauts 2 after all. Color us disappointed.][Via Rock Paper Shotgun]
Brutal Legend is finally announced (officially)
Sure, we spotted the cover story on Game Informer over a week ago but up until now, Sierra has been mum on Tim Schafer's latest, Brütal Legend. That means Tim's been mum. Which was funny. On Friday, Sierra made the announcement and Schafer took to Double Fine's blog with the news. Sure, you may be inclined to laugh at Sierra but know that their intentions are pure. Read Tim's account of a mama bear, an eviscerated hunter, and Ronnie James Dio. We think Sierra is supposed to be the mama bear. Either way, Lemmy from Motorhead and Tim offer the above photographed message (Johnny Cash-style) to the publishers who didn't feel the metal.Want to let the world – and the establishment – know you love Brütal Legend? If you pre-order the game at GameStop you get a free t-shirt; alternatively, you can order a different t-shirt directly from the Double Fine store which ensures Tim Schafer can continue to live in the manner of comfort all great game designers have grown accustomed to. Peep the tees after the break. Brütal Legend is due out on Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2008 (the never reliable Gamestop lists 11/03/08).
'Brutally Fun' countdown does not signal 'Brutal Legend' [update]
At 11:00 p.m. ET, the brutally fun countdown on Xbox.com will reach zero, thus signaling a time when Satan and His Minions will ride out from the Gates of the Underworld on flaming steeds of bone and hatred to conquer the world. Probably.In the event his conquest gets delayed, we're wagering a guess that the countdown will coincide with a new announcement from Tim Schafer's Double Fine studios, who recently registered a trademark for the title Brutal Legend. Of course, with all the work put into Epic Saga: Extreme Fighter, we really don't know how the developer would have had time to work on two projects at once.Double Fine's previous title, Psychonauts, was a critical darling whose lackluster sales can only be attributed to an unfortunately-timed pan-dimensional rift. Fortunately, we don't have long to wait and see what the countdown means (though its speculated connection to a Ninja Gaiden 2 announcement now appears unlikely).Update: And Brutal Legend eludes us yet again. The countdown was for Ninja Gaiden 2 after all -- we're disappointed and overjoyed at the same time.
Double Fine returns with Epic Saga: Extreme Fighter
As any video game journalist with a few free minutes will tell you, Psychonauts is a brilliant classic that never got the attention it so richly deserved. Thankfully for all of us tired of game journalists yammering on about his last stroke of brilliance, Tim Schafer and Double Fine studios have returned with a new stroke, a title perfectly poised for mass market success: Epic Saga: Extreme Fighter.We all love dark wizards and gnome kings, right? But what if a gnome king fought a dark wizard? That's the sort of question that ES: EF dares to simultaneously ask and answer. If your puny desktop rig can manage pushing all the pixels, you need to start playing this game today. Oh, didn't we mention? It's free![Thanks to everyone who sent this in.]
