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Penny Arcade launches Rain-Slick 3 giveaway, series finale coming June 7
Cthulhu Saves the World developer Zeboyd Games announced that its series finale Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 4 will launch on Friday, June 7 for Windows and the Xbox Live Indie Games service. To mark the occasion, Zeboyd and Penny Arcade are giving away free Steam codes for Rain-Slick 3. Zeboyd assures that the giveaway has no strings attached, but fans have a limited window of opportunity to hop on this deal, as the offer ends tomorrow. Zeboyd Games resumed the Rain-Slick series after the departure of previous developer Hothead Games, producing a pair of JRPG-inspired sequels. Rain-Slick 3 was supported with a wealth of free DLC, and the upcoming sequel will likely follow suit.
Penny Arcade 4 coming to PC, XBLIG, no more Mac, iOS, Android
Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 4 is coming only to Xbox Live Indie Games and PC. Despite the previous episode's Mac, iOS and Android ports, developer Zeboyd is leaving other platforms in the darkness this time around."Our mobile games and ports haven't done so well so the new PA RPG will only be on PC and XBLIG. Apologies to fans of iOS/Mac/Android," Zeboyd's Robert Boyd tweeted. "We'd love to put our games on every platform available but we're a two-man operation and want to be able to keep making new games."As for those new games, Boyd recently revealed the team's planning a "sci-fi/spy RPG" with a woman protagonist. Zeboyd has to finish up Penny Arcade 4 first, though, with the game expected to launch springtime, costing $5 on PC and 400 MSP on XBLIG.
Penny Arcade 3 now on Mac, iOS, & Android, free Seamstress DLC live
Penny Arcade's On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 is now raining down on iOS, Android, and Mac. All versions include the free Lair of the Seamstress DLC which trickled concurrently onto Steam and Xbox Live Indie Games, as well as the Fanfiction Pack dropped earlier this year. The Android and iOS versions storm in at $2.99, with the Mac version a spot more at $4.99.The Lair of the Seamstress DLC includes a new dungeon, which Zeboyd says can be entered when all your classes are Level 40 or higher by "going to the top floor of the Class Shrine." There's also a new zombie-themed costume pack, almost as if to tie in to some horror-themed annual holiday.
Penny Arcade 3 shaves pennies for PAX, down to $3
In celebration of PAX, which is taking place this weekend, the price of Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 has been knocked down to $3 this week, two bucks off the usual price. You can grab it now on Steam.In other Rain-Slick news, the mobile version will be shown at PAX in space S4 of the South Lobby. The mobile version is headed to both iOS and Android this October. The Mac version is slated for October as well.
Free furry, gender-swapped DLC for Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3
Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 is bending the rules of gender and species with a free DLC pack available now on Steam (and set to hit Xbox 360 soon). The free DLC – labeled the "Fanfiction Pack" – adds gender-swapped versions of all playable characters, turning Tycho into Tyche, Gabe into Gabbie, Moira into Manuel, and Jim into Benjamina.The pack also adds a "furry" option that makes Tycho a lion, Gabe a pony, Moira an American Red Fox and Jim a turtle. Both packs alter gameplay and cutscenes, a feat that took a bit of extra work for Zeboyd, and, as Penny Arcade notes, makes the developer "very cool."
Free On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 DLC coming 'soon,' fourth game coming
The first DLC offering for On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 is being finalized, Penny Arcade has announced. The free DLC pack, the first of two proposed free DLC packs, is called The Lair Of The Seamstress. No launch date has been finalized, but Jerry "Tycho" Holkins suggests it may be out in time for PAX Prime next month. "We don't know when, exactly, but apparently there's some kind of big convention or something next month; maybe we'll try and put it out then."Beyond Seamstress, there is also one more free DLC pack planned. After that, we'll see another full game. Tycho says Zeboyd Games is preparing to begin work on the fourth game and second free DLC pack for Precipice 3 starting tomorrow.
Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 review
Well outside the game itself, Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 has quite a story. What started as a Hothead Games project ran into development trouble and was eventually canceled, only to be resurrected last year as a Zeboyd Games project with a radically different direction. Given the that rocky history, it's only natural to be wary of the final product.Thankfully, any such fears are completely unfounded.%Gallery-159504%
Penny Arcade's XBLIG game delayed on the precipice of release
The release window for Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice 3 has been tricky to nail down. First, it was due on July 10 on PC and Xbox Live Indie Games, and then PA boldly moved the date forward to June 25, with mobile versions to follow.Now, due to the late discovery of a bug (the game crashes if you remove a memory unit from an old Xbox while saving to it), the XBLIG release has been delayed. "We can't resubmit for another seven days, so we (and you, if you want to play it on there) are in kind of a holding pattern," Penny Arcade's Jerry Holkins said.The PC version will still be released on June 25.[Thanks, Tim.]
Penny Arcade's game with a big title will come to these tiny devices
Some time after its PC and XBLIG launch on June 25, Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 will slip-and-slide onto the following mobile platforms: iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android. On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 will also come to Mac, through Steam, on the same day as the mobile launches, Penny Arcade announced today.We knew Zeboyd's pixel-fest in the Penny Arcade universe would hit mobile platforms, but until now we weren't sure which devices would be supported. There is still no word on a specific release date for mobile and Mac versions, but Penny Arcade promises it will be "soon" after next week's Steam (PC) and XBLIG launch.
Penny Arcade's wet, edgy, shadowy game to launch early
Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3, Zeboyd's pixel-happy iteration in Penny Arcade's RPG series, is now set to come out on June 25 for Steam (PC immediately, Mac eventually) and XBLIG. It was originally slated to drop July 10, but as Penny Arcade puts it, "waiting until July seems dumb."Steam purchases in the first week will also get a copy of Zeboyd's Cthulhu Saves the World, which we think is most decidedly not dumb.
Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 lands July 10
Zeboyd's pixelated refresh of the Penny Arcade RPG series will arrive on Steam and XBLIG on July 10. Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 (phew) will cost $5 on either platform, the developer reports, though the XBLIG version is obviously sold in Microsoft's imaginary fun money. The PC version will support SteamPlay cross-platform compatibility with the future Mac version, so if you buy it on PC you get Mac as well.Zeboyd promises mobile versions as well, but more details on those are forthcoming. As in, don't expect to buy this on your phone in July.%Gallery-156693%
Illuminating Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3
The story behind the third episode of Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness is almost as long as its title. Following disappointing sales of Episode 2, Penny Arcade kicked off its first PAX East conference by informing Joystiq that the series had been discontinued altogether. At the time, Penny Arcade stated that developer Hothead Games left the project in order to focus on developing DeathSpank, as working on both projects would have impacted the quality of Episode 3. Hothead would later claim that Penny Arcade wordsmith Jerry "Tycho" Holkins had trouble keeping up with the development cycle.Now, two years later, Episode 3 is not only back in development, but is being taken in an entirely new direction by indie developer Zeboyd Games, creators of cheeky role-playing throwbacks Cthulhu Saves the World and Breath of Death VII. Along with a new developer, the game has also received a slightly shorter title: Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3. It's slated to launch this summer on PC, Mac, Xbox Live Indie Games, iOS and Android. The price hasn't been announced, though I've been told it should be in line with Zeboyd's previous games or, in other words, cheap. Eager fans will get a chance to see a first look at PAX East in Boston later this week.The project began, Zeboyd's Robert Boyd told Joystiq exclusively, in a single forum thread on Penny Arcade's website.%Gallery-151857%
Hothead sheds more light on the death of Penny Arcade Adventures
Back when the discontinuation of the Penny Arcade Adventures series was first announced, Team PA explained that the decision was made due to the team's concern about developer Hothead being forced to split attention between PAA and then-recently-announced DeathSpank. As PA writer Jerry Holkins told it: "I think they could've made DeathSpank and Episode 3 but I think Episode 3 would've suffered. I mean, I know it would have suffered. So we'd rather not do it than do it half-assed and so we're going to finish that story but it's going to be on our website."Today, in an interview with Eurogamer, Hothead director of technology Joel DeYoung laid a little more blame at the feet of Holkins, implying that Tycho's alter ego had trouble keeping up with the workload required. "I think he really struggled to get the volume of text written for Episode 1, and then with Episode 2 coming out so quickly thereafter - it was five-and-a-half months," DeYoung said. "That was not worked on in parallel, and getting him to deliver that text was, er, frankly quite a struggle."This revelation comes a few days after Hothead erroneously teased that Episode 3 would be produced if the first two sold well on the Mac App Store, a notion that PA artist Mike Krahulik quickly batted down on Twitter.Though we may never know the real cause behind Episode 3's termination, whether it's Penny Arcade or Hothead that had too much on its plate, we'd imagine the truth, as is usually the case in situations like these, hovers somewhere in between.
Penny Arcade Adventures tearing up Mac App Store charts, Ep. 3 still unlikely
Just four days after the launch of the Mac App Store, some developers are finding unexpected success. The first two episodes of Hothead Games' truncated Penny Arcade Adventures trilogy are currently ranking high in the bestselling apps chart at number 21 and 56, respectively (and certainly boosted by their $4 sale prices). This prompted the developer to tweet, "We're thrilled that Precipice of Darkness has been doing well on the Mac App Store!"While that was heartening, it was the now-pulled followup tweet (screen-capped above) that raised eyebrows: "For those of you that want PA Episode 3, all you need to do is get 100,000 of your friends to buy 1&2. Seriously. Do that and we'll make it," a Hothead staffer wrote. Turns out that's not quite the case."That's certainly news to me!" Penny Arcade biz dude Robert Khoo told Joystiq, adding, "there's nothing new to say about future [episodes]." Penny Arcade's Mike Krahulik responded to Hothead's tweet, stating simply, "that's actually not true."
Penny Arcade Adventures discontinued, 'there won't be an episode 3'
We preemptively apologize for kicking off PAX East with a real downer, but a job's a job ... so here goes: "There won't be an Episode 3," Penny Arcade's Mike Krahulik told Joystiq this morning. "We're actually not making a third episode of the game." Penny Arcade Adventures was originally unveiled at PAX 2007 in Seattle as a four-part episodic series, marking the webcomic duo's first foray into video game creation, as opposed to video game critique. With the first two episodes following in fairly rapid succession – Episode 1 was released in May 2008 with Episode 2 following just five months later in October 2008 – the prolonged absence of Episode 3 has been notable. Coupled with the news that Episode 2 only earned "one-third the sales of Episode 1," things didn't look promising for the series."[The game's developer] Hothead has DeathSpank and they have a chance to do something really cool with it," Jerry Holkins, the other half of the duo, said. "And they need to have an opportunity to make it incredible." With a recently announced EA Partners ... uh, partnership, DeathSpank certainly has some weight behind it. But why not create both titles? Holkins says, "They definitely could've done both games. I think they could've made DeathSpank and Episode 3 but I think Episode 3 would've suffered. I mean, I know it would have suffered. So we'd rather not do it than do it half-assed and so we're going to finish that story but it's going to be on our website."
Penny Arcade 'hoping' for Episode 3 reveal at PAX East
While it's been some time since we last heard about the third installment in the Steampunkian Penny Arcade Adventures series, a glimmer of hope resides in the coming months with PAX East. A Penny Arcade representative confirmed to Joystiq that, "They [Penny Arcade] are hoping to have something to announce by PAX East. Unfortunately, we won't have anything before then." Presumably, we'll exclaim "oooooh" when we do finally see the game, as Mike "Gabe" Krahulik explained when we last heard from the duo about the game's absence.Jerry "Tycho" Holkins further confirmed the possibility of an appearance for PAA: Episode 3 at PAX East, telling MTV Multiplayer, "Listen very closely to the announcements at PAX!" We're certainly ready to "feel the vigor in all our limbs," as Holkins claimed we would last September, but it's been so long we're not sure we'll remember that city-saving, hobo-beating, purple pantaloon-wearing protagonist of ours ... oh ... well, maybe not.
Best of the Rest: Chris' picks of 2009
Secret of Monkey Island: Special EditionA high-definition update – with high-quality voice work to boot! – of the adventure gaming classic, Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition represents a sea change in how LucasArts treats its adventure gaming roots. Instead of squirelling them away in a vault while development continues on Star Wars title after Star Wars title, LucasArts is putting them up on Steam, and remastering them for a whole new audience, with the first Monkey Island adventure leading the charge.
Penny Arcade Adventures Ep. 3 announcement not coming at PAX
Those who were hoping to hear savory details about Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness Episode 3 during the Penny Arcade Expo (how appropriate!) are about to have said hopes dashed upon the rocks. During our recent interview with the comic's creators, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, we learned that no news regarding the game will come during the duo's Seattle-based gaming community event.There's a reason for the game's non-appearance during PAX -- but Holkins and Krahulik were tight-lipped about what that reason is. Krahulik teased, "When you hear the announcement, you'll be like 'oooooh.' It'll make sense." Holkins articulately added, "You'll feel vigor in all of your limbs." We're fairly certain that's a good thing.
PSA: Penny Arcade Adventures: Episode 3 still in development
It's been quite a while since we last got to command Penny Arcade's Gabe and Tycho around New Arcadia, pugilizin' giant fruit f###ers and sweepin' the boardwalk clear of barbershop quartets. So long, in fact, that we nearly forgot the series was intended to be episodic (we've been told that means every four to six months in PAA's case), which resulted in a call to series developer Hothead Games.We were told by a Hothead rep this morning that, while no release date or information has yet been revealed about the game, "It [Episode 3] is still in development." Would it be fair to say we'll hear more about the game in the upcoming weeks leading up to PAX 2009? From the conversation we had this morning, we'd say that sounds mighty likely. With PAX 2009 just six short weeks away, we may not be waiting too much longer before we hear something more official.
