Moosferatu

Psychonauts 2

Recommended Posts

DOTT, Full Throttle, Psychonauts 2, and a possible Brutal Legend 2?

How could you possibly think they're stuck in the past?!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Re-releases of those legacy games have been overdue for a long, long time.  Even as a dyed in the wool cynic I can't find one negative feeling about the fact that these projects are now a reality.  Guess it goes to show that you really can't win.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

(To be clear, I'm not complaining at all. Just riffing on the concept of DF being stuck in the past. I have no doubt they've got some other New Shit in the works, too. And even if they aren't, I still wouldn't complain.)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Uhh... anyone complaining about them being stuck in the past needs to pay more attention to Headlander.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yes, Headlander is looking really damn sweet. Also first day perch material.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'd forgotten about Headlander. I thought it was the strongest Amnesia Fortnight contender when it first appeared, it was great to hear it's actually getting made.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Uhh... anyone complaining about them being stuck in the past needs to pay more attention to Headlander.

Yeah come on, get some of that head changing fun!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The goal has been met, so unless a bunch of people cancel their pledges in the next four days Psychonauts 2 is actually going to happen. Can't wait to see where it goes.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I didn't fund this time around-- an adventure game is relatively simple compared to a 3d action game (in terms of man hours needed for production). If somehow their combined funding does approach 20 million than it's possible, but I'm not sure how this is going to turn out at all.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The only reason I'm apprehensive about this game is that Psychonauts 1 is such a unique weird thing, it'll be very hard to follow that up.

The mini doc episodes about its development show how unusual it is and now that Double Fine have matured I can't help but wonder how it'll affect the sequel. Which isn't to say that I think they need to crunch like hell and almost go under but the first game was (for better or worse) undoubtedly a product of a troubled development/inexperienced team. How much of what makes the game special is tied to that is probably impossible to say though, they did highlight one example in the docs, the little hidden areas that they spent a disproportionate amount of time on when very few people would ever see them.

 

Oh well, unlike a lot of the internet I actually have quite a bit of faith in Doublefine, things seldom go to plan but they always deliver something different and entertaining. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=1294935

Today a thread at Gaf popped up about the Fig investor related things and how some things changed about it now that the investing was finally cleared by SEC.

The terms are completely different, and based on the terms of the offering agreement, if someone invests $1,000, Psychonauts 2 will need to sell over 2 million copies at a retail price of $60 before that investor will even receive their initial investment yet (without any profit).

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

If the figures originally given were different then I understand the pique, but honestly the numbers you quoted don't sound unrealistic to me.  It's why I didn't understand why everyone was so excited about the investment option when it was announced, aside from maybe the principle of the thing.  But what return on investment were people expecting?  We're talking about a sequel to a cult game that managed 1.7 million sales over ten years - the majority of those certainly being at far less than the original retail price. 

Psychonauts wasn't profitable for its original publisher, and they had way more stake in the game than any individual fan can realistically chip in.  If anyone was anticipating a non-trivial profit off this, I'd love to see their math.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm really enjoying the development videos they've been posting for Psychonauts 2! 

What do people think about the Rhombus of Ruin VR demo they put out? I was silly delighted to get a better look into their world, but as the animator said, it really really emphasizes the exaggerated nature of the character designs and that takes some getting used to. 

They also hired the Molasses Flood team (they of The Flame and The Flood) to mock up the summer camp in the UE4 engine to get a feel for what it would look like. It's pretty rad, if essentially just a re-skin. I enjoyed the new looks of the powers and sense of movement. 

 

Speaking of movement, the previous video also has a testing area where they are trying out new powers and enemies, etc. This was maybe the most fun to watch from my end, and even though these drastically change I still think it's a positive peak. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The summer camp test footage looked really great. The game seems to shaping up really nice with Unreal engine.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Anybody getting Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin today, it's apparently releasing today? That and Rez Infinite are the two games I would love to experience in PS VR. I'm just lacking a PS4 and a PS VR kit.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

 

New video is out with gameplay shown.

 

Btw, I hope Rhombus of Ruin comes to PC someday, not that I would ever get to play it since I don't have a VR kit.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

There's barely anything there but it already looks really good. The art style is fantastic and the gameplay looks smooth. I've always loved Double Fine games because of their interesting ideas but despite the jankiness in the mechanics, and they appear to be doing a lot more work on the mechanical side they they usually do in the lower budget games.

 

One other thing I noticed in that video is that a lot of the people working on the game look young enough that they were probably still in school when the original game came out, meaning this is a game being by fans of Psychonauts.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Also the X for goat's butt is hilarious.

 

The game does indeed look really, really good. Is this DF's first game made with Unreal engine?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yep, loving the art style, really looking forward to seeing a ton of different minds in it.

 

Something else that struck me watching this is how well Double Fine have done at making themselves feel accessible and likeable as a studio, thanks to their open and exhaustive documentaries et al. As I watched I was thinking stuff like "Zak looks weird clean-shaven ... good to see Anna back and healthy ... there's Lee looking super-serious as usual." I don't think I have ever had that level of familiarity and affection for a dev company, outside of Campo Santo due to the Thumbs podcast. Sensible Software in the early 90s is the only example I can think of that comes anywhere near. I guess some might say id in the Doom era approached it...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I have enjoyed a lot of there games but never really dived into them as a company, even though I know them to be quite candid with their process. But after watching this video I have subbed to them on Youtube, I think it is fascinating to see the creative process, it being personality driven as you said helps. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I am probably looking forward to this game more than any other right now. Going to be a long wait though.. at least these 2player production mini docs are SO good. I have watched the Broken Age one twice through now and its incredible.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now