manny_c44

Interesting bit about Psychonauts

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Today's Double Fine update is asking for a programmer and a producer; when I clicked on the programmer link the following interesting tidbit jumped out at me:

"Initial tasks will focus on making existing systems cross-platform compatible." and "Programming of cross-platform game system technology to required coding standards".

Which would infer that since Psychonauts has shed its publisher (Microsoft), it might go multi-platform. Just speculation of course, but I thought I'd mention it.

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Works for me. I'll still buy the Xbox version for the better graphics, though :)

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Works for me. I'll still buy the Xbox version for the better graphics, though :)

Better graphics on the X-box than on PC? Are you kidding?

EDIT:

I think you must assume that multi-platform limits the game to consoles, which is simply not the case. Tim has in the past worked on PC software, and it's highly likely that they'll be converting Psychonauts as such.

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I think you must assume that multi-platform limits the game to consoles, which is simply not the case. Tim has in the past worked on PC software, and it's highly likely that they'll be converting Psychonauts as such.

Its highly likely that you're being blinded by wishful thinking. Psychonauts is a 3D console-style platformer, with play controls built around a console controller. On top of that, PC games are very rarely as profitable as console games*, especially when they're PC ports of a wacky 3D console style platforming game. I suspect PS2 or a hold-off on release until XBox 2 are the two possible meanings (if any) that can be culled from that "cross-platform" remark. As nice as it would be to have Schafer back on the PC, I really doubt we'll be seeing that with Psychonauts. (That's not to say I wouldn't mind being wrong.)

* Preemptive Sales Disclaimer: Yes it's been known to happen even in recent times that PC games outperform console games, but to say that in this case would be comparing Psychonauts to Warcraft 3 or Half Life, which we all know is 100% unrealistic.

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Look at the list of consoles there. PS2, xbox, GameCube. That's what it says in the part where they say they are looking for producers. No PCs mentioned. I believe that's what they mean by cross-platform.

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The system overlord position however, does ask for extensive experience with DirectX and OpenGL. Correct me if I am wrong, but those are PC standards.

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The system overlord position however, does ask for extensive experience with DirectX and OpenGL. Correct me if I am wrong, but those are PC standards.

Well, yes, but other coding standards may be based upon them (I know very little about console coding), and it's also a case of finding people with the right mentality and potential, rather than necessarily with immediate ability.

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the xbox primarily uses direct X doesnt it? i thought that was the whole premise of the console.

multi-platform usually means all 3 consoles... normally people dont make gamecube versions of crap games, but this is jsut the kind of title that would do well on the NGC. :D

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The system overlord position however, does ask for extensive experience with DirectX and OpenGL. Correct me if I am wrong, but those are PC standards.

xbox uses DirectX, I believe. But OpenGL...

However the requirement might have nothing to do with the development of the game itself - it could be just about the creation of PC-based tools, for example. Psychonauts might not get a PC version, but perhaps some future Double Fine title?

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I would think the requirement for DirectX and OpenGL experience is just like Intrepid asking for "JavaScript experience" for that Wintermute game he's doing - in other words they're just looking for experience in that sort of area.

Anyway I think you're reading too much into this, sadly - the same programmer advert also requests experience with network programming (among other things), and unless I've been neglecting my fanboy duties, network play doesn't feature in Psychonauts either. Presumably there is actually life for Double Fine after Psychonauts, so maybe that's where these extra requirements have come from?

Deadworm's post wasn't there when I started this, honest. :sombrero:

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Presumably there is actually life for Double Fine after Psychonauts,

I'm just hoping there's life for Double Fine until Psychonauts is released. Anything after that is gravy.

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Hiring an additional office manager and programmer can't be a bad sign though no matter how you look at all the ridiculous details in their job descriptions.

:ratched:

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Look at the list of consoles there. PS2, xbox, GameCube. That's what it says in the part where they say they are looking for producers. No PCs mentioned. I believe that's what they mean by cross-platform.

It also says, "The role requires a minimum of 3 years of video game experience, and at least one published game on PS2, Xbox, Gamecube or PC." under the programming job, but sadly, you guys are probably right.

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Dogman's right. If you know Direct3D, you pretty much know OpenGL (they're very similar apart from syntax), and if you know OpenGL, you pretty much know the APIs Gamecube and PS2 provide.

frankly I don't really much care if it becomes multi-platform, seeing as how I already own xbox!! although it'dbe nice to have a pc version in case my xbox dies on me

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I prefer the PC simply for the fact that it has twice the processing power of an Xbox, or more, if you have a newer PC.

That and I wouldn't have to buy an Xbox to do something my computer could do better (unless I decide to construct a supercomputer with old Xboxes).

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i don't know much about consoles as i am merely a mother. however, since i am a mother i guess my opinion is quite relevant here. psychoanuts is surely aimed at quite a wide audience, a lot of which are children. most families, at least in ireland, own ps2's, not xbox's.

the reason i got a ps2 as a family console was because it seemed more familiar, i guess, than the xbox. everybody knew what a playstation was. only gamers and my daughter knew what an xbox was.

although the irish do tend to be a little uneducated in things like this, perhaps it would be in scafers interest to release it on the ps2 as it seems to be more of a family console than the xbox.

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The tradeoff is that doing cross-platform ports takes even more money, and unless they've found a publisher that isn't going to be a very viable option for them right now.

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the reason i got a ps2 as a family console was because it seemed more familiar, i guess, than the xbox. everybody knew what a playstation was. only gamers and my daughter knew what an xbox was.

although the irish do tend to be a little uneducated in things like this, perhaps it would be in scafers interest to release it on the ps2 as it seems to be more of a family console than the xbox.

Well, you're sort of wrong there in seeing the PS2 as the family console. Traditionally that honor is bestowed on Nintendo, because so many of their games have been cartoonish and suitable for children (a couple of exceptions I can think of offhand are Resident Evil and 007). The PS2 has had the honor of hosting Grand Theft Auto, which I'm sure you've heard of considering the controversy it made here in the States. It's also had other titles like Spyro and Musashi though, but I see those as a minority. The PS2 is most famous for Final Fantasy, which is fairly difficult for children under 13 to grasp and still a challenge for those over.

Yufster is going to kill you for mis-spelling Schafer.

The tradeoff is that doing cross-platform ports takes even more money, and unless they've found a publisher that isn't going to be a very viable option for them right now.

But as was said, this is probably for the future, not necessarily for Psychonauts. They could also release it on the Xbox before other platforms, rather than holding the release just to make it cross-platform first.

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Well, you're sort of wrong there in seeing the PS2 as the family [....] rather than holding the release just to make it cross-platform first.
You're an idiot.

:noskatebo

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I already said much more than it is in my concise nature to tell. No soup for you!

Not all people who land jobs at mCdOnalds are idiots. Some idiots get to run countries.

o095fupt.jpg

I, of course, am talking about Enrique Bolaños Geyer, the President of Nicaragua.... :shifty:

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