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[Mr Nash]

It's not nearly as informative as the recent 1Up Psychonauts piece, but I gaurantee it's 10X more entertaining.

http://www.armchairempire.com/Interviews/psychonauts-tim-schafer.htm

Will there be any difference between the Xbox, PC and PS2 versions?
Yes, each one will be better than the others. Other than that, they will all be exactly the same.

How is the design process organized at Double Fine? Is there a lot of input from everyone on the team?
Well, let?s not say ?organized.? But here is how it happens. I work with designers, like Erik Robson, and we hide out in a meeting room, until people find us, and then tell us what they think. So we have to change meeting rooms repeatedly to stop that from happening. Later, we put the ideas we have into documents, and then hide them on the network, but people find those too. Eventually, despite all your best efforts, what you end up with is a collaborative work of art made by 40 or so people. And that?s pretty cool. Especially if you then take credit for it all, like I do.

 

[FartOfWar]

It's not nearly as informative as the recent 1Up Psychonauts piece, but I gaurantee it's 10X more entertaining.

http://www.armchairempire.com/Interviews/psychonauts-tim-schafer.htm

I'm jealous. Tim must've been in a jollier mood when these guys interviewed him.

 

[Bristow]

I've got a feeling this game is going to be exceptional.

 

[Azih]

Most of the projects you’ve worked on have been “one-off” games without any sequels. Would you want Psychonauts to turn into a franchise? Are derivative sequels bad for the industry?

Kind of a leading question don’t you think? Are derivative sequels bad for the industry? I’m not sure, I mean is toxic candy bad for kids? Is carcinogenic pollution bad for the environment? (And strangely, the answer to all those questions is still, “Depends how much money it makes.”)

Mr.Schafer. You Rock!

 

[CO_Andy]

Definitely buying Psychonauts. On a side note, someone should go interview Michel Ancel. I'd like to hear what he's up to these days.

 

[bridegur]

Is there going to be a PC demo?

 

[Elios83]

The adventure genre is practically synonymous with the name "Tim Schafer”. Will you ever be able to shake the legacies of Grim Fandango, Full Throttle and the like? Would you even want to?

Well, if I could get people to just selectively remember them, that would be great. Like if they could remember the style of Grim Frandango, the sales figures of Full Throttle, the sense of humor of Day of the Tentacle, and then somehow mash that all up together in their brain. That would be awesome.



People’s memories of past games are a challenge. Because as the years go by, people romanticize old games. They make them kind of perfect in their head. Or they mix them up with their memories of being a kid. So someone says, oh I “LOOOVED” that game, really what they just miss is being 13 and not having anything to worry about except what game to play next. So when you make a new game, you’re not just trying to top your previous games. You’re trying to top peoples idealized and selective memories of what’s gone before. That’s okay. It keeps you motivated.

He's so right on that.

 

[pj]

Is there going to be a PC demo?

Yes, probably in mid april, since that's when the OXM psychonauts demo hits shelves

Humor in gaming can be difficult to pull off yet most, if not all, the projects you have worked on managed it. Is there some kind of blueprint you follow or does it just happen spontaneously?

Yes, I have a humor blueprint I bought off Amazon that I use a lot. It’s kind of like mad-libs. You just plug in the fart jokes and bad puns and then scan it into the computer, and then you’re pretty much done. Hey, wait a second. You’re implying one of the old games I did wasn’t funny. Which one was it? You tell me which one it was and I’ll show you the blueprint and prove to you why it’s funny.

:lol

 

[bitwise]

People’s memories of past games are a challenge. Because as the years go by, people romanticize old games. They make them kind of perfect in their head. Or they mix them up with their memories of being a kid. So someone says, oh I “LOOOVED” that game, really what they just miss is being 13 and not having anything to worry about except what game to play next.

wow, well said.

 

[bridegur]

Any project has its highs and lows but what has been the lowest point of Psychonauts's development? What about the highest point (that didn't involve licking frogs)?

Well, the lowest point was probably when we lost our first publisher. We were really worried and concerned that they would go out of business. I mean without our game, they had nothing, really. And we really didn’t want to put all those people out of work, and devastate the Seattle economy. But we really wish them well and hope that somehow they make it

through this tough time without us. If they actually did go out of business, that would be hard for them, but I have to admit that would qualify as a high point for us if that happened.

Ha.

 

[Blimblim]

Ha.

Looks like he's quite bitter about the whole MS deal.

 

[ypo]

Well his game cannot possibly be good because Microsoft dropped it solely for that reason...well said so a Microsoft employee anyway.

 

[pj]

Looks like he's quite bitter about the whole MS deal.

Why wouldn't he be? They basically said "hey, you're cool, do whatever you want." Then a couple years later they were like "PSYCHE, you're cut, bitch."

 

[Blimblim]

Why wouldn't he be? They basically said "hey, you're cool, do whatever you want." Then a couple years later they were like "PSYCHE, you're cut, bitch."

Well, unless MS asked for their money back they still got a very big funding from them. I mean, when the project started Double Fine was nothing, MS provided the funds for the company creation and everything else (IIRC/AFAIK). 3 years later, and I guess quite a few hundred thousands dollars later MS did not get anything worth selling from Tim's team, with a prototype that was anything but fun to play (according to oxygen and duckhuntdog at least). I can't say I'm happy with MS' decision, since some of my favorite games ever come were some of the Lucas adventure, some of them designed by Shafer, but at least I understand why they did it.
Could MS have waited one more year for the game to become what it seems to be now (eg, a GOOD game) ? I'd say yes. But I have some doubts on MS' ability to sell such a game on the current Xbox.
Ho well, since the game got some good reviews I'm just happy they managed to deliver a good game, and it being published by MS or Majesco won't change anything to how I will enjoy it Hopefully Majesco will have a proper marketing campaign to sell it.

 

[Shard]

It's not nearly as informative as the recent 1Up Psychonauts piece, but I gaurantee it's 10X more entertaining.

http://www.armchairempire.com/Interviews/psychonauts-tim-schafer.htm

I am still trying to get over the idea of Ed Fries: Patron of the Arts.

 

[Porridge]

People’s memories of past games are a challenge. Because as the years go by, people romanticize old games. They make them kind of perfect in their head. Or they mix them up with their memories of being a kid. So someone says, oh I “LOOOVED” that game, really what they just miss is being 13 and not having anything to worry about except what game to play next.

I don't know. Am I romanticizing Sonic the Hedgehog when I say I loved that game, or does it simply continue to stand up after all these years? What about Super Metroid? Tetris? Some games do not age well though, and that's true with any form of entertainment. Some movies I saw as a kid are just barely watchable now.

 

[Iceman]

Well when I go back to some of those classics I'm constantly stunned by how they don't measure up to my rose colored memories. They're still great.. but not the mind bendingly, not fit for this dimension, crafted by God himself good that I tend to think of them.

I come down to earth a bit every time I fire up one of those oldies.

 

[chespace]

Well when I go back to some of those classics I'm constantly stunned by how they don't measure up to my rose colored memories. They're still great.. but not the mind bendingly, not fit for this dimension, crafted by God himself good that I tend to think of them.

I come down to earth a bit every time I fire up one of those oldies.

Yeah, especially those 16-bit platformers.

 

[Electrii]

I NEED THIS GAME.

What platform are y'all grabbing it for?

 

[bridegur]

If the PC version looks and controls at least as good as the Xbox version, I'll be selling my Xbox.

 

[CrimsonSkies]

I'm buying this game to support Tim. I just hope it's good ahah.

 

[Vark]

I played the PC version at GDC with a logitech wireless USB controller and it controlled just fine (though for the on screen stuff 'hit button 6' is a bit more nebulous than 'hit X' but whatever).

Graphics are obviously the same but you can run it at a higher resolution. If you don't have a decent dual analog PC gamepad or an adaptor for your xbox or PS2 controller, i'd stick with the console version.

 

[GDJustin]

Well when I go back to some of those classics I'm constantly stunned by how they don't measure up to my rose colored memories. They're still great.. but not the mind bendingly, not fit for this dimension, crafted by God himself good that I tend to think of them.

I come down to earth a bit every time I fire up one of those oldies.

Super Metroid would like a word with you

 

[Dagless M.D.]

Well when I go back to some of those classics I'm constantly stunned by how they don't measure up to my rose colored memories. They're still great.. but not the mind bendingly, not fit for this dimension, crafted by God himself good that I tend to think of them.

I come down to earth a bit every time I fire up one of those oldies.

Ironically, some of the only games that stand the test of time for me are the old Lucasarts adventure games

 

[boutrosinit]

Yeah, especially those 16-bit platformers.

Ain't dat da truf.

 

[shpankey]

one smart dude... especially the stuff about idealized old memories from when gamers were 13.

 

[Mac the KNife]

I would think that Tim would want us to get it for PS2



Thank you Mircrosoft!

 

[FoneBone]

I really want to get this, but I'm not sure how well it'll control with a mouse/keyboard setup...

 

[CO_Andy]

Sounds like yer too cheap to get an adapter.