tim-schafer posts

Double Fine has been getting questions for some time about why the developer founded by Tim Schafer doesn't make PC versions of its most recent games (only Psychonauts has been ported to the PC). In a recently revised version of the developer's "About" web page it devotes a question on the reason why it no longer makes PC games.

In short Double Fine says it would love to make PC games but its not its fault; it's the publishers that it works for. It states, "We have much of the technology in place to produce PC versions of all these games, but there is still some more work required to make them shippable and that costs money. So far, our publishers have not elected to fund that work. Not because they hate PC Gamers, but because they don't see enough financial reward." It adds, "If we ever get super stinking rich here, with enough money to fund PC versions of our games, then we will go back and make them ourselves! Oh man, wouldn't that be cool?."

Double Fine recently switched to making downloadable games like Costume Quest and the just announced Stacking for publisher THQ. So if you want to see PC versions of those games, email THQ execs.

[Via VG247.com]

One of the best game designers of all time is being rewarded for his efforts by the independent games event IndieCade. Tim Schafer, the founder of Double Fine, will receive the first ever Honorary Trailblazer Award for Lifetime Achievement during the IndieCade Awards Show on October 8 in Culver City, California.

Schafer is receiving the award because IndieCade wanted "to honor an individual who has displayed extraordinary vision and creativity in the field of game design, while serving as an inspiration to up-and-coming designers in the field." Schafer first gained fame in the 1990s by creating acclaimed PC adventure games from LucasArts including Full Throttle and Grim Fandango. He left LucasArts to create his own titles at Double Fine including the critically acclaimed Psychonauts.

On Monday, word got out on the information superhighway that Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said some not so flattering things about Electronic Arts and developer Double Fine. Naturally the parties involved wanted some time to respond. Gamasutra got some comments from EA's communications VP Jeff Brown. Brown pretty much slams Activision Blizzard's franchise line up and Kotick's involvement with them, stating, " ... one is a fantastic persistent world he had nothing to do with; one is in steep decline; and the third is in the process of being destroyed by Kotick's own hubris." We would assume that the games are World of Warcraft, Guitar Hero and Call of Duty, in that order.

And what about Kotick's comments about Schafer and Double Fine? Eurogamer got Schafer on the horn to state, "It's sad is that instead of just insulting me personally, he goes after the product of my hard-working team - a group of people he almost put out of work a while back." Hopefully this will be the last we hear about this issue, until the next time of course.

Two of the main creators behind some of the classic PC adventure games of LucasArts are officially joining forces once again. Kotaku reports that Ron Gilbert has now joined the team at Double Fine, reuniting him with his former LucasArts teammate Tim Schafer. Gilbert previousy worked at Hothead Games and was the main developer behind its two DeathSpank action-RPG titles (which hopefully will be released for the PC and Mac soon as indicated by their ESRB listings).

Double Fine recently decided to switch from creating big retail games to small downloadable game titles. However so far the developer has been silent on any plans to bring these games to the PC or Mac platforms. Gilbert did say his first game for Double Fine will be an original title adding, "Fans of those old adventure games will like it."

Developer Double Fine's last game was the console-only title Brutal Legend (a game that really, really should have been made for the PC as well in our humble opinion). When a sequel for that game got canceled, Double Fine decided to do something different. Our sister site Joystiq reports that Double Fine's head man Tim Schafer has revealed the company has four smaller scale games in the works and all have publishing deals.

Speaking at the Develop conference this week, Schafer said that some of the games will be for retail release while others will be downloadable only game titles. Schafer also said that some might be released this year although he quickly backtracked on that comment, saying, "I see you writing that down. ... That was not a ship date." Let's hope that at least one of these four games is slated for the PC.

You may have seen some headlines this morning that Double Fine's founder and game design legend Tim Schafer called Activision CEO Bobby Kotick a "total prick" and a "dick". Which is nice and sensationalist and all but let's get to the important stuff. In that same interview posted on Eurogamer Schafer hints pretty strongly that there could be a sequel to Double Fine's first game Psychonauts.

The critically acclaimed platform action game released in 2005 by Majesco wasn't a sales hit but has generated a cult following and won tons of awards. It's PC version is still available for digital download at locations like GoG.com and Steam.

In the interview Schafer states that Double Fine has some game projects coming up that will be announced soon. When the subject of a Psychonauts sequel came up he states, "I would love to do another one." He added that the game was the first game title that he worked on that he actually owned. Therefore he said, " ... it's the first thing I could do a sequel to." When ask by the interviewer, "Why don't you do it then?" Schafer replied, "I didn't say I wasn't doing it." However he added, "The main thing that's stopped me is that we can only do one thing at a time. If we can get it to the point where we're making multiple games, then we can work on the sequel while we're exploring new IPs at the same time."

Often remembered as the best game in the series, the second Monkey Island game will be getting major makeover this summer with the release of Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck's Revenge. The classic adventure game will be upgraded with high-definition graphics, voice acting and a remastered soundtrack but that's not all... the game will also feature a host of extras including an original art showcase and commentary recorded by the original creators Ron Gilbert and Tim Schafer. This behind-the-scenes documentary video goes behind the scenes and provides a first look at the Special Edition process and what it takes to put an even Bigger Whoop into Monkey Island 2.

Download HD Monkey Island 2 Special Edition Documentary Video (249 MB)

Earlier this year when LucasArts announced their plans for a special edition version of their classic adventure game Monkey Island 2 they mentioned that there would also be in-game commentary from the game's original creators. Today LucasArts revealed more info about the feature and the people who will be involved when the Special Edition is released later this summer.

The game's original creators Ron Gilbert, Tim Schafer and Dave Grossman will offer up their views on how they made the original version of Monkey Island 2 while player check out the new Special Edition with its revamped graphics, audio and more. Gilbert recently ended a stint working at Hothead Games creating the upcoming game Deathspank while Schafer went on to form Double Fine Studios. Grossman is currently working at Telltale Games where he helped to make last year's new episodic game Tales from Monkey Island.

[Via email press release]

Steam's mid-week sale this week is an especially good one. From now until Thursday the terrific platformer title Psychonauts has a price cut to just $2. Yep, just two bucks to get one of the better games of the last decade from developer Double Fine, founded by game god Tim Schafer.

It's also the last PC game that Schafer has made. After helping to make some of the best LucasArts adventure titles, Schafer left to form Double Fine which released Psychonauts in 2005. Despite low initial sales it's been praised as a unique and fun game and is certainly worth far more than the $2 price. Double Fine's console only game Brutal Legend came out in 2009 to mixed reviews and sales but hey it would still have been nice to have that game come to the PC too.

While Tim Schafer's latest game Brutal Legend has bypassed the PC completely, the last game his did for our platform has finally appeared over at the DRM-free download site GoG.com. Yes, Psychnoauts, the old platform game released in 2005 by publisher Majesco, can now be yours for the low price of $9.99. We can't recommend this game highly enough.

GoG.com has also added Advent Rising, the sci-fi third person action game that Majesco also first released in 2005. While not nearly as good as Psychonauts it was made by the team that now heads up Chair Entertainment and features a story developed by Orson Scott Card. You can grab it at GoG.com for just $5.99.