Double Fine Site Hints at Psychonauts 2

Rock, Paper, Shotgun notes that the Double Fine studios website now has a familiar outline gracing their upcoming projects page. The possibility exists that, at some point after the in-development Brutal Legend is released, we may yet see a Psychonauts 2. "While this is indeed glad tidings for any fan of games possessing character, humour, grand variety and adept storytelling (let's not mention the irksome platforming emphasis during this time of celebration), we don't have any idea what this is. It could be a sequel, it could be a DS or PSP remake, it could just be a graphically-tweaked rerelease to cash in on the original game's ever-swelling cred. But it is more Psychonauts." Update: 10/23 22:17 GMT by Z : As the original post now notes, "it's since been revealed that the pic's just a teaser for an eventual About page on Psychonauts. The image on the site has been fully-colourised to reflect this. "

Assuming Double Fine act to games industry norms

[minginqunt]

...then it's a Wii port.

Still, if they fix the Meat Circus and its idiotic difficulty spike, the world will be a better place for it.

Re:Assuming Double Fine act to games industry norm

[nuzak]

> Still, if they fix the Meat Circus and its idiotic difficulty spike, the world will be a better place for it.

Oh jeebus, thanks for reminding me. After about the fiftieth time I fell into the water when trying to jump up[ the spiraling flaming nets, I just stopped playing. Almost all the way through one of my favorite games ever, and I just couldn't finish, because apparently they decided to make the endboss the fucking CAMERA. I haven't been so frustrated since the Hades Blades in God of War.

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[acvh]

Thanks for validating my experience with Psychonauts. I have simply decided to let the little fucker die.

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[Amouth]

i don't remember anything frustrating in either god of war, that has to be one of the most thought out games ever, and i will be saddened if the 3rd is PS3 only....

God of War PS3 only.

[trdrstv]

i don't remember anything frustrating in either god of war, that has to be one of the most thought out games ever, and i will be saddened if the 3rd is PS3 only....

Sorry, but that's a given. If Sony had any sense God of War 2 should have been a PS3 exclusive , as they desperately need(ed) AAA games to move the system, and that is a game that would.

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[Gravatron]

I'm pretty sure the developer is all but 2nd party now. David moved on to Eat, sleep, play, but even that company is in bed with sony. What I love about the games is the epic feel of them, which nothing else has really replicated, although Heavenly sword tries, and canon fails at.

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[Amouth]

God of War is the only game i have ever seen that has managed to pull of the truly Epic feel... also i love the time they spend on the auto camera angle.. because you never once have to think or wish you could move it.. you can always see exactly what you want/need to see in every scean.. almost like you ware playing a movie... truely a great game and i am saddened it is under the sony umbrela.. i mihgt have to buy the 3rd and rent a ps3 for a day to play it (and yes only a day.. 1 took me 8 hours 2

Re:Assuming Double Fine act to games industry norm

[geminidomino]

Argh... After 75 deaths, I ended up as mentally twisted as that sick SOB in the game. I did eventually beat it though...

Thanks for bringing back the memories... bastard.

Re:Assuming Double Fine act to games industry norm

[deek]

Still, if they fix the Meat Circus and its idiotic difficulty spike, the world will be a better place for it.

I must be one of the few people that had little difficulty with this level. I did have some difficulty with the flaming spiral net area, but as soon as I had the timing down using a double-jump-float, it was fine. The rest of the level was no problem.

On the bright side...

[pushing-robot]

Even if the current project is just a port, Psychonauts earning more well-deserved cash would definitely improve the likelihood of a sequel.

Damn.

[mbourgon]

Update - as has been snootily pointed out in comments, it's since been revealed that the pic's just a teaser for an eventual About page on Psychonauts. The image on the site has been fully-colourised to reflect this. Boo. I would say that Double Fine probably shouldn't have stuck a mysteriously darkened image on a page previously only containing a link to a press release about an upcoming game, however.

(Tinfoil hat)Either that it or it was a secret experiment to gauge interest in another Psychonauts game...(/Tinfoil hat)

Dammit. BTW - if you don't own it, and you should - it's FUN. Yeah yeah yeah. Platformer, Adventure game, etc, etc. It's fun. The most fun I've had in games recently, the stupid-grin-on-your-face-when-you-tell-people-about-it, besides Portal & Sam&Max, is Psychonauts. Brilliant level design (Velvet Bullfighter), memorable characters ("My milk is cold and delicious"), etc. Translation: fun fun fun fun fun.

Anyhow, it's available on Steam. I also saw copies at Half-Price books (which I may buy to give people as Xmas gifts), but they probably get more money via Steam.

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[nuzak]

It may be available on Steam, but if you get it for the PC, get a gamepad. It's very much a console game, and control with the mouse is awkward beyond belief. It shouldn't be allowed to ruin a great game though.

Speaking of Tim Schafer, when the hell are we going to see Grim Fandango on Steam?

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[kcbanner]

Grim Fandango: The best gave evar!

A fun part was clogging the tubes with the fire extinguisher. Hmm. I guess I need to test it under wine now.

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[mattack2]

Read the FAQ. They don't own the rights to Grim Fandango. (The question in the FAQ is about a sequel, but presumably it still applies in this case.)

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[mattack2]

The FAQ says:

Are you guys making a sequel to Psychonauts?

Not right now, but we'd love to someday. If anyone out there has a few million dollars burning a hole in their pocket, and would like to help us make an Excellent Sequel to Psychonauts, please let us know!

Much of the rest of the FAQ is very funny, too, IMHO.

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[rpillala]

Give Anachronox a try if you haven't already.

As long as Erik Wolpaw from Old Man Murray is still involved, any sequel should be good. For those who don't know, Old Man Murray was one of a few honest game review sites. In days when most websites would gush over upcoming games to secure future access, Chet (Faliszek) and Erik applied their knowledge of what was wrong with games in general to their review of each new game. Read their preview of Serious Sam (linked below). It's hilarious on many levels, an

Already debunked, sadly

[Castar]

RPS has already posted an update to the original article. The announcement was just for an About page on Psychonauts. Sad, but true!

Update - as has been snootily pointed out in comments, it's since been revealed that the pic's just a teaser for an eventual About page on Psychonauts. The image on the site has been fully-colourised to reflect this. Boo. I would say that Double Fine probably shouldn't have stuck a mysteriously darkened image on a page previously only containing a link to a press release about

Too soon, too soon.

[BinarySkies]

According to the linked article, people are speculating that the "hint" image on the "Upcoming Products" page is just indicating an upcoming "About Psychonauts" page.

(Of course, the tinfoil hat part of it all is that it could be there to gauge interest in a new game)

Too bad if not, though :(

Psychonauts 2

[rar]

What I really would like to see is another good studio stealing the basic concept from Psychonauts, and make a game in a really serious tone, where one enters the brains of people to help them and/or uncover information. But do the game in a really mature setting with twisted sick and dark minds. Far from the child-friendly pastel color style of Psychonauts.

Don't get me wrong. I love Tim Schafer and Psychonauts' art style. It is a great, humorous and yet sometimes disturbing game. It is just that I feel that a similar game in a very serious setting and style would also be awesome.

A game using the same concept isn't really a "ripoff" of Psychonauts anyway. I have seen the same thing in various movies and tv-series. In particular, I recall some good movie (which I don't remember the name of right now, and google isn't in a helping mood today) where a police psychologist uses some fancy new tech to enter the brain of an unconscious murderer to find a kidnapped woman before she dies. The inside of his brain is really twisted and perverse, leading to some interesting scenes. Something like that would make an excellent game.

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[Brothernone]

The movie you're looking for is "Cell". It was good and, and i thought it was a neat concept. I have not played psyconauts, though I inted to download it from Steam. I'm hoping it's as interesting as the reviews, and comments say it is.

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[mattack2]

What I really would like to see is another good studio stealing the basic concept from Psychonauts, and make a game in a really serious tone, where one enters the brains of people to help them and/or uncover information. But do the game in a really mature setting with twisted sick and dark minds. Far from the child-friendly pastel color style of Psychonauts.

While the *color style* (and especially the sound effects/animation when you match up the key and its matching bag/chest for example) is very very "chil

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[geminidomino]

I agree. I always thought Psychonauts was a lot like "Animaniacs" in that respect. Lots of 'in-jokes' for the grownups alongside the kids' cartooniness.

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[ShadowsHawk]

I'm sorry, but you're wrong if you think Psychonauts is a children's game. The 'cartoony' appearance hides a deeper, darker feel. Remember the kid that blows up squirrels because they won't shut up?