Double Fine at PAX East!
For our friends out on the east coast, there’s much PAX East fun to be had in Boston this weekend. While we’re not running around trying to play all of the amazing stuff on display, we will be at our booth publicly demoing builds of a bunch of new stuff! We’ll have Hack ‘n’ Slash on hand to be shown publicly for the very first time. And just in time, as we’re looking to launch this thing on Steam Early Access in just a matter of weeks! More info can be found at hacknslashthegame.com, but check out the funky fresh launch trailer here:
We also will have a demo on hand of our newly announced second Double Fine Presents game, LAST LIFE from Sam Farmer at Rocket Science Amusements. LAST LIFE is a sci-fi noir adventure game for PC, Mac and Linux about a transhumanist colony on Mars. When a murdered detective is 3D printed back into existence, he reopens his last case to uncover what he missed—a hunt that reveals AI corruption, corporate espionage, and the conspiracy that may have led to Earth’s doom. And its Kickstarter project is live RIGHT NOW: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1717469366/last-life
We’ve also got DF representation on a few rad panels. Tim will be joining the always charming Greg Miller for The GameOverGreggy Show panel Sunday at noon in the Bumblebee Theater, Justin Bailey will be with the folks behind DayZ on the Early Access: The Pros & Cons of Public Development panel Sunday at 4:30, and our longtime friend and collaborator Peter McConnell will be taking part in the aptly named Maestros of Games panel Saturday at 12:30 in the Condor Theater.
HOPEFULLY WE’LL SEE YOU THERE!
Double Fine Presents: Escape Goat 2
MagicalTimeBean has launched Escape Goat 2 for Windows, Mac, and Linux today. The sequel to the 2011 puzzle platformer is available on Steam, The Humble Store, and GOG for $9.99. It will be offered for 10% discount during launch week.
“When I first started this project, it was really just an experiment to see how Escape Goat would look with high res art. I never imagined it would come this far, launching along with a nod of approval and publishing support from Double Fine.”
The game’s final weeks of development were completed at the Double Fine Productions offices in San Francisco as part of the Indie Omega Jam.
“Wait, what has been going on?” questioned Double Fine Founder and CEO Tim Schafer in the midst of a Broken Age Act 2 writing stupor. “Does this have something to do with the people that broke into the office and stole a bunch of our computers a while back?”
“Actually I told Ian they could use our now totally secure spare office space while we weren’t using it.” said an amiable Justin Bailey, COO of Double Fine. “And security cameras have since confirmed that the MagicalTimeBean developers were just enjoying the many fine amenities and services that Double Fine has to offer and had nothing to do with the recent thefts at Double Fine Headquarters.”
“This has been totally awesome!” remarked an overly excited Greg Rice, Double Fine’s Senior Publishing Manager. “It’s super rad to be surrounded by other independent developers who are making cool stuff and are passionate about what they are doing. I’m really glad we could help them out and hope we can do this with more developers in the future!”
“I guess that IS pretty cool.” said a suddenly agreeable Tim Schafer. “I get to take credit for everything though, right?”
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Website: Escapegoat 2
To talk with Double Fine about them helping with your awesome game email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
New Hack N Slash Website launched!
Did you hear? Hack N Slash has a fancy new website! It came just in time to celebrate Hack N Slash being included in the Experimental Gameplay Workshop at GDC. Head on over to check out some new concept art and screenshots and keep an eye out for more information soon!
"Don't you mean http://www.hacknslashthegame.com? The URL you posted goes to the old teaser/puzzle page."
Double Fine and Midnight City Team Up!
Hey folks, super excited to announce we’re teaming up with the fine folks at Midnight City to make a new game! But what will it be? You’ll have to watch this lovely video from 2 Player Productions to find out!
"Nice! Costume Quest was great. Make the sequel look as good as Psychonauts and I think you will have an even bigger hit! Great trailer too :)"
Broken Age Sale and Production Stats!
Hey folks, did you hear? Broken Age is currently discounted on Steam at it’s lowest price since launch! If you haven’t yet purchased (or have friends/family/neighbors/co-workers/strangers in this situation) now’s the time! Just head right over here:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/232790/
To celebrate, we put together this fun little list of Broken Age production stats. Enjoy!
"Wonder if you you guys will eventually include budget figures? $3.3M via Kickstarter, but how much went where? And how much more was needed to complete the project? etc, etc. As an aspiring indie myself, the budget would help when discussing scope with team members who have no reference for "let's add this cool feature!" constraints."
"@BidiotBales I believe sales are set by Steam, not by DF, but I could be wrong."
"I've fallen out of touch with the development, but it seems like a negative indicator that the game is on sale again. I would love for someone to correct me on my assumption. I really want BA and DF to succeed."
"That you kept track of the coffee is what astounds me. Keep up the hard work!"
""Amount of love" should be a way to review games... Double Fine would therefore have perfect scores. :)"
Amnesia Fortnight Development Stream
Your votes have been cast and our final four 2014 Amnesia Fortnight winners have been chosen! Starting next Tuesday, join us on the stream above to watch as we develop the following exciting ideas into full prototypes!
Dear Leader-Anna Kipnis
Mnemonic-Derek Brand
Steed-John Bernhelm
and…
Little Pink Best Buds from special guest Pendleton Ward of Adventure Time fame!
To purchase these prototypes head over to humblebundle.com/doublefine. We’re livestreaming all the craziness every work day throughout the 2 weeks! For those without the time to keep up on the stream, there’s also this lovely playlist of all the amazing 2 Player Productions documentary episodes! For those who want to see join us LIVE, full schedule incoming…
STANDUPS
10:30 Steed
11:00 Dear Leader
11:30 Mnemonic
12:00 Little Pink Best Buds
2 PLAYER PROGRAMMING
12:30-1:00 AF episode debut
1:00-1:30 Other 2PP content
DESKTOP STREAMING
1:30-4:00
See you in the chat!
Amnesia Fortnight 2014 - A Double Fine Production
A note from Tim Schafer
Where does Double Fine Productions get their ideas? Well, when it’s not from Tim eating spicy food too close to bedtime, it’s from Amnesia Fortnight!
Amnesia Fortnight is a lawless, unforgiving, creative supernova - an internal game jam that we started in 2007 as a behind-the-closed-doors-of-the-chocolate-factory kind of a deal, but have now exposed to the public whether they want it or not!
Here’s how it works: We take two weeks off from whatever we’re working on, split the company into small teams, and give each team two weeks to make a game. It’s not easy or fair; but it is exciting. We do it to test out new ideas, and to test out new project leaders who feel ready to have a project of their own. Some of these project leaders will live, and the others, well, they will also live. But they will NEVER BE THE SAME.
For instance, they will all be two weeks older.
The new twist we added in 2012 is that YOU are an essential part of Amnesia Fortnight! You can vote for the ideas that get made into prototypes! And you can watch us making them. 2 Player Productions will be filming the process and posting videos daily. You will see all these games come together from scratch in front of your eyes!
After Amnesia Fortnight is over you can download the actual prototypes and play them yourselves. And then let us know what you think!
How much does this cost? That depends on you. You pay what you want, and decide how much money goes to charity. Yeah, you didn’t even know you were that good of a person, but it turns out, you totally are.
MORE NEW TWISTS! This year we have a special guest project leader, Pendleton Ward, bearded and beloved creator of Adventure Time! He is pitching his own ideas into the AF Thunderdome, and if you beat the average you can vote for which one we’ll prototype with Pen as the Project Leader!
Go back and read that last paragraph again because what we just said is too awesome to just read once.
Now please, watch all the game idea pitch videos and make your selections. Take your time if you want, reading the more in-depth info on each game idea, and discuss them in our forums if you like. But right now, before doing anything else, buy the bundle! Because then we’ll have that whole money thing out of the way and it won’t be awkward.
Who knows? Maybe the greatest game Double Fine has ever done will come out of this process, and you will have been part of it!
Broken Age Act 1 is out! You can play it NOW!
Holy crap. Holy crap! Almost two years after launching the Double Fine Adventure Kickstarter campaign, Broken Age Act 1 is now available for EVERYONE to buy and play, RIGHT NOW! All of us at Double Fine are really excited to see what you all think. To celebrate, check out this amazing new trailer by 2 Player Productions—but consider reinforcing your heartstrings first:
We’ve also made Peter McConnell’s beautiful Broken Age original soundtrack available for listening and purchase over at our Bandcamp page. Don’t miss it!
Once you’ve checked out the game, please feel free to head over to the Broken Age forums to share your thoughts with your fellow players! Enjoy!
Broken Age playable for backers now! Preorders open for non-backers!
Double Fine Productions today announced that Act1 of Broken Age, the first graphic adventure game led by Tim Schafer in 16 years, will release on January 28 for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Preorders are open now via Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/232790/
The Act 2 conclusion of Broken Age will ship later this year as a free update for all owners of the game. In the future, the game will also ship for Ouya, iOS, and Android.
Broken Age tells the story of Vella Tartine and Shay Volta, two teenagers in strangely similar situations but radically different worlds. The player can freely switch between their stories, helping them take control of their own lives and dealing with the unexpected adventures that follow.
The development of Broken Age began began two years ago in a historic, record-breaking Kickstarter campaign—and Act 1 of the game is nearly here, in all its beautiful, 2D, hand-painted glory, with an original orchestral soundtrack and an all-star vocal cast starring Elijah Wood, Jack Black, Wil Wheaton, Jennifer Hale, Pendleton Ward, Masasa Moyo, and many more.
“It’s been sixteen years since I’ve made an adventure game, almost twenty years since I’ve made a point-and-click, and just shy of two years since I dared the internet to force me to make one,” said Double Fine president and Broken Age writer/designer Tim Schafer. “Coming back to the genre has been like finding an old jacket in a box in your garage that you haven’t worn in twenty years, but once you shake the dust off and put it on you realize it’s an amazing jacket and it still fits, and once you patch the holes in the pockets it could easily take a spot in your main jacket rotation.”
“Oh, and also, in one of the pockets was three and a half million dollars,” Schafer added.
"how do slacker backers get their copy?"
"Its really cool, I like the twist at the end and how the two parts come together. (That isn't a spoiler.. is it?)"
"@doublefine Invader Zim and psychonauts crossover?"
"http://www.doublefine.com/forums/viewthread/11640/ is the thread for backers scratching their heads over finding / redeeming their key."
"Raz meets Invader Zim?"
The Cave for Android! It’s real!
You have demanded it, and it has become reality. The Cave is now available on the Google Play store for Android devices.
This brings the list of platforms on which The Cave is available up to approximately four billion. That’s almost enough devices to fill the massive subterranean caverns of…The Cave. And each of those devices contains The Cave. Figure that one out.
Of course, some of those devices are particularly extreme. Dan “Dan Pan” “Dan the Man” “Pan Man” Pangelina, producer on The Cave for Android, had this to say: “Tegra technology has really allowed us to get the most out of The Cave, with 1080p resolution and graphical enhancements that weren’t possible on other mobile devices.” So, just think about that.
It’s available now! So get on it!
"Last update broke it. Now gets black screen and crash on all my devices."
"Raz and Invader Zim must stop A Psychodrainer but Dib membrian has plans to catch the psychodrianer and sent it to mysterious mysteries. Raz and Zim the moive 20??"
"Could there be a Raz and Zim movie in the future?"
"Yep!"
"Awesome! Did you guys port it in house?"
