Keeper at Gamescom
We just got back from Gamescom in Cologne, Germany, and boy are we tired!
We were there to show Keeper to as many folks from the press as possible, and we sure did that. It's been a little while since we were in Press Mode™, four years since Psychonauts 2 was released (oh hey almost exactly, Happy Birthday!) It's been even longer since we were at Gamescom at all. Tim was there in 2009 to show Brütal Legend... and then we never went again.
As a result, a slightly out of practice Tim lost his voice after two days, and could barely even whisper requests for Schnitzlel and Kölsch. But it was for good reason, he talked about Keeper endlessly to anyone who would listen, and lucky for us, some of it was caught on film.
To kick things off though Lee, heads down on finishing the game and unable to travel, appeared in a pre-recorded interview as part of Opening Night Live.
And live from the show floor itself Tim appeared on Xbox's broadcast to chat all things Keeper, and for a bonus he answered some This or That questions the hosts dreamed up for him This was before his voice ran out luckily, perhaps even why it did? Is the blame on them? Well it was worth it!
Most of our show was spent in a little box inside the Business center, where we showed Keeper to folks Behind Closed Doors. It was quite pleasant in there, if samey, but we had infinite coffee, which was good. We needed it. We met with 111 journalist type folks in small groups to show them a little peak of gameplay, all taken from the start of the game, so as not to spoiler the fun things we have in store for folks (ohhh just you wait!)
Tim in our little "Behind Closed Doors" room, deflecting the blame for this game onto its true creator, Lee Petty.
We generated a good amount of PRESS about the game, which was good, because that was the entire purpose! Hopefully you saw some - like perhaps this excellent Xbox Wire piece in which they spoke the true hero of this game, and our times, mister Lee Petty. in it he said this:
“A key tenet of this game is the unexpected,” Creative Director Lee Petty tells me. “We wanted players to be able to relax a bit, chill out a bit, and embrace the unexpected"
Or maybe you saw this Game Informer piece, which had some nice things to say, and was entitled Keeper Is A Salvador Dali-Inspired Surrealist Adventure With No Dialogue, No Combat, And A Walking Lighthouse
This might just be a me thing as someone who lives a couple hours away from Disney World and has a fondness for the technology of animatronics, but Keeper most reminds me of a Disney dark ride. If you're unfamiliar with that term, dark rides include Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion. It's less about thrills and more about experiencing the things around you, watching animatronics move to tell a story, and soaking in the vibes. That's Keeper.
The puzzles I see seem simple and quick, but I can't help keeping an eye on the things outside the primary focus of these gameplay videos. I see sunflowers dance as light grazes over them, carrots come to life and dive bomb into the soil below, and more. It really feels like a Double Fine dark ride in the most complimentary way
GamesRadar + said "If Tim Schafer is the face of Double Fine Productions, then you could think of Lee Petty as its spirit" If they mean spirits that come in at around 100 proof after a few years resting in a new oak barrel, then they are spot on.
Eurogamer get straight to the point with their headline I never expected to become emotionally invested in a lighthouse, but Keeper's surreal artistic direction and dedication to accessibility has done just that." They also came in with the winning subheadline "Glow with the Flow" which rivals the one from their announcement coverage, where they went with "Bring home the beacon." Top marks Eurogamer, top marks indeed.
Engadget noted that "Double Fine’s Keeper may have the most endearing video game double act since Banjo and Kazooie" essentially confirming what many rumors had suggested we were working on this whole time.
Alyssa Mercante from Endless Mode really got into the emotion of it all, as you very may well do too, soon...
the budding friendship between this semi-surreal bird and this crumbling lighthouse is apparent, so much so that a brief moment where the lighthouse almost falls off the edge of a cliff and the bird struggles valiantly to pull it up nearly made me cry,
It wasn't all writing, no! Some people put their articles into a newfangled talky-watchy format, which we must admit is rather easily digestible. Hello Gamespot and IGN!
At the end of the week, we were presented with an award from RoundTwo, a Best in Show. The award is one of the cutest we've ever seen, and now adorns our cabinets at the studio - thank you RoundTwo, this really means a lot to us, it was so great to show our game to people who got it the way you did.
If you're going to win an award, then it surely needs to have a cute cat, waving at you.
That's a whole lotta press, and not anywhere near all of it either. It was a whirlwind of a week in a wunderbar city, with lots of wunderbar people all around us. Danke schön Gamescom and danke schön Köln!
Before you go, please enjoy this excellent gallery of screenshots we took for the occasion.
Keeper is out on October 17th, and that is really really soon. We've been holding back on so many things that make this game special, to preserve its mystery, and we can't wait for people to get their hands on it!
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A Lighthouse walks along a dusty, dried path beneath overhanging stone arches, approaching the viewer. The Lighthouse's seabird companion, perched on its roof, looks off toward the distance. Rocks and gnarled roots or bones lie on the ground before it. Through a gap in the stone arches, light filters in, casting the Lighthouse and nearby boulders in light, while other parts of the path remain shrouded. Small glimmering creatures stand along the foreground where the Lighthouse has cast its gaze.
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A brightly lit pool of frozen water dominates the scene. The pool sits in a ring of rocks, along which there are two-legged rock creatures standing and looking out at the frozen pool. There are ledges built along a raised rocky platform with frozen water cascading down toward the pool. A Lighthouse gazes at the pool, its light beam focused on the frozen water, as if entranced by the peaceful sight.
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A Lighthouse appears to float through the air as pink pollen swirls around it, the pollen so thick that it casts the scene in a soft pink light. Rocky outcroppings on the ground are covered in pink roots, the tendrils hanging from the edges over pools of water. Distant peaks are sharp and pointed toward the sky, and a huge mountain is hazy behind a thick veil of fog in the distance.
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A soft pink light casts a serene glow over a scene among rocky plateaus. A Lighthouse is seemingly floating through the air over the environment, its structure covered in pink puff balls shapes. The dominant figure is that of a large, whale-like creature floating to the right of the scene, with crab-like legs jutting out from both sides of its body. Like the Lighthouse, this large creature appears to be floating through the air, headed toward the peaks in the distance covered in pink plant roots.
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A dark room is bathed in the light from a Lighthouse casting its beam toward a mural on the wall. The mural depicts a village slowly being overgrown with dark, spiky Wither brambles emerging from below. The light beam is focused on the figure looming over a tower-shaped doorway. It appears as a round face, cast in bronze or other tarnished metal, with two unevenly placed round eyes and a vertical metal beam for a nose. Orange and yellow rays are painted emanating outward from the face above the door.
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A mountain village sits nestled among the rocks and cliffs of its environment. Windmills and other buildings lie amid sunflowers and other strange plants. A lonely Lighthouse walks among them, casting its light beam toward a small cluster of flowers as it appears to move toward a large, round gate in the distance.
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A Lighthouse stands in a village with its back close to the viewer, its light beam facing to the right. The Lighthouses's seabird companion looks on the same direction. The light is cast upon large tower-like structure that stands taller than the lighthouse. Three symbols adorn the tower's exterior: the sun emerging on the horizon, the full sun at midday, and a crescent moon. A round structure at the top of the tower appears to be a face with a large nose, and the face staring down at the dark Wither bramble encircling the tower from below.
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A Lighthouse rests on an elaborately carved walkway leading toward a large, round gate, while its seabird companion looks on from its perch on the roof. The gate is old, worn down by time and the elements. Three symbols are placed evenly around the perimeter of the door: the sun emerging on the horizon, the full sun at midday, and a crescent moon. Rocky cliffs and dark, ominous Wither brambles frame the scene, as well as hints of a village beyond the gate.
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A Lighthouse stands amid the ruins of an ancient temple, the light low and gloomy as if it is dawn or dusk. Its companion, a seabird, rests on the roof. The Lighthouse climbs the stairs toward the entrance, into which it casts its beam of light, the only bright spot in the scene. Dark Wither brambles encroach upon the temple from the far right and the background, looming threateningly over the lighthouse's approach.
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A Lighthouse stands on a grassy knoll, surrounded by rocky outcroppings. A seabird rests on its roof. Cliffs loom far in the background with gnarled trees growing upon them. The lens eye of the lighthouse casts it light beam upon a twisted branch growing from the ground and the single red fruit hanging from its tip. Small rock and vegetable creatures linger below the fruit.