Psychonauts
polycounter lvl 19
http://www.psychonauts.com/
It's possible I missed a previous thread about this game but I don't want to take the risk.
This game is incredible, some of you ought to buy it.
In the same way that Halo was reviewed as being great not because of any standout feature, rather because it balanced things so well that extreme progression was required, this game shines.
The characters, the story, the dialogue and the expansive range of minigames and quests all gel together into a deliriously additive blend of fun that should be accessible to all.
When so many development houses delude themselves into thinking they are capable of quality prose and inventive depths of wit, its refreshing to see someone effortlessly pull that off in a game.
It's just a joy to play and dammit, it's not selling like it should so I'm trying to convince people to give it a try because if you don't, bearing in mind how many 'oh why oh why' threads I've seen the majority here indulge in...
...well if you don't check it out you will end up seemining like hypocrites for lambasting the lack of quality in games today in general as this one's a classic.
I have 3 games saved on it atm, 1 for me, 1 that I started with my 2 and a half year old daughter that became mine and
1 that is still her's!
She loves to instruct me to find and beat up the 'big bad bear' and to collect the bubbles ( buried arrow heads that are the game's currency , though they emit purple bubbles on the grounds surface and thus the root of her mistaking them for bubbles).
So I play it with her, and I play it alone to quest through the game, it really had a lot of range.
I think above all, I love it for it's humour. I'm very cynical and sarcastic and jaded when it comes to humour or intelectualism in games ( well not just games actually ) because I read a little too much...
... but I constantly admire and laugh at this one, its just pure bliss to play a game like this, even to know that people are still making games like this amidst a sea of sequels and a and neverending plethora of the Empire's by the numbers movie tie-ins.
So if you are feeling tired and close to giving up on finding something fresh, give it a go, or if you are just looking for something cool you might have missed, then put your hand in your pocket and give it a try.
r.
It's possible I missed a previous thread about this game but I don't want to take the risk.
This game is incredible, some of you ought to buy it.
In the same way that Halo was reviewed as being great not because of any standout feature, rather because it balanced things so well that extreme progression was required, this game shines.
The characters, the story, the dialogue and the expansive range of minigames and quests all gel together into a deliriously additive blend of fun that should be accessible to all.
When so many development houses delude themselves into thinking they are capable of quality prose and inventive depths of wit, its refreshing to see someone effortlessly pull that off in a game.
It's just a joy to play and dammit, it's not selling like it should so I'm trying to convince people to give it a try because if you don't, bearing in mind how many 'oh why oh why' threads I've seen the majority here indulge in...
...well if you don't check it out you will end up seemining like hypocrites for lambasting the lack of quality in games today in general as this one's a classic.
I have 3 games saved on it atm, 1 for me, 1 that I started with my 2 and a half year old daughter that became mine and
1 that is still her's!
She loves to instruct me to find and beat up the 'big bad bear' and to collect the bubbles ( buried arrow heads that are the game's currency , though they emit purple bubbles on the grounds surface and thus the root of her mistaking them for bubbles).
So I play it with her, and I play it alone to quest through the game, it really had a lot of range.
I think above all, I love it for it's humour. I'm very cynical and sarcastic and jaded when it comes to humour or intelectualism in games ( well not just games actually ) because I read a little too much...
... but I constantly admire and laugh at this one, its just pure bliss to play a game like this, even to know that people are still making games like this amidst a sea of sequels and a and neverending plethora of the Empire's by the numbers movie tie-ins.
So if you are feeling tired and close to giving up on finding something fresh, give it a go, or if you are just looking for something cool you might have missed, then put your hand in your pocket and give it a try.
r.
Replies
I picked this one up because I was bored, and didn't really have much else to spend my few bucks on, and wow! I was completely blown away.
a few weeks later I tried that same strategy again, and ended up seeing what CDs do in the microwave. So I guess its a once in a blue moon sort of find.
Anyways, Psychonauts has to be on my all time favorite game list.
dammit, xbox only..
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Actually it is available for ps2 as well.
I finished this game a couple of weeks ago, and I loved it. It took a while for me to get into it, but the characters are great, and the pshyche/levels idea is very nicely done. The voice over work is amazing, probably the best VO I've heard in a game. I thought it was actually a little too long for my tastes, but that's probably just me.
Anyways, yeah, this one's a true labor of love. I'm glad Double Fine is at least getting another shot with a new game in development.
It's also avaliable for PC as well.
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Linky me (other than ebay). EBgames.. or should I say Gamestop. Or should I say "fuck PC gamers" only showed me the xbox version.
dammit, xbox only..
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FFS, oxy, get one already or stop whining.
I think personal hype had a great deal to do with it though. I was looking forward to it for years.
FFS, oxy, get one already or stop whining.
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Thanks for that. I have neither the money, space, nor set to get one. I also know how dangerous having a pure entertainment machine to play. You know this.
I understand though, Forza Motorsport took a chunk out of my life this summer.
I was really impressed with what I saw, but never actually got the game (I don't play console games as much lately). May have to pick it up sometime soon.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/det...re&n=507846
And here's the news straight from Double Fine:
http://www.doublefine.com/news2005summer.htm#23June2005
Its's still not out int he UK though, I believe it's due early December, and it is on my Xmas list.
Also, I just completed The Warriors. There were a few flaky moments, but overall a great and sadly overlooked game that I do urge you to pick up. It has reinvented the beat-em-up genre.
Finished Beyond Good & Evil last week, so I need another quality game
...She loves to instruct me to find and beat up the 'big bad bear'...
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Hey...I didn't even do anything this time...*sniff*... ;]
But yah, I agree 100%. This game was definately a refreshing change from the norm and well worth every penny. The characters are great, the gameplay and environments are amazing. Good stuff all around.
On a similar note, since they share the same publisher, I didn't know Advent Rising had been released. Guess I have myself to blame. Prince of Persia (SoT) is one of my favorite PS2 games, and it did poorly in sales at first. Just need to go out and find them myself, eh?
One thing that bothers me though, is that during the developement, about halfway through the dev cycle, all the level designers left. It's not clear if it was because they all quit at once, or Schaffer laid them off. Either way it's pretty clear it was because of creative differences. From the Post Mortem, it sounds like Schaffer tried to control every aspect of the developement and the company, using the employees as human etch a sketches and level lay out tools to bring his "vision" into reality, and the LD's got tired of it, which led to the split. After that the environment artists did the level design, but it was basically just them doing exactly what Schaffer wanted, with no real input of their own.
It's funny if you look at their company photo after shipping, it's like Schaffer and a secretary as the only people over 30, and every other employee looks to be straight out of school. There is nothing wrong with that (shoot, I'm still in that category) but I think it says something about the company and how it operates. I know they didn't start with that few veterans.
I'm sure the guy is smart, but things like that just sour me to the game before even playing.
Some of the graphics/assets were a little lower quality than I would have liked, but meh.
It was fun.
it was basically just them doing exactly what Schaffer wanted, with no real input of their own.
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do you think there's a chance the overall quality of the game would have suffered if the level designers contributed their ideas?
what a great game, if only it was a point & click adventure game, I'd be in heaven.
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I share that sentiment. I still replay the old LucasArts adventures every now and then.
Still I enjoyed Psychonauts despite the fact that the last stage was fiendishly difficult. Not generally a fan of 3D platformers but this one has considerably more depth than the usual fare. Hope their next title contains more adventure elements though.
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it was basically just them doing exactly what Schaffer wanted, with no real input of their own.
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do you think there's a chance the overall quality of the game would have suffered if the level designers contributed their ideas?
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Sure, if they were bad level designers it would have suffered, but then that would have been his fault for hiring them. I have full confidence that experienced qualified LD's could contribute to his vision without being forced to obey his every whim. Artists do it under AD's all the time. I know I would never want to work for an AD that made me into his wrist, never getting any creative input of my own. It's one thing to adhere to a vision, it's another to be an extension of another person.
And, maybe the game was better becauase of it, who knows? I just know that's not the type of working environment I'd ever want to be involved in, one that stifles any creativity but the "visionary" in charge. And I'd rather not support that type of studio by purchasing their products either.
the circular fence you have to climb up and around , climb to the top of the first segment, and jump up on the lip there, stand on your bouncy psi ball and super jump way up to the highest fence you can reach, and repeat, not that hard if you do that,
then you have to walk across the tight rope an daddy is throwing the flame darts at you, turn invisible and just walk across
Sure, if they were bad level designers it would have suffered, but then that would have been his fault for hiring them. I have full confidence that experienced qualified LD's could contribute to his vision without being forced to obey his every whim. Artists do it under AD's all the time. I know I would never want to work for an AD that made me into his wrist, never getting any creative input of my own. It's one thing to adhere to a vision, it's another to be an extension of another person.
And, maybe the game was better becauase of it, who knows? I just know that's not the type of working environment I'd ever want to be involved in, one that stifles any creativity but the "visionary" in charge. And I'd rather not support that type of studio by purchasing their products either.
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If I remember correctly, all but one of the original level designers were fired (they didn't leave on their own). The remaining guy was made the lead LD.
Anyone going to work at Tim Schaefer's new studio would know that they are going there to make a Tim Schaefer Vision. Of course everyone gets a certain amount of input and I'm sure the remaining developers did during the making of Psychonauts.
Beyond that, none of us has any inside info with regards to how the development of the game went and if anyone was treated unjustly. Poop, if you have stronger information I'd love to hear it. Otherwise, I'd reccomend checking the game out as it's quite good.
It sounds like you're saying that some of the developers were creatively raped and that offends you personally somehow. If so, I'm not sure where you're getting that from.
I read once that Miyazaki checks every cell of his films before release to make sure they're perfect.. I can't imagine him allowing input from all the production team into his vision, to allow it to evolve the way some projects do. There are only a handful of videogame auteurs, and I guess the price of working with a 'genius' to create their vision, is that sometimes it isn't going to be enjoyable. It sucks, but I know I'm not going to boycott any Ghibli films because the background artists werent allowed to go with their instincts.
If you wanted a blue house but the painter starts to paint it red, because he thinks its better, wouldnt you fire him?
But nobody can argue with his results.
Ive been on projects where large ld splinter groups form and the boss just endlessly tried to placate them rather than put his foot down and it ruined the game.
Many were the times I wished he would sack them or at least discipline them.
Much like Poop, I haven't the slightest idea what happened at DoubleFine, but I'd fire a bunch of people if they thought they were strong enough to mutiny due to numbers.
It's mutiny amoungst team members that often causes games to flop, simple childishness and the inability to get along ruins many more games than we admit.
r.
I agree with Nitzoff about the good leve/bad level swing. The Milkman Conspiracy level was amazing. Was so fun to jump around it and the G-men were hilarious. The mechanic for getting past them was just great. Lungfish Town, or whatever, was awesome, too. The gameplay in it wasn't that great, but the scale was. The Napoleon gameboard level was cool on paper, but was mundane in execution. Oh well. However, the Velvet whatever level was so damn stupid.
I really didn't like the decision to not let you play the levels again in their original form. I really wanted to play through some for a second time, without having to go through the whole game again.
About Schaffer:
As an aspiring game designer, I respect Schaffer for
having such conviction. As a level designer, I'd never want to work with him because I wouldn't be able to stand being completely just a grunt and having no creative input (if that was the case).
I wonder if there were any ld's who were completely listening to Schaffer, but got lumped in with the others and got canned?
I've sat right beside a situation where the ld had very little creative input. The design was given to him and all he got to do was place the entities, debug, and fix the holes that the original designer didn't bother to address. Nothing like having a mechanic that's never used in the game ever again. Yeah, I'm still bitter about what went down.
Western game design is design by committee. All Tim is doing is using a different design philosophy if that is the case.
Both can work, both can fail.
We're owed our wage, nothing else, don't forget it's a job.
r.
Ah hell, Im probably reading into it too much. Answer this though. What is your self passion these days?
No one is obligated, but the law of supply and demand applies. There simply aren't enough experienced tallented artists/programmers/designers to go around, so if you won't treat them right, they will go somewhere that will.
I hear working for videogame companies in Japan is positively hellish. I bet Kojima doesn't fuck about in inflicting his vision. I pretty much guarantee that's a hardcore dictatorship. The MGS series is industry leading in many respects though.
Anyway, we're getting into philosophical debate here about the creative process. It's interesting, but probably hard to reach a conclusion on this one!