[Jake]

From what Tim's said in interviews, a lot of Psychonaut's graphical goodness is done in a very Xbox-specific way, so they'd probably be a bit pissed if they had to port it to another system, but I guess stranger things have happened before.

[D.C.]

They don't have to port it themselves do they. Aren't there companies that specifically focus on porting games?

[Jackal]

Yikes. This really DOES sound messed up. The "Microsoft is supporting" bit is meaningless spin, since the press release is theirs. That's just PR-speak for wishing Double Fine well while not lifting a finger themselves. A 'pat on the back, but here's the door' kinda thing.

I sure hope DF can find a new publisher, but I don't think it'll be all that easy. Or maybe it depends more on how far the game has left to go in development. Agreed that Ubi would be a great candidate.

[doppelganger rex]

What?! WHAT?!

Something like this happened to the last Odd World game

[doppelganger rex]

Originally Posted by doppelganger rex

What?! WHAT?!

Something like this happened to the last Odd World game

Cuold it be cause Ed Fries left?

The logic escapes me in quoting yourself.

[Scoville]

Originally Posted by mag

I don't see what the "direct control over the character" has to do with anything.

Games with direct control almost always play best on a gamepad. Most computer owners do not own gamepads, where all Xbox owners do. Seems reasonable that it would control best on the Xbox or another console then, doesn't it?

Originally Posted by mag

Funny, I would think that would be a reason in favor of porting it to the PC.

Not really. Every Xbox owner has the exact same system, so the game can be tailored to those specs. Slowdown would only exist if the developers didn't bother to design the levels to work around the engine's capabilities. For a PC, that's not the case, as every one has different setups. If the game had simpler graphics, many people would be able to run it acceptably, but with great visuals only the best PCs would have performance equal to the XBox version. And while that might be acceptable for a point and click adventure, platformers need quick response to be playable.

[Jake]

Originally Posted by doppelganger rex

Cuold it be cause Ed Fries left?

The magic 8 ball says "all signs point to yes" or whatever it is that 8 balls say when they mean "yeah, probably."


...and Singer, you're probably right, but the fact that MS has given them their game back or whatever it is that's happened is pretty good. If LEC had cancelled Psychonauts they probably would have scooped up the intellectual property rights, and all the art assets and code for the game and locked them in a cupboard somewhere forbidding anyone from touching them. And then maybe 10 years later make a poor sequel to them.

[Jackal]

I agree there's plenty of reason for optimism about the game, Jake. The Schafer name should still carry some weight for securing a new publisher. That and a pretty promising-looking game, of course. Let's just all hope that a new publisher steps to the plate.

And I DO like the idea of a PC-port.

[doppelganger rex]

Originally Posted by lemonhead11

The logic escapes me in quoting yourself.

accident, i meant to click the orther button

[remixor]

Originally Posted by mag

I don't see what the "direct control over the character" has to do with anything.

Well, 3d direct-control games just work better with console controllers.

Funny, I would think that would be a reason in favor of porting it to the PC.

Read the rest of his sentence, don't cut him off halfway

[Naveed]

Interesting thread on teamxbox.com
http://forum.teamxbox.com/showthread...0&page=5&pp=15

Someone posted there
"From what I've just learned from a source inside Microsoft, the game just wan't fun to play. :/

source = Microsoft Games play tester 'why do you think the game was never playable at any press event? people would see that it was a REALLY bad platformer with really good dialog to keep you interested.'
"

Was it playable in E3 2002? I remember it got the E3 critic award for best original game. Hopefully it will be playable at E3 this year.

[CrimsonBlue]

HAH! Now Psychonauts anticipators and Tim Schafer fans will suffer under the same (ok, not nearly) shock as Sam and Max fans did!

wait a minute... that's us! AAAAARGH...

Anyway... I seem to be in constant denial that this (Psychonauts) isn't a platformer. Why is that? I just can't accept that Tim Scafer is "wasting" his brilliant mind and storytelling-abilities on a simple Platformer.

I would probably be much more comfortable if he made a game similar to Metal Gear Solid, Tomb Raider, Splinter Cell, or any other action-adventure that's not a platformer.

Nevertheless, I look forward to see what this game brings. Hopefully, it will be good.

[AGA]

I thought the same before I played Beyond Good and Evil, which basically is a playformer above anything else. It still has great characters, a nice story and a wonderful game world. More an adventure-platformer than anything

If Psychonauts is in a similar vein to BG&E, it could very well be awesom.

[CrimsonBlue]

I consider Beyond Good and Evil to be more in the vein of Starfox Adventures and The Legend of Zelda. Platformers for me are games like Super Mario Sunshine, Rayman, Jak and Daxter and Ratchet and Clank.

Then again, I loved the last two, although they have more adventurous aspects than a typical platformer.

[Royal Fool]

I'm sure they won't have too much trouble finding a new publisher to pick up the game.

source = Microsoft Games play tester 'why do you think the game was never playable at any press event? people would see that it was a REALLY bad platformer with really good dialog to keep you interested.'"

Playtesters are not the end all and be all of game design.

[Naveed]

Originally Posted by Royal Fool

Playtesters are not the end all and be all of game design.

Yes they are not, but they have at least played the game.

Anyone who attanted E3 2002, was it a playable version on display?

[Marek]

I wouldn't put too much trust in beta tester hearsay. He could be right of course, but I don't really see any real arguments why this game is a bad platformer. It all seemed a lot of fun to me. The animation is very fluid, right up there with Prince of Persia (even better in some cases) and the whole acrobatics thing seemed well implemented.

Psychonauts has tons of story, by the way. From what I've seen you can probably expect the same story and dialog density as his previous games. Psychonauts is very much an adventure game with platform action slapped onto it, not the other way around. I'm pretty sure that everyone on this forum who can work with direct-control interfaces would be very interested in it.

[CrimsonBlue]

Yeah, if gametesters were to be trusted, then we wouldn't have ANY bad games. I can't imagine how half of the games today come out at all, they must be using 8 year old gametesters nowadays.

[Naveed]

Microsoft wants to make money, and since most of the platformers on XBOX were flopped, they don't want to further invest into a game that is already delayed. I hope that Tim finds new publisher, but what would be the selling point of the game, if it only comes on XBOX? As Microsoft dropped it for some reasons, wouldn't it be "strange" if some other publisher funds it and then release it only for XBOX, isn't it the same as if Microsoft continues funding the game. May be game will be further delayed and released on multiple platforms.