Broken Age (Double Fine Adventure)

[radiofloyd]

May as well make a thread for this $3.5 million kickstarter funded adventure game from Tim Schafer and co... I suspect the game won't disappoint but even if it turns out to be shit, the journey there is going to be interesting.

Here's the initial 35 minute chat between Schafer and Ron Gilbert about making an adventure game:

Today a new video has just been put up, which is part 1 of the documentary showing the game's development:

http://youtu.be/ZMbQRnoxZ2E

Well worth watching!

[Hendo]

I'm looking forward to it.

I've only got part way through the Ron Gilbert interview, but they're talking about not being too frustrating with the puzzles as people will just spoil them by looking up guides. They might mention this later on, but the solution is to offer a hint system like the remastered Broken Sword games.

[Craymen Edge]

One thing i've been wondering about these kickstarter things, what happens if the desired amount is'nt reached?, if they want £250,000 but only get £150,000 do they keep your cash and the game does'nt get made?, do you get your donation back?.

I'm confused.

Nobody gets charged until the end of the campaign, and only if it's successful.

http://www.kickstarter.com/help/faq/kickstarter%20basics#AlloFund

All-or-nothing funding?

Every Kickstarter project must be fully funded before its time expires or no money changes hands.

Why?

1. It's less risk for everyone. If you need $5,000, it's tough having $2,000 and a bunch of people expecting you to complete a $5,000 project.

2. It allows people to test concepts (or conditionally sell stuff) without risk. If you don't receive the support you want, you're not compelled to follow through. This is huge!

3. It motivates. If people want to see a project come to life, they're going to spread the word.

[HandsomeDead]

They've put the first episode of the documentary up for anyone, but the rest is just for contributers.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ZMbQRnoxZ2E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I didn't give anything due to me not really being an adventure game player but if I had some spare cash I may have. You can still donate with Paypal, apparently, for the documentary.

I might do that because I'm more interested in that than the game itself at this point.

[radiofloyd]

Not necessarily related to the Kickstarter project but Double Fine have a fun video up detailing their annual "Amnesia Fortnight", which is going to be a bit more of an event this year.

Double Fine’s Amnesia Fortnight has become a fairly well known event by the developer. For two weeks every year, everyone at the company stops what they’re working on, and get together in small teams to create prototypes for new game ideas. And since 2009, all the games the studio have released have been born from these creative weeks. The likes of Costume Quest and Stacking came out of this elaborate brainstorm. This year they’re doing it differently. “We’re letting the world in on it,” explained studio head Tim Schafer to me this evening, in an interview to appear later tonight. Via Humble Bundle, we get to vote on the 23 pitches to pick the four that will be created as prototypes. And then the whole process of developing will be live-streamed, with the finished projects available to everyone who paid.

And because it’s a Humble Bundle, that’s paying whatever you like, including diverting all the money to the Child’s Play charity, should you so wish. Once you’ve paid, along with receiving the four prototypes once they’re completed, you’ll also get the prototype versions for two previous Double Fine projects. Happy Song is the earliest incarnation of what would become their making-a-Kinect-worth-owning Once Upon A Monster, and Costume Quest is – well – the prototype for Costume Quest. Both are hugely different from the finished projects, says Schafer, which he hopes should be interesting for fans of their games.

You can view all 23 of the 30 second pitch videos on the Humble site, and then decide which you want to see made into the games before the games. Will they include Cloud Prix – a cloud surfing side-scroller? Or Primordial Slime, a touch-screen game (What they? -Ed) helping a blob of ooze escape from a lab. Maybe Black Lake, in a forest filled with the dreams of the inhabiting animals, protecting them from a darkness that wants to consume their sleepytime thoughts. Or perhaps Silent But Deadly – a smell-based game where you “must escape an office building after pooping your pants.” EVERYONE VOTE FOR SILENT BUT DEADLY.

Tim Schafer explains more in this inevitably hilarious video:

https://www.humblebundle.com/double-fine

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/11/19/amnesia-fortnight-decide-double-fines-next-prototypes/#more-132448

[Craymen Edge]

Not necessarily related to the Kickstarter project but Double Fine have a fun video up detailing their annual "Amnesia Fortnight", which is going to be a bit more of an event this year.

[...]

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/11/19/amnesia-fortnight-decide-double-fines-next-prototypes/#more-132448

The four top voted pitches have been selected, and they're going to start prototyping those:

1. Hack n Slash

2. Spacebase DF-9

3. The White Birch

4. Autonomous

Then, I believe, the prototypes will be made available to everyone who paid for the bundle, and then there's maybe another round of voting?

Not all of those above impressed me at the superficial pitch level, I liked the idea of some of the other ones much more. The Knockover, for example sounded completely original and unlike anything else they've done.

I look forward to seeing that the videos from 2-player productions are like.

Also, the bundle is still open and anyone who pays over the average gets the prototype for Brazen (from an earlier Amnesia Fortnight), which sounds pretty cool, and looks to be currently in development.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-11-22-double-fine-developing-brazen-a-monster-hunter-style-game-inspired-by-stop-motion-movies

[Uncle Dokuro]

I read the description for Autonomous over on PC Gamer "80's-inspired first-person construction sandbox" ............ Yes, please on next-gen!!!

[Hendo]

Just remembered I contributed to this. Which prototypes are worth downloading?

[radiofloyd]

Official site:

http://brokenagegame.com/

From now on, Double Fine Adventure will be known as Broken Age. At PAX East, the new title for Double Fine's massively successful Kickstarter project was announced.

The point-and-click adventure game revolves around a spaceship-bound boy and a girl who is to be sacrificed to a monster, and is available for pre-order on Windows, Mac, and Linux. $15 gets you the game and beta access, while $30 comes with the game and backer access, including the 2 Player Productions' documentary series following development of Broken Age.

http://www.destructoid.com/pax-doube-fine-s-adventure-game-is-called-broken-age-249519.phtml

[wholehole]

Love the art style they've gone for, hopefully that will also be used in the game. The premise sounds great, looking forward to seeing more.

[radiofloyd]

Double Fine Productions and GameTrailers have teamed up to release a series of videos chronicling the development of Broken Age, known before yesterday asDouble Fine Adventure, providing non-Kickstarter backers their first look at the upcoming adventure title.

Watch all three clips below. Additional parts are scheduled for release this week.

http://gematsu.com/2013/03/broken-age-videos-discuss-reveal-and-development

Videos in the link. Includes 40+ minutes from the DFA documentary.