Topic: Psychonauts 2

[Quemaqua]

https://www.fig.co/campaigns/psychonauts-2/

Announced at the Game Awards. I don't care about awards shows, and I'm generally pretty down on crowdfunding games lately. And you know what, in other circumstances, I might even not care as much about Psychonauts 2. But they seem to have gotten all the major players involved again, and that game was really something special. I don't know if I'll live to regret it, but I threw in a few bucks. That game was something I truly loved ... I hope they can do right by a sequel.

It was only announced a couple hours ago, and they've already got $400k. Pretty nice start.

[idolminds]

Just a heads up to people wanting to jump on the $10 level: that tier only gives you the original game, not Psychonauts 2. I almost made that mistake.

[Cobra951]

Here's a video damning Fig as a poor investment, and not being too kind to Tim Schafer.  It goes in depth into the complex company structure, and concludes that you will likely never see a cent of return.  Not that it would matter much to people who just want to support Tim and a sequel to Psychonauts, but Schafer's track record under crowdfunding so far makes that a question mark too, plus the Fig convolutions apparently mean that while the game creation may be funded, the game publishing may not.  Interesting listen.  If you're short on time, skip to 16:30, and get the meatier details later.

Edit:  A couple of salient details:

- The company that investors are putting money into is the publishing company.  The game-funding company is a separate legal entity.

- The publishing company (where your money goes) is insolvent, with much greater liabilities than assets.

[idolminds]

So the difficult thing about discussing Tim Schafer and Double Fine now is ever since he made the sockpuppet jokes at GDC last year, the gamergate crowd have done nothing but shit on him and attempt to discredit everything Tim or DF does. Looking at the other videos that guy has produced is sure feels like he falls into that category. It's hard to figure out what might be a legitimate complaint and what is benign but put in the worst possible light.

Semi-related to that, Psychonauts 2 got funded and Tim did an AMA on Reddit. You will see the same people as I described flooding the comments but Tim actually answers questions from them. Justin Bailey, kind of the head guy behind Fig, also hops in and answers some things. Tims posts should be highlighted since he started the topic, but to more easily see Justins you can look at his user page. Some pretty informative answers.

[Cobra951]

I wasn't aware of any of that, not that it surprises me.  I found the story interesting and fairly well put together.  I also know that, so far, what DF have done with crowdfunding money is seriously underwhelming.  Psychonauts 2 then becomes their do-or-die, put-up-or-shut-up event.  Everyone who cares about them wants this to be ace.  I'll let that speak for them, or against them.  As for my last post, I'm only the messenger.  Don't shoot!  

[gpw11]

 Psychonauts 2 then becomes their do-or-die, put-up-or-shut-up event.  Everyone who cares about them wants this to be ace.  I'll let that speak for them, or against them.  As for my last post, I'm only the messenger.  Don't shoot!  

I agree with that completely and I don't think I ever posted but I found your post super interesting.  Honestly, I don't know why anyone would actually invest in a scheme like this when there are much safer investments out there with higher return potential and regulated mechanisms.  Like, you'd have to really really want to invest in this system because you're leaving both potential earnings and security on the table.

Regarding Tim Schafer at GDC, I just read about it and just read the AMA question on it.  No word of a lie, it's actually shocking how some of these people are getting offended so easily and are acting so utterly indignant about it.  And isn't the #gamersgate side the side that's saying people need to stop getting offended so much?  WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?  I DON'T UNDERSTAND, AM I TOO OLD?!  HOW DO THESE PEOPLE HANDLE MILD CONFLICT IN REAL LIFE?

[idolminds]

Haha, no worries Cobra.

[Quemaqua]

WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?  I DON'T UNDERSTAND, AM I TOO OLD?!  HOW DO THESE PEOPLE HANDLE MILD CONFLICT IN REAL LIFE?

They don't. They scream at everyone, engage in charming activities like swatting, or go completely postal.

But yeah, I wouldn't invest in something like this. I did originally back the game because I'm a huge fan of the first, but things got a bit tighter that month and I ultimately decided fuck it, I'll just wait, and backed out. I'm not super down on Tim or Double Fine, though I really haven't had much interest in a lot of their games despite their strong start. I've basically played Psychonauts, Stacking, and Brutal Legend.

[Cobra951]

I think internet behavior is similar to driver behavior.  There's a perceived shield that weakens the normal fear of making an ass out of oneself.  No one is going to punch your lights out.  In Freudian speak, the ego lets the id through more freely.  The feelings are genuine, but in face-to-face situations, they would be repressed.  It doesn't paint a flattering picture of the human psyche.

Go Tim!  Make Psychonauts 2 awesome.