Markus "Notch" Persson says original offer was made not entirely seriously, plans to meet with Tim Schafer at GDC; other parties interested in making game.
Last week, Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson pledged his support to Tim Schafer to help create a sequel to the 2005 cult hit Psychonauts. Writing on his blog today, however, Persson cautioned fans that the project is far from a reality, and his original offer was made "semi-jokingly."
According to Persson, he has exchanged only a few emails with Schafer regarding Psychonauts 2, but he is hopeful to meet with the Double Fine boss next month at the 2012 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.
Schafer originally said he needed a "couple million" to make Psychonauts 2, but speaking to Kotaku this week, the developer said the budget was in fact $13 million. Persson said this figure was much higher than his initial impression.
In addition, Persson said he presently has "no idea" if he will be involved in Psychonauts 2. He said investing that kind of money would require "a lot of planning and discussion," which the developer said he does not have experience with.
If Persson does in fact decide to invest in Psychonauts 2--what he called a "high risk investment"--he said it would not be done out of charity, nor would he want any creative input in the development of the title. Persson also said other, unnamed parties are interested in investing in Psychonauts 2.
Finally, Persson said he wishes the Internet would "stop hyping over this." He added that he worries that this instance will prevent him from being active and vocal on Twitter in the future.
"You're going to scare me into doing things secretly instead of being open and transparent via Twitter," he said. "I am incredibly scared of the very real risk of people feeling let down just because I took a chance at something that doesn't end up panning out."
Tim Schafer and his studio are currently at work on a point-and-click adventure game called Double Fine Adventure. The game made waves when its crowd-funding campaign eclipsed its target of $400,000 in about eight hours. The crowd fund reached over $1 million in its first 24 hours and presently boasts a support tally of $1.86 million with 26 days until the campaign ends.
Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He works out of the company's Boston office in Somerville, Mass., and loves extra chunky peanut butter.
could i say one thing in my most respectful ways to you guys: long time ago i had the video game "psychonauts" and i had a blast playing and i gave it away but i regret that fully because it was like a mystery game, well it almost looked like one to me and i am glad that they are thinking about making a sequal... if you make a sequal to it you have to remaster the first one in HD...
I think Schafer was out of it. First he says he needs a couple of million, then he says 13 million? wtf, that's a HUGE different. I think Persson was willing to invest 2 mil, but definitely not ready to invest 13 mil in what is basically an idea...
Come on you guys, don't be so harsh on the guy. I doubt any of you would even half-joke about laying down two million on a dead game, and I know that I wouldn't take that kind of risk. He is a very successful and important man in the gaming world, and he also seems like a man of his word. Nobody should be surprised that he wouldn't just jump in after seeing a figure like that. Hell, it isn't mentally healthy to just jump into something like that. Although I hope that he goes through with it, nobody should get their hopes up before anyone actually knows anything.
Personally, I never liked stories like these. Feels like a waste of time for me. He's either going to make it or he's not. This article doesn't tell me anything new, as far as I'm concerned, he's no closer to making the game than before.
I'm not going to get my hopes up. I'd like to see a sequel to Psychonauts but if its just some knock off that only uses the same characters but lacks the heart...I rather they not bother.
Its just my opinion, but I do feel that people are being a little harsh. He was initially under the impression that Psychonauts 2 would take "a couple (2) of million", as from Tim Schafer's mouth, when he made the statement that he would help fund it. He was later informed that Schafer estimate was actually 13 million, a whole lot more. Who wouldn't re-think their actions? I know I would. I don't think there is any bad blood at all here either, as the article states that they have exchanged emails regarding Psychonauts 2. Notch is a brave guy to be so open and talkative, also possibly stupid, but its only the people who criticise him that paint it that way
People, this guy created Minecraft, not "The Godfather" or "Dark Side of the Moon". He made a game that runs on pretty much the same principle as legos. He isn't a god.
I bet he was serious when he thought it was only 2-3 million. If I got hit with the news that it was 13 million, I'd backpedal too. It's like signing up to play high school football and you step on the field to see Ray Lewis lined up at linebacker.
They better wait for next gen. Last time this came out was the transition to the 360 and I stopped playing it for bigger and better games. This was a very fun game tho.
Oh come on we all know that fool just wanted to see his name on top of gaming news again, damn hipster devs.
If he didn't want hype or pressure, maybe he shouldn't have been so stupid as to publicly make a "joking" offer to fund the game on Twitter.
Notch probably wasn't expecting the excitement his remarks would create. Now it seems the back-pedaling has begun.
Don't write checks with your mouth that your ass can't cash, Notch. Though, to be honest, don't hype a friendly suggestion that isn't more than that, peoples of the Internet. There is a reason why companies invented the term "gone gold", meaning that a game is finished. It's not that easy to go from idea to actual product.
@XanderZane i had great time with the first Crash games on the ps1 those were my childhood but after that, especialy the ones in this gen are pure garbage, too bad hopefuly they take that as an example and keep Psychonauts to its roots.
i think Notch is actually serious for making the sequel. but when he see the budget needed he changed his mind
yeah double fine guy (just couple millions) 13$ million for the sequel ?!?! seiously ?!?! i mean ... Gears of war with all gameplay and cenematic cutscene and a new engine (IN 200(FREAKIN)6) only cost 6 million (and it made a ton of money after that)
@kazumashadow Oh man that's something i would like to see, but a well made game not screwed up like they did with Crash Bandicoot. ******************************************************** You mean the Crash Bandicoot games that got made through Universal after Naughty Dog left? Yeah, those games were bad. Only the first 3 Bandicoot games, plus the racing game was done by Naughty Dog. The rest were crap. Looks like Notch opened his mouth too soon and now doesn't want to fork over the cash to help make the game. Very lame Notch, very lame. Double Fines kickstarter project is down at $1,934,855. Looks like it'll his $2 million over night. [url]http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/66710809/double-fine-adventure/comments[/url]
Oh man that's something i would like to see, but a well made game not screwed up like they did with Crash Bandicoot.
They should do this downloadable. They should release it in installments with the game only being completed if it can reach certain "milestones" i.e. if enough people are interested. Charge $19.99 for first installment make it three installments and fund as you go.
You would think "Notch" would be internet savy enough to know that you shouldn't make any semi-jokes on the internet, because fans will take those words as etched in stone. I could understand if maybe he thought he would only need to contribute like 2-3 million, but don't be a big mouth and say you're going to back something without knowing what you're getting yourself into!
Actually, what Tim Schaffer should do is have a freaking Startkick project for Psichonauts 2 and wait 6 months... Then he would have more $$$ than enough to at least "start" the project...
What a joke this guy is... Stop "fudging" with the internet if your're not serious, is that so difficult to acomplish? Or are you just another internet-attention-w**** that happened to make a very interesting game?
Tomorrow, Notch announces his plans to build an "all you can drink" Red Bull dispenser for programmers and developers of The Last Guardian...
So first he tweets "I'm serious." so that he can later say, "I was half joking." Way to go Notch.
"Finally, Persson said he wishes the Internet would "stop hyping over this." He added that he worries that this instance will prevent him from being active and vocal on Twitter in the future. " So, in essence, he's telling everyone that made Minecraft such a success by word of mouth to stop talking so much? But money or success doesn't change people..........
I, for one, will not stop the hype for this. The first Psychonauts was one of my favorite titles of last generation.... Let it spread through the internets far and wide! I will buy Psychonauts 2 on Day 1!!!!
How bitter sweet they bring up Psychonauts 2 just to tell me some important people might be meeting to talk about maybe getting some money together think about working on something that seems like a great idea.
an obvious observation is that even though psychonauts is so loved, it sold very poorly. was it the marketing department of majesco?
We all want a sequel with Raz 10 years on after joining the Psychonaunts, if the world had any sense this game would be in stores right now with other original games. Sadly the world doesnt work in sense, only money. Grim Fandango 2 should also be in a hall of fame somewhere by now...
I would have to reconsider as well, if I was going to buy a 20$ book that turns out to be 130$
One week it's "I'm serious by the way" next week it's "semi-joking". Nothing to see here folks just Notch being Notch
Well at least it's being talked about. If we're lucky, maybe some of these producers might actually pay attention to the fansites like Game Spot and discover there is a potential market.
This news seriously made me SOOOOOOOOOOOO happy that words can't even explain the emotion I'm feeling right now. Psychonauts was such a great game, I've been waiting soo many years for another rendition.
It was only obvious he would back out. I don't think he's a coward-- he just has no control over his mouth. Notch still has that indie approach to games--- Big mistake. Notch is no longer "indie"-- he said so himself. Making pledges like that will often have people hold it to you. You can't just say whatever the hell you like, it doesn't work like that in the industry. You promise, you do it-- no backing out. This surely made Notch lose some reputation in the community now.
Okay guys, stop trying to make Notch out to be a greedy bastard. It would have been incredibly generous for him to actually have funded an entire game like that. As things stand, he doesn't have any obligation to fund Psychonauts, and they're still talking about it anyways. It was, however, exceedingly stupid for him to make a comment like that on Twitter.
What. Tim really thought he was serious and was ready to accept funds and he backed out because he loves his money too much? EDIT: I'm talking about Notch. Notch backed out. He was the one who was going to help fund it right?
"After all the MineCon drama you'd think he'd have learned to stop running his mouth on Twitter." Quoted for the freaking Truth. Someone REALLY needs to take Twitter away from Notch, he keeps making himself look worse and worse every time he types anything on it.
Cobra5 -- Actually, I did understand what was going on. When I ranted earlier, I was merely fulfilling my duties as a Psychonauts fanboy. Or, you might say that I was "semi-joking". : )
SolanOcard: Yes, the American AC and European DC situation (specifically considering Edison and Tesla) is funny. Without doing further research on it, I would assume that Edison was simply successful in "exporting" DC to Europe before he conceded that AC was indeed the superior system. I will readily admit that there is sense in what you write. Psychonauts isn't Mario, CoD, Elder Scrolls, and so forth; it's not exactly a household name. So there is some merit to calling Psychonauts 2 a "high-risk investment". The reason why I'd argue against that is simply Shafer's collection of accolades: two of his games have won Game of the Year awards (from GameSpot and Eurogamer); his other games have also earned very respectable awards. I'll spare you (and other folks) the time it takes to write a rebuttal: Awards are awards and money is money -- and you can't pay your employees with gaming awards. It's true + unfortunate. Hell, I might even say that Shafer's lack of funding for Psychonauts 2 is partially *our* fault, the global gaming community. We have not used good old "word of mouth" effectively enough to make up for poor advertising. ...Lastly, can I be one more voice in the world urging you to give Psychonauts a try? If you dislike the "platformer" genre and don't care for humor in games, you are surely justified in giving it a pass. However: if you can tolerate platformers and appreciate quality writing and humor, you're missing out on a truly memorable game.
I really don't think a lot of people really know whats going on in the situation. Notch certainly isn't pulling the offer, and schafer isn't losing anything... What happened is Schafer said he'd need "a couple million" but he was joking. Notch can do a couple million... when they talked about it, though, Schafer said it'd be quite a bit more then that which is more then notch can realistically contribute. Don't be angry at notch for "joking" about it, since Schafer was the first one to "joke" about it. Really neither of them should be angry with anyway... and the talks are still on.
Talking about Tesla and Edison. Isn't it funny that in North America we use AC for our power sources despite the American Edison backing DC, and in much of Europe they use DC despite the European Tesla backing AC? As for Psychonauts 2, I never played the original despite reading many good things about it. Just like Ico, or Beyond Good and Evil. I understand where calling a possible sequel a "high risk investment." People who never played the first are going to see the 2 in the title and think "huh, what is this? I probably won't get it because I never played the first, and it is so old, so I will get Modern Warfare: Snowball fight Heroes 7 instead." which is too bad,
Well, in the Internet's defense, after Notch's first Tweet, he followed up with, "I'm serious. Let's make this happen." And we took him seriously??? Wow, we must be over-eager idiots, huh :roll:
Double Fine president laments layoff culture, says studio could have shed devs after Psychonauts to save money, but decided against it to maintain company cohesion.
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