Support NeoGAF

[sprsk]

What is a video game to you?

 

[3rdman]

Ask him, "Would you trust a gaming site that scores Ninja Gaiden a C+ to interview you?"

 

[Gwarek]

1. Have you ever entertained the notion of working with Lucas Arts on another Monkey Island game? (also: You said previously you had different ideas where to take the story after MI 2, compared to Lucas Art's MI 3 which you weren't involved with, where did you see the story heading?)

FYI Tim Schafer worked on MI1 and 2 as a writer and programmer, but it was lead designer Ron Gilbert who said he had a different idea of where to take the story after MI2.

 

[muckhole]

I'd ask him if he could be given any one licenced property to make a game based on, what would it be and why.

 

[sprsk]

Ask him, "Would you trust a gaming site that scores Ninja Gaiden a C+ to interview you?"

We are not that site.

 

[adg1034]

What is your contribution to society?

Spoiler

Are there any games you've played in the last few years that you found especially creative/impressive/mind-blowingly good?

 

[Lemming_JRS]

Note that some of these questions are already answered on the Doublefine site...

http://www.doublefine.com/news.php/about

Are games art?

Zzzzzz. Oh, sorry, could you repeat the question? I fell asleep.

Are you guys making a sequel to Psychonauts?

Not right now, but we’d love to someday. If anyone out there has a few million dollars burning a hole in their pocket, and would like to help us make an Excellent Sequel to Psychonauts, please let us know!

How about a sequel to Grim Fandango, or Full Throttle, or Day of the Tentacle?

That would be fun, but we don’t own the rights to any of those games, so we can’t. Instead, we have to make up our own new stuff. Which is awesome.

and finally...

Are adventure games dead? If yes, then what killed adventure games?

Next person to ask me this gets a punch in the mouth.

 

[Draft]

I have always thought that there is a disconnect between the type of game Psychonauts is, and the art style. Platformers usually have what I guess you could call saccharine art styles. Lots of bright colors. "Cute" characters, like something from a Saturday morning cartoon. I believe this is done to appeal to the stereotypical target audience of little kids. Psychonauts has plenty of color, but IMO the characters really eschew that idea. Raz wears this shit brown uniform, he's got this kind of hideous proportion to his face, and he's arguably one of the more visually "cute" characters. You've got guys like the bully or the kid who wears the tinfoil hat who look like something straight out of a nightmare.

Does Tim Schaefer think that Pyschonauts sales suffered because it didn't conform to the character design standards set by genre leaders like Mario, Ratchet and Clank, Banjo Kazooie, etc?

 

[Livin_Lovin]

What game in the past five years do you feel advanced the medium of video games the most? (In any regard)

How do you keep from suffocating small children with your genius?

Spoiler

[/penis joke]

 

[John Harker]

Why is no one asking questions about Brutal Legends

 

[Shig]

Looking at Telltale's relative success in the adventure genre with Sam & Max as an episodic downloadable series, have you considered doing a project in a similar format?

XBLA and PSN seem to be welcoming of unique original projects, which certainly gels with Doublefine's MO. Do you have anything on the drawing board for these services?

 

[Jiguryo]

Please ask him if he fell into a boiling pot of AWESOME when he was a baby. Only that can justify Grim Fandango and Psychonauts.

As for serious questions, the previous posters pretty much nailed them in the head.

 

[pj]

Any good street rat fights recently?

Not a question but: Announce your game so you can sell stuff on xblm so I can bend over for it

 

[Joe Molotov]

Does he like Monkey Island 3 and/or 4, and did he have any plans for how a sequel would play out if he had worked on it?

 

[eudaemonic]

Why are they hiring so many people over at the studio right now? Did a group of people leave or are they just expanding to a larger team?

 

[EMBee99]

Did Jack Black add to the creative process on Brutal Legend and what was it like to work with him?

 

[grandjedi6]

Lets just get to the point. Will you announce your new title in 2007 sometime or do you have to agonize us into 2008?

 

[XHitoshuraX]

Whats next...and what are your feelings on the success of psychonaughts?

 

[Amused_To_Death]

After the fiasco with Majesco, what does he look for in a publisher? What advice can he provide to an up and coming developer for dealing with publishers?

 

[firex]

What's the thought process that he (and anyone else who works with him on this) goes through when they're designing a character? not just appearance, but personality.

Given how excellent Psychonauts' voice cast was, how do they get their talent, and does it cost a lot relative to other aspects of the game?

 

[Monk]

What do you think of the different philosophies of the 3 console manufacturers, ie Sony with Big budget games, MS with online oriented games and Nintendo with cheap accessible games?

What art style do you love most?

 

[Prime crotch]

How is Double Fine financily holding? Did Psychonauts really tanked or was it a relative sucess? I would hate seeing you closing doors.

 

[Jive Turkey]

How is it possible for a mere mortal to be so awesome?

 

[speculawyer]

It is kinda hard to come up with a question other than "What the hell are you working on?" Most other questions follow from the answer to that.

 

[beat]

How did Double Fine cope in the old building?

 

[Captain Pants]

What is worse for the industry, making new IPs that might not sell as well as an established franchise, or letting the industry become sequel driven?

 

[BravoSuperStar]

Do you wish the publisher would have done anything different as far as promoting, or advertising Psychonauts, and if so, what would you have done instead?

It would also be interesting to get his take on bioshock, did he play it, what does he think about it, etc.

 

[TJ Spyke]

Ask if they would consider asking Nintendo to publish Psychonauts 2. I'm hoping Nintendo would be willing to fund it.

 

[Visualante]

We don't need more Psychonauts.

 

[Inspirius]

Looking at Telltale's relative success in the adventure genre with Sam & Max as an episodic downloadable series, have you considered doing a project in a similar format?

XBLA and PSN seem to be welcoming of unique original projects, which certainly gels with Doublefine's MO. Do you have anything on the drawing board for these services?

I was thinking something along the same lines. So instead I'll ask something fairly generic.

What's a typical day in the life of Tim Schafer like?

 

[TJ Spyke]

We don't need more Psychonauts.

I have to disagree, Psychonauts was easily one of the best games of last gen and the ending begged for a sequel.

 

[tanod]

Please don't waste your time asking him Psychonauts questions. Everything that has ever been asked about that game has been answered in some form or another on the web.

 

[Gowans]

What does he think of the evolution of story telling in video games?

 

[Stahsky]

What does he think about the word Manbabies? Does it fit with today's crazy standards? Should we really consider accepting the pagan religions that will soon follow?

Then discredit everything he says, post it here, and call Mark Twain's grave.

 

[Squeak]

You guys need to hear this, if you haven't already.
http://cmpmedia.vo.llnwd.net/o1/gdcradio-net/GDCR/gdcr_007.mp3

 

[Kelsonk]

What does he think of the evolution of story telling in video games?

More questions like this and fewer retarded Psychonauts questions.

 

[firex]

Is there ever a genre of game he's wanted to try developing, but felt like he can't do it properly?

Are there any games he likes that fans of his games wouldn't believe he plays, because they're so different stylistically from his own works?

Also, does he own any of the rights to Full Throttle, and does he think game designers should have more ownership over their own creations?

Would he ever want to buy the rights to his previous games if he could do so?

How does he know when a level/character/other bit of a game is ready and polished enough to go gold?

What other big names in game development does he respect? What about a lesser known person whose work he likes?

 

[BobFromPikeCreek]

If you were a fruit, what fruit would you be and why?

 

[devilscallmedad]

What are your 5 favorite games ? ( other then the ones you worked on )
Your favorite genre ? ( other then adventure - platformers )
Favorite moment in gaming ? ( while playing a game )
Are you the Tim Burton of Gaming ? Have you ever considered making a movie ? ( also tell him that's he way better and burton is overrated )

 

[Ogni-XR21]

Do you think the game industry advanced too fast to the big budget games in order to produce games that are real art and not just cash ins/sequels? Sometimes it seems to me that video games missed out on a phase where it established itself as an artform to the general public, all we get are "Michael Bay movies"...

Are different ways of distribution needed (i.e. online distribution) in order to allow smaller studios to have the creative output they want and not just bend over for the big players in order to get some funds?

What do you think of fan games like DOTT2 or Zak2? Are you flattered by those (DOTT2) or is it more of a "that's my IP, don't mess with it" feeling you get?

You guys need to hear this, if you haven't already.
http://cmpmedia.vo.llnwd.net/o1/gdcradio-net/GDCR/gdcr_007.mp3

Thanks a lot, that was a great listen!

 

[Safe Bet]

How do you feel about Interactive Media's focus shifting away from conflict resolution and problem solving towards art and entertainment?

 

[DenogginizerOS]

How do you feel about huge corporate tie-ins to video game releases and do you think it is good or bad for gaming?

 

[boutrosinit]

What foods and activities would he advise us toward in order so that we may best fuel our imaginations?

Also, does he think Prison Break has gone on one season too far?

 

[pubba]

Are you guys making a sequel to Psychonauts?

Not right now, but we’d love to someday. If anyone out there has a few million dollars burning a hole in their pocket, and would like to help us make an Excellent Sequel to Psychonauts, please let us know!

If a publisher could buy a fully fledged sequel to Psychonauts for just a 'few million dollars', it would be awesome value.

Come on, MS.. You spend that kind of money without even realizing it. Surely the 360 could do with a unique, colorful, amazing platforming game in 2009?

Next year has the Banjo and Kazooie sequel and last year we had Kameo, so how about it?

With the right marketting and support, a sequel to Pyschonauts could be a potential system seller.

Worried about negative or non existent brand recognition? Just call it something new with 'the sequel to Pyschonauts' in the byline or something..

I don't care which system it came out for, I just want to experience more of the twisted mind of Schafer and the Pyschonauts.

Sorry for going (slightly) OT

 

[Pakkidis]

If there is one game you want to be remembered by what would it be?

Grim Fandango is considered the best adventure game of all time. What do you have say about that?

Do you regret starting your own company?

What are some of the challenges you face when pitching a new idea to a publisher?

Where do you see the industry heading? How do you fit into it?

 

[bigmakstudios]

Can I has Psychonauts for Wii?

 

[grandjedi6]

If you were a videogame, what videogame would you be and why?

fixed

 

[pollo]

No question, but tell him Thank you for having such a potent impact on my childhood that has shaped me to the person who I am today.

 

[BobFromPikeCreek]

fixed

I liked it with fruit better. I bet he's a mango.

 

[xir]

for Tim "Why not make adventure games on the DS?"

For gaf "how well did motel dusk sell?'

For Tim "Sam and Max seems to have done well as an episodic adventure game. Why not make some episodic adventure games?"

finally "please make more adventure games, ok?"