Today I feel giddy. As video gamer gaming for almost the full history of video games, I have played a LOT of them. I view games as an art form that may do not attribute to things "functional" or "interactive". Although I can enjoy the thrills of the world's Halos and other popular fodder, I prefer games with more depth and artistic merits. Fun is not the amount of headshots you gather, but the emotion you take away when the playing stops. Many of my personal favorites do not show up in the top 10 lists and are normally punished by publishers who don't see enormous blockbuster profits.
Tim Schafer is at the top of my list of gods within the gaming world. His games are always strange and alluring experiences that challenge the traditions of typical games. Not always do these types of games gather mainstream audiences as Tim has experienced with both Pyschonauts and Brutal Legend. This week was already going well for me with news that Pyschonauts 2 may actually happen with the help of Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson, but then I discovered a link to kickstarter:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/66710809/double-fine-adventure
For someone that is never the target audience for the most popular Movies, TV Shows, Games, Music, (insert random entertainment form here), this is great news. A game being developed by a legend with his team working directly with gamers, and without a publisher, to make a game. This is how it should be done: without corporate greed or influence. It may not be the game for everyone and may not make millions of dollars, but this is where the future of game development needs to head. And this will be my first kickstarter investment and I hope other people help out too.
Rock the crap out of it Tim! Keep making games for the rest of us!
(UPDATE) 1.3 Million raised already. Congrats Double Fine!
