Tim Schafer hates "arthouse" label
"We were trying to sell out!"
Tim Schafer has said he hates being thought of as an arthouse developer.
"I think it's the worst title ever," he told gamesTM. "I think people want that to be the story - it's a good story to tell - but Psychonauts, if you really look at it, is a very commercial game, and Brütal Legend is too."
Platform adventure Psychonauts, released in 2005 for PC and consoles, was celebrated by critics for its intelligence and wit, but ultimately sold poorly.
Double Fine's Brutal Legend, eventually published by Electronic Arts after Activision dumped it (something Schafer hasn't been shy about commenting on), also suffered commercially despite its tie-in with actor Jack Black and strong reviews.
One day, Schafer joked with gamesTM, Double Fine will make a huge hit and people will turn the label against them.
"They'll say, 'Double Fine sold out!' And we'll say, 'We were trying to sell out with every game we made since the first one!'"
At the moment the studio is working on two downloadable games for THQ. The first, Costume Quest (see video below), is due out this autumn for PS3 and Xbox 360.
The developer also has two other projects in development. Schafer told the Develop Conference in Brighton in July that some of the studio's current projects were downloadable but others were retail.