PsychOdyssey, the making of Psychonauts 2
February 11, 2023 11:03 PM Subscribe
Double Fine and 2 Player Productions present PsychOdyssey, a 20+ hour & 32-episode documentary seven years in the making about the development of Psychonauts 2. Trailer, playlist
Thanks for posting this! I love really long-form documentary stuff, and I'm in episode 2 and already this is a really great inside look at game development. Very nice, great post!
posted by hippybear at 11:27 AM on February 12, 2023
posted by hippybear at 11:27 AM on February 12, 2023
Double Fine Adventure and their Amnesia Fortnight documentaries are very good too. A great insight into how much work goes into making games, how much attention to detail it takes to make even a solid 7/10 game, and how much influence “non-game” factors have on development.
posted by Foaf at 9:26 AM on February 13, 2023
posted by Foaf at 9:26 AM on February 13, 2023
"The Amnesia Fortnight Movie" is takes the place of Episode 26 of the documentary.
Like, really, there are lengthy story arcs in here... anyone writing another Silicon Valley style show that needed real life beat points to draw from should watch this. It's really amazing that they even had a film crew around to do all of this, for this many years, with this much access. It's like a Linklater movie, only not scripted.
posted by hippybear at 3:19 PM on February 13, 2023
Like, really, there are lengthy story arcs in here... anyone writing another Silicon Valley style show that needed real life beat points to draw from should watch this. It's really amazing that they even had a film crew around to do all of this, for this many years, with this much access. It's like a Linklater movie, only not scripted.
posted by hippybear at 3:19 PM on February 13, 2023
Metafilter: "is takes the place of" *dammit, the edit window is closed*
posted by hippybear at 3:45 PM on February 13, 2023
posted by hippybear at 3:45 PM on February 13, 2023
Their previous documentaries were great; I just have to find the motivation to finally play Psychonauts 2 first so I can watch this one.
posted by Marticus at 8:38 PM on February 13, 2023
posted by Marticus at 8:38 PM on February 13, 2023
Here's a fun sort of follow-up, which is the Psychonauts 2 dev team in a group chat watching a 1h30m speedrun of the game [2h]. I wouldn't have enjoyed this as much if I hadn't seen the documentary first.
posted by hippybear at 2:50 PM on February 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by hippybear at 2:50 PM on February 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Checks post..
yep, took me two weeks to watch it all. Such a great catalogue of all the trials that go into creating a collaborative artwork (essentially). Thanks for the recco. 7/10. Would watch again.
posted by GrandPunkRailroad at 9:37 PM on February 23, 2023
yep, took me two weeks to watch it all. Such a great catalogue of all the trials that go into creating a collaborative artwork (essentially). Thanks for the recco. 7/10. Would watch again.
posted by GrandPunkRailroad at 9:37 PM on February 23, 2023
Oh wow, I just watched the episode about Zak, starting with him being almost unrecognizable without his beard, then the burp cut that out / leave that in contrast, and that silent ending. Can't wait to binge the rest of it.
posted by Marticus at 12:48 PM on March 6, 2023
posted by Marticus at 12:48 PM on March 6, 2023
Given how long this is in full, I'm kind of surprised that I started watching these, and then I'm kind of surprised that I've already watched nearly 11 of them.
And since this thread closes in the next day or two, I kind of hope someone posts it on FanFare so I can have my burning question answered:
Without naming names for now, does anyone else find one character particularly...untrustworthy? It's a subtle feeling I get, but it's nearly continually reinforced (and there have been a couple shots that suggest -- again, quite subtly -- that at least one other character keys into this, too).
To me this person keeps coming across as...slimy, and a central mystery for me while watching is whether Tim picks up on that, too, but nonetheless values what he brings to the table, or if Tim genuinely doesn't see what I keep seeing.
posted by nobody at 8:27 PM on March 11, 2023
And since this thread closes in the next day or two, I kind of hope someone posts it on FanFare so I can have my burning question answered:
Without naming names for now, does anyone else find one character particularly...untrustworthy? It's a subtle feeling I get, but it's nearly continually reinforced (and there have been a couple shots that suggest -- again, quite subtly -- that at least one other character keys into this, too).
To me this person keeps coming across as...slimy, and a central mystery for me while watching is whether Tim picks up on that, too, but nonetheless values what he brings to the table, or if Tim genuinely doesn't see what I keep seeing.
posted by nobody at 8:27 PM on March 11, 2023
Okay, finishing #11, maybe the guy I keep having doubts about redeemed himself a bit by sticking up for a bad idea (and, in doing so, sticking up for the people working underneath him), letting himself stay for a while on the wrong side of a creative decision despite Tim's obvious reluctance/doubts, and then, later, helping the team come around to what Tim had immediately realized needed to be reworked. It felt honest and helpful and not just self-serving.
posted by nobody at 9:14 PM on March 11, 2023
posted by nobody at 9:14 PM on March 11, 2023
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posted by bigendian at 3:19 AM on February 12, 2023