With its funding 116% met, Psychonauts 2 has officially finished its campaign and is moving into development. With a successful campaign on the new crowdfunding/investment gaming platform Fig, it stands to demonstrate the potential success of the website and all eyes will be upon the finished project to see if it delivers. Project lead Tim Schafer is a divisive figure at times, seen both as a pioneer as well as someone whose ambitions don’t necessarily match his delivery. Regardless of how you feel about him though, he is an incredibly influential person in the crowdfunding scene and anyone who has even a lick of care for the growing movement should keep an eye on what he’s doing. In going back to the original game that made so many of us learn his name, I feel Psychonauts 2 will stand as a make it or break it moment for his reputation going forward.
Despite all the skepticism, I have to say I’m very excited about seeing Psychonauts 2 released. The original game, within the confines of a publisher’s all-seeing eye, still managed to be wildly creative and bizarre. The premise is a wonderful starting point to bring the strangest of ideas to the table, and I’m looking forward to seeing just how far off the deep end things will go this time without the worry of alienating the money in this situation. Backers know what they paid for, and the most optimistic side of me just wants to forget all the doubters and worriers and look forward to more from a game that captured the hearts of so many quirky types looking for something a little different. If it suceeds, it’ll make a lot of us very happy, and if it fails, at least it’ll fail in an interesting way. What else can I really ask for?
