Tim Schafer’s Ultimate Push For Transparency With PsychOdyssey - MinnMax Interview

MinnMax's Ben Hanson interviews the head of Double Fine Tim Schafer about the new release of Double Fine PsychOdyssey, the 32-part documentary about the development of Psychonauts 2. We talk about how and why he felt it was so important for 2 Player Productions to create an honest look at every aspect of game development and what it was like for him to watch the finished documentary. This interview is the grand finale for The Celebration Of Double Fine PsychOdyssey from MinnMax, so don't miss our interview with 2 Player Productions, game industry roundtable with Jason Schreier, or Max Spoilers with Jacob Geller. Unlock the podcast version of this interview and help support independent games media directly by supporting MinnMax on Patreon!   / minnmax  

Here's a link to the first episode of PsychOdyssey -    • Double Fine PsychOdyssey · Episode 01: “Th...  

To jump to a particular discussion, check out the timestamps below...

00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:07 - Tim Schafer’s AIAS Hall of Fame Award
00:04:01 - Launching Double Fine PsychOdyssey
00:05:34 - The meetings too sensitive to film
00:08:31 - Protecting 2 Player Productions’ vision
00:11:16 - Tim’s push for transparency in game development
00:17:28 - Watching the documentary for the first time
00:22:36 - Lessons from watching Double Fine PsychOdyssey
00:24:53 - New staff and Double Fine’s studio pillars
00:32:33 - The struggle for bold brains/worlds in Psychonauts 2
00:37:40 - Not getting stressed about not having a publisher
00:38:47 - The Microsoft acquisition
00:41:14 - Microsoft’s feedback on the documentary
00:43:43 - Alleviating stress by selling to Microsoft
00:45:46 - Misconceptions about the documentary
00:47:34 - Why the crunch meeting is hard to watch
00:51:34 - The emotions of the documentary
00:52:56 - More takeaways from watching the documentary
00:53:57 - Stressing out producers
00:59:29 - In conclusion

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