Great essay regarding lessons to be learned from the #PsychOdyssey documentary https://fungus.zone/posts/2023-06-25-The-Elephants-In-The-Meeting-Room #GameDev

Listening to #NoClip do an incredibly noodly technical and production process interview with the #2PlayerProductions crew, talking about the #DoubleFine #PsychOdyssey with a great big grin on my face.

Watched an episode of #DoubleFine #PsychOdyssey that addresses crunch in a way that triggers some feelings in me.

Seeing how it can traumatise people, and also how it often doesn’t come directly from the top, but from the leads level, reminded me of some of the most unpleasant conversations I’ve ever had in a work meeting.

A game design lead once told me that if I didn’t work min. 12 hour days and weekends, the collapse of the studio would be my responsibility.

I finished the #PsychOdyssey documentary. I laughed the most at concept artists and their behavior.

I later discovered there was a separate video just for the "Get Out Of Detention" playthrough and I would definitely watch hours of something that was just "The Emily and Gigi Show."

I am just _loving_ #DoubleFine #PsychOdyssey – it's nice (ish) to know that the things that happen, happen everywhere.

Been going through #psychodyssey the past couple weeks and have been thoroughly enjoying it. Incredible documentary, can't get enough of it. Bought this as a birthday present for myself 🎁

A truer truth has never been truthed. #PsychOdyssey

If you are a "people manager", like #EM or #EngineeringManager in a big(?) company...
Watch Episode 21 of #DoubleFine #PsychOdyssey!

It shows one big red flag for team dynamics: othering. Basically an us-vs-them mentality that comes from frustration.

It's a really easy trap to fall into. And may be hard to notice from the inside. But when it happens you gotta nip it in the butt. Have cross-discipline (or cross-team) people work together, even if just for a short amount of time!

Just finished the #PsychOdyssey doc. What a journey indeed and a reminder that game development is tough. Thanks 2 Player Productions for showing us that adventure!

Shameless ego satisfaction of seeing my name once again in the backer list of #Psychonauts2 credits in the #PsychOdyssey doc this time. 👀 #DoubleFine

#Psychodyssey

Something that is also interesting is the quick mention of the Microsoft acquisition and how the studio reacted to what could've been a change of culture, and while the documentary did not go into details, one thing stayed in mind: The Amnesia Fortnight.

People coming with ideas, being allowed to experiment and "lead" their own project, and the fact that this seems to have been taken away because of IP concerns and work contracts.

I hope it's still a thing, and figuring a way for it to be a transparent, and worry-free and crunch-free moment.

Games are art before it is an industry. I hope we can steer it back that way.

Finally got through the whole #Psychodyssey documentary.

While, it still is paid for can be seen as a communication piece for Double Fine, it still manages to show a lot of different aspect of Game Development.

Games takes time, too long imho
Games are made with passion, but passion has a cost
Games are made by people, a collective effort.

But you can see how it can go right or wrong, how production and processes are essentials, and also how easy it can go very wrong.

I would love that every game get something close to this as explanation on how they are made, showing reality as close to what it cam be.

Just finished PsychOdyssey and I have so many thoughts!

First off, I had a grin on my face for the whole 20 something hours - I loved it!

But if that's the best example of a US tech workplace - and they look like an amazing work family, it just wouldn't work in europe.

Crunch culture is almost impossible to do here, but this documentary showed it is like air to US work culture. They don't even realize it (no matter how much you don't like hearing it Tim 💔 )

#DoubleFine #PsychOdyssey

Who’s going straight to watching Double Fine Adventure after finishing #PsychOdyssey then?

I’ve often told this story, mostly to junior members of teams that I’ve lead, but a year into Project Y (which was the first full project I worked on at Naughty Dog and went on to become Jak & Daxter) the game was a mess.

Here I was thinking I joined a AAA
Studio and now I was going to be part of their first failure.

Turns out, a year later, the game shipped. On time. And it was awesome.

Great teams DO make mistakes. Great teams figure it out. Great teams ship games.

#GameDev #PsychOdyssey

Finished watching Double Fine's PsychOdyssey last night. What a wild ride.

Having played the game, it is very satisfying to watch as so many ideas iterate over time from pitch to whatever they became in the final game.

It is equally heartrending to watch the high expectations and the ever changing state of the team and the world chew up and burn out so many talented people.

I can't wait to play through the game again.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIhLvue17Sd70y34zh2erWWpMyOnh4UN_

#DoubleFine #PsychOdyssey #gamedev #documentary

This week I've been watching #DoubleFine's documentary series on #Psychonauts2's genesis, #PsychOdyssey, it's great. It gives me even more appreciation for my favorite game of 2021 and now I want to play it once again after I finish the series ❤️
https://youtu.be/AKoy_KMVIyU

#Psychodyssey is one of the best, most honest thing I ever saw. It's long (+20h) and awesome. You go through all the highs and lows. And what it takes to create a great videogame, through chaos, genius, and lots of bad luck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKoy_KMVIyU&list=PLIhLvue17Sd70y34zh2erWWpMyOnh4UN_&index=4&t=1s

Watching Episode 8 of #PsychOdyssey: “You need to advocate for the quality of your game AND also keep us on budget”. Me: 🤦🏻‍♂️ That only works when it’s two different positions/persons on the team…

Reached the art jam part of the very addictive #PsychOdyssey #DoubleFine documentary — such a treat to see Scott C and Peter Chan reunited and fizzing with #Psychonauts ideas. And that familiar feeling of wanting to freeze-frame and admire every glimpse of their concept art.