Psychonauts 2 is a relatively rare thing in the games industry: it's a game that was made completely without crunch. That's according to producer Kevin Johnson, who confirmed that back in June, and Double Fine studio head Tim Schafer, who confirmed the lack of crunch in a video update on Psychonauts 2's development back in December.
Apparently, it wasn't easy to avoid crunching on Psychonauts 2. Maintaining a healthy work-life balance required a "change in mentality" for both Tim and many others at Double Fine.
"The important thing is to try to change the mentality that it’s just part of the system," Tim told The Washington Post in a new interview. "Some people are like, ‘Well, it’s just part of making games,’ but it’s only part of making games if you choose to not make it a priority. You’ve got to actually see the quality of life of the team as something that you can’t lower just to make a deadline."
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The unique challenges of the past year presented plenty of opportunities for crunch, Schafer admitted, but he made sure nobody got burnt out even when things went wrong.
"We tried to find different ways to not have crunch and we’ve gotten better, but a couple of projects have been in trouble and needed to have a lot of extra work. This last year has been interesting for everybody. Everyone’s at home [and] you’re trying to monitor to make sure no one’s overworking, but everyone’s life is so hidden from you during quarantine that it’s been more difficult."
In a separate interview with The Gamer, Schafer opined on the games industry as a whole and wondered why more games weren't as funny as Psychonauts. “One of the biggest mysteries to me in games is why all games aren't funny, because the stuff you can do is ridiculous. I mean, you can jump on someone else's head. It would take a lot more effort for the team and I to make a game that was deadly serious."
Psychonauts 2 arrives on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on August 25.
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