LTTP: Double Fine Adventure - The greatest gaming documentary

[MoosetheMark]

I can't think of a better video game documentary than Double Fine Adventure, and since it's perfect viewing for a Saturday night (and I can finally post threads), I'm eager to talk about it with Era.

It's such a great look inside a small company struggling to stay afloat among the big dogs, and how things we so casually discuss like sales figures or delays have a massive impact on real human beings. The troubled production of Broken Age is a fascinating story and the doc doesn't hide anything. We see the very meeting where they make the agonizing decision to cut Broken Age in two, and watch as employees crunch for a deadline they know will be impossible to meet. It's a rare, refreshing kind of transparency.

Tim Schafer carries the lengthy series with his charisma, openness and eccentricity, but the filmmakers also did an amazing job of turning the DF staff into real characters. It also captures a fascinating time in the industry, Broken Age was the first big video game Kickstarter and it's progression shaped how the public would view crowdfunded projects from then on. It's especially interesting in light of DF's recent acquisition by Microsoft, because the documentary pretty much demonstrates how brutal and risky it is to try and stay truly independent and commercially viable, but everyone still fights desperately to do so. The entire series flies by and I really wish there were more shows like it.

Any thoughts on DFA, or Broken Age? Can you recommend any similar documentaries? The nearest I can think of are Indie Game: The Movie, the Pillars of Eternity documentary, and things of that nature. Jason Schrier's excellent book absolutely fits the bill, but I've read it to tatters already. I 100% agree with his recommendation to watch DFA "if you care about how video games are made." NoClip's work is obviously top-notch as well, but they're more of a fantastic after-the-fact postmortem. Even outside of games, are there any documentaries that take a similar fly-on-the-wall look at a company struggling to complete a project from conception to release?

 

[Fanto]

Hell yeah, I actually own this on bluray just so I could see all the extra bonus things they included in it because that's how much I love it. It is a fascinating documentary, and I'm not even the biggest fan of Double Fine's games really (though I did like Broken Age, as well as Tim's old LucasArts adventure games), but I've been rooting for them ever since watching this. They are doing a documentary on the development of Psychonauts 2 as well, but if I remember right it won't be released until after the game comes out. That's also one of the amazing things to remember about DFA was that it was released episodically while the game was still being made.

As far as similar documentaries, I can't really think of many. I have seen both Indie Game: The Movie and the Pillars of Eternity doc, read Jason's book, and I've watched almost every NoClip doc as well. I can't really think of any other "fly-on-the-wall" style docs like this that follow a project through to completion really either.

 

[ann3nova.]

The soundtrack by Lifeformed is excellent as well.

My favorite track:

 

[Fanto]

The soundtrack by Lifeformed is excellent as well.

My favorite track:

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Oh god, how did I forget to mention the soundtrack lol, it's soooo good!

 

[Deleted member 9100]

Literally watched the entire documentary in the past week. Completely agree it's the best gaming documentary I've ever seen. The level of transparency they allowed is amazing. Showed the whole process, warts and all.

That being said, fuck the company that decided to break the review embargo because they felt entitled to. They completely fucked double fine over.

Now that you've finished it, I'd recommend the doublefine Fortnite amnesiac videos. They're fantastic too.

 

[sir_crocodile]

The game itself was simplistic and disappointing, but the documentary was ace. Only one I liked more was king of Kong, but the makers messed around with that to make Billy look (more) like a cartoon villain, so it's hard to call it a true documentary.

 

[SpartyCrunch]

I've been a massive fan of Double Fine since I played Psychonauts, so yeah I happily backed their Kickstarter and watched the documentary along the way. It's so damned good, and the fact that I loved Broken Age was just the icing on the cake. Such a sweet, enjoyable, and funny throwback adventure game.

 

[MoosetheMark]

Hell yeah, I actually own this on bluray just so I could see all the extra bonus things they included in it because that's how much I love it. It is a fascinating documentary, and I'm not even the biggest fan of Double Fine's games really (though I did like Broken Age, as well as Tim's old LucasArts adventure games), but I've been rooting for them ever since watching this. They are doing a documentary on the development of Psychonauts 2 as well, but if I remember right it won't be released until after the game comes out. That's also one of the amazing things to remember about DFA was that it was released episodically while the game was still being made.

As far as similar documentaries, I can't really think of many. I have seen both Indie Game: The Movie and the Pillars of Eternity doc, read Jason's book, and I've watched almost every NoClip doc as well. I can't really think of any other "fly-on-the-wall" style docs like this that follow a project through to completion really either.

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I've only watched it on YouTube, does the Bluray unblur all of the spoilery concept drawings and stuff? I've always wanted to see those. Also yeah, very much looking to Psychonauts too, I hope we get a similarly honest look at their decision to go with Microsoft.

That being said, fuck the company that decided to break the review embargo because they felt entitled to. They completely fucked double fine over.

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Yes! This absolutely tanked them, but to be fair, it was just one consequence of their ultimately fatal mistake of releasing it early for their backers only. It killed all buzz and momentum by the time Part 1 came out to actually purchase. It breaks your heart to see them killing themselves to make Part 2 even though everyone realizes they've pretty much made all the money they're gonna make after the disappointing sales of Part 1.

 

[SeanBoocock]

It's the best documentary on modern video game production that I've encountered and it feels a bit like a unique time capsule that I doubt will ever be replicated. Having a video production crew essentially in-house is beyond the means of smaller studios, while their willingness to show uncomfortable moments (thinking specifically of the tension with the art direction early in the project) would be much more circumscribed at a larger publisher. Great companion piece to Broken Age but I also thinks it stands by itself if you are interested in how modern games are made.

 

[Fanto]

I've only watched it on YouTube, does the Bluray unblur all of the spoilery concept drawings and stuff? I've always wanted to see those.

Click to shrink...

Yes it does!

Edit: I should also add that it includes 2 complete commentary tracks as well. One from Double Fine devs, and another from the 2 Player Productions crew. Both are great to listen to while watching.

 

[Deleted member 9100]

Like I said, I was just amazed at the transparency. They fired a bunch of people during the documentary and let it be shown on screen.