14 DAY TRIAL // Psychonauts 2 was recently confirmed as funded on the Fig platform and now Tim Schafer, the leader of the team at Double Fine working on the title, is ready to offer more details about the story that gamers will be able to explore.
The developer says that the core ideas were already set when the first title in the series was launched and that, since then, he has been working on expanding on the core elements while also finding mechanics that would be interesting for players.
In Psychonauts 2, Raz will travel to the headquarters of the organization and will learn about international espionage from Sasha and Milla, although not everything is alright and he soon discovers some strange events.
Tim Schafer states in a Reddit Ask Me Anything that, "While Truman Zanotto was missing, several changes to the direction of the organization were made by his second in command. Funding was cut from traditional psychic research and peacekeeping and redirected to unorthodox, fringe endeavors, including the discredited practice of necromancy. Raz soon uncovers sinister things at work in the shadows of Psychonauts headquarters, including double agents and evils of the past."
Gamers will have to also discover how Raz's family is involved in the narrative, and the main character will have to deal with the associated curse while also exploring the meaning of his current personal situation.
Erik Wolpaw is the main writer in charge of the video game while Peter Chan and Scott Campbell will be focusing on the creation of art, with Peter McConnell returning as composer.
The ambitious story plans for Psychonauts 2 will be realized using Unreal 4, an engine that gives Double Fine more options when it comes to the gameplay and world building.
The third-person view of the original will be retained, and gamers will have to use classic platforming mechanics to explore the minds of others, helped by the deployment of psychic abilities.
Psychonauts 2 is partly funded by the fan community
The Fig-driven process allowed the development team to secure access to more than 3.5 million dollars, about 2.9 million Euro, for the game creation process, and players can continue to contribute if they are interested in backing the experience.
It's likely that PayPal or other forms of contribution will be opened once the classic crowdfunding ends.
Double Fine has also suggested that a more traditional publisher is involved, but so far it has not offered details on their identity or the amount of resources they are providing.
The studio has also announced that it is working on the special Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin experience for virtual reality, designed to only run on the PlayStation VR device linked to the PS3.
Gamers who pick it up will be able to play as Raz as he launches a mission to find and save Truman Zanotto, the missing leader of the organization.
Psychonauts 2 will be launched at some point during 2018 and will be offered on the PlayStation 4 from Sony, the Xbox One from Microsoft and the PC.