XBLA Primer is an on-going feature in which we delve into the history of a given developer, catalog their XBLA releases, and look at why they make great games.
Way back in the 1980′s, a game designer named Tim Schafer started to make a name for himself at LucasArts. Working on and later leading development on cult classics such as Maniac Mansion, Monkey Island and Grim Fandango, Mr. Schafer quickly garnered a reputation around the industry as one of the most creative minds in the business. At the turn of the century, Schafer left LucasArts and started his own development studio which came to be known as Double Fine Productions.
Double Fine blew out of the gates with a platformer named Psychonauts, a game that literally put you inside the minds of others. You can only imagine the crazy things you’d find in the depths of people’s minds. Next up, Double Fine released Brutal Legend, an action/real-time strategy hybrid centered around the fantasy world of heavy metal. While both Psychonauts and Brutal Legend were received very well by critics and gamers alike, neither game managed to create the bucket loads of cash that publishers now look for.
