Psychonauts

Psychonauts is a platform game currently in development at Double Fine Productions, for release on Microsoft's Xbox console and the PC in 2005. It is the first game from Double Fine, a company founded in July 2000 by Tim Schafer, known as a creator of graphical adventure games whose previous work at LucasArts includes the games Full Throttle and Grim Fandango. He has earnt a fan following through his sharp, original storytelling and dialogue.

In Psychonauts, the player controls Raz, a boy who desperately wants to be a member of the elite 'Psychonauts' agency, a secret organisation which gathers information by using psychic powers to invade people's minds. Having been raised in a circus, Raz has developed psychic and acrobatic abilities by being around various fortune tellers and performers. He is therefore allowed to join the Psychonauts cadet-training summer boot camp. However, a deranged scientist starts abducting cadets, and Raz stands alone against him.

Psychonauts combines traditional console platformer elements with the kind of strong storytelling, humour and dialogue found in an adventure game.

The game features ten levels which let the player, as Raz, enter a different person's mind. Each of these levels therefore has its own unique visual design and set of challenges, related to the demons, nightmares and secret memories of the mind that Raz is exploring. Three other levels are set within the real world, making a total of thirteen levels. As the player progresses through the game, Raz acquires new psychic powers, including telekinesis, invisibility, pyrokinesis, clairvoyance and confusion. These are directly involved in the puzzle-solving aspects of the game, which tailor to the player's own playing strengths.

Tim Schafer's team on the game comprises several people he worked with on Grim Fandango at LucasArts, and a number of new people. Amongst the art design crew are background artist Peter Chan and cartoonist Scott Campbell. Voice actor Richard Horvitz (best known as Invader Zim) provides the voice of Raz.

Psychonauts was originally to be published by Microsoft themselves for release exclusively on their Xbox console, but in March 2004, Microsoft pulled out of this deal. It emerged in August 2004 that Double Fine had negotiated a new publishing deal with Majesco to release the game on the PC as well as the Xbox. Tim Schafer was quoted as saying "Together we are going to make what could conservatively be called the greatest game of all time ever, and I think that's awesome." The projected release date for the game is