Double Fine chief Tim Schafer today released a new update video for point-and-click adventure Broken Age, in which he offered his support for beleaguered fellow developer Peter Molyneux.
Last week, 22Cans head Molyneux was embroiled in a news scandal following revelations of disappointing progress on his crowdfunded game Godus, and reports of the shabby treatment of the winner of his much-publicized contest for mobile game Curiosity. Molyneux ended the week by claiming to numerous media outlets that he will be withdrawing from talking to the press.
"In the last few weeks we've seen some extremely rough treatment of Peter on the internet and games press," said Schafer. "I think it's really unfortunate and unfair. Obviously, things did not go as expected with his game and because of that people are making some really nasty accusations about Peter, and I can really relate to that, believe it or not."
Back in 2013, Schafer announced plans to divide his crowdfunded game Broken Age in two, something that had not been part of the original pitch, which raised over $3 million. Although controversial at the time, the split-episode game has been received warmly, with the next episode finally close to completion.
In the new YouTube video, Schafer talked about how the game is progressing towards launch, and how Kickstarter backers are receiving their benefits. But he finished the video talking about Molyneux's troubles.
"I'm not saying that developers like Peter and I shouldn't be responsible and accountable to deadlines," he said. "I'm just saying the reaction to recent events and the tone of that reaction is really way out of proportion to the seriousness of the events themselves."
He said that his company's policy of releasing documentaries about its work, as well as regular updates, were attempts to help consumers understand game development, and perhaps enjoy playing games more, through that understanding.
