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Penny-Arcade Videogame Announced

MaryAlan writes "Penny-Arcade has announced that they're going to be making a game, partnering with Hothead games to create titles featuring the characters of the comic. The games will be released in episodes several times a year, digitally downloaded, and will play on Windows, OS X, and Linux, with an eye on consoles somewhere down the road. The first game is to be called Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness. There's also talk of the possibility they'll be released on Steam." From the Kotaku article: "'We're really excited to be working with Hothead Games on our first electronic adventure,' said writer Jerry 'Tycho' Holkins. 'From the moment we laid eyes on them, it was clear they had the technical and creative chops to execute our grim vision. Now that we have pooled our strengths, our dark work may truly begin.'" Yay! Dark works!

33 of 129 comments (clear)

  1. Yay, I found this secret fruit blending device by CrazyJim1 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Wait, no. No, get it away. Ahhh, stop that! Can't get image out of my head. Must drill brain out!

  2. At last! by Golias · · Score: 5, Funny

    There will finally be a new game release which Gabe and Tycho won't bitch about.

    --

    Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

    1. Re:At last! by legoburner · · Score: 4, Funny

      I wouldn't bet on that.

    2. Re:At last! by knardi · · Score: 2, Informative

      > There will finally be a new game release which Gabe and Tycho won't bitch about.

      As they are fond of reminding their readers, they tend to not make comics about the games that they play that they like, because (to quote Tycho) "the muse is reticent." In other words, just because their comics are often critical doesn't mean that they hate all games.

    3. Re:At last! by zenhkim · · Score: 3, Informative

      >> [Golias] There will finally be a new game release which Gabe and Tycho won't bitch about.
      >
      > I wouldn't bet on that.

      Me neither. :) You could say that Penny Arcade wouldn't be Penny Arcade if Gabe and Tycho weren't bitching about *something* regarding their games. I can imagine them testplaying the first release of Penny Arcade: The Game -- "Dude, I do *not* look like that! And what's with giving me that silly walk??" "What the fuck?! No Cardboard Tube Samurai?? How can they NOT fucking give me the option of turning into Cardboard Tube Samurai?!? FUCK!! Fuck, fucking fucked-up fuck fucker... FUUUCK!!!!!!!"

      Even the incredibly unique PS2 title "Ico" didn't escape criticism: the first time Gabe tried the game, he apparently tripped so heavily on the beautiful graphics that he froze into a smiling statue on the couch; later on we see Gabe driven up the wall by Yorda's inability to understand that WANDERING OFF GETS HER IN TROUBLE -- that and her attempts to communicate in a language unknown to anyone. ("Yeah, yeah, whatever. I don't speak 'crazy bitch'!")

      --
      "All hands, BRACE FOR IMPACT!"
  3. Woot, CTS! by Brothernone · · Score: 2

    I can't wait for the Cardboard Tube Samurai episode. I think PA is hillarious, and I hope this joint venture will be as good as they think it will. I have faith but there's always the chance for failure. I guess we wait for the next couple years and see.

    --
    He whom you called four-eyes yesterday, you call Sir tomorrow.
    1. Re:Woot, CTS! by Jim+Hall · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I've actually been holding out for a professionally-produced game based on the cardboard-tube Samurai. I emailed Tycho about it one day: Cardboard Tube Samurai Wii! For me, it's the killer game that would convince me to buy the Wii. Imagine: using the wiimote to deliver smackdowns against enemy samurai and ninjas. And pig sidekick mini-missions. :-)

      Sure, Gabe & Tycho would have to sell out to make this game. But only a tiny bit. And I hear that part of your soul grows back after a while.

      -jh

    2. Re:Woot, CTS! by HoboMaster · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Forget all that... I want Catsby and Twisp! That would be one crazy fun game.

      --
      Remember kids, tin foil doesn't work, so use LeadHat.
  4. Wait a minute by eieken · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Do you think they would give their own game a scathing review if it sucks? :)

    --
    Meet new people, and kill them.
  5. I hope they do this right by Weird+Dave · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I want a level where you have to punch a baby.

    --

    Grumble, Grumble
  6. OK by giorgiofr · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'll buy it but ONLY if this speech is in the intro http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/04/10.

    --
    Global warming is a cube.
  7. Re:Episodes a few times a year......... by knardi · · Score: 2, Insightful

    > I wont hold my breath. I'm still waiting for the next installment of their regularly scheduled podcast......

    You conveniently fail to recognize that their comics have been consistently on time, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, for over 7 years.

  8. Oh the joys..... by Churla · · Score: 2, Funny

    They just had a story arc which screams for a cheap shoot-em-up.

    I do agree that unlocking the FF2000 character should be a priority or epic proportions.

    --
    I'm a fiscal conservative, it's a pity we don't have a political party anymore
  9. Re:Episodes a few times a year......... by ConsumerOfMany · · Score: 3, Funny

    since 6/20/06 that is. They made 4/5, 4/12/ 4/20, got me hooked, then made 6/20 then nothing. ALmost like they are operating on some sort of Log scale.....

  10. Re:Episodes a few times a year......... by ConsumerOfMany · · Score: 2, Funny

    my girlfriend/wife and I had sex regularly for more than 7 years. Doesn't mean that it continued like that :) Past performance isn't always an indicator of future returns......

  11. Digital by th1ckasabr1ck · · Score: 2, Funny

    Digitally downloaded? I was hoping to grab it through my analog connection.

  12. Re:Episodes a few times a year......... by TCaptain · · Score: 2, Funny

    Well you'd better buy a flashlight...I mean...who knows what the sun's gonna do tomorrow morning!

    --
    "I'm not a procrastinator, I'm temporally challenged"
  13. I don't know how well it would succeed by Parallax+Blue · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ...as a video game. Considering the comic is famous (or infamous, if you're Jack Thompson) for its focus on video games, how well would that work when made into a video game itself? It'll be interesting to see what sort of game it is.

    There's also the issue of living up to expectations. Penny Arcade has a huge following, so if their video game is a flop, it's not going to look good and they'll catch some flak as a result. In addition, I expect this game to be very hyped simply because PA is so widely read, and that could contribute to any unreasonable expectations being formed about how good this game will be.

    In short, there are pitfalls here that they will have to overcome. The question is whether or not they'll succeed.

    -Parallax

  14. Re:Episodes a few times a year......... by AcidLacedPenguiN · · Score: 4, Funny

    you never met his wife. . .

    --
    disclaimer: I've been known to store numbers in my ass for which to dig out when quantities are required.
  15. Penny-arcade invading your entire house. by DeeDob · · Score: 3, Insightful

    First it was in the form of a seemingly harmless online comic...

    Then i found out they invaded the marketplace of my 360...

    Then they came to invade my gaming table in the form of a Penny-Arcade card game...

    Now they'll take over my mouse and keyboard!!!

    Oh the humanity! is there no end? Will somebody please think of the children?

    1. Re:Penny-arcade invading your entire house. by geekoid · · Score: 3, Funny
      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  16. On a Mac? by rmjohnso · · Score: 4, Funny

    Don't they always abuse the mythical Mac gamers? I can see the ending of each episode...

    "Congrats on beating the game! You still smell like patchouli!!"

    http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/08/11

    --
    "Extremism in the pursuit of liberty is no vice. Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." --Barry Goldwater
  17. In a word. by AltGrendel · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Yes.

    I don't think they'd hold back at all if their own game sucked. They'd be the first to admit it.

    --
    The simple truth is that interstellar distances will not fit into the human imagination

    - Douglas Adams

  18. Re:Awesome! by EraseEraseMe · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Yes, because historically critics turn out far better craft than those that they criticize.

    See Roger Ebert.

    --
    "Anybody who tells me I can't use a program because it's not open source, go suck on rms. I'm not interested." (LT 2004)
  19. Penny arcade grows bigger. Supernova inevitable. by kinglink · · Score: 3, Insightful

    To me this is sounding like Futurama or simpsons. Why do I hear "side scrolling" in the back of my mind.

    Penny arcade has definatly grown too big, their comics are funny at times but they get into storylines and try to develop characters and that's not what drew the fans in, in the first place. Their Dead Rising was interesting at first but has gotten lame. what could have been a decent week cartoon turned into almost three times as long and the humor was only in the first comic.

    Two or three years down the line after a failed tv pilot, I've the feeling it's all going to collapse in on them. They'll still be popular but they'll be focusing on the comic and not all these other diversions.

  20. Don't want to contradict the poster but... by rubeon · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "Run on Windows, OS X, and Linux" is pretty much the opposite of "they'll be released on Steam".

  21. Obligatory by JimMelton · · Score: 2, Funny

    I hear Jack Thompson will make a guest appearance as a Mac gamer...

  22. It needs more wang! by Bushido+Hacks · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You can't have a Penny Arcade game without wang.

    --
    The Rapture is NOT an exit strategy.
  23. Re:Episodes a few times a year......... by LoveGoblin · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Also that they said they probably weren't going to be doing any more podcasts (at least, not regular ones) because they didn't like how they were turning out. So he's holding his breath because he wasn't paying attention. :)

  24. umm, RTFA? by Phil+Urich · · Score: 2, Informative
    I mean, I know that this is /. but seriously, it's right near the start there (and this isn't some crappy corporate page that's annoying to have to browse through even).

    The episodic game, which will feature many fan favorites from the Penny Arcade universe (including the Fruit Fucker), will be delivered in monthly installments.
    --
    I remember sigs. Oh, a simpler time!
  25. Dark Works by Grimmstail · · Score: 2, Funny

    As opposed to Dork Warks, the sounds uttered by socially inept chocobos.

  26. Re:Episodes a few times a year......... by kv9 · · Score: 2, Funny
    Well you'd better buy a fleshlight... [snip]
    there, i fixed that for you.
  27. but but but by toren · · Score: 3, Funny

    How on earth can the first Penny-Arcade video game not be called Wang Commander?

    I mean, it practically writes itself.