Joystiq

Penny Arcade Adventures Episode 3 still alive, Zeboyd at the helm

Richard Mitchell — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 15:45:00 EST

After its abrupt cancellation last year, Penny Arcade Adventures: Episode 3 has risen from the ashes with developer Zeboyd Games taking control of the project. The studio is best known for its Xbox Live Indie Games and PC releases, Cthulhu Saves the World and Breath of Death 7.

RPGamer reports that, given the retro nature of Zeboyd's titles, Penny Arcade Episode 3 will take on a similar graphical style (think: the 16-bit Final Fantasy games); Alex Mauer will be providing the soundtrack. This marks the first game in the series not developed by Hothead, which left the project last year and went on to develop DeathSpank.

Episode 3 is set to be released in 2012 on "as many systems" as possible. More information will be revealed at PAX East next year ... but that won't stop us from harassing Gabe and Tycho for information all weekend.

Penny Arcade Adventures Episode 3 still alive, Zeboyd at the helm originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 26 Aug 2011 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hothead sheds more light on the death of Penny Arcade Adventures

Justin McElroy — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 13:20:00 EST

Back when the discontinuation of the Penny Arcade Adventures series was first announced, Team PA explained that the decision was made due to the team's concern about developer Hothead being forced to split attention between PAA and then-recently-announced DeathSpank. As PA writer Jerry Holkins told it: "I think they could've made DeathSpank and Episode 3 but I think Episode 3 would've suffered. I mean, I know it would have suffered. So we'd rather not do it than do it half-assed and so we're going to finish that story but it's going to be on our website."

Today, in an interview with Eurogamer, Hothead director of technology Joel DeYoung laid a little more blame at the feet of Holkins, implying that Tycho's alter ego had trouble keeping up with the workload required. "I think he really struggled to get the volume of text written for Episode 1, and then with Episode 2 coming out so quickly thereafter - it was five-and-a-half months," DeYoung said. "That was not worked on in parallel, and getting him to deliver that text was, er, frankly quite a struggle."

This revelation comes a few days after Hothead erroneously teased that Episode 3 would be produced if the first two sold well on the Mac App Store, a notion that PA artist Mike Krahulik quickly batted down on Twitter.

Though we may never know the real cause behind Episode 3's termination, whether it's Penny Arcade or Hothead that had too much on its plate, we'd imagine the truth, as is usually the case in situations like these, hovers somewhere in between.

Hothead sheds more light on the death of Penny Arcade Adventures originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 14 Jan 2011 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Penny Arcade Adventures tearing up Mac App Store charts, Ep. 3 still unlikely

Christopher Grant — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 18:20:00 EST

Just four days after the launch of the Mac App Store, some developers are finding unexpected success. The first two episodes of Hothead Games' truncated Penny Arcade Adventures trilogy are currently ranking high in the bestselling apps chart at number 21 and 56, respectively (and certainly boosted by their $4 sale prices). This prompted the developer to tweet, "We're thrilled that Precipice of Darkness has been doing well on the Mac App Store!"

While that was heartening, it was the now-pulled followup tweet (screen-capped above) that raised eyebrows: "For those of you that want PA Episode 3, all you need to do is get 100,000 of your friends to buy 1&2. Seriously. Do that and we'll make it," a Hothead staffer wrote. Turns out that's not quite the case.

"That's certainly news to me!" Penny Arcade biz dude Robert Khoo told Joystiq, adding, "there's nothing new to say about future [episodes]." Penny Arcade's Mike Krahulik responded to Hothead's tweet, stating simply, "that's actually not true."

Continue reading Penny Arcade Adventures tearing up Mac App Store charts, Ep. 3 still unlikely

Penny Arcade Adventures tearing up Mac App Store charts, Ep. 3 still unlikely originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Penny Arcade Adventures discontinued, 'there won't be an episode 3'

Christopher Grant — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 11:52:00 EST

We preemptively apologize for kicking off PAX East with a real downer, but a job's a job ... so here goes: "There won't be an Episode 3," Penny Arcade's Mike Krahulik told Joystiq this morning. "We're actually not making a third episode of the game." Penny Arcade Adventures was originally unveiled at PAX 2007 in Seattle as a four-part episodic series, marking the webcomic duo's first foray into video game creation, as opposed to video game critique. With the first two episodes following in fairly rapid succession - Episode 1 was released in May 2008 with Episode 2 following just five months later in October 2008 - the prolonged absence of Episode 3 has been notable. Coupled with the news that Episode 2 only earned "one-third the sales of Episode 1," things didn't look promising for the series.

"[The game's developer] Hothead has DeathSpank and they have a chance to do something really cool with it," Jerry Holkins, the other half of the duo, said. "And they need to have an opportunity to make it incredible." With a recently announced EA Partners ... uh, partnership, DeathSpank certainly has some weight behind it. But why not create both titles? Holkins says, "They definitely could've done both games. I think they could've made DeathSpank and Episode 3 but I think Episode 3 would've suffered. I mean, I know it would have suffered. So we'd rather not do it than do it half-assed and so we're going to finish that story but it's going to be on our website."

Continue reading Penny Arcade Adventures discontinued, 'there won't be an episode 3'

Penny Arcade Adventures discontinued, 'there won't be an episode 3' originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 26 Mar 2010 11:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Penny Arcade 'hoping' for Episode 3 reveal at PAX East

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST

While it's been some time since we last heard about the third installment in the Steampunkian Penny Arcade Adventures series, a glimmer of hope resides in the coming months with PAX East. A Penny Arcade representative confirmed to Joystiq that, "They [Penny Arcade] are hoping to have something to announce by PAX East. Unfortunately, we won't have anything before then." Presumably, we'll exclaim "oooooh" when we do finally see the game, as Mike "Gabe" Krahulik explained when we last heard from the duo about the game's absence.

Jerry "Tycho" Holkins further confirmed the possibility of an appearance for PAA: Episode 3 at PAX East, telling MTV Multiplayer, "Listen very closely to the announcements at PAX!" We're certainly ready to "feel the vigor in all our limbs," as Holkins claimed we would last September, but it's been so long we're not sure we'll remember that city-saving, hobo-beating, purple pantaloon-wearing protagonist of ours ... oh ... well, maybe not.

Penny Arcade 'hoping' for Episode 3 reveal at PAX East originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Best of the Rest: Chris' picks of 2009

Christopher Grant — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 18:00:00 EST

Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition
A high-definition update - with high-quality voice work to boot! - of the adventure gaming classic, Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition represents a sea change in how LucasArts treats its adventure gaming roots. Instead of squirelling them away in a vault while development continues on Star Wars title after Star Wars title, LucasArts is putting them up on Steam, and remastering them for a whole new audience, with the first Monkey Island adventure leading the charge.

Continue reading Best of the Rest: Chris' picks of 2009

Best of the Rest: Chris' picks of 2009 originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 03 Jan 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Penny Arcade Adventures Ep. 3 announcement not coming at PAX

Griffin McElroy — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:30:00 EST

Those who were hoping to hear savory details about Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness Episode 3 during the Penny Arcade Expo (how appropriate!) are about to have said hopes dashed upon the rocks. During our recent interview with the comic's creators, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, we learned that no news regarding the game will come during the duo's Seattle-based gaming community event.

There's a reason for the game's non-appearance during PAX -- but Holkins and Krahulik were tight-lipped about what that reason is. Krahulik teased, "When you hear the announcement, you'll be like 'oooooh.' It'll make sense." Holkins articulately added, "You'll feel vigor in all of your limbs." We're fairly certain that's a good thing.

Penny Arcade Adventures Ep. 3 announcement not coming at PAX originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PSA: Penny Arcade Adventures: Episode 3 still in development

Ben Gilbert — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:15:00 EST

It's been quite a while since we last got to command Penny Arcade's Gabe and Tycho around New Arcadia, pugilizin' giant fruit f###ers and sweepin' the boardwalk clear of barbershop quartets. So long, in fact, that we nearly forgot the series was intended to be episodic (we've been told that means every four to six months in PAA's case), which resulted in a call to series developer Hothead Games.

We were told by a Hothead rep this morning that, while no release date or information has yet been revealed about the game, "It [Episode 3] is still in development." Would it be fair to say we'll hear more about the game in the upcoming weeks leading up to PAX 2009? From the conversation we had this morning, we'd say that sounds mighty likely. With PAX 2009 just six short weeks away, we may not be waiting too much longer before we hear something more official.

PSA: Penny Arcade Adventures: Episode 3 still in development originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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