Double Fine is all set to launch the first portion of Broken Age for Kickstarter backers on January 14, studio founder and gamer geek legend Tim Schafer confirmed on Twitter. As you might remember, Broken Age – previously known as Double Fine Adventure – is a narrative-driven adventure game that was built on roughly $3.3 million in funding raised on Kickstarter. The original funding campaign asked for just $400,000, and the massive groundswell of support turned the game into a much larger proposition that was initially envisioned.
For Schafer, Broken Age represents a major milestone. The former LucasArts gamesmith – whose resume includes classics like Maniac Mansion, The Secret of Monkey Island, and Grim Fandango – notes in his tweet that he hasn’t shipped a game of his own creation in four-and-a-half years. Moreover, he hasn’t shipped an adventure game – a genre he helped to define, in many ways – in 16 years. No pressure, right?
Broken Age split into two parts during summer 2013, when Double Fine announced that more money would be needed to complete the expanded vision for the game that the massive Kickstarter funding round resulted in. Cutting the game in half allows for Double Fine to generate some income that can then be funneled into completing the second half. Schafer confirmed later in 2013 that part one of Broken Age would come to Steam Early Access in January 2014. There’s no date for that release yet, but it should be far behind.
January 14 is referred to in many circles as “next Tuesday,” so you’ll be able to grab it soon if you’re a backer. Keep an eye on the email you registered with Kickstarter next week for instructions on how to check out Double Fine’s long-awaited game.
