Tim Schafer is a industry veteran behind several titles that are often seen on lists over the best games of all time. It includes being designer for Grim Fandango and Psychonauts but also assistant designer on both The Secret of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge.
He has always done his own, very unique games that really don't look or play like anything else, and a lot of people was really surprised when his studio was sold to Microsoft two years ago. So has this had any effect on Double Fine? In a hearty interview with Games Industry, Schafer reveals his opinions on now being a part of Xbox Game Studios, explaining that he used to be worried about paying employees back in the day:
"I would constantly be thinking about how I was going to make payroll in a few months, and now I don't have to think about that at all, so that's a huge load [off]."
He also says Microsoft has kept their promise when they were being bought, and that he has more freedom to create games now:
"We've been given so much creative freedom now. Nobody has probed Psychonauts to second guess our decisions or anything like that. We've been trusted to handle the creative side completely, but we can opt-in to all these resources, like having it tested for accessibility and mental health checks. We had the resources but were left creatively to our own devices. And that's been great, and Microsoft has lived up to their word as far as what they said before the acquisition."
Schafer later ends the interview by explaining that he and the team at Double Fine wants to do something entirely different than Psychonauts, now that it has been finished and released:
"I think the team and I are really excited about doing something completely new that will be completely surprising to people."