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Video
Posted by GameTrailers Feb 08 2011 03:34 GMT
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The stack dolls' adventure begins in this stop-motion live action trailer to commemorate the launch of Double Fine's downloadable game!

Posted by Kotaku Feb 04 2011 02:50 GMT
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Double Fine's Stacking is one of the newest perks for PS3 owners who subscribe to PlayStation Plus. PS+ members will get the Russian doll adventure on day one (February 8). More good PlayStation Plus news at the PlayStation.blog. More »

YouTube
Posted by Kotaku Jan 31 2011 23:30 GMT
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#stacking The upcoming downloadable Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game Stacking has something cooler than a spin-off action figure. It has a doll. A nesting doll. More »

Posted by Joystiq Jan 31 2011 23:30 GMT
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It's time for another origin story of an industry presence. Today, we've got Double Fine's Tim Schafer, who can thank Uncle Sam for the inspiration of his studio's name:

It came from this sign that used to be on the Golden Gate Bridge. I used to drive down from Sonoma when I was a teenager to see rock shows in the city, and I'd see that sign that said, "Slow to 45 mph, Double Fine Zone" and I thought, man, if I had a band I would name it "Double Fine" so that people would think I bought a really expensive billboard on the GG bridge. All of San Francisco is now declared a Double Fine Zone. Since I never got around to starting that band, or even learning how to play an instrument, I had to use the name somewhere!

Double Fine is currently working on a title for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network called Stacking. Like this feature? Be sure to check out the What's In A Name Archives.

Posted by PlayStation Blog Jan 26 2011 17:32 GMT
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As we played through the first levels of Stacking, Project Lead Lee Petty delighted in pointing out the tiny diorama-scale props that dot the game’s environments: marbles for lights, cigars for smokestacks, soda caps for stools. That sense of visual detail extends to the characters themselves, which are surprisingly detailed and expressive for being, you know, Russian dolls.

Why dolls? “We tried to condense the adventure game experience,” Petty explained, “so the dolls themselves are the characters, your inventory, and your abilities. You know that any given problem is going to be solved with dolls.” And these dolls just so happen to have powerful problem-solving abilities, whether it’s seducing a guard, plowing through a crowd, throwing a “proper uppercut,” or strategically using a bodily function. You play as Charlie, a tiny but plucky doll on a quest to save his kid brother from forced child labor at the hands of a dastardly industrial baron.

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To advance the story, Charlie must “stack” into other dolls to assume their appearance and control of their all-important special ability. Simply walking up to a doll’s exposed backside and pressing a button does the job. From there, problem solving takes over in the form of Challenges, whether it’s using a doll’s skill to empty a room or outrage a safety inspector. If you’d rather not stick to the script, Stacking also features sandbox side quests called “Hijynx” that reward you for wantonly experimenting with the various character abilities. “What we found was that a lot of people enjoy slapping,” Petty said, “so the Hyjinx provide some structure to that.” That means earning rewards for punching, slapping, or emitting foul odors at characters you meet in the game. “Bodily functions are a running gag in this game,” Petty promised. “We have all sorts of them.”

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While Challenges serve as the meat and potatoes of the gameplay in Stacking, your overarching goal is to collect complete sets of matching Russian dolls to advance the story and, ultimately, save Charlie’s family from the baron. A prime example comes early in the game at the Royal Train Station, with Charlie reuniting a traveling German family who got lost on their way to the Schnitzel Museum. The Royal Train Station has further significance in that it serves as the central hub for Stacking’s levels, including a “secret hideout” where Charlie stores the more than 100 collectible dolls hidden in the game.

The quirky and charming Stacking hits PSN on February 8th. What do you think of Double Fine’s latest PSN project? Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments.


YouTube
Posted by Kotaku Jan 24 2011 10:00 GMT
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#timschafer Tim Schafer is a funny guy. He makes funny games like Grim Fandango and Psychonauts. And the idea for his newest game comes from an unlikely place. More »

Posted by Joystiq Jan 19 2011 23:45 GMT
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Double Fine's second downloadable offering -- the last being the delightful Costume Quest -- for PSN and XBLA, Stacking, will arrive on those platforms February 8 and 9, respectively. Along with the dates, publisher THQ announced pricing: $14.99 on PS3 and 1200 Microsoft Points on Xbox 360.

To get you in the mood for stacking Russian nesting dolls, we've posted video of a young lady who should be especially good at this game after the break.



Video
Posted by GameTrailers Jan 19 2011 17:05 GMT
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What is Stacking all about? Russian stacking dolls! Find out more in this cam walkthrough in which Project Lead Lee Petty takes the stage.

Video
Posted by GameTrailers Jan 19 2011 17:00 GMT
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Use any combination of stacked characters to acquire new abilities in Stacking on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade!

Posted by Joystiq Jan 13 2011 01:20 GMT
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Between the adorable (and enjoyable) Costume Quest last October, and the forthcoming (and quite charming) Stacking coming this year, we're quite looking forward to the other two downloadable titles in Double Fine's four game roadmap. And though THQ isn't the only publisher that could release them, it would sure like to be. "I really wanna do a lot more with Tim [Schafer]. I've always been a huge Tim fan. Grim Fandango to me is one of the greatest works of art in gaming," THQ Core Games head Danny Bilson gushed to us this afternoon.

He said the choice to publish Stacking was an easy one. "Stacking I fell in love with. When Tim brought that in, I was like, 'Let's do this game! This is fantastic!'," he said. The game was later moved to THQ's "Kids, Family, and Casual" department (like Costume Quest), though Bilson's desire to publish more Double Fine games clearly hasn't diminished.

He reiterated that, currently, his studio only has a two-game contract with Double Fine: the aforementioned Costume Quest and Stacking. "There's a few more that I've identified, but I haven't made those deals yet," Bilson told us. He then paused before adding, "We've gotta get some hits rolling so I have more money to spend, to be honest with you." And between Homefront, Red Faction: Armageddon and Stacking, there's ample opportunity for that money to be made in the first quarter of 2011.

Posted by Kotaku Dec 28 2010 01:00 GMT
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#holidaycards Brutal Legend makers Double Fine wish you a happy holiday, with visions of Stacking and Costume Quest under the tree, plus possible hints about the next two downloadable games coming from the developer's "Amnesia Fortnight" project. Any guesses? More »

Video
Posted by Popple Dec 23 2010 23:08 GMT
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Slim
and we've got a little popsicle dick.

Posted by Joystiq Dec 23 2010 23:19 GMT
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At first glance, Stacking may seem like something you've never played before. Its core concept of possessing Russian nesting dolls (matryoshka) is something we've never seen in a game but make no mistake: this game is unequivocally a Double Fine joint. The characters are all fun (and quite funny) and, during a recent demonstration of the game at the Double Fine offices with studio head Tim Schafer and Stacking project lead, Lee Perry, I discovered that at its heart Stacking most resembles an adventure game.

Stacking tells the story of little Charlie Blackmore, a young chimney sweep and member of an unlucky family during the latter years of the Victorian era. Mr. Blackmore, Charlie's pop, ends up getting a job as a chimney sweep for a wealthy baron one day and that's the last the family sees of him. Soon after, the baron's men come and collect the rest of the family, save for tiny Charlie. Throughout the course of the game, Blackmore must aid his family members by tackling a variety of challenges, some more jovial than others. The game's story is told entirely in silent film-style vignettes which are, like a lot of the game, just so darn charming.

And that's the single word I keep coming back to when I think about Stacking: charming. The world itself has that Double Fine stamp on it -- the NPCs offer humorous banter and some of the challenges themselves are a bit ... weird. Following the convention "adventure game" formula, you need to do this one thing and you've got to figure out how to do it. Unlike a lot of adventure games, however, there isn't just one way to solve any puzzle or challenge.

Video
Posted by GameTrailers Dec 23 2010 17:00 GMT
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Check out diorama-scale objects that set the scene for a miniature adventure and learn story details.

Video
Posted by GameTrailers Dec 23 2010 17:00 GMT
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Introducing the amazing secret hideout, where you can construct found materials based on your adventures!

Posted by Joystiq Dec 20 2010 21:00 GMT
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Tim Schafer and his perfect-for-radio vocal stylings have taken to the casting of pods, releasing the first ever Double Fine "Action Cast." For the inaugural episode, Schafer talks Costume Quest with the game's creative leads (Tasha Harris and Gabe Miller), among other topics. Of note, Schafer says that DF's next downloadable title, Stacking, is "essentially done" and "should be out in early 2011," a more specific launch window than we had previously heard. Also potentially of note, Tasha Harris says she's animating a "super secret project" right now. What could it be?!

As the first show is a pilot, the studio is basing its decision to make more on listener response, so go get vocal in the post's comment section. We quite like the show and are hoping for more .... not that we're trying to influence your opinion or anything.

Posted by Kotaku Nov 23 2010 23:40 GMT
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#thq The people who made heavy metal fantasy adventure Brutal Legend and Halloween role-playing game Costume Quest have revealed their next game, Stacking, a simply named game with many layers. And Russian nesting dolls that emit vicious gas in gameplay. More »

Posted by IGN Nov 23 2010 18:38 GMT
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We have the first details on Tim Schafer's next downloadable game.