Xbox delivered the first big showcase of the year with its Developer Direct, and amid rumors that the event would highlight three of its most-anticipated games, there was plenty of speculation that it would also show off a secret fourth game as well. That speculation proved correct, as the showcase offered the first formal and lengthy preview of Kiln, the next game from Double Fine. The madcap party game is coming sometime this spring, and while we’ll have to see how it turns out, the presentation itself stood out as a testament to the qualities that make Double Fine so special in this industry.
This wasn’t quite a debut for Kiln, which has been known about and in development for years. In fact, the excellent Double Fine documentary Psychodyssey had an episode devoted to its Amnesia Fortnight, the internal game jam exercise where Double Fine has cooked up some of its greatest ideas. That episode happened to capture the birth of Kiln, years ago now, showing just how long it takes a game to go from inception to release.
(If you haven’t watched the sprawling documentary series yet, you certainly should. It’s quite simply one of the best deep-dives on game development, with all the humor and heart and human drama that comes with an intimate look inside a group of creative people.)
