Double Fine Reveals New Game, Introduces the Word “Matryoshka” Into My Everyday Vocabulary

While working on the development of Brutal Legend, the folks over at Double Fine had a series of what they dubbed “Amnesia Fortnights”, where the team would break up into smaller groups and work on game prototypes to be presented to the rest of the staff. Double Fine announced that four of the games would be developed, and two had been picked up by THQ. One of those games was Costume Quest, but Double Fine kept tight lipped about any of the other games until now.

Double Fine has finally announced the second of those THQ-published titles, a third-person adventure/puzzle game set in the 1930′s called Stacking. Stacking follows young Charlie Blackwell, a Matryoshka (or Russian Nesting Doll) who, according to Double Fine, is on a “quest to reunite his family after they’ve been forced into indentured servitude by an evil industrialist”. Additional information on the gameplay was provided in IGN‘s write-up:

The various dolls that populate the community have unique abilities and since Charlie is the littlest of them all, jumping inside another character… is an easy way to acquire new skill sets. Though you can pile on the dolls, only the outside one’s power will be accessible, so you may find yourself stacking and unstacking to successfully complete a challenge.

This time, Brutal Legend art director Lee Petty holds the project’s reins, as Tasha Harris headed the previous offering, Costume Quest. I was excited to see what Double Fine could do without Tim Schafer as project lead, and though I had my issues with Costume Quest, I still eagerly anticipate whatever the studio has to offer from this and the other two unannounced Amnesia Fortnight games.

Keep an eye out for Stacking on XBLA and PSN in spring 2011. Until then, check out the trailer.