Amnesia Fortnight 2012

Lore & Background

Amnesia Fortnight 2012 was a two-week public prototyping session held by Double Fine Productions in conjunction with the Humble Bundle group in 2012. Anyone who paid a minimum of $1 could vote on 24 concept ideas. After voting, Double Fine developed the top five voted ideas into game prototypes, which became available to bundle purchasers upon completion. The five prototypes were Hack 'n' Slash, Spacebase DF-9, The White Birch, Autonomous, and Costume Quest 2. Originally only four prototypes were planned, but Double Fine decided to greenlight a fifth, Costume Quest 2.

Three bonus prototypes were also included: Brazen from the 2011 Amnesia Fortnight (which was not public), Black Lake from a previous non-public session, and Happy Song from the first Amnesia Fortnight around 2007. Happy Song later became Happy Action Theater. A documentary by 2 Player Productions about the making of the prototypes was included with purchase. The bundle was later released on physical media as part of a special edition bundle.

Reader's Guide

Amnesia Fortnight 2012 represents a notable experiment in public participation in game development, allowing consumers to directly influence which prototypes were created. The event produced several prototypes that later became commercial releases: Hack 'n' Slash, which received the most votes, was released as a full commercial game in early access in May 2014 and fully in September 2014 for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Spacebase DF-9, the second most voted prototype, was released as a full version in October 2014 but received overwhelming negative reviews. Autonomous was released as an expanded full free release for the Leap Motion controller in November 2013. The inclusion of bonus prototypes from earlier, non-public Amnesia Fortnights—such as Costume Quest and Happy Song (which became Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster)—highlighted the long-term value of the prototyping format. The event also produced a documentary by 2 Player Productions, adding a layer of behind-the-scenes documentation. Amnesia Fortnight 2012 demonstrated a model of crowdfunded, community-driven game development that influenced later industry practices.

Did You Know?

• Hack 'n' Slash received the most votes and was led by senior programmer Brandon Dillon.
• Spacebase DF-9, the second most voted prototype, was released in October 2014 to overwhelming negative reviews.
• Costume Quest 2 was the fifth prototype greenlit after Double Fine decided to add one more beyond the original four.
• Happy Song, a bonus prototype from the first Amnesia Fortnight around 2007, later became Happy Action Theater.