I recently finished the Psychonauts 2 documentary on YouTube. I can’t believe this thing exists, and I also can’t recommend it highly enough to anyone who’s curious about how a game (or any large creative project) created by 60+ artists, programmers, and designers goes from back-of-the-envelope idea to published software product. Recorded over the course of seven years, this is a minutely detailed and emotionally honest exploration of what it means to create art at massive scale and scope. The series extremely long (about 22 hours), so if you’re trying to watch the whole thing, treat it like a season (or three) of television. If you just want to dip your feet in, try episode 3.
Update (Feb 2025)
I got sick and decided to rewatch this entire thing. I still can’t believe it exists. Some thoughts: