The game that Kickstarted the industry goes out to crowdfunders

Back in March 2012, a project known as "Double Fine Adventure" was successfully Kickstarted for over $3 million -- and it changed the fate of the studio that would make it, and the Kickstarter platform itself.

That game is now released to its backers. Today, Broken Age Act 1 is delivered to players on PC, Mac, and Linux. Everyone else will be able to buy it on those platforms on January 28.

In a note distributed to the press, Double Fine head Tim Schafer reminisces: "This game started two years ago when a modest Kickstarter project to make a documentary about a game company added a small game to the deal. The response to that campaign surprised us all and we knew things were not going to be the same for a lot of people, especially us and our fans."

"I think the 'Double Fine Adventure' is the most transparent game development process in games history. This has made it exciting, and at times terrifying, but in the end any fears or doubts we've had have been swept away in an immense wave of goodwill and love from our backers."

While handling production and PR for a crowdfunded game has been a learning experience for the team, Schafer writes that the team never lost sight of its goals: "I hope, after playing this game, it's clear to everyone that we took not just the money we got, but also all the love, and poured it right back into the game."