Tim Schafer Stacking PSN, XBLA in 2011

Earlier this year, Double Fine Productions founder Tim Schafer announced his intention to move away from big game development and focus on smaller, more personal projects. He claimed that his development company already had four new projects in the works along these lines. Costume Quest was the first of these titles--a turn-based role-playing game published by THQ, which released in October to a positive reception on Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network.

THQ and Double Fine today revealed the second of these titles, announcing Stacking will arrive on Xbox Live and the PSN in early 2011.

Stacking will take the form of a third-person adventure puzzle game. It follows the story of Charlie Blackmore, the smallest of a family of Russian stacking dolls, as he aims to reunite his family after they become separated in the wake of tough economic times.

The game's puzzle element involves stacking the dolls and making use of each one's different abilities to overcome challenges. Players will unlock more dolls as the game progresses and Charlie's story unfolds. Double Fine notes that challenges will have multiple solutions, with the goal of discovering all of the ways to overcome any given obstacle.