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Guitar controllers axed from Brutal Legend
Tim Schafer, speaking to a group of (likely excited) game journalists, broke the hard truth last week during GDC 2009: "I was trying to figure out how you would throw down the controller and pick up the guitar," he said. MTV Multiplayer is reporting that Mr. Schafer then told the group there are "no plans" for guitar controller compatibility in the upcoming Double Fine-developed, EA-published game. We've got one question for you, Mr. Schafer: WHAT?! But rather than mull over the fact that we won't be literally melting enemies' faces In Brütal Legend with our plastic guitars -- a travesty, no doubt about it -- we'll instead spend our time once again perusing the gallery of screens below, looking forward to its eventual release.%Gallery-41208%
Joystiq impressions: Brutal Legend
click to make brutally large! While others were stuck in boring panels or roped into demos of ridiculous new peripherals, we spent an afternoon during last week's Game Developers Conference at Double Fine, the idea factory of Tim Schafer, designer of such bona fide classics as Full Throttle, Grim Fandango and Psychonauts. We were there to see his latest, hotly anticipated creation in action for the first time -- a little game you may have heard of called Brütal Legend.We went in with a rough idea of what to expect: an action game set in a world inspired by heavy metal, with, we hoped, loads of trademark Schafer humor. We came out having seen a game that honestly exceeded our expectations. Brütal Legend is what you'd expect from Double Fine and more. It's not just a one-man crusade; it's a war set to a thunderous soundtrack and filled with surprises. %Gallery-49211%
Rumorang: Brutal Legend coming to Wii, not being developed by Double Fine
Those magic Gelflings known as "sources" have whispered into the ear of The Cut Scene that Brütal Legend is coming to the Wii -- but it won't be developed by Tim Schafer's Double Fine studio. Hey, funny thing, that's what we wildly (not really) speculated yesterday, but we didn't have Gelfings to back us up ... so sad.The Cut Scene goes on to explain why Brütal Legend on Wii makes strategic sense for EA. Short version: EA could use the cash and having its newest franchise on the top-selling console is probably a good idea.%Gallery-41208%
GDC09: We write some jokes for Tim Schafer
Hosting the annual Game Developer Choice Awards is no joke -- but one does require plenty of amusing witticisms to make it off the stage alive. Double Fine's Tim Schafer has foolishly agreed to host the show again this year, prompting a mad quest to find the lolz necessary to combat the lulls. If you want to pretend to help him out, you can play the amazing adventure game, Host Master and the Conquest of Humor. Us? We're going to rescue the man from catastrophic embarrassment by offering the following jokes, free of charge: "Grand Theft Auto IV's a big contender tonight. Is anybody surprised? I know I'm not the only one who had a great time cruising around in stolen vehicles, running over prostitutes, doing stylish, drive-by shootings -- and then thought, 'Man, somebody should make a game out of this!'"
Brutal Legend is prejudiced against whole bodies
Aside from being somebody's stalking victim personal hero, Tim Schafer is a quirky and cool game designer ... but we just found out he has a much darker side. His latest game, Brütal Legend, is nothing more than an avenue for him to express his bizarre discontent for whole bodies. He's confirmed via Double Fine's official site that the game will include severed legs. Yes, severed legs, and we're not talking about a lamp, people!%Gallery-41208%
EA says something Brutal about Activision
Just when we thought things had finally settled down for Brütal Legend developer Double Fine and all the company's publisher worries were over, Activision has up and started some mess with the developer's new publisher, Electronic Arts. Variety's Cut Scene blog has word from "two sources familiar with ActiBlizzard's [Activision Blizzard's] position" that a letter was sent to EA from Activision stating their belief that a deal between Activision and Double Fine was "still in negotiations", thus rendering any deal made between EA and Double Fine null and void. EA has responded to the letter with guns fully drawn, saying, "We doubt that Activision would try to sue. That would be like a husband abandoning his family and then suing after his wife meets a better looking guy." We've got two words for you EA: Oh (and) Snap!Savvy Joystiq readers may remember that this isn't the first time Activision has made efforts to block progress on Brütal Legend's inevitable release. Back in October, an unnamed source at Double Fine was quoted as saying Activision was "blocking the process" (of being added to EA's publishing roster), just months after being dropped by the publisher. Though it's the weekend and we likely won't hear anything until Tuesday (what with President's Day and all), we've put in word to EA and Activision for comment and will update accordingly as news comes in.
Psychonauts soundtracks now available online
Those catchy tunes we remember from Psychonauts are now available online as Double Fine has released the soundtrack and cinematic score to Tim Schafer's mental adventure over most major online outlets, including iTunes, Napster, Rhapsody, eMusic and Amazon.Oh sure, we already own the Peter McConnell-composed music on CD, but as the studio's blog puts it, eCopies free us from such dangers as "deadly plastic discs" and "eye-burning lasers." Well, when you put it that way, here take our digital money. Just please don't melt our brains.
Revel in OXM's Brutal Legend cover story
How's this for objectivity? We love every scrap of Brütal Legend we've ever seen and when it comes out it's going to be so good and we're going to love it so much that we can't think about it too long or our hearts start to hurt a little. Keeping all that in mind, it should come as no surprise that we didn't just read the OXM cover story on the game that's finally online. We bathed in it, letting its digital ink and virtual pages seep into our every eye pore. Could you have read most (or all of this) in the magazine? Sure. But not everyone's a subscriber and besides, it's been more than a month since we've had to go searching for our umlaut key, so there.And hey, imagine your delight at discovering even small details like the name for Eddie's massive, literal axe (The Separator) and his metaphorical axe (Clementine). Will those of you who haven't read the print version of this story find even more delectable details? Read on, friends, and find out!%Gallery-41208%
Brtal Legend hits the cover of OXM
And that's about all we have to say, actually. Tim Schafer has posted the cover of February's Official Xbox Magazine on Double Fine's website. The cover doesn't mention anything else about the game apart from the fact that Jack Black stars in it. Luckily, Schafer drops his own feelings about the piece via some subtle rollover text. Roll over the image above to read our startlingly accurate recreation.The big question: Will Jack Black buy 5 copies for his mother?
Brutal Legend began with multiplayer (don't you remember?)
It's true that here at Joystiq, we know everything there is to know about the French joystick industry (c'est magnifique!); however, MTV Multiplayer does not, despite its namesake, know everything there is to know about multiplayer gaming. So, you can imagine their surprise upon learning that Brütal Legend – newly partnered with EA ... Partners – does in fact have a multiplayer component. Well, if you want details, the Game Developers Conference panel description they pulled this factoid from specified it would be "multiplayer" of the "rich" variety but that's all its got. Of course, being video game experts, we vividly remember every detail of that November 2007 IGN Australia interview with Tim Schafer, wherein he revealed that Double Fine actually "tackled [multiplayer] first and that's how [it] came up with the core gameplay mechanic that [it's] now using in the single player game." Want more details on the multiplayer mechanic? According to Tim "Freaking" Schafer, "It's more focused on ... large battles" – what IGN calls, and Tim confirms, is real "army versus army" stuff.Wow, we can't believe MTV Multiplayer didn't remember that interview. A classic!%Gallery-41208%[Via MTV Multiplayer]Source – The Brutal Art of Brütal Legend GDC listingSource – Brutal Legend - Tim Schafer AU Interview
Psychonauts encyclopedia wants your brain
Double Fine has (thankfully) not forgotten its beloved platformer, Psychonauts -- and neither has its legion of fans. The developer recently launched a wiki-style "Psycho-pedia" to flesh out the game's 'verse, offering up articles on all of its important people, places, and things. Oh, so many things.What's more, Tim Schafer and crew have opened the tome of knowledge to ... your knowledge. By creating an account at the site, you can update the articles with info that (gasp!) even the developer might have overlooked. Double Fine is also soliciting fan art, fan music, cosplay photos, and "any other art you may have created while under the influence of Psychonauts." We can see this getting fittingly weird.
Brtal Legend to be published by EA, coming 2009
It seems some elves were busy last night. No, they weren't helping us cobble shoes but rather sealing up the publishing deal for Double Fine's Brütal Legend. Having been hanging in limbo for quite some time now after Activision's merger with Vivendi Games, the rock opus starring Jack Black will be published by EA. The news came as a fan-site discovered that BrutalLegend.com pointed to an EA website. Shortly after, Joystiq received confirmation from Double Fine that Brütal Legend is definitely being published by EA and that the title is expected to arrive in fall 2009.It's about time.
Brutal Legend finds a home at EA
We're thrilled to see that despite disappointing holiday sales EA is still willing to take a punt on untested, creative new IPs. That's exactly what it's doing by taking Tim Schafer's Brutal Legend under its wing, which has been announced today. The game started life with Sierra as its publisher but after the Activision-Blizzard merger it was turfed out, alongside Ghostbusters and Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Athena (both of which were rescued by Atari). There were fears that, publisherless, Brutal Legend would never see the light of day. Thankfully EA has stepped up and guaranteed that we'll be stepping into Jack Black's guitar-wielding, demon slaying shoes next Autumn. We can't wait to see more of the game, though it won't be long now. Gameplay footage will be shown at Spike TV's VGAs on December 14th. Until then, refamiliarise yourself with the bizarre concept by watching the video after the break.
EA is the Brtal Legend publisher
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Report_Brutal_Legend_to_be_picked_up_by_EA'; We don't know exactly but there are really strong indications that EA will come to Brütal Legend's rescue. Most notably, www.brutallegend.com points to a non-existent EA domain, as noted by fan-site Brutal!. And if you tweak the address and plug in brutallegend.ea.com, you'll spot the above image. Seriously, try it for yourself, it'll do your spirit good after all the waiting.We're likely to hear something more official later today as Double Fine mastermind (and perennial Joystiq crush) Tim Schafer wrote on the company's blog that "Santa may be putting some sort of publisher news in our stocking during the night." For those about to rock ... well, you know.[Update: We just got the confirmation in our mailbox. The game is coming in fall of 2009 to 360 and PS3.]
Brtal Legend gameplay debuts at 2008 VGAs, Jack Black to host
It looks like you might just have one more reason to subject yourself to the 2008 Spike Video Game Awards. That reason is this: the award show will host the very first gameplay footage of Brütal Legend, which still (criminally) remains without a publisher. As the next game from Tim Shafer's Double Fine, it's understandable that you might just want to see it in action. In addition to this, the game's star, Jack Black, will be hosting the VGAs in lieu of Samuel L. Jackson, who has traditionally (and bizarrely) hosted the VGAs in the past. As Black is actually a known gamer, we can't say we disapprove of the announcement.Other sneak peeks that just might make the event worth watching (or at least skipping through later) include Terminator Salvation, Fight Night Round 4, Watchmen: The End is Nigh, Mafia II, and a "special Gears of War 2 announcement" (new maps, we'd guess).[Via Joystiq]
How to design a classic adventure game
Tim Schafer is a man who needs no introduction.So, anyway, in celebration of adventure classic Grim Fandango's tenth birthday, he's magnanimously released the game's puzzle design document to the teeming TL;DR masses online. Not only is it a fascinating and often amusing read (be wary of nonlinearity's "repulsive, yet fascinating head"), but it's full of valuable guidance for those fledgling adventure designers still struggling to solve the classic "talking walrus in a trench coat" dilemma. We struggled with that one for weeks.And in case you're one of the sad types currently shrugging their shoulders and asking, "Grim Fanwhatnow?," know that it's one awesome div.schafer { margin-top: -78px; } adventure pie rhinoceros the meaning of life neo-classical breakfast cereal did I turn the stove off this morning blathering typhoon wrench flinging submarine spectacular.neato. pirate pastiche omnivore non-stick pan umbrella deleterious consternation savage clown groin kicking bats-in-your-brother's-belfry sugar mama extra special super
Variety: ActiBlizzard blocking Brutal Legend move
Of all the games left in limbo by the merging of Activision and Blizzard, we're perhaps most dismayed by the current state of Brütal Legend, which at the moment is complete stasis. Yes, it seems like Double Fine's rock-action opus just can't find a home -- readers may remember that it was recently brushed off by MTV -- and now, we might have an inkling as to why. Speaking to Variety, an unnamed source at Double Fine said that Activision is actually "blocking" Brütal Legend from making the move to a new publisher. What remains unclear is why the publishing giant, which did not comment on the matter, is taking this course of action.Whatever is going on, we hope someone sorts it out soon, because we wants some Brütal Legend.[Via Joystiq]
Brtal Legend isn't going to MTV Games
Here's a question for you. If MTV Games won't publish Brütal Legend, a video game about an axe wielding roadie who lives the legend of rock and roll and casts magic spells with a guitar, who will? When asked by The Cut Scene whether or not they the company would publish Tim Schafer's recently displaced title, MTV -- that's "Music Television" -- replied "We are big fans of Tim Schafer. We hope the game finds a good home." In other words: no.While Double Fine assures fans that Brütal Legend is "fine" despite getting the boot from Activision, we have to wonder just who will publish the thing. We hope a publisher is revealed soon, lest Brütal Legend's title becomes an ironically accurate description of the game's development.[Via Joystiq]
MTV won't pick up Brtal Legend
With its rock 'n' roll aesthetic and Jack Black-connection, currently publisher-less Brütal Legend seemed like a natural fit to be picked up by MTV Games, the way Variety saw it. But, the publisher denied the hunch saying, "We are big fans of [Double Fine chief] Tim Schafer. We hope the game finds a good home."Well, that's just great. So, who'll pick it up? We can rule out Activision and MTV ... and almost certainly Majesco. While we don't know who the most likely candidate is now, we'd like to humbly offer the services of Joystiq's publishing arm. Here's what we can promise.1. No interference from us, except when we occasionally but adamantly demand that our likenesses replace those of the lead characters.2. No knowledge of how to actually publish a game, specifically in regards to marketing, manufacturing and distribution channels.3. Lots of hugs.So, how bout it, Tim? Can we work together?
Activision Blizzard staff layoffs may nix WoW mobile
Previously we reported that a mobile version of WoW was being seriously considered at Blizzard. However, with the finalization of the Activision Blizzard merger, the odds of being able to play WoW on your iPhone just got a lot lower. The newly-merged company is laying off 53 employees in the Issaquah, Washington area by September 27, 2008. Additionally, they are evaluating whether they will keep Vivendi Games Mobile, an arm of the company which develops games for the various mobile markets, like phones. If Activision Blizzard does decide to divest themselves of VGM, you can probalby kiss your hopes for WoW mobile goodbye since the synergy and cost-effectiveness of having the mobile developers under the same roof will disappear. I'm not saying that the WoW developers aren't beyond creating their own mobile infrastructure, or even paying higher prices for it to an external company, but it will be much less likely if they don't have the luxury of teaming with folks who all report up the through same corporate food chain. Among the other companies which Activision Blizzard says are eligible for the chopping block are Sierra Online, Massive Entertainment and Swordfish Studios, with staffing "realignments" likely at Radical Entertainment and High Moon Studios -- the loss of any of which will likely have no effect on WoW development, but may affect other games. Activision has announced that a few highly-anticipated titles are on the bubble, including Ghostusters and Double Fine's Brutal Legend among others. I sure hope they don't mess with Double Fine, since I am a huge Tim Schafer fan, but the upside is that it looks like the new company will have an even stronger focus on keeping their cash cow, WoW, healthy and grazing in the pasture for a long while to come.
