Tim Schafer Talks Jack Black’s Gamer Cred & How Guitar Hero Saved Brutal Legend
February 11th, 2009 | Written by Anthony Perez | Topic: Culture
In an interview/preview with Official Xbox Magazine, Tim Schafer talks a bit about the behind-the-scenes details of how Brutal Legend came to be. In short, if it were not for Guitar Hero, Schafer’s dream game may never have become a reality.
“We started pitching this game before the first Guitar Hero came out,” says Schafer, “and we got feedback like, ‘It’s good, but have you thought about making it a hip-hop game, or making it country?’ And then Guitar Hero debuted, and that stuff changed. Harmonix had such great taste when they created the tracklist. It’s obvious that music fans picked those songs. So metal really has had a resurgence.”
Of course, a game that brings metal to life wouldn’t be the same without metal-head, actor, and Tenacious D lead Jack Black, who voices the main character, Eddie Riggs. The team only joked about having Jack Black play the role, but then something unexpected happened, as Schafer explains:
“Someone told us he was a fan of Psychonauts, and we thought: ‘What? That’s crazy!’ So through people’s people, we got this meeting set up — just me and him on the roof of the Four Seasons in Los Angeles. I brought this binder of concept art and laid it all out for him, and he liked it. I really would say he’s starring in the game, because he’s brought life to Eddie Riggs. He’s a huge gamer — I’ve seen his Achievements, and he plays games like Mass Effect and BioShock all the way through and then plays through them again — so when I explain dialogue choices in the game, he gets all of that stuff. He knows, and he wants to make it good.”
Though we have no doubt that Brutal Legend is probably going to be great given Schafer’s track record, it’s always nice to see everyone from the animators down the voice talent really involved in the development of a game with a genuine passion.
via The Official Xbox Magazine
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