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We admit it - we´re huge Fans of Tim Schafer and his previous work. So we were very excited, when we met the man himself at the Games Convention in Leipzig. Of course he was eager to tell us about his new game Brütal Legend!

Tim Schafer: So, this the new Double Fine game, Brütal Legend. I try to do something different every time I make a new game, and this is an idea we've been wanting to do for years. You take the role of an average heavy metal roadie. He is just an average guy who is taken back to this fantasy world, filled with volcanoes, rivers of blood and all sorts of crazy beasts everywhere. And he has to defend himself, and finds out about a brutal overlord ruling the lands. The humans of this world have called upon him as their saviour, and he's like "I am a roadie. I can put on a light show, I can fix your car and I can change your guitar. That's all I can do." And the people are like "You are our last chance, please help us out." And so he pulls on everything he knows to create a Heavy Metal Army of Destruction.

And he does that by using a guitar with special powers. He makes volcanoes explode, he plays a guitar solo that makes faces around him melt. The interesting thing about this world is, that all the things he needs to build his army are embedded in it. There are swords growing on trees and carparks buried underground. So, it's all there, but nobody is using it.

Gameplay-wise it's a third person action adventure. You have an open world to explore, and can go everywhere. But there is also a set of missions strung together, a single player campaign that advances the plot and furthers the story of the roadie. There is, for example, a mission where the roadie has to free a group of enslaved miners, and then in the next mission he can use them as another squadron in the next epic battle. There will be Hot Rods, headbangers, rocker chicks and similar classes.

Obviously there is a lot of Heavy Metal in the game, and we try to evoke the feeling of Heavy Metal all the time. Visually the game is reminiscent of early Heavy Metal videos.

Peter Clausen: Heavy Metal has actually become a strong theme in your work. We had Hoagie in Day of the Tentacle, we had Full Throttle, and now there is Brütal Legend. Do you try to integrate your private interests into your work?

Tim Schafer: I am glad you noticed that, because other people think this game is quite different from what I have made before. Every game we have done so far was kind of hinting at this stuff, but this time we thought "Let's just go for it". Actually there was an inspiration, because I once met a roadie for Megadeth, whom we later based Hoagie on. He told all these crazy stories, and that kind of stayed with me. There is something about roadies, becaue they have all this knowledge of what to do, but they are not the rockstar. They are helping the rockstar to look good. So, I have always liked that kind of character, and I have always liked the music and Hot Rods and so on. There was also a car strongly influenced by Heavy Metal in Grim Fandango called "The Bone Wagon".

Peter Clausen: Was the game in any way influenced by Alan Dean Foster's Spellsinger novels? That series of books deals with a Rock and Roll singer from our world who is transported to a fantasy setting. Once he arrives there, he discovers that he can change the world by performing certain songs on his guitar. There is, for example, a situation where he needs a boat and so he starts performing Yellow Submarine.

Tim Schafer: I was not even aware of that. But it's not quite like that in the game. I don't wanna describe the mechanic just yet but you can do many different things. It is however possible to summon your car with the guitar.

Peter Clausen: What's more important in game-writing: Plot or character?

Tim Schafer: They are all the same to me. The abilities a character has, tell you what kind of character he is, and that in turns has impact on the plot.

Journalist: The game seems to be pretty brutal. Do you think you may have to change anything for the european release?

Tim Schafer: Well, the brutality is intentionally played up a lot in the trailer, but actually the game is still a comedy at heart, so we are not too worried. It's kind of violent but it's also really funny.

Peter Clausen: When Psychonauts came out you said that you should have put more explosions on the box in order to make the game sell better. Now that the title of your new game has been revealed as Brütal Legend one has to wonder if this was an intentional step to make the game seem more edgy, and by that more interesting to a certain part of the game-buying public?

Tim Schafer: Well, I always make this joke because my biggest hit so far has been Full Throttle and that had two explosions on the cover. We forgot that on Psychonauts. But maybe on this game we will try at least... three explosions on the cover. But the title wasn't a reaction to the way the gaming industry is going. I just try to the sort of stuff I am interested in. And I always try to do something different. Grim Fandango was very different from Full Throttle, and Brütal Legend is very different from everything I have done before that.

Journalist: When will Brütal Legend be released?

Tim Schafer: Sometime next year.

Peter Clausen: Sounds great - I´m looking forward to it!
 

Text Copyright Peter Clausen, Bettina Herbig 2007
Pictures Copyright Doublefine