Tim Schafer-Interview - Original English Version
Tim Schafer, Vater von Guybrush Threepwood und Brütal Legend-Produzent, nimmt sich die Zeit und plaudert mit uns über Brütal LegendArtikel teilen
We visited Developer Legend Tim Schafer in London and ask him many questions about his upcoming Metal-Adventure Brütal Legend. Here's what Schafer has to say about Jack Black, Brütal Legend and Electronic Arts.
Videogameszone.de: An "Ü” in the game title: brave decision since not many Americans can pronounce it correctly. Do you still correct people who don't pronounce it rightly or did you give up? And why did you choose that title?
Quelle: Videogameszone.de
Tim Schafer (1)
Tim Schafer: I tried to create a name that conveyed the ultimate fantasy experience. Not just normal fantasy, but brutal, beyond-the-everyday fantasy. And when I took that as far as I could go, I added the umlaut, just to stretch it a little bit further. Also, back in Germany, my family name had an umlaut (Schäfer) which was taken away at Ellis Island, so I figure I'm owed one.
Videogameszone.de: What will the multiplayer mode be like?
Tim Schafer: Brütal Legend's multiplayer game let's players compete head to head, waging epic war against each other. Each side will have an army at their command, a Rock Stage to defend, and a full set of awesome, destructive guitar solos to battle with.
Videogameszone.de: You've mentioned that Eddie can play his guitar during battle to increase the morale of his troops. How does the player control the guitar riffs with the gamepad?
Tim Schafer: There is a quick, skill-based interaction with the music that allows the player to fire off a variety of solos. Some which change the weather to affect battle, and some whick literally melt the faces of your opponents.
Videogameszone.de: What other types of soldiers are there beside the headbangers?
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Tim Schafer (2)
Tim Schafer: One of the coolest things about Brütal Legend is the variety of characters and warriors in the game. Many of them seem like people you'd find in the parking lot of a heavy metal concert but with a twist--like the rocker chick who just happens to be carrying around a super-powerful bolt-throwing mini-cannon. But there are also strange characters who you would only find on the cover of a heavy metal album: Like the Zaulia--wild women who ride around giant, fire-breathing monsters with Kabuki makup. Or the character named Ratgut--his distended belly is full of rats who he can regurgitate on his enemies.
Videogameszone.de: Brütal Legend is also an open-world-game. Will there be side-missions? What can we expect?
Tim Schafer: In between missions, the player can explore 64 square kilometers of our open world landscape. They will find wild creatures roaming around, beautiful vistas, and also mini-battles raging across the land. The player can join these battles, or take on other side missions, in order to earn "Fire Tributes" from the Metal Gods. These tributes look like lighters held up on the bottom of the screen and can be later traded in to upgrade your car with weapons, or improve the power of your axe, among other things.
Videogameszone.de: What are your feelings about Heavy Metal and why did you decide to make a Heavy Metal game?
Tim Schafer: I have always loved Heavy Metal, since I was very young and my Brother first played Black Sabbath for me. My first album was "Diary of a Madman" by Ozzy Osbourne. I had a hard time in the mid-80s when the Hair Metal bands started coming out of Los Angeles. I really didn't like those bands and that tension is shown in the game in the form of General Lionwhyte--a hair metal general who builds a glam metal army to oppose you in the game. But really, the thing that made me want to make a heavy metal game is the power of the music, the epic storytelling of the lyrics, and the unrestrained creativity of the album art. Those artists created some insane imagery, and I just wanted to make a whole world out of it.
Videogameszone.de: How's working with Jack Black? What's he like and is he involved in the creative development process of the game? How are YOU involved in that process?
Tim Schafer: Jack is amazing. He is a really dedicated actor who really takes the role seriously and pours himself into it. He has thousands of lines in the game--it's a lot of work. But he is a gamer and he knows what each line means and how it adds to the player's experience. I write the script and then work with our voice director and Jack in the studio to bring the script to life. Jack will sometimes improvise or customize the script in a way that adds a layer of believability to the role.
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Tim Schafer und seine Interpretation von Shakespeares Hamlet.
Videogameszone.de: How much of Tim Schafer is in Brütal Legend? One could say that some of your games were unusual. Would you describe yourself as an unusual person?
Quelle: Videogameszone.de
Tim Schafer (3)
Tim Schafer: Brütal Legend is, I think, the most personal game I've ever made in that it's about a subject very near and dear to my heart, and it's getting exactly the treatment I wanted. It's not some generic hard rock world with a bunch of random heavy songs thrown in. It's very true to my own experiences with metal, and what I see as valuable and meaningful about it. It's like a love letter from me to heavy metal. And even though the imagery on the cover of metal albums is often what you might call unusual, I think it's very universal, in that it speaks to fears and legends and heroism and darkness that in their hearts, all people share.
Videogameszone.de: Game critics loved Psychonauts but before the game was sold on the Xbox Live Marketplace not so many people bought it. What where - in your opinion - the reasons for that and how will you save Brütal Legend from the same fate? Do you think that people are more willing to spend money on online distribution channels like the XBL Marketplace, the PlayStation Network or Steam?
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Bühnendeko bei der Präsentation von Brütal Legend in London.
Tim Schafer: The story of developing Brütal Legend is very different from anything I've worked on before. From the very beginning there has been excitement and interest in the game. Instead of going "huh" when people see it, they usually say, "Of course! Why hasn't this game been made before?" Because the combination of fantasy and heavy metal elements, and the complete union of the music with the action, is so natural, it immediately grabs people and gets them interested. Also, we have the support of a world-class, international publisher, and they're giving it a ton of support--a level of support that I am just not used to. It feels great, and bodes well for the success of Brütal Legend.
Videogameszone.de: EA has kind of the reputation to concentrate on existing game series like FIFA or Rock Band rather than to develop creative, new games. Now they released great games like Mirror's Edge, Dead Space and Battleforge. How did EA behave towards Brütal Legend? Did the publisher ask you to trim Brütal Legend here and there to make it more compatible for the mass market or did they just let you do whatever you wanted? How is EA involved in the development process in general?
Tim Schafer: When EA became involved with the game it was already looking very similar to the finished product. They saw Brütal Legend for what it was and they decided they liked it and did not ask for a single change. They focus test it, of course, but then we look at the testers together and we can both see that everybody drives off the path at the wrong spot and it's pretty clear to us and them that we need to make a change there, but that only makes the game better and that's a goal that EA and Double Fine share. They have respected the creative vision of Double Fine and that's been good for our relationship, and great for the game!
Videogameszone.de: Behind Brütal Legend lies an eventful development process so far...after Activision kicked the title out of its portfolio. Did you or do you still have any bad sentiments towards Activision? And how did you finance the project until EA took over?
Tim Schafer: Whenever there is a merger between two companies, there is always confusion. Some things fall between the cracks, but Double Fine is a strong company, with a well-developed instinct for survival. And there are no hard feelings. What would be the point? It's just business. Hating a corporation is like hating a soda machine when it eats your money.
Videogameszone.de: Was there one best moment you had during the development process, an especially bright idea maybe? If so, what was it and why?
Tim Schafer: There have been so many inspired moments and bright ideas that have come from the team, it's hard to pick one. Every day someone on the team comes up with a creative solution to an impossible problem. Some times its just a little idea that makes all the difference in the identity of the game. For example, when we first started the game, the Headbangers carried axes and fought like you'd expect. But then we realized the thing that makes these guys special is their headbanging! So we took their axes away. That was a great idea.
Videogameszone.de: Was there on the other hand a moment where you were close to cancelling the entire project and go on vacations for an indefinite amount of time?
Ha ha. No. Well, at least, not me! Double Fine does not quit!
Videogameszone.de: You became quite famous for making great classic adventure games. Do you want to make another one in the future? Some recent point-and-click adventure games were quite successful, especially in Germany.
Tim Schafer: If I get an idea for one, I'd love to make one again. We had fun making a mini (one room) Flash game that was a point-and-click adventure for our web page. It was autobiographical too--all about me writing jokes for a job I had hosting the Developer's Choice Awards in San Francisco. That was a lot of fun to do.
Videogameszone.de: It is quite obvious that Brütal Legend is going to be the best game ever. What's next?
Tim Schafer: You can't already be sick of talking about Brütal Legend, can you? It's not even out yet! After Brütal Legend... we have some ideas we're kicking around. But honestly, there were so many things we wanted to do in the first Brütal Legend game but didn't have time, I hope we get a chance to make a second one so can show off all the crazy ideas we had.
Videogameszone.de: Humor is a central element of Brütal Legend. Do you think there's a general difference between the American and German kind of humor? If the answer is yes, what in your opinion marks the biggest difference?
Tim Schafer: People warned me that when I demoed the game to the German press that they would not laugh. They would be stone-faced and serious and that I shouldn't take it personally. But I didn't find that to be the case at all. I recently showed the game to a group of German games journalists, and they laughed more than any other group. So I don't know why people think there is such a difference. I think no matter what country you are from, you can tell when something is made sloppily and purely for commercial gain, and you can tell when something is made with love and passion and where people are really knocking themselves out to entertain you. And I think people like that around the world!
Videogameszone.de: Thanks for the Interview!
