Gameplay video now available for download

Well, the gameplay footage was shown as promised last night. Looks like the game is shaping up very nicely! You can grab the one-minute video from the trailers and commercials section, which features snippets of gameplay and in-game cutscenes.

Worth watching just as much as the trailer is the fantastic introduction by Jack Black, which I think can be summarised best with the following quote from Idle Thumbs’ Marek Bronstring:

“I can’t believe I just saw Jack Black yell TIM FREAKING SCHAFER TIM FREAKING SCHAFER and Tim being brought onto stage in a chariot, and then Brutal Legend getting plugged to the max. I love it.”

Yes, it really was that awesome — and he didn’t even mention the flamethrower! I was pretty taken aback by how OTT the whole introduction was; most appropriate for a game as brutal as this. For now I’ve only been able to find a low-quality recording of the introduction, so if you know of a better version please leave a comment or get in touch (it can be hosted here if it’s on your computer).

I’ll be sure to update the trailers and commercials section with the usual Flash version and such later today, as well as furnish the screenshots section with the new material; I’ll also be putting the introduction video up as soon as I can find a decent-quality version. Keep an eye on those sections during the next day or so!

LA Times interviews Tim Schafer and Jack Black

A bit of a gem managed to slip beneath the radar during the publisher news excitement the other day: an interview with both Tim Schafer and Jack Black, conducted by the venerable LA Times. Here’s a choice quote from Jack:

“I was a big fan of Tim’s Psychonauts game. That’s the amazing thing about this. Tim is the only person I would have done a video game with. And he’s the only one who’s ever asked me. It was… destiny.”

Also covered is how the two met, how Brutal Legend was conceived, and various talk about what the game is all about. So like any Schafer interview, well worth reading.

Don’t forget to tune in to Spike tonight!

Just a reminder that the Spike Video Game Awards are on tonight at 9pm EST, during which the first Brutal Legend gameplay footage will be shown. It’s unclear how much (or little) will actually be demonstrated, but it’s certainly something you won’t want to miss if you can access the Spike channel.

According to Spike they’ll be putting the Brutal Legend premiere up for viewing online, however there’s been no indication of how good the quality will be. As such, it’d be really awesome if those of you with the appropriate equipment could record the show yourself in the highest quality possible — just in case.

Brutal Legend designer Tim Schafer has confirmed that he’ll be attending the event, along with many other guests including the likes of 50 Cent, former Xbox 360 boss Peter Moore, 24′s Kiefer Sutherland, and brutal boxer Mike Tyson.

A pre-show for the awards will be airing at 8pm EST, and can also be watched online.

Update

[December 15th, 2008 at 2:16am GMT+0] The event has now been underway for just under 20 minutes, and it turns out that a live web stream is available. Enjoy!

Tim Schafer chats with GameSpot

Man, it’s been a pretty exciting 24 hours for Brutal Legend fans. After the big publisher reveal and a small interview with Eurogamer, the night ends with Tim Schafer talking to GameSpot about the EA publishing deal and continuing development of the game:

“Jack [Black] is still in the [recording] studio. He has a lot of lines, but he is a big gamer and so he was actually prepared for what he calls ‘the phone book’, the script of the game. There’s a section of the game where he really just has to curse out this evil demon who’s coming up to him, so it was just better to let him go with it than to try and write it.”

Be sure to read the interview at once.

Eurogamer interviews Tim Schafer

If you’re not already suffering from heart palpitations after this morning’s publishing announcement, perhaps we can do something about that.

Hot on the heels of the news that Electronic Arts is publishing Brutal Legend, Eurogamer has interviewed Tim Schafer about his totally-not-cancelled game. A small snippet from Tim Schafer:

“In Brutal Legend you’ll go into a world you haven’t gone into before, which is combinations of every single thing I’ve ever thought was cool in the world, all together in one place [...]  Brutal Legend is the natural evolution of awesome. I think you must take the next step, even if it is a giant step… The next logical, enormous step towards awesomeness that we’ve made.”

For that and more interesting discussion about the new publishing deal, Jack Black’s involvement, the game’s music, etc, be sure to read the whole interview! Muchas gracias to Ozzie for bringing this to my attention.