Publishers Wanted Brütal Legend To Go Hip-Hop

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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Publishers Wanted Brütal Legend To Go Hip-Hop


It's hard to imagine Brütal Legend [http://www.brutallegend.com/] as anything but an all-out head-bangin' rock attack but designer Tim Schafer says that in the game's early days, publishing executives wanted him to change the theme to hip-hop - or country.

Brütal Legend tells the story of Eddie Riggs, a roadie who finds himself transported to a heavy metal fantasy world via his cursed belt buckle. Once there, he must put his unique skills and experience to use, leading the enslaved people in a rock revolution against the tyranny of Lord Doviculus and his minions. The game stars Jack Black [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0085312/], who possesses no small amount of his own rock cred, and will feature appearances by heavy metal icons including Ronnie James Dio, Lemmy Kilmister, Rob Halford and Lita Ford.

It sounds firmly rooted in the world of leather, spikes, wailing guitars and combustible drummers but in a recent Eurogamer [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/brutal-legend-tim-schafer-interview] interviewer, Schafer revealed that executives at unnamed publishers were hesitant about the rock and roll backdrop and asked if he could make an ever-so-tiny change to the setting.

"When we were first pitching Brütal Legend, it was before the first Guitar Hero [http://www.guitarhero.com/] game was announced and we were like, 'There's this game in a heavy metal world,' [and they said] 'We like the game, but could we change it to be a hip-hop game, or maybe country music?'" Schafer said. "There's nothing against that music, but it doesn't have a lore of heavy metal, in terms of a certain kind of mythology that leads to epic, medieval battles."

But the explosive success of Guitar Hero, which included classic tracks from Ozzy Osbourne, Deep Purple, Blue Öyster Cult, Motörhead, Megadeth, Judas Priest and numerous others, changed minds and opened doors. "After Guitar Hero came out and [Black Sabbath's] 'Iron Man' was one of the first songs on it, it seemed to expose a whole new generation to that kind of music," he continued. "So by the time we were pitching the game for a second time there was a lot more interest in it being exactly what it is, which is a brutal heavy metal action-adventure."

Sounds like we really dodged a bullet there. On the other hand, now we can all look forward to the sequel, Brütal Legend: Bröken Hearts and Stölen Picküps Edition.


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SharPhoe

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Feb 28, 2009
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I've actually never heard of this game before. It's a hard rock adventure game? Do want. Though in order to truly win me over, the Game Over music has to top this. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pPQnhhUqtU]
 

Keane Ng

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I would find that about 100 times more interesting than Brutal Legend's seriously dubious take on metal.

And hip-hop has plenty of lore and mythology.
 

grinklehi

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Sep 10, 2008
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I would say that I would have been Extremely pissed if it was hip-hop, but due to the screwy way time works I wouldn't have even thought about making the game more Dio and less Chere (Spelling?). The only difference I can see with my semi-prescient abilities is that next to nobody would be all excited for it. Well, Thank god for Iron Maiden I guess.
 

Hippobatman

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Jun 18, 2008
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Wow, imagine the protagonist in a super-wide hoodie with matching baggy knee-high pants.

Glad we got away from that one.
 

grinklehi

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Keane Ng said:
I would find that about 100 times more interesting than Brutal Legend's seriously dubious take on metal.

And hip-hop has plenty of lore and mythology.
Oh yeah, the God of Hip-Hop has TONS more tributes to him then those nobody Gods of Rock. I mean, it's not like any big rock stars have sold their souls to Their particular deity, Unlike say, Mrs. Spears, am I right? :p
 

Andy Chalk

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Nov 12, 2002
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Keane Ng said:
I would find that about 100 times more interesting than Brutal Legend's seriously dubious take on metal.

And hip-hop has plenty of lore and mythology.
I don't think we can be friends anymore.
 

Anton P. Nym

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Sep 18, 2007
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Keane Ng said:
I would find that about 100 times more interesting than Brutal Legend's seriously dubious take on metal.

And hip-hop has plenty of lore and mythology.
And I would rather shove a soldering iron into my ear than play yet another game that pretends to be hip-hop out of some focus-group-derived marketing need. I'm with Schaefer on this one.

-- Steve
 
Feb 13, 2008
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Keane Ng said:
I would find that about 100 times more interesting than Brutal Legend's seriously dubious take on metal.

And hip-hop has plenty of lore and mythology.
That any of it is good?

I kid...I kid!

But Country and Western...uggggggghhh.
 

Cheesebob

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Metal somehow fits in with viking mythology and stuff, I feel anyway :D

And many axe weilding maniacs are usually based (no matter how loosly) on norse stuff :D
 

PedroSteckecilo

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Feb 7, 2008
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The_root_of_all_evil said:
Keane Ng said:
I would find that about 100 times more interesting than Brutal Legend's seriously dubious take on metal.

And hip-hop has plenty of lore and mythology.
That any of it is good?

I kid...I kid!

But Country and Western...uggggggghhh.
Come on now, really good bluegrass is worth listening too and it always makes me think of Spaghetti Westerns and Post Apocalypticism. That and a game based off of Oh Brother Where Art Thou... think about it...
 

laikenf

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Oct 24, 2007
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"What do you do with a bunch of kids who do nothing but bang their heads on the wall all day?... You start a revolution"...
-Metal music starts playing loudly- "What's that?"... "It's the voice of an angel, no it's the symphony of the gods"...

Tell me how would you translate that to a hip-hop context?
 

Abedeus

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Sep 14, 2008
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laikenf said:
"What do you do with a bunch of kids who do nothing but bang their heads on the wall all day?... You start a revolution"...
-Metal music starts playing loudly- "What's that?"... "It's the voice of an angel, no it's the symphony of the gods"...

Tell me how would you translate that to a hip-hop context?
YO CHECK THIS UP!

CHE CHE CHECK CK CK!!

WE DA BROTHAZ OF DA STREET, HEAR OR MUSIC OR DIE MOFO!!

This be good, rite?
 

InProgress

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Feb 15, 2008
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Soulja Boy: Crank Dat Legend sounds so awesome!

Honestly, it would have sucked to change it from rock lore and mithology into a drive-by shooter with hidraulics and the like. People should let Schafer do the things he's good at: offering us a brilliant action adeventure full of wit and inteligetn hilarity.
 

laikenf

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Oct 24, 2007
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Abedeus said:
laikenf said:
"What do you do with a bunch of kids who do nothing but bang their heads on the wall all day?... You start a revolution"...
-Metal music starts playing loudly- "What's that?"... "It's the voice of an angel, no it's the symphony of the gods"...

Tell me how would you translate that to a hip-hop context?
YO CHECK THIS UP!

CHE CHE CHECK CK CK!!

WE DA BROTHAZ OF DA STREET, HEAR OR MUSIC OR DIE MOFO!!

This be good, rite?
You Aaight, you Aaight...
 

thenumberthirteen

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Dec 19, 2007
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Malygris said:
"When we were first pitching Brütal Legend, it was before the first Guitar Hero [http://www.guitarhero.com/] game was announced..."
How long has this game been going on for? Since there are now about 10 different Guitar Hero games.
 

Ripshot

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Aug 5, 2008
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If the publishers demanded the hip hop or no publish I would rage like few gamers have raged before

so glad they agreed to stay with rock