Double Fine ŧrådêmaŗkś Brütal Legend
By
Brendan Sinclair, Senior Editor
Leaked info on Psychonauts studio's next title gets more credibility; developers tease fan base with Web minigame.
When news reports about Double Fine Productions' next game surfaced (and then were quickly pulled) in August, studio founder Tim Schafer was quick to mount a joking campaign of misinformation.
Schafer denied reports that the game would be called Brutal Legend and star Jack Black as a dead roadie trying to reach rock-and-roll heaven. He instead told the International House of Mojo that the company was working on Zak McCracken 2 for the PlayStation Portable, a follow-up to one of LucasArts' earlier graphic adventure games. Meanwhile, Schafer told GameSpot his next title would be a first-person shooter set in the Monkey Island universe.
Phantom projects aside, Schafer did say some of the rumors floating around were true (particularly the one about him being a good kisser), "but a lot of it was false." It appears the game's title would be one of the true bits, as Double Fine has filed a US trademark application for the umlaut-equipped "Brütal Legend."
The trademark covers uses of the phrase in gaming software, comics, art books, action figures, trading cards, yo-yos, and "musical toy instruments, namely, toy guitars." If that doesn't sound enough like the beginning of a merchandising blitz, the trademark further covers "entertainment services, namely, providing an online computer game, a motion picture, an entertainment program television program in the field of action and adventure via a global computer network," and more. While this doesn't necessarily mean all of these things (or any of them) will be made, it is a considerably wider array of uses than Double Fine sought in its Psychonauts trademarks, which was largely limited to games, instruction manuals, and playthings, with yo-yos again specified.
While eager gamers will have to wait on the official word about Double Fine's next game, the company has released a bit of a teaser on its official Web site. Proclaiming that the studio's new game is no longer a mystery, a press release-style write-up on the site hypes up its Epic Saga: Extreme Fighter, a Flash-based minigame on the Double Fine site. Epic Saga is a rudimentary fighting game where players pick from a handful of fantasy archetypes.
Each round ends with a bit of banter that will no doubt appear familiar to fans of vintage LucasArts adventure games. In one instance, the victor asks, "What were we fighting over again?" The defeated opponent replies, "Evolution. I was for it and I believe you were for it as well."
"We've been dying to talk about this game for so long," Schafer said in the faux press release. "It feels great to finally be able to share it with the world. The team has put so much hard work into this title, and I think the wait was worth it. We've been able to put an extra layer of polish on the game, which is really important considering it has innovative features that are relatively new territory for us: A deep combat system, selectable characters, and dynamic dialog matrix that is completely different every time you play the game."
As for the trademark application, Schafer had not returned GameSpot's request for comment as of press time.
By
Brendan Sinclair, Senior Editor
Brendan Sinclair has been a games journalist since 1999. His tastes are eclectic, though he has a definite affinity for games with arcade roots. He's Canadian, but has also been at home in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, and San Francisco.
38 comments
hahaha "monkey island shooter"..... that would be trash..... but a new monkey island would be cool.
Too many patents in there... but only ONE is the true one... thats the big secret... many they know how to hide their stuffs :P
I love psychonauts. I tried recommending it to my friend, but they say the character design is just to strange. I hope whatever game they come out with will be as much fun as psychonauts but with more realistic character (at least like Monkey Island).
wow, I hope it is as fun and as funny as psychonauts and the old lucasarts games he worked on
What's up with how trademarks is spelled in the article title? Other than that, can't wait for the new Double Fine game!
'"LordAndrew Have any of you played Epic Saga: Extreme Fighter? It's awesomely bad."'
I know I've played it. Love how you can just button mash your way to victory and you're always facing your opponent. Wish there was a little bit more variety? But what's there is fun. Only punches and kicks though.I beat it? and the prize was I got to see this one guy nude in his underwear, LOL. Their end comments once you've knocked them out are also kind of funny.With this game I feel like Schafer is commenting more or so on politics and the war we are going through than the videogame industry. But that's just me.Every terrorist over there could all collectively at any time lay down their guns and return to a normal life. But instead they choose to shoot, kill, and deprive theirselves as well as others of any happiness. The irony is some of them (the terrorists) are family men who believe they are protecting their family when in reality they're leaving them vulnerable and doing anything but in their absence.
Looking forward to whatever Schafer and Double Fine put out there - they always put a smile on my face :)
BTW, the yo-yo thing refers to the merchandise in the DroubleFine online store. They have Physchonauts and DoubleFine yo-yos available now along with a bunch of other crazy crap. ...bysmitty
i love how he openly mocks the entire industry wether they realize it or not! I heart Schafer
Wow. For some strange reason I find both of those concepts compelling. I'd buy a FPS Monkey Island and Rock N Roll Heaven game. I don't know about that yo-yo thing though, sounds dangerous. You could put an eye out.
I love the last paragraph. Like Schafer would give a real answer if he did respond to GameSpot's request for comment. Instead his description of the trademark would be for something along the lines of an MMO set in the Grim Fandango world (actually that wouldn't be bad)... Whatever the new game is, I am sure it will be great.
Should these mysterious Psychonauts yo-yos come as a preorder incentive for this game, count me in.
I never tried psychonauts, but I want to... but there's just so much more to play right now
Where's my Psychonauts Yo-Yos?! anyway, I hope the rumor about Jack Black is true, both he and Schafer are hilarious, and I'd love to see what the two of them could do together. At any rate the name's got the "unnecessary heavy metal umlaut" going for it, so I wouldn't rule out JB making an appearance.
Wow, I saw the headline and was SURE it was a Tor Thorsen zinger; I don't know Gamespot as well as I thought :(
Jack Black and Tim Schafer working together on anything would be pure gold nuggets O chicken.
Monkey Island shooter. Hope it doesn't blend into the ever-massing series of FPSs that we've been seeing a lot of in the past few years.
....Now i seriously want an FPS set in Monkey Island. It ranks right up there with Ikaruga 2 and Lost Vikings 4 as most awesome sequel we'll never see.
Lol, the guys at Double Fine are hilarious: "Schafer did say some of the rumors floating around were true (particularly the one about him being a good kisser)..." "...Psychonauts trademarks, which was largely limited to games, instruction manuals, and playthings, with yo-yos again specified." Psychonauts was a great game, hoping for the same here.
Conversation powered by Livefyre
Hot Stories
Newsmakers
-
Biden: No legal problem with taxing violent games
United States Vice President Joe Biden believes there is no legal restriction on ability to tax violent media. Full Story
- Posted May 13, 2013 12:50 pm PT
-
Just Cause dev promises 'holy f**king sh**' moments in future games
Avalanche Studios co-founder says developer's ambition is for action, not moments that make players cry; steampunk-style game on hold. Full Story
- Posted May 15, 2013 6:33 am PT
Featured Stories
-
Bungie shoots down Destiny for PS Vita rumor
Developer confirms image suggesting version of upcoming shared-world shooter in development for Sony's latest portable is a fake. Full Story
- Posted May 16, 2013 5:08 am PT
-
Ubisoft planning to release games more frequently
Assassin's Creed and Far Cry publisher says its network of 26 studios and over 7,000 developers will allow company to ship major franchises more regularly. Full Story
- Posted May 16, 2013 4:42 am PT
-
Metro: Last Light dev responds to workplace conditions claims
4A Games creative director Andrew Prokhorov thanks Jason Rubin for telling the studio's story, but says, "We deserve the ratings we get." Full Story
- Posted May 16, 2013 12:44 pm PT
-
EA opens DICE LA to make Star Wars games
DICE head would also like to poach top talent from rivals Infinity Ward and Treyarch. Full Story
- Posted May 15, 2013 3:28 am PT
-
EA dropping Online Passes - Report
Future EA games won't require Online Passes; the service is being scrapped after tepid player response. Full Story
- Posted May 15, 2013 8:28 pm PT
Submit News
Related Game
Brutal Legend
- Publisher(s): EA Games
- Developer(s): Double Fine Productions
- Genre: Action
- Release:
- ESRB: M
Recent News
-
Wii U Basic falls to $240 at Target
U.S. retailer cuts price on basic model of Nintendo's latest console by 20 percent; no other retailers follow suit.
