Tim Schafer's Brutal Legend box art accolade
by Randy Nelson 
{ Jun 26th 2009 at 8:00AM }
You see, unlike the wonderful world of film, it's a rarity that video games' creators get credit in promotional materials, let alone on their games' covers. Sure, there are exceptions, like Sid Meier, Hideo Kojima, Tom Clancy and John Madden. Oh, that's right. Those last two don't even make "their" games; they just get all the credit. For shame!
But Tim Schafer? He makes the game (in more ways than one). Although his lone "solo" work to date -- Psychonauts -- was a critical success, it unfortunately didn't set cash registers ablaze, literally or figuratively. So, why the box-front accolade then? Two likely answers. The first is the fact that EA, in its early years, was fairly unique among computer game publishers in that it prominently displayed the names of its designers on their games' boxes -- so there's precedent. The other, perhaps stronger possibility: EA knows it's got something good, and is banking on Schafer and his Double Fine crew to keep on making EA-published games with his name on them, hopefully for many years to come.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
InfiniteNine @ Jun 26th 2009 8:07AM
Looks like they used a font similar to Slayers for Schafers name, haha.
Jrinswand @ Jun 26th 2009 11:15AM
Listen weeaboo, Slayer is a band. Slayers is an anime. Get it right.
CJLopez @ Jun 26th 2009 11:31AM
pretty sure she meant the band, not the anime
Zoot Suit Jedi @ Jun 26th 2009 12:11PM
That, kids, is why proper grammar is important...even on the internets.
This message is brought to you by, your friend, The Apostrophe.
DigTheDoug @ Jun 26th 2009 1:40PM
And Slayer got their typeface from the Nazi SS logos. The more you know.
The Dark Wayne @ Jun 26th 2009 2:07PM
http://www.intternetti.net/~jiri/motivation/weeaboo.jpg
InfiniteNine @ Jun 26th 2009 8:31PM
Sorry about the confusion, but I hadn't slept for about two days when I posted this. I'm all rested now, but calling me a weaboo out of nowhere is uncalled for especially since I never watched/read anything in the Slayers series. /:
Mr.Mstislav @ Jun 27th 2009 3:38AM
@ DigTheDoug
And the Schutzstaffel symbols are the sig/sowilo rune from the armanen futhark, a divergent alphabet from the younger futhark. The more you know.
Uncle Pecos @ Jun 26th 2009 8:13AM
Tim Schafer's name has been on the cover of almost every game he's ever made.
Wizzleteets @ Jun 26th 2009 8:21AM
Kudos, to Mr. Schafer. It would be great to see this as a developing trend.
gordo @ Jun 26th 2009 8:35AM
PsychoNAWTS was the shizzy fo' rizzy.
hunter2223 @ Jun 26th 2009 8:23AM
John Romero is going to kick our asses?
peepoop @ Jun 26th 2009 8:28AM
That's always a quick way to turn people against you; slapping your name above everything. Brand fatigue sets in quickly.
See:
Tom Clancy's "..."
American McGee's "..."
Tyler Perry's "..."
Snake Robot Podium @ Jun 26th 2009 8:37AM
I pre-ordered WiiFit at the Nintendo World store in NYC, and got a free t-shirt. it had the Wii Fit logo on the front, and on the back it had Miyamoto's face in monochrome green, and a faux autograph.
I thought it was interesting to do that for such a casual title, but too bad his name was nowhere to be found in the actual game.
SuperA187 @ Jun 26th 2009 8:43AM
Meh
meist3r @ Jun 26th 2009 8:52AM
Schafer has said in an interview (can't remember which one, I think it was G4s Double Fine special a few years back) that he really thinks the game devs should get more credit and be named with the titles. He mentioned Monkey Island where in the intro sequence the writers and developers are mentioned like in movie credits. I think this is a good step in the right direction. With movies some people go for "A Michael Bay movie" be it bad or good just because they know they can expect a certain type of experience by that particular person. A handwriting so to speak. I enjoyed all Tim Schafer games so far and establishing yourself as a brand has been part of any other entertainment business so far. I frankly wonder why it took videogames so long to adopt this. I don't want to associate publishers with game making anymore, they are soulless entities that shovel out all kinds of crap if the money is right. Proper development studios on the other hand with their "cylebrity" (cyber celebrity) developers are becoming household names and I like it.
People flock to the "new Kojima game" or can't wait to get their hands on "Sid Meier's next big thing". "Peter Molyneux' project looks promising" or "Will Wright did it again" is much better than "EA released everything on the market this month".
Markusdragon @ Jun 26th 2009 8:57AM
"With movies some people go for "A Michael Bay movie"
They do? Can we cull these people in an inhumane fashion as soon as humanly possible?
Daniel C. @ Jun 26th 2009 9:32AM
Micheal Bay doesn't make oscar winning, thought provoking movies for sure. But he is really good at making movies that are fun thrill rides, what I like to refer to as "popcorn flicks". These films more then have our place in our entertainment catalog.
Sometimes people just want to go to the movies just to have fun and when I see "A Micheal Bay film.." I know I will get exactly what I bargained for, two hours where i can set back turn my brain off and enjoy the ride.
So to all of those film snobs who look down on us mere mortals who dare to go to a movie just for a little bit of fun I say, "poo on you".
Which all leads me to a point. Attaching a name to a film, game, book,etc, is about branding and giving the consumer a expectation of what to expect from that product. You pick up a James Patterson Novel, you know it is probably going to be a crime drama/murder mystery style novel. If you buy a Tom Clancy game you know it is going to be "near future" military with global political fiction. Likewise it also serves to let people know what they are not getting. Going to a Micheal Bay film you should know not to expect some oscar winning screenplay.
So on that note I think Tim Schafer is probably one of the few people who actually deserves to have his name on the box art and marketing materials. I would expect a Tim Schafer game to have rich characters, funny writing, and lots of imagination.
Squid @ Jun 26th 2009 12:47PM
People need to stop trying to justify every awful blockbuster that comes out by calling it a fun popcorn movie. Iron Man was a good popcorn movie. Star Trek was a good popcorn movie. Transformers was boring, unwatchable shit, and the new one is apparently even worse.
Nick Frost @ Jun 26th 2009 3:04PM
"Transformers was boring, unwatchable shit"
Yet somehow, people found it watchable and not boring.
That's weird. It seems that not everyone shares your opinion; they're not "trying to justify every awful blockbuster".
How very weird.
meist3r @ Jun 26th 2009 4:24PM
@Nick Frost: Yet, somehow people found it boring unwatchable shit.
Not everyone shares YOUR opinion just as well. Some people like these movies, some others don't. There is definitely a trend (and it's coming from the studios and reviewers) to call every last piece of craptacular bullshit a "summer blockbuster" or "fun popcorn cinema". it doesn't mean there are no good movies but that (understandably) studios want to sell their movies that didn't turn out as well and therefore lie about the movies creating artificial hype. I for one didn't like the first Transformers movie but I also know many many people liked it. And btw. ever heard of freedom of speech or something? People can say about movies you like whatever they want. You don't have to agree, especially don't get all bitchy about it or you'll seem so very weird.
Markusdragon @ Jun 26th 2009 8:56AM
On that basis, the Activision lawsuit is playing directly into EA's favour, as EA are likely to be able to provide legal services to the tiny, tiny DoubleFine in exchange for favourable deals at a later date.
The Baron @ Jun 26th 2009 8:56AM
Clive Barker!
Gomer @ Jun 26th 2009 9:43AM
No way this is considered "metal" status without a PC version! WTF Schafer!!!
meist3r @ Jun 26th 2009 10:13AM
"It's still gonna bomb with good reason too. This game has got nothing going for "
Either my calibration way off or I'm getting sarcasm readings off the charts here.
"other than TS, Jack Black, and the hard core metal/rock music."
What else do you need? I was sold at "Tim Schafer" Jack Black and Metal are just two giant cherries on that awesome-sundae.
"Sorta like The Last Guardian. All hype no substance."
Just like Shadow of the Colossus and Ico were just hyped products with ratings in the 90/100 range. Right. Let's hope Brutal Legend will be just as pathetic ...
joshua.nash @ Jun 26th 2009 10:59AM
so EA hope's that by kissing tim shafer's ass by putting his name on the cover of his totally awesome game that he'll maker more games for them, that makes prefect sense to me
dv8withn8 @ Jun 26th 2009 11:22AM
More likely scenario, it was an egotistical requirement set forth in Schafer's contract with EA.
Shagittarius @ Jun 26th 2009 12:29PM
More likely Tim commands a lot of respect from gamers and a company would be stupid not to put his name on the box.
The Dark Wayne @ Jun 26th 2009 2:16PM
it's probably just like in films where it's a "Quentin Tarantino Film" and people are a lot more (or maybe less in his case) likely to see it
el serpiente @ Jun 26th 2009 11:27AM
Aww, sprinkles is lonely and he wants attention.
el serpiente @ Jun 26th 2009 12:33PM
Err, this used to be the norm back in the 80's. Take a peek through some of these old covers, and you will see the game creator credited pretty frequently.
http://www.coverbrowser.com/covers/dos-games
Vegnagun bwf @ Jun 26th 2009 12:45PM
He deserves it.
aristokrat @ Jun 26th 2009 1:47PM
What if we all just stopped replying to him for a week? If you don't believe in him, it's like he can't exist.
Rumplestiltskin!
Drew @ Jun 26th 2009 1:56PM
Since we're talking about the odd awesomeness that is obscure game developers, I miss Lorne Lanning. Strangers Wrath 2 plz, kthxbai
The Baron @ Jun 26th 2009 2:47PM
Sprinkles should know, he's played both games that haven't come out yet (one not for a year or more) and formed a well-rounded, balanced criticism.
When somebody says that a game has nothing going for it, and then in the list of exceptions puts "Tim Schafer", then the statement is instantly rendered false.
juliusdeane (Jarret) @ Jun 26th 2009 3:28PM
This warms my heart.
InfiniteNine @ Jun 26th 2009 8:29PM
Sorry about the confusion, but I hadn't slept for about two days when I posted this. I'm all rested now, but calling me a weaboo out of nowhere is uncalled for especially since I never watched/read anything in the Slayers series. /:
Stakker @ Jun 29th 2009 3:17PM
Activision was the first company to feature game designers on game covers as far as I remember. Also in ads, which was pretty wild. (Well, at least David Crane.) This was during the Atari 2600 era, of course. Good times :-)