At the MTV Movie Awards a few weeks back, Jack Black came wearing a huge gash across his neck. But you'll want to direct your attention below the wound -- no, not to the pantaloons -- to Black's slightly more subtle statement: a "Brütal Legend" tee. We're not sure how many casual viewers have attempted to google the term, only to be stifled by the key command for an umlaut, but those of us attuned to Black's sense of style certainly appreciate the nod to Tim Schafer's seemingly in limbo project, for which Black lends his vocals. When questioned about his getup, Black responded, "I just wanted to represent. I do this video game Brütal Legend. It's coming someday."

MTV Multiplayer followed up with Sierra on Black's impromptu plug, reporting that the publisher was, obviously, grateful for the nationally televised marketing. Still, Sierra declined to elaborate on Black's vague promise, saying only, "we are excited to reveal more details regarding our plans for Brütal Legend very soon."

From Joystiq reader Jon G: "Double Fine just announced this series of books and you guys haven't covered it yet! What's up with that?" Dear Jon: Is it can be hugs tiem now plees? (Double Fine Action Comics: Volume 1 ships August 2008) Check out the highlights for today:

Captivate 08
Captivate 2008 screenshot roundup
Joystiq hands-on: Bionic Commando (Xbox 360)
Joystiq impressions: Dark Void (Xbox 360)
Joystiq hands-on: Neopets Puzzle Adventure (PC)
Joystiq impressions: Resident Evil 5 (Xbox 360)
Joystiq impressions: Spyborgs (Wii)
Overheard@Captivate 08: Of Puzzle Quest and bomb threats

Joystiquery
A History of Violence: A Ninja Gaiden Retrospective
All of Xbox Live Arcade's potential delisters revisited
Big Versus pits all three GRID versions against each other
Joyswag: Win The Bourne Conspiracy and a briefcase of gear
Meet the Team: Griffin McElroy
The best of WoW Insider: May 27-June 3, 2008

News
Cryptic Studios appoints former SOE exec as CEO
Breaking: Ninja Gaiden's Itagaki says 'Sayonara Tecmo, see you in court'
New Fallout 3 screens show Pip-Boy statuses, leg dismemberment
Sony introducing monthly 'Qore' episodes to US PSN on June 5
Puzzle Quest dev's next project: Neopets Puzzle Adventure
Capcom announces Wii exclusive 'Spyborgs'
No multiplayer in Dark Void
Resident Evil 5 devs 60 percent done, aim for more than 20 hours
Dark Void is still about a year away
The World Ends With You: new shipment coming mid-June
See tons of new Street Fighter IV videos
See first Bionic Commando multiplayer video
Crytek turns back on Crysis updates
Alfred Molina, Ben Kingsley join Prince of Persia film adaptation
Home coming this year as 'open, working beta'
Japan getting 'Metallic Blue' PSP, 'Cinnabar Red' PS2
Team Fortress 2 Pyro class next in line for upgrade
PlayStation boss: making PS3 non-exclusives more 'exclusive'
ESRB rates 'The Last Guy' for PS3
First 007: Quantum of Solace intel declassified
Ubisoft's Avatar game: '3D' mode optional, requires 'special' TV
Bruce Willis in talks to star in Kane and Lynch film adaptation
Age of Conan's incredible shrinking breasts
Rock out! Guitar Hero: On Tour DS bundle spotted

Rumors & Speculation
Analyst: THQ has internal problems

Culture & Community
ESA calls out GamePolitics for unfair coverage

Alright, Tim Schafer, you win. After targeting various industry folks with a typically contrived adventure game puzzle and then assembling their responses in our GDC Quest Quiz feature, we simply weren't prepared for your relentless response to our silly challenge. Not only did you trick us into doing all the hard work, but you successfully navigated through our made-up-as-we-went-along chicane of bizarre logic. But don't grow complacent in your victory -- we'll get you next time.

The Player
Double Fine's Tim Schafer, designer of Full Throttle, Grim Fandango, Psychonauts and upcoming god of gwar epic, Brütal Legend. Prior to the release of those games, he worked on The Secret of Monkey Island, Monkey Island 2 and Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle.

The Puzzle
You're standing in front of a cave. The goal is to get inside the cave, taking care to foil the ferocious robot bear guarding the entrance first.

The Inventory

• (1) perforated parasol
• (1) rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle
• (1) sealed manila envelope
• (1) miniature macaroni Tim Schafer statue

Make your way past the break to read our adventurous e-mail exchange.

There are plenty of games about heroes doing heroic things like saving kingdoms or talking to a girl for a long time about her favorite movies and then killing a giant robot weapon. Sadly, there just aren't that many games about the sort of things everyday folks do, like eating soup or trying to stay asleep. For us common masses, there is Double Fine's new mini-game: My Game About Me, created by staffer Nathan "Bagel" Stapley.

Set up as sort of an Olympiad of Mediocrity, MGAM is one of the oddest games we've seen since ... well, since Epic Saga: Extreme Fighter. Give it a whirl, you'll see what we mean.

[Thanks, Torin]

We, like all good and wise people, love Tim Schafer. What we don't love is having to wait years between fresh infusions of Double Fine goodness. So it gave us no small amount of pleasure to hear that while speaking at the 2007 IGDA Leadership Forum, Schafer said he'd love to make a small XBLA game, even though he didn't have one in the works.

"We talk about making Xbox Live Arcade games all the time. Who doesn't want to make Xbox Live Arcade games?" he said. "It's like when you see a Great Dane taking a giant shit and then you see a poodle taking a little Tootsie Roll shit. The poodle is so cute, but at the end of the day you're still picking up shit. Seriously though, we'd love to make Xbox Live Arcade games, but we're really busy now." ... We're not exactly sure what you meant by that, Tim. But we're fairly sure we couldn't have said it better ourselves.

Hot off the heels of Double Fine's announcement of Brütal Legend, we get this tasty little morsel of potential excellence. On Double Fine's projects page, beneath the link for Brütal Legend, we have the teaser image pictured above. No great mystery regarding its contents -- that's clearly Raz, and the logo for the first Psychonauts.

Is Tim Schafer trying to not-so-subtly tell us that a sequel is in the works? Or is this some sort of twisted joke? (Schafer does, after all, have a "twisted mind," as many a press release have said). Not much else to speculate here. We'll keep our eyes peeled for any further announcements or information.

[Update: Sadly, it seems that the "coming soon" image was merely intended to indicate an eventual info page for the original Psychonauts. Double Fine has recognized the confusion, and quietly un-darkened the image to make it more apparent. So no Psychonauts 2 after all. Color us disappointed.]

[Via Rock Paper Shotgun]

The marketing for Tim Schafer's latest game is in full swing and – even though the game designer can't talk about the game himself (check out Double Fine's blog to watch him squirm) – the Game Informer cover and now video trailer sure as shinola confirm its existence. It turns out Brütal Legend is appropriately titled; the trailer is full of axe-assisted dismemberment on the part of protagonist (and rock roadie) Eddie Riggs.

So let's run down the checklist: Rockin' metal soundtrack? Check. Buckets of violence? Check. Overwrought mythology? Check. Bitchin' Hot Rod with flame exhaust? Check. Demon wings? Check. Sexy metal babes? Check. All in a video game format? Very check.

Wait a second, this game wasn't designed by Tim Schafer at all. No, it was designed by the collective fantasies of every teenage boy who's ever lived ... Schafer's just the tool they'll use to see their vision writ large.

"A Rock 'n Roll roadshow through the twisted mind of Tim Schafer?" That sounds fantastic, though we imagine it comes across like nails on a chalkboard to the publisher hoping to hear terms like "shooter," "sequel," "football," and "based on the hit movie" in the game pitch. Preferably, it'll be all of those.

And for all we know, Double Fine's Brütal Legend could contain any of the above. For now, the only information we have is that obtained from the cover of the latest Game Informer magazine (we've confirmed the image is real), graciously snapped and posted by "Iksenpets" on the official Double Fine forums. The image reveals who we assume to be Jack Black's character -- an axe-wielding, axe-wielding roadie named Eddie Riggs. Oh, and when you check between the pages to find out more about Mr. Schafer's latest road trip, be sure to find out how NF HELL 4K2: The Movie: The Game is coming along.

[Thanks, Max]