Norse Mythology Helped Brutal Legend, Says Tim Schafer

The fall of this year holds the release dates for quite a lot of high-quality titles, from the likes of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves to Modern Warfare 2 or Guitar Hero 5. Among them, one of the most interesting, and which isn't a sequel, is the Double Fine-developed and EA-published Brutal Legend.

Set to take players on a trip through a fantasy world inspired by the heavy metal music genre, it will feature Jack Black as the main character, Eddie Riggs, a roadie who is transported from our reality to this magical land. With big names such as Ozzy Osbourne, Tim Curry or Rob Halford lending their voices to different characters, the game also promises to attract a lot of music fans.

Now, the game's creator, Tim Schafer, comes to reveal just how the Norse mythology has helped him create the main characters of the game and elaborate a back story for them. He also emphasizes just how important this aspect is to any game on the market.

“I was really inspired by Norse mythology and read a lot of it, so I wrote more of an epic creation myth for the whole world,” Schafer says. “Often backstories start with the character's parents and talking about their childhood, but in this case they started with the birth of the entire world that the game is set in, and where that came from and how that led to the gods and how the sun was created and everything. And that's the way those Norse legends read too.”

So, besides music and game fans, perhaps even those who are passionate about Norse mythology will take a look at the title, which is scheduled for release in “Rocktober” as the EA press statement revealed. Until then, look forward to more news about this heavy metal game.