See what I mean? Right after I put up that post about our award nominations, I get scooped! By my own comments section!
It turns out we are also nominated for a BAFTA for Brütal Legend’s story. Very exciting!

I will admit that as far as trophies go, I think I like the BAFTA most of all. If you win you get this eerie golden mask that makes you feel like you belong to a satanic cult or a sect of sun worshipers. Or maybe you’re an extra in Eyes Wide Shut. And it has a hole in one eye that you can look through just like that old Steve Austin action figure with the Bionic Eye, except I would never hold that BAFTA mask up to my face in fear of it melding with my flesh and making me dance like Jim Carrey.

Whenever I think of a totally pointless fact or joke, I put it up on Twitter. (Omg, follow me! TimOfLegend!)  And all my cute pictures of Lili go up on my Facebook page. And that leaves this page for pure, hard news. But I’m usually so slow and lazy about updating, that most news about us is broken on Brütal! The Legendary Fan Site, which is awesome. So, why put any news here? No reason. I shouldn’t even do it. I won’t. I won’t even mention the fact that we’re up for a bunch of awards.

Or, I will only briefly mention them, as if I were being forced at gunpoint to bring up next week’s Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Awards, where Brütal Legend has been nominated for Outstanding Character Performance (Eddie Riggs), Outstanding Achievement in Original Story, Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack, and Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year!
And if the gunman urges me to continue by smacking me on the side of the head with his pistol, I might only then mention that we are nominated for two Game Developers Choice Awards this year, including Best Writing and Best Audio.

But then he might say through his ski mask, “What else?” And I would say, “That’s it!” And he might say, “But you said ‘Including,’ as if those two nominations were part of a longer list.” And I’d say, “No, that’s the whole list.” And he’d say, “Would you say, ‘The American flag has three colors on it, including red, white, and blue?’ No, you wouldn’t!” And I’d say, “I know, but it sounded good. And really I think there should have been more.” And he might then say, “Well, I would have put you up there for innovation.” And I’d say, “Thanks.” And then he might say, “Hell, you know what? Game of the Year, dude! Brütal rocked.” And then we might both nod for a second, and one of us might shrug in a way that kind of says, “Eh, whaddya gonna do?” And then I’d hire him to be my PR manager because of his taste, forceful nature, and gun.

Little Big Planet is one of my all-time favorite games, as I am constantly telling anyone who comes within five feet of me. But it occurred to me just the other day that I never actually got around to finishing the last few levels. That made me feel kind of dumb for saying it’s one of my favorite games, but it’s really just a testament to how good it is. Just a few levels in, and it’s already one of your favorite games. You don’t have to eat an entire pig to know that bacon is one of your favorite foods, right?

Anyway, after playing it for a couple hours, I thought I might play a few Brütal Legend stage battles before I went to sleep. But I was to lazy to walk all the way over to my PS3 and switch discs. (Don’t judge me, it’s like a million miles from my couch to my TV. And there are baby toys all over and it was dark and I might have twisted my ankle and my spot on the couch might have cooled off.) So instead I went into the LBP community levels and searched for “Brütal Legend,” and guess what? There are a whole bunch of Brütal levels in there! 

Click “read the rest” to see more pics.  DO IT.

Some were just a quick drive in the Deuce, but others followed the story of the game, and had Ormagöden and the Guardian of Metal and one had a head banger who actually banged his head. Why didn’t anyone tell me about this? How long have you known??
Sorry, but in my excitement over capturing these pictures, I failed to note who created these levels or what they were called. If you know, please comment!



Anyway, if you have an awesome Brütal Big Planet level, or have played a good one, please post it in our forums so we can check it out!
What’s next? Psychonauts levels?
Actually, I should search for those tonight…

Woo hoo! The dreaded PS3 “Stat Wipe” bug appears to be fixed! Who wants to test it out?

I’ll be signing on to the PSN at around 8pm, PST, and then I’ll be Stage Battling on the new Hammer of Infinite Fate maps. Hope to see you there!

I’ll be in matchmaking mode because that’s where the trophies are, my friends! Also I want to hear if the reports of faster matchmaking are true as well.

See you at 8:00!

Oh, wait. That was kind of a spoiler. Forget you read that part.

Team Xbox has announced their awards for 2009, and we got three of them!

Click on “Read the rest” to find out which awards we got.
Come on, you know the suspense is killing you!
Or at least, irritating you slightly.
If not then, it must be irritating you now.

How about now?

Anyway, you can read the full article, or just the good parts below:

AND THE WINNERS ARE…


Best Story: Brütal Legend
“Fans of developer Double Fine and the studio’s iconoclastic leader Tim Schafer were fully expecting the writing and storyline to be one of the tent-pole elements of their game, Brütal Legend. After all, this is the same man that brought the funny in Psychonauts, Day of the Tentacle and Grim Fandango, to name a few. A great story, based off a great concept (i.e. what would the ultimate heavy metal fantasy world be like), infused with wit and humor is Schafer’s stock in trade. Eddie Riggs, as voiced by Jack Black, is one of the best main characters in a video game in a long time, and he’s got a great cast of rock-and-roll stereotypes and in-jokes surrounding him. And for all the jokes and satire, the overall story arc comes together in a great way in the end, tying in a love story in a quite neat and satisfying way. For fans, it’s as if Schafer can do no wrong.”


Best Sound: Brütal Legend!
“In Brütal Legend, Tim Schafer and his development studio Double Fine put together a comical spin on the world of metal music, poking fun at the attitudes and posturing by the bands, the personalities involved in touring and…well, all that hair. But when it comes to a soundtrack, Schafer made sure that the music was front and center, and, best of all, it showed the diversity of metal’s many flavors. He made the music a star character in Brütal Legend, and that character is a winner.”


Developer of the Year: DOUBLE FINE!!!
Double Fine makes its game worlds and characters come alive. Double Fine has had a rough history with its game releases, having had to move from publisher to publisher with both Psychonauts and this year’s Brütal Legend. However, Tim Schafer and his band of merry gamemakers haven’t ever let that detract from creating games that have it all: entertaining scripts, characters that are rich in personality, detailed graphics, creative stories and, best of all, great gameplay. Double Fine does more than bang out a game and move on to the next project. Its employees pour their hearts into the work and genuinely seem to enjoy their toiling, undiscouraged by whatever might be happening on the business side. We can’t wait to see what the studio comes up with next.”

Me neither!

Thank you, Team Xbox!!!