 Schafer's original vision for the game had not anticipated a celebrity cast. In particular, though Eddie came to resemble Black, the team had not planned on having Jack Black voice the character. After learning that Black was a fan of Schafer's previous game, Psychonauts, they met with the actor / musician and recognized he was an avid gamer and metal fan and understood all the choices the team made in the game, and subsequently signed on for the voice work. Black also performed live-action sequences as himself used for the in-game menu screens and additional promotional material. Once Black had signed up for the project, Schafer found that other artists and people involved in the heavy metal scene became very interested in participating though a domino effect and word of mouth, allowing Schafer to sign them on as voice talent or as part of the game's soundtrack.
