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Epic Mickey's first pics & info show Disney reinvention
- October 28, 2009 13:35 PM PST
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Disney Interactive and Warren Spector's Junction Point Studios officially debuted Disney Epic Mickey for the Wii today in London. Here's the first pics and details about the new game.
A game with the pedigree and promise of Epic Mickey deserves nothing less than an epic unveiling, and by all accounts, it received just that in London today, as big-name executives from Disney and developers from Junction Point Studios debuted Epic Mickey with new screenshots (the best of which we've included in this article) and juicy details.
According to 1UP's liveblog of the event, Graham Hopper, Disney Interactive Studios' president, the genesis of Epic Mickey was the malaise over Mickey's sub-par video game history of late (Kingdom Hearts excepted). While researching Mickey's roots, the company discovered the mouse's ties with Walt Disney's pre-Mickey creation, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. The relationship between the two characters' creation led to Epic Mickey's plot, in which Oswald serves as a jealous villain.
Epic Mickey's central focus seems to be reinvention. Many times over the course of the press conference, "making Mickey Mouse cool again" was mentioned. The game also marks Oswald's first animated role since 1943. Many other long-forgotten Disney properties will have their presence felt in Epic Mickey--the 1937 cartoon Clock Cleaners (watch on YouTube) will serve as a 2D stage and The Gremlins, characters created in famed author Roald Dahl's first children's book may serve as Mickey's allies.
I write "may," because Warren Spector talked a lot about the choices that can be made in Epic Mickey. Depending on your actions, Mickey can earn allies or spurn them to make himself stronger. As the screen above shows, Mickey will be act, animate, and be reacted to differently depending on the choices you make, can avoid boss battles, and can choose how much he wants to help save Oswald. The central gameplay in Epic Mickey is based off of an erase-create mechanic, in which Mickey can paint or remove aspects of the environment in order to progress through obstacles and learn new things.
We'll keep you updated with the latest news about this very interesting title. In the meantime, check out our Epic Mickey screen gallery with all 24 screenshots and art images that have been released today.
WARREN SPECTOR REVISITS A CARTOON ICON'S LEGACY IN DISNEY EPIC MICKEY
Mickey Mouse Makes His WiiTM Debut Alongside Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt Disney's First Cartoon Star
BURBANK, Calif. - (October 28, 2009) - Disney Interactive Studios today announced the development of Disney Epic Mickey, an adventure-platforming game with light role-playing elements for the WiiTM home video game console. The game stars Mickey Mouse who has been re-imagined for videogames by luminary game designer Warren Spector and his Junction Point game development studio. In Disney Epic Mickey, Spector, a life-long Disney fan, taps into Mickey Mouse's rich history along with the characters and worlds brought to life by Walt Disney to create an edgy and unexpected cartoon adventure.
"Mickey is an adventurous and rambunctious mouse," said Warren Spector, creative director and vice president, Junction Point. "I want to bring his personality to the forefront, place him in a daunting world and connect his spirited character with video game players worldwide. Ultimately, each player decides for him- or herself what makes Mickey cool."
In the game's fiction, a sorcerer named Yen Sid creates a beautiful, whimsically-twisted world where Disney's forgotten and retired creations thrive. Originally, the powerful sorcerer from "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" in Walt Disney's 1940 film "Fantasia" was nicknamed "Yen Sid" by Disney animators, although never named as such on screen. In Spector's game, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit - Walt Disney's first cartoon star created in 1927 - becomes the earliest inhabitant of Yen Sid's Cartoon Wasteland after Mickey Mouse is created. Oswald makes the Cartoon Wasteland comfortable for other retired characters as they join him in this magical land. Years pass, and as Oswald dwells in the Cartoon Wasteland, he becomes resentful watching Mickey's popularity swell. When Mickey curiously stumbles upon Yen Sid's map, he makes an innocent yet terrible mistake and inadvertently devastates Oswald's comfortable world. Eventually, Mickey's mistake pulls him deep into the mysterious Cartoon Wasteland to face the destruction he unknowingly created.
"Having Warren combine creativity and innovation with one of the world's most famous characters takes Mickey back to his creative roots and allows fans to deepen their engagement with him as a character - especially in video games," said Graham Hopper, executive vice president and general manager of Disney Interactive Studios. "In addition to Warren's lifelong love of cartoons, films and comics, his visionary approach to game design and storytelling will make certain that this heroic tale of discovery and redemption resonates with Disney fans and gamers alike."?
Players use the Wii RemoteTM to wield magical paint and thinner to re-shape the world around them. Paint's creativity and thinner's damaging effect give the player robust tools and empowers them to make choices about how they move through the world. Each player's decisions to use paint, thinner or both dynamically changes the world with consequences that affect the environment, interactions with other characters, and even Mickey's appearance and abilities.
"The core of this game is the idea of choice and consequence, and how that defines both the character and the player," says Spector. "By putting the mischievous Mickey in an unfamiliar place and asking him to make choices - to help other cartoon characters or choose his own path - the game forces players to deal with the consequences of their actions. Ultimately, players must ask themselves, 'What kind of hero am I?' Each player will come up with a different answer."
Blurring reality and fantasy, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit's role is as significant in the game as it was in real life. The Walt Disney-created Oswald appeared in 26 silent cartoons between 1927 and 1928 for Charles Mintz, who contracted with Universal for distribution. At this time, Oswald was primed to be Walt's first big animated star. When faced with daunting production costs, Walt asked for more money to ensure the quality of the Oswald cartoons. When a deal could not be reached, Walt lost the rights to Oswald and with the rabbit went much of Walt's staff. Among those who remained with Walt was animator, cartoonist and long-time friend Ub Iwerks, and together they created a new character named Mickey Mouse.
The initial concept behind Disney Epic Mickey originated within the Disney Interactive Studios' Think Tank. The Think Tank conceptualized Mickey as a cartoon character thrown into turmoil. Spector expanded and refined Disney Epic Mickey's concept and built the game for a broad audience fully utilizing the Wii and Wii Remote for accessibility and engaging gameplay.
Developed by Junction Point in Austin, TX, Disney Epic Mickey is slated for a fall 2010 release. The game currently is unrated by the ESRB. For more information, go to www.disney.com/disneyepicmickey.
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- Oct 28 2009 at 01:35:23:PM PST
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This game looks pretty awesome. It'll be nice to see Mickey going back to his roots and out of the whole "preschool" setting that he's commonly thought of being in today. I'm definitely going to keep my eye out on this one. Could surprise a lot of people when it comes out.
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miamifinfan wrote:
The concept art looked very, very good...but this looks like crap.
this
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I think it looks promising, I like the idea of making Mickey cool again. Disney has lost it's touch with all the Hannah Montana/Jonas Brothers crap (with the exception of Pixar), so something that goes back to the "good ol' days" should be ok
From a game perspective, what they should do is apply some filters, film grain, etc. make it black and white and really give it that old-school feel...if they wanted to, Mickey could use the brush to paint and add colors to the environment..
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miamifinfan wrote:
The concept art looked very, very good...but this looks like crap.
It's on the Wii what do you expect.
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The Think Tank conceptualized Mickey as a cartoon character thrown into turmoil. Spector expanded and refined Disney Epic Mickey's concept and built the game for a broad audience fully utilizing the Wii and Wii Remote for accessibility and engaging gameplay
And then they stuck it on the Wii killing that hope totally.
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JingleFett wrote:
I think it looks promising, I like the idea of making Mickey cool again. Disney has lost it's touch with all the Hannah Montana/Jonas Brothers crap (with the exception of Pixar), so something that goes back to the "good ol' days" should be ok
From a game perspective, what they should do is apply some filters, film grain, etc. make it black and white and really give it that old-school feel...if they wanted to, Mickey could use the brush to paint and add colors to the environment..
I think you contradicted yourself there bud. Just because you don't like either doesn't mean Disney has lost it's touch. My Kids love both, and last time I checked Disney has always gear towards kids mainly. personally I think Hannah Montana is pretty awesome anyway and my 6yr old loves it. Are you 6? if not you Fail on your point.
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I don't think so. Just because little kids love it doesn't mean it's good. While I probably should have said I THINK Disney has lost it's touch (because it's really a matter of opinion), most of the old Disney stuff was enjoyable by both kids AND adults. That's what I mean by saying Disney has lost it's touch (again with the exception of Pixar). While I can't speak for everyone, HM and the rest don't appeal to most people, it's mainly for the 7-13 year old girls. My dad is a film director and my sisters are hardcore JB/HM/Disney fans so I'm not just pulling this out of my ass, we've gone over this stuff many times. Wall-e for example didn't only appeal to the little kids, but also adults as well.
Even That's So Raven and some of the older ones were better than the junk Disney's been spewing out lately, those at least had a reasonably strong message at the end that actually taught the kids something. The Hannah Montana crap is a generic reusable system-Disney essentially manufactures their stars. The actors don't need to be especially talented, they just need to be marketable. That's why I personally dislike HM and some of the others. They could have chosen anyone to be Hannah Montanna and they chose Miley Cyrus (you know, being daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus and all). It's the same old predictable gags and bad exaggerated acting, but of course the 7-13 year-olds don't know any better or care. The topic of the show/movie/whatever is a strategic choice too. It's about every little kids dream, being a superstar, being popular or whatever. Wizards of Waverly Place for example is all about magic and all the great stuff you can do with it. I'm not saying that stuff is bad per say, it just has little appeal to the older audience while older Disney stuff did appeal to both kids and adults. Therefore as far as I'm concerned, Disney has lost it's touch. Why does Mickey have to be made cool again, you tell me?
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miamifinfan wrote:
The concept art looked very, very good...but this looks like crap.
yes
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