Disney Epic Mickey Message Board older than one year ago

Click to make more epic. From the looks of things, Warren Spector and his Junction Point Studios aren't doing a Mickey Mouse job of their, well ... Mickey Mouse job. Disney Interactive has opened the floodgates today, releasing a torrent of screenshots and artwork from the now-properly-announced Disney Epic Mickey, the Wii-exclusive platformer that sees the iconic rodent painting his way through a twisted Magic Kingdom.According to Disney, the idea behind the game didn't originate with Spector -- rather, an internal group at DIS, called the Think Tank, thought up the idea of Mickey in "turmoil." Working with that initial pitch, Spector created the Epic Mickey game. The concept is certainly intriguing, but we'll have to wait until the game launches in fall 2010 to draw our final conclusion.

Players will make use of magical paint to change the world they play in.

More screens here More screens/art here Spector on working with Wii, and Nintendo’s quality… “I think a lot of people missed the boat with Wii. I think a lot of people are enamoured with going ‘ooooh look shaders’. They like the idea of doing in real time what Pixar does with pre-rendered CGI. I guess it’s kind [...]

See the designs behind the game.

See the triumphant return of the mouse on Wii.

In a new feature titled "Anatomy of a Screenshot," Game Informer dissects in-game screens and details the situations found within. The first title to receive the treatment is the recently revealed -- but long rumored -- Epic Mickey, from Warren Spector and Disney. The screen above details the upcoming Wii-exclusive title's heads-up display (HUD), showcasing Mickey's "persona" status, special items and details on the world around the classic Disney hero.Also, it points out Mickey's "iconic" ears ... you know, in case you missed them.

Check out all 4 screens in high-res here (thanks Jigglytothepuff!)

Game Informer's slow trickle of Epic Mickey deets has turned into a full-on firehose today, as the site has published a massive five-page feature on the game's environments, concept art and character animations. The feature not only talks about the developmental process for animators and designers at Junction Point Studios, but also delves into the game's world a bit, showing off screens of the cartoon objects and inert objects populating the land. The former are things the player can create and erase in the game, whereas the latter are permanent objects in the game world that the player cannot affect.There's even some really odd stuff to look at -- like a robotic Donald Duck and a video of Mickey Mouse shadowboxing. Looks like we can cross one item off our list of Sentences We Never Would've Imagined Ever Having to Write.

Warren Spector's take on Disney's beloved mascot looks very Tim Burton-esque, which is a good thing. This game continues to look promising; also, try to find some of the earlier concept art. Creepy yet awesome.

The Game Informer preview of Junction Point's Epic Mickey is out, revealing not only the game's art style and Mickey's retro-inspired look, but details of the storyline and characters as well -- definitely worth picking up the mag to see, even if it means another trip into GameStop. One of the most interesting details isn't really in the game, but about the game. The antagonist, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, almost wasn't included -- kinda hard to be epic without a bad guy, you know? "Disney didn't own the rights to Oswald," designer Warren Spector explained to Game Informer. The Epic Mickey project was apparently of such importance, though, that Disney CEO Bob Iger made a deal with NBC Universal and "traded Al Michaels, a human sportscaster, for the rights to a cartoon rabbit." For what evil purpose was Universal keeping Oswald locked away? We may never know.At Game Informer's website, see the first look at Epic Mickey's environments, along with more of that wonderful concept art.

In this time-lapse video (after the break), a Junction Point character artist draws more of the incredible concept art that has made Epic Mickey not just a licensed Disney game, but something that gamers are freaking out about. The sketch depicts Mickey Mouse facing off against a gruesome, but still recognizably Disney-esque, Beetleworx monster (a name given to many mechanical creations in the game), which seems to bear the head of Hades from the Hercules movie.This sketch may be the closest we've come to seeing Mickey's new design -- although it lacks the elongated limbs of the Mickey from the Game Informer cover. Is it just us, or does his face look a lot like Sonic the Hedgehog's?

Here's a great example of why it's tough serving two masters. Game Informer has totally re-engineered its web site, and one of its first big scoops was a teaser image and info on Epic Mickey, which was touted as a Wii exclusive.When that last detail was removed from the website, however, it sent the internet into a tizzy of speculation, with some assuming the change put the exclusivity in question. Enter our good friend, the fact: Game Informer has today reconfirmed that Epic Mickey is only coming to Nintendo's box, a revelation that it was hoping to save for the magazine. If only the accursed internet hadn't noticed! We're impressed with GI's new site and wish it all the best as it tries for a stronger web presence alongside its mag; however, we're equally interested in how the team deals with the growing pains from aligning the print and online offerings.

It appears that Epic Mickey might wind up on more platforms than initially suggested. 1UP is reporting that GI's original post on the November issue of the mag has removed all mentions of Wii exclusivity, a potential sign that the deal is not yet cast in stone -- or, at the least, that other consoles are being considered. And why not?Frankly, we'd like to see it ported to every console in existence, not just because we're big Warren Spector fans, but ... okay, it's because we're big Warren Spector fans. Huge.

On the left we have the original comic version of the Phantom Blot. On the right is some early concept art for Phantom Blot. Looks like things have changed over the years! Thanks to DrTravisto for the heads up!

We can't seem to stop waffling on Epic Mickey. At the start, Warren Spector's involvement was enough to pique our interest. But we couldn't help but be a bit disappointed to see that Wii exclusivity might keep the game from being the graphical masterpiece we'd hoped for. But now, after reading a few details about the game scooped up by Eurogamer, we're right back on board. The game reportedly revolves around forgotten Disney characters who, after years of being, ignored have grown bitter. None more so than Walt's first cartoon creation, Oswald the Rabbit. He's the one who spread all of the evil black goo around that you see above. Mickey will apparently have to use paint, thinner and erasers to draw his way through the world, which makes the Wii exclusivity a lot easier to understand. Okay, so the black goo all over the world isn't the most original, but disgruntled Disney characters trying to wipe out Mickey? How cool does that sound? (P.S. Captain EO as a villain. We demand it.)

- Mickey’s tools: paintbrushes, erasers, thinner, pencils and more - tools mapped to Wiimote movements - the game involves a world where forgotten Disney characters and rides disappear to - the characters cast off into this world become bitter and broken-down - Oswald the Rabbit runs this forgotten world - Oswald is jealous of Mickey’s popularity, and wants revenge - The [...]

Considering the amount of concept art and leaked details we've heard concerning Disney Interactive Studios and Junction Point's upcoming collaboration, this might not come as a shock to you, but the cover of the next issue of Game Informer confirms the existence of Epic Mickey. Details are slim, but we now know that it'll be a Wii-exclusive action title, and, based on the paintbrush grasped by the iconic rodent on the cover, we suspect it will incorporate the illustrative elements mentioned by an anonymous informant back in July. Hopefully more details will surface when Game Informer's interview with Warren Spector goes live later today. For now, revel in the fact that the title is real -- and based on the art seen on the magazine's cover, it might just deserve its "epic" designation.