- Junction Point wanted to make some episodic downloadable games before Epic Mickey
- In the beginning, they didn’t want to use Alice in Wonderland because because of confusion with the recent movie
- Disney core characters (no Winnie the Pooh)
- no human characters
- no Pixar nor other modern productions
- there will be some explanation of the [...]
Nintendo Power has a massive feature on Epic Mickey, which we saw from a preview of the magazine just last week. Now we have all the information from the preview that you can stand, including comments from Spector and other devs. Don’t read on if you don’t want to see some Epic Mickey [...]
#wii
Toys 'R Us is currently listing an Epic Mickey Collector's Edition that delivers a bunch of swag for $69.99. Interestingly, it gives Nov. 15 as an estimated shipping date. More »
Does your plain white Wii look like a blank canvas in your mind's eye, just waiting to be mussed up by a few splashes of darkish blue paint? Your bizarre outlook can be brought to life by purchasing the Epic Mickey Collector's Edition, which was recently revealed by Toys 'R Us' online storefront.
The $69.99 bundle includes everything seen in the image above: A copy of the game, a pair of skins for the Wii, a faceplate for your Wiimote, a DVD containing behind-the-scenes videos and other marketing materials, some special packaging and a five-inch vinyl figurine modeled after the game's falsetto protagonist. See, here we would have settled for a 25 cent paintbrush and a set of Crayola watercolors. Thanks for not taking the easy way out, Disney!
#gamescom2010
A young and mischievous Mickey Mouse paints his way into trouble in Wii game Epic Mickey's opening cinematic. Disney says this this part one, and hopefully there's more to come. More »
When Warren Spector told Gamescom attendees that the denizens of his chosen profession are "still making cartoons," he wasn't referring to his upcoming illustrated opus, Epic Mickey. Rather, he was voicing his opinion on what he sees to be one of the biggest challenges facing the industry today: game developers' proclivity for attempting (and ultimately failing) to mimic the storytelling techniques of movies, comics and other forms of popular media.
Of course, one of his main problems with games' stories is their tendency to be dude-centric -- he warned the Gamescom crowd "if we don't break out of big buff guys with swords and guys in tights and space marines in armor, we're going to get marginalized in the way comics have been in the United States." He also warned about attempting to ape blockbuster films by filling games with obscenely expensive visuals, as "we still fall far, far short of what people expect from a movie."
Ultimately, the only form of storytelling Spector thinks games should attempt to emulate is oral conversation, as the person interacting with the game is equally responsible for shaping its story. "Player experience comes first," Spector explained, "we have to allow them to show their creativity. No other medium has allowed them to do this. We are unique in the history of humankind. Every player becomes an author when they play a game."
Finally, with the release of the opening cinematic for Disney Epic Mickey, we're getting a bigger look at the story going on behind Warren Spector's ode to Disney animation. As expected, it involves some shenanigans with Mickey and a sorcerer (Yen Sid from Fantasia), a magic paintbrush, some paint and paint thinner. But even more intriguing are the many nods to old-school Disney cartoons, from all of the hats and objects placed on the walls to the dates and movie stills flying past in the quick montage near the end.
Of course, it would probably take a Disney aficionado like Spector to catch all of those references zipping by, but even if you don't get everything, you can at least see that Mickey has unintentionally created the Phantom Blot, and has caused a little bit of chaos in Yen Sid's alternate reality, turning it into the Wasteland that the big-eared hero gets tossed into. Hopefully the game will be just as fun without knowing why that calendar above says "March 25."
#disney
From Deus Ex to Mickey Mouse to...Duck Tales? It may seem an unlikely career path, but it's the dream for Deus Ex creator Warren Spector. More »
When we talked to Warren Spector back at E3 this year, he specifically named the Capcom's DuckTales as one of his favorite Disney games. In a new interview with Industry Gamers, he now says that, "A day does not go by where I don't tell somebody at Disney: 'Uncle Scrooge, come on! Donald! Huey, Dewey, and Louie! Come on, let me do a duck game!' So yeah, I would love to do a duck game."
Of course, being the animation geek that he is, Spector prefers the Carl Barks version of Uncle Scrooge and the nephews, so we probably won't get any Fenton Crackshell cameos (even though that would be awesome). If Epic Mickey does take off, you never know what franchise Disney may let Spector put his own spin on next.
#warrenspector
At this year's E3 gaming expo, Epic Mickey designer Warren Spector got the chance to meet Shigeru Miyamoto. And he was totally gobsmacked. Figurative drool was involved! More »
Step aside, Will Wright -- there's a new Hollywood It-Girl on the video game industry conference keynote scene. Yes, it seems event planners across the globe are trying to get Deus Ex and, more recently, Epic Mickey creator Warren Spector to come deliver their expo's keynote speech. The ghostly developer is already slated to speak at PAX Prime next month -- but according to a last-minute press release, Spector will also deliver one of the GDC Europe keynotes, titled "What Videogames Can Learn from Other Media ... What We Can't ... And What We Shouldn't," as the three-day event kicks off August 16.
The subject of the newly announced speech sounds intriguing, but of course, in an industry as fast-paced and cruel as the video game biz, we doubt Spector's going to stay on top of the keynote game for too much longer. We're betting he's got two more speeches in him before things go sour, and the industry turns its collective attention to a fresh face -- a Bleszinski or a Levine, for example.
#comiccon2010
Disney's Epic Mickey is only coming to the Wii, but a newly announced pair of comic book projects based on the game will bring Mickey's adventures to other platforms, including paper, PSP and the iPhone. More »
One of the key features in Disney Epic Mickey is the ability for players to choose either good or evil actions as Mickey Mouse. We originally learned that Mickey's appearance would change based on what sort of actions you take. Take good actions, and he would appear more like the Mickey we all know and love. Take evil actions, on the other hand, and he would transform into something decidedly more sinister.
Until now, that is, with the Mainichi Daily News reporting that the "mean" version of Mickey has been removed from the game after it left a bad taste in the mouths of focus testers. Now, instead of transforming into a more menacing mouse, Mickey will simply adopt a smudgy look. Just another reminder that, yes, focus testing can ruin anything.
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