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Once upon a time, there was a young entertainer named Oswald. With his father’s support, he was poised to be Hollywood’s next big star. But disaster struck, and he was stolen from his father. The father, devastated by this loss, moved forward and had a younger son. This one went on to become the biggest star the entertainment world had ever known. Meanwhile, the elder son’s career — now managed by the greedy men who stole him away from his father — quickly faded into obscurity.
In case you weren't sure, the father was Walt Disney, who started his career in Hollywood by making short cartoons. The elder son was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit — Disney’s original cartoon concept before his distributor at the time, Universal, stole Oswald away through a contract loophole. And the younger son? He’s Mickey Mouse, the character that Disney created to replace Oswald. This is the real history that serves as the backdrop for Epic Mickey.
I got the chance to talk to Warren Spector, the game's director, at a roundtable event during E3. It was easy to see the passion that he has for the project. Spector is a big fan of Disney's animation and history, and it shows. Throughout the roundtable, he was constantly bringing up artists and characters from Disney’s past that only the most hardcore fans would recognize. References to the company's characters and theme parks litter the game.
For instance, one of the first characters I ran into during the game’s E3 demo was Smee — Captain Hook’s right-hand lackey from Peter Pan. And the area Smee inhabits, Ventureland, pays tribute to rides from Disneyland’s Adventureland, which includes attractions like The Enchanted Tiki Room, Pirates of the Caribbean, and The Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse.
Ventureland is just a small part of Epic Mickey's world, dubbed the Wasteland. Old and forgotten characters fill this place. Oswald leads them, and he's bitterly looking to take Mickey’s place as Disney’s golden child.
Think of the Wasteland as a sort of twisted Disneyland. Much like the several differently themed lands that split the famous theme park, the Wasteland has different sections. Its areas even directly correspond with those of the park. Adventureland, for example, clearly serves as the model for Ventureland. Spector told us that the game’s other levels will follow suit. He specifically mentioned Tomorrowland, then quickly added with a smile that he probably shouldn’t have told us that.
You travel between these lands via 2D platforming sections that resemble old Mickey Mouse cartoons. The E3 demo included a short romp through a stage modeled after Mickey’s first cartoon, Steamboat Willie.
It seems that Warren Spector hates to differentiate genres. Many of the past games he's worked on, such as Deus Ex, blended aspects of different game styles. One could easily classify Epic Mickey as a platformer at first glance, but it contains elements of RPGs and even third-person shooters.
Mickey’s main weapon is a giant paintbrush, which he can use to shoot paint and thinner. Thinner erases characters and certain environments, while paint creates them. This opens up different gameplay possibilities: You can erase enemies, or you can use paint to turn them into friends.
You can solve the game's quests using these mechanics. During my demo, a storekeeper tasked me to bring three tiki masks to him. Using paint to guide you through short platforming sections can help you acquire these masks. After bringing him back a mask, I was able to use thinner on the back of his store, sneak inside, steal the mask back, and then present it to him as if I had found an entirely new one.
Such morality choices typically have consequences in RPGs. Evil deeds tend to make people fear you, and you grown horns, start glowing red, and so on. At one point, Epic Mickey was going to have a similar system — using thinner more often than paint would turn Mickey into a meaner, scrappier character — however, your actions will not alter Mickey. Warren Spector said he made this change after he discovered that no one really wanted to play as a mean Mickey.
The game does present consequences for your actions. A Mickey who uses thinner may be alone, but he's powerful. One that uses paint will find his strength in friends. Also, guardian sprites surround Mickey — depending on his paint/thinner preference — and will automatically deal with some enemies according to your play style. But despite all the ramifications of your actions, Mickey’s ultimate goal — the redemption of Oswald — stays the same.
When asked if any of his ideas for the game ever unsettled Disney, Warren Spector said that they never once directly told him "you can't do that." It’s obvious that both parties are serious about making sure this game lives up to its epic title.
Epic Mickey releases for the Nintendo Wii during holiday 2010.