NintendoEverything Interview – Epic Mickey

Junction Point talks game length, choice mechanics, and the future of the series in our ‘Epic Mickey’ interview with them.

Last night, we posted up an interview regarding the upcoming game Okamiden for everyone to read, and tonight I’m excited to get back on the interview train with a game that is coming out a little sooner than that one! About a month ago I got an e-mail asking if I wanted to have an interview with some of the guys working on Epic Mickey, and I was ecstatic! Needless to say, I accepted right away, and posted up about it on the site for all of you to give us some questions!

Of course, being the fantastic readers you are, you gave us some things to ask about, and we sent em off. Well, now we’ve got our answers and we’re very excited to let you all read over them. There’s some pretty good info in here, so I encourage you to take a peek.

How long has Disney Epic Mickey been in development?

Disney first spoke to Warren about the high level concept in 2005. However, it was in late 2007 (when Disney acquired Junction Point) that the wheels really started turning. With the early invention of the paint and thinner game mechanic and the decision to go forward exclusively on Wii, the project really got off and running shortly thereafter.

How large is the development team for Disney Epic Mickey?

Internally, the team (including our QA department) topped out at around 125 developers. However, we made very strong partnerships around the world in the development of this title, from Salt Lake City to Shanghai, which ballooned the team at its maximum size to over 300.

What can you tell us about some of the enemies that we will face, both mundane and boss?

We like to think that there’s no mundane enemies in our game. It was very important to us that even the smallest enemy in the game (the Spatter) needed to have real character about them. If you get yourself into a position where you watch them patrolling the areas that they’ve been ordered to guard, especially if they’ve been forced to wear “park appropriate” attire, you can’t help but laugh at them. That’s something you have to be careful about though, as they don’t have a sense of humor.

Our bosses are truly epic, extremely memorable and, similar to everything else in the game, offer the player a choice to either beat them in combat or find a way to help them. Making that choice while fighting the bosses is a critical decision for the player and can affect their abilities, as well as how the story arc pans out.

I would like to know more about the theme of “choice”. Aside from merely taking a quest or denying it, choosing to save a gremlin or ignoring it, what are other choice mechanics?

There’s actually a ton of choices in the game, so I’ll try to cover as much as I can here for you to consider when you play the game. First, do you choose the paint path or the paint thinner path? Do you choose to erase enemies, scenery and the like, or do you befriend and restore the world, making the residents happy and doing your best to make the world a better place. Secondly, do you choose the combat path and play the game fighting and defeating the enemies around you, or do you play it as a platform/exploration game and avoid the enemies (maybe jumping on their heads or using your spin move to stun them occasionally). From there, you certainly do have quests. However, the major thing to note with the game is that this isn’t a game where the choices appear in the menu. Instead, you will be given choices that you can decide to act upon, but you do it in the game, not via a menu. Once you’ve made each choice, there’s no turning back. We also have no concept of “Mission Failed.” Whatever you choose to do in the game, is supported by us, making each person’s experience their own and allowing them to tell their own story of how they saved Wasteland.

I read previously about being able to either deliver three masks to a quest-giver or give him two and then steal one of them, presenting the stolen mask as the third. Can you give me any examples of other mechanics in that vein?

Without going into specifics, with that quest, you had the opportunity to search and find items for a character. You can also look to help characters with your paint, or with your thinner. You can also look to do a little detective work on your travels, as well as delivering items for folks too afraid to cross Wasteland’s 2D cartoons. There’s a lot to do out there!

You’ve seen two of the Wii’s exclusive franchises, No More Heroes as well as The Grinder go to PS3 and 360. Are there plans to bring Disney Epic Mickey to the other two consoles, and if not, are you considering working with the other consoles in future projects?

In developing exclusively for Wii, we have been able to focus on the system’s innovative control mechanism. Disney has had a great relationship with Nintendo throughout this development process, making an exclusive title the right choice for Disney Epic Mickey.

How long is the game, from start to finish, and if there’s no length yet, how long are you aiming for?

We’ve play tested the game many times throughout development and we’re pretty sure right now that for an average player that wants to find everything in the game, it’s going to take them about 20-25 hours. Plus, if you want to have the bragging rights of finding everything in the game, you’re going to have to play it more than once. But remember, it will be a different experience the second time around!

Were there were any past Disney games that you guys took inspiration from in order to help you better understand how you wanted to make Disney Epic Mickey?

While it’s very different than Disney Epic Mickey, I think the Kingdom Hearts series showed us all that with a rich, deep story and a cool portrayal of all things Disney, there is a large, loud and eager audience who want to experience Disney in the gaming space. We’re very happy and proud to deliver a game that we feel meets those expectations.

Might we see a Disney Epic Mickey game on 3DS in the future?

We’ve only just completed Disney Epic Mickey, so it’s really too early to say right now!

Lastly, what are your guys’ favorite games to play personally? Any classic games that never get old for you?

We’re all huge fans of the Zelda series of games from the NES all the way through to present day. For me personally, I’m a fan of a pretty wide range of game genres with everything from Rock Band 3 and Dance Dance Revolution, to Advance Wars and the Professor Layton series. I’m also a big fan of football (ok, soccer) games too. When I get spare time, I love playing the Lego series of games with my kids. And my secret shame in the classic games series would probably be Wrestlemania 2000, which I still regard as one of the best four player wrestling/fighting games of all time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Epic Mickey lands in stores on November 30th, so mark your calenders and get your pre-orders in!

I want to give a HUGE thanks to Irene for organizing the interview, anyone over at Junction Point, and (of course!) Paul Weaver (Director, Product Development at Junction Point) for answering everything we’ve wanted to know! I’m very flattered that we got the opportunity, and I hope you all enjoy the content that was given to us!

~Austin