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Spector: Epic Mickey 2 to co-op, voice acting, camera issues fixed, multiplatform

Shiggy

Member
With the Epic Mickey 2 announcement right around the corner, Spector mentions a few things that will be different this time. Some things we already knew about, but at least the voice acting part is new to me.

Warren Spector: With Mickey 1, we built a team - we went from 13 people to about 180. We built a studio, we built a tech base, we built a world... we did about everything you can do wrong in video game development. We tried to do everything at once. And so I'm really proud of the first Epic Mickey game. If I were to do it again, there are clearly things that we had to cut and things we could have done better. The number one thing I get asked is, "Why can't I play this on my platform, damn it?" So if I were to do another one - now that we've reintroduced Mickey as a video game hero on the right platform, which was the Wii - I think we've got other people intrigued. There are now more PS3s and 360s in sort of "family hands," let's put it that way. So I think the time would be right to get the game on other platforms.

The second thing I get asked is "you made a game that appeals to adults and kids equally," which is true by the way and was one of our goals, so "Why can't I play together? Why can't I play with my son and why can't I play with my mother? Why I can't play with my friends?" So, I would probably do co-op. I would definitely address player concerns about the camera. That was the number one complaint we heard, but I will defend to the death the quality of the work my camera team did on that first game; there is a whole GDC talk about that sometime, too. The camera in the first game was an amazing piece of work that people don't appreciate. We took the hardest problem in gaming and then made it even harder through our game mechanics - which people don't get - but we know we could do better. And so I would do that and I would do full voice. I mean I made a decision on the first game not to have characters speak. It was a mistake and I would fix that.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-03-16-warren-spector-a-lifetime-of-achievements


Edit:
 

Lijik

Member
... I thought the characters speaking in some Disney mumbling was one of the more charming parts of EM1 really. They should have just gone all the way with that. It didn't work because it was like one sound effect for each line.
Not sure Im ready to hear Mickey talk the whole game. Hope Warren realizes the reason why there hasn't been a Mickey feature film is because he's like Mario- that voice gets grating over long periods of time.

Everything else sounds promising
 

LiK

Member
He said the camera was an "amazing piece of work" in the first game? It was definitely a piece of work.
 

guek

Banned
Since I don't have a 360 anymore, I'll buy it if it comes to wii u. My wii is getting donated shortly after its successor comes out.

First one was good, not great. It had a lot of promise but too many little things got in the way.
 

SmithnCo

Member
If they can really fix the camera issues that alone will be a big improvement.

I don't have much of an opinion on voice acting either way, I hope they have a nice selection of areas this time though. Based on attractions that weren't in the first.
 

Htown

STOP SHITTING ON MY MOTHER'S HEADSTONE
This game is going to lose so much money.

I don't know what made people think HD sequels to young-skewing Wii franchises were a lock for sales, but whoever it is needs to be fired from whatever position they hold.

Epic Mickey : Epic Mickey 2 :: DeBlob : DeBlob 2


This series has so much potential but it was a huge mistake to make the first one a wii exclusive.
No, the actual mistake is the HD sequels. You pour so much money down the drain for no good reason, when the primary audience for the game is on Wii.
 

guek

Banned
This game is going to lose so much money.

I don't know what made people thing HD sequels to Wii franchises were a lock for sales, but whoever it is needs to be fired from whatever position they hold.

Well as long as there's decent advertising, the wii version will probably do alright. iirc, the first one broke the 2 million mark. The PS360WiiU versions are a bit harder to call. It might be another udraw fiasco :p
 

saichi

Member
There are now more PS3s and 360s in sort of "family hands," let's put it that way. So I think the time would be right to get the game on other platforms.

That's what Ubisoft thought with Just Dance 3 and THQ with uDraw/de Blob 2. I'm scared for Mickey...
 
Disney probably also shit the bed by rushing EM1 out 6-12 months before it was finished - the original's sales, IIRC, were massively frontloaded, which indicates bad word of mouth that will likely lead to underwhelming sales for the sequel, and probably Junction Point being shut down next year. :/
 

Htown

STOP SHITTING ON MY MOTHER'S HEADSTONE
Didn't it sell like two million copies? Maybe a small miscalculation, but hardly a "huge" mistake.

Yeah like I said, the original platform was not the problem. Making the sequel on PS3/360 is the problem. Nobody (relatively) is going to buy those versions, and you balloon the budget from Wii-level to HD-level. This thing is going to bleed money.
 

SykoTech

Member
The camera in the first game was an amazing piece of work that people don't appreciate

weebay-shocked-face.gif
 

antonz

Member
There are now more PS3s and 360s in sort of "family hands," let's put it that way. So I think the time would be right to get the game on other platforms.

That's what Ubisoft thought with Just Dance 3 and THQ with uDraw/de Blob 2. I'm scared for Mickey...

Yep its a huge mistake.
 

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
There are now more PS3s and 360s in sort of "family hands," let's put it that way. So I think the time would be right to get the game on other platforms.

That's what Ubisoft thought with Just Dance 3 and THQ with uDraw/de Blob 2. I'm scared for Mickey...

But Ubisoft did well with Just Dance 3 on 360--not as well as on Wii, but well... and the Wii version didn't take a hit versus Just Dance 2. de Blob 2 and uDraw 2011 both tanked on all platforms. So I'm not really sure what the comparison is here.
 

guek

Banned
Yeah like I said, the original platform was not the problem. Making the sequel on PS3/360 is the problem. Nobody (relatively) is going to buy those versions, and you balloon the budget from Wii-level to HD-level. This thing is going to bleed money.

I'm suspecting a possible Wii U launch title. It would probably do well, especially if it has multiplayer, and would likely beat out any sort of rabbids game ubisoft is planning on shitting out.
 
Yeah like I said, the original platform was not the problem. Making the sequel on PS3/360 is the problem. Nobody (relatively) is going to buy those versions, and you balloon the budget from Wii-level to HD-level. This thing is going to bleed money.

It's not like making a Wii exclusive in 2012 is that viable an option. Maybe Wii/3DS would have been the best bet.
 

kfpkiller

Member
This game is going to lose so much money.

I don't know what made people think HD sequels to young-skewing Wii franchises were a lock for sales, but whoever it is needs to be fired from whatever position they hold.

Epic Mickey : Epic Mickey 2 :: DeBlob : DeBlob 2



No, the actual mistake is the HD sequels. You pour so much money down the drain for no good reason, when the primary audience for the game is on Wii.

Wii's dead if you didn't notice, they had no other choice.
 

antonz

Member
But Ubisoft did well with Just Dance 3 on 360--not as well as on Wii, but well... and the Wii version didn't take a hit versus Just Dance 2. de Blob 2 and uDraw 2011 both tanked on all platforms. So I'm not really sure what the comparison is here.

Upad was fairly successful on the Wii to the point of shortages and sell outs during the holidays. It was when THQ decided to take Udraw multiplatform that they imploded the brand.
 

SykoTech

Member
But Ubisoft did well with Just Dance 3 on 360--not as well as on Wii, but well... and the Wii version didn't take a hit versus Just Dance 2. de Blob 2 and uDraw 2011 both tanked on all platforms. So I'm not really sure what the comparison is here.

Yep. Not to mention, this is Mickey Mouse. Not some random "kiddy" game people won't take a second look at like uDraw and deBlob.

People here acting all scared are just being silly.
 

antonz

Member
Yep. Not to mention, this is Mickey Mouse. Not some random "kiddy" game people won't take a second look at like uDraw and deBlob.

People here acting all scared are just being silly.

They really had no choice but to go Multiplatform based on unrealistic expectations Disney has for Mickey Mouse. They think it has the draw and appeal to rival Mario game sales. So Selling 2 million while a solid number is failure
 

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
Upad was fairly successful on the Wii to the point of shortages and sell outs during the holidays. It was when THQ decided to take Udraw multiplatform that they imploded the brand.

Hence "uDraw 2011". They also released the updated software on the Wii, and it tanked there too.
 
Yeah like I said, the original platform was not the problem. Making the sequel on PS3/360 is the problem. Nobody (relatively) is going to buy those versions, and you balloon the budget from Wii-level to HD-level. This thing is going to bleed money.
Ah, I see what you mean. The amount of profit they have to pull from the HD consoles seems to be way way higher than anything on the Wii and I'm not even sure that the audience for that game is big on the HD consoles. UDraw must have been one hell of a mess. The lack of a Wii U version doesn't look very good either considering how dead the Wii is nowadays.
 

Zia

Member
That was the number one complaint we heard, but I will defend to the death the quality of the work my camera team did on that first game; there is a whole GDC talk about that sometime, too. The camera in the first game was an amazing piece of work that people don't appreciate. We took the hardest problem in gaming and then made it even harder through our game mechanics - which people don't get - but we know we could do better.

You're a piece of work, Warren. Jesus.
 
Ah, I see what you mean. The amount of profit they have to pull from the HD consoles seems to be way way higher than anything on the Wii. UDraw must have been one hell of a mess. The lack of a Wii U version doesn't look very good either considering how dead the Wii is nowadays.

The odds of a Wii U version are overwhelmingly high. wsippel confirmed in the Wii U speculation thread that Junction Point has Wii U dev kits, and superannuation tweeted that they were "implementing Wii U support" for the game, which can only mean one thing if Nintendo is consistent with how it's historically handled BC.
 

Shiggy

Member
Disney probably also shit the bed by rushing EM1 out 6-12 months before it was finished - the original's sales, IIRC, were massively frontloaded, which indicates bad word of mouth that will likely lead to underwhelming sales for the sequel, and probably Junction Point being shut down next year. :/

Project Orange, their original IP project was already shut down.

How did Disneyland Kinect fare?
 

NTom64

Member
Glad to hear that they're fixing up the camera and adding in voice acting. They weren't my biggest gripes with the first game, but the camera made platforming a real chore at times.

And the lack of voice acting just made an already dull game that much duller. Damn near fell asleep at times.
 
Going to try it out eventually, but the first looked too empty in terms of interesting content from all the videos I saw. I may be off-base, but it seems an increase in exciting things would be good.
 

guek

Banned
The game needs to be more 2012 rather than 1998.

1998 was the best year for gaming of all time! at least according to my childhood ;-)

If this game is a wii u launch title, I'm going to be annoyed because I already know I'll want to buy it. Blech. They better show something damn impressive to get this weird compulsive taste out of my mouth.

It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't already anticipate buying 3-4 launch games.
 

Shiggy

Member
1998 was the best year for gaming of all time! at least according to my childhood ;-)

If this game is a wii u launch title, I'm going to be annoyed because I already know I'll want to buy it. Blech. They better show something damn impressive to get this weird compulsive taste out of my mouth.

It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't already anticipate buying 3-4 launch games.

It's coming to Wii apparently, though that version may look the worst.
 

SmithnCo

Member
Going to try it out eventually, but the first looked too empty in terms of interesting content from all the videos I saw. I may be off-base, but it seems an increase in exciting things would be good.

Less fetch-questing would've been nice. It had a lot of cool references though. If they can amp up the scenery with less BS that would be great.
 

Wizpig

Member
I certainly wouldn't expect you guys to understand Epic Mickey's camera...

And of course the camera in the second one will be too mainstream; no buy from me.
 

Wildesy

Member
Mickey Mouse has got to be close to the most unappealing character in modern gaming. Pretty surprised this is getting a sequel personally.
 
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