Join Disney Epic Mickey's creative director Warren Spector, and members of the development team at Purple Lamp, for a deep dive into Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed, an upcoming remake of the action-adventure platformer game. In this behind-the-scenes look at Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed, the team discusses some of the features of the remake including improved graphics, improved cameras, and improved UI, as well as the importance of creating a timeless game. The team also talks about restoring the platforming game, Mickey's new abilities like the dash and ground pound, the various worlds you'll explore, and the story of the action-adventure platformer game.
Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed will be available on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5 (PlayStation 5), PS4 (PlayStation 4), Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One on September 24, 2024.
Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed will be available on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5 (PlayStation 5), PS4 (PlayStation 4), Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One on September 24, 2024.
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GamingTranscript
00:00I'm Warren Spector, I'm the creative director on Disney Epic Mickey, and I was pleased when
00:13Disney asked me to work with the talented folks at THQ Nordic and Purple Lamp in remastering
00:19the game and bringing it back to a new generation of players.
00:23The re-release of Epic Mickey now is important for a couple of reasons.
00:28One is, there's a new generation of platforms, of consoles, and there's an opportunity to
00:36upgrade the graphics, rework the UI, and a variety of other things that we could just
00:42frankly improve.
00:43But the real reason I think it's important is that one of our goals with the original
00:49game was to make something that was timeless.
00:53Disney is known for that, for making things that stand the test of time and are still
00:57relevant years after their original release, and when I started thinking about this project
01:03I thought, well, why can't a game do that too?
01:06I think players will be excited to play the remastered version for a variety of reasons.
01:12One is simply that the game looks amazing thanks to the work of the talented and dedicated
01:18folks at Purple Lamp.
01:21So graphics upgraded, user interface upgraded, the camera's been improved, but the heart
01:29of the game is still there.
01:30The storyline and the unique gameplay, that's the thing that I'm most proud of.
01:36That we made a game, and we still have a game now in the remaster, in rebirth, that offers
01:45players the opportunity to decide how to solve problems.
01:49We're not forcing them down a particular path.
01:52They decide how to solve problems.
01:54Do they erase things?
01:55Do they paint things?
01:57And when they make their choice, they have to deal with the consequences of their choices.
02:03So there are a variety of reasons why players should be excited, and I'm most excited that
02:08now a larger audience can play it, because instead of being on a single platform, we're
02:14available everywhere.
02:20I always said that we made games about players moving through spaces, and what better way
02:24to do that than with a 3D platformer?
02:27In Disney Epic Mickey Rebrushed, you play as Mickey Mouse, 3D platforming with jumping,
02:32dashing, spin attacking, and interacting with the world in different ways.
02:36With the power of Yen Sid's brush, Mickey's able to use a magical substance, paint and
02:41thinner.
02:42He's able to fill in elements of the world, but also able to erase them.
02:45And through this interactive medium, he's able to bring life to the world.
02:49We spent a really long time exploring new mechanics, new gameplay elements, and additional
02:55motions and interactions that Mickey could have with the world.
02:58Eventually we realized that the original game actually had a very pure core moveset.
03:03We found out of the many prototypes that we made, that actually there was only three new
03:07abilities that actually made sense to complement the core of the original game.
03:12Mickey is now able to sprint through the world faster than ever before.
03:16We've adjusted the enemy AI so that Mickey may need to avoid more attacks.
03:20With the new dash ability, he's able to get out of the way quickly.
03:23My favorite ability in the game and what I see as a staple of the 3D platforming genre
03:28is the ground pound.
03:31The projector levels in the game provided us with a unique challenge.
03:35These levels were used as essentially interactive loading screens in the original game.
03:39These are lovingly restored from the reference material of original Disney movies.
03:45Movies such as Mickey and the Beanstalk, Clock Cleaners, and of course Steamboat Willie.
03:55In Disney Epic Mickey, you explore a lot of exciting places and they are connected by
04:01projector levels.
04:03Those are two and a half D platforming sections, but what is really interesting about them
04:09is that they are based on early Mickey Mouse movies.
04:13In the original game, projector levels were great, but you could play them only once.
04:18In Disney Epic Mickey Reprushed, we worked on them and we brought them to the next level.
04:25That's why we thought it's a good idea to let the players replay them and revisit them
04:30in the cinema.
04:31We worked on those levels according to three design principles, which is review, respect,
04:39and reprush.
04:40The review part was really nice because we gathered in the office and watched all those
04:46cartoons and we grew up with them.
04:50That's why it was a really nostalgic feeling for us.
04:54We loved the characters, the story, and the music, of course, and we looked in every detail
05:00to find good references for art and animation, but not only, we also were looking for things
05:07that we could turn into new gameplay mechanics.
05:11Then we realized that Mickey is a really active hero.
05:16In all those cartoons, he's pushing the story forward.
05:20He's not waiting for things to happen to him.
05:23He's making things happen.
05:25It's exactly the same in our game.
05:28You, as a Mickey Mouse player, you are pushing things forward.
05:33Your urgency, your decisions, your actions, making the game progress.
05:39We decided to add more options for the players to create their own paths through the project
05:47levels and also new areas to explore, maybe secrets to reveal, new collectibles to collect.
05:56I hope you will enjoy those levels as much as we enjoyed creating them.
06:02No matter who you are, where you are, or how old you are, Mickey was part of your life
06:07at some point.
06:09That's why we felt really responsible to provide you with the best Disney Epic Mickey Rebrush
06:16journey you can have.
06:19The stakes in Disney Epic Mickey are high for a variety of the characters.
06:26They are stuck in Wasteland and far from the real world, they're cartoon characters, but
06:34from the real world of cartoons, where they were loved and respected.
06:41And now they are in a world for characters that are no longer loved.
06:48Mickey has to save this world from a mistake that he made.
06:54Mickey is the cause of all the trouble in this game.
06:57And so he needs to save it so the characters in Wasteland can live their best lives.
07:05He's got a world to save.
07:07The stakes are very high.
07:09The other thing is, he needs to reconnect with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
07:15They are very similar in a variety of ways, very different in a variety of ways, and that
07:21connection has to be made for the world to be separate.
07:26Mickey and Oswald were necessary components of this game.
07:30They had to be the center of the game.
07:33Oswald is impetuous and easily angered.
07:39Mickey is thoughtful and resolute and calm in the face of adversity.
07:46And them coming together is necessary to tell the story that we wanted to tell.
07:51I wanted it to be a story of love.
07:55And the choice and consequence gameplay is important because I wanted the game to be
08:02about something more than just a story.
08:05I wanted it to be a story of love.
08:08I wanted it to be a story of redemption.
08:11I wanted it to be a story of friendship.
08:13I wanted it to be a story of love.
08:15I wanted it to be a story of redemption.
08:17I wanted it to be a story of love.
08:19Because I wanted the game to be about something more than just jumping and landing on platforms
08:27and fighting monsters, I wanted it to be about some questions.
08:35Is it more important to be powerful but alone?
08:39Or is it more important to be less powerful and have friends?
08:43The way you decide to play the game answers that question.
08:48So we ask the question, but players, through their choices and through seeing the consequences of their choices, answer it.
08:57The thing I'm most excited about seeing?
09:00Frankly, it's the entire game.
09:02It's been long enough since the original came out that I've forgotten all the secrets
09:05and I get to play it just like a normal player.
09:08Today I'm delighted to announce that Disney fans of all ages will be able to join Mickey and Oswald
09:14in their daring adventure in Wasteland.
09:17September 24th, 2024 for PC and console.