The folks at Disney remember what it was like to play with toys from a toy box, and how to use your imagination. The developers behind Disney Infinity haven't forgot these childhood experiences, and crafted this toy-based video game to bring back those fond memories.
Somewhat similar to the Skylanders series, Disney Infinity will incorporate the use of toys on pedestals to generate characters into the game world. The developers behind this said the idea for Infinity first came to them during the making of Toy Story 3. They wanted the toys from across the entire Disney line to live in the same universe.
During the demo, the developers placed a figure of Mr. Incredible on the stand and he was immediately transported into the world. The character was in a place in the game called the toy box, an area where any toy could be used and almost anything could be created. Up next, a Tonto toy from the movie The Lone Ranger was placed on the pedestal to play around with Mr. Incredible. Here the two characters could interact with each other. For example Tonto could throw around tomahawks while Mr. Incredible could lift up Tonto and carry him around.
The world doesn’t just have to remain static. Players can also use assets such as buildings and environments. Such things could be brought into the world like Scrooge McDuck’s money bin from Ducktales or even the Light Runner from Tron. Objects aren’t the only thing that could be made in the toy box. Entire worlds could be brought to life. During the demo, the developers decided to bring the entire world of Finding Nemo into the toy box. And this wasn’t an instant transition. The underwater area slowly and quite fluidly began to transforming the entire environment. First you saw the land beneath you start to grow as crags of rocks began to appear. Then the pink sky started to get darker and darker as it turned into an ocean blue. Then fish started to populate the area until the world of Finding Nemo had finally taken over.
With this kind of tech at a player’s disposal, entire styles of gameplay can be created from scratch. With the correct environments and correct camera placements, the designers told tales of how some people even recreated the classic game Spy Hunter using Lighting McQueen from Cars. The dev stated that user-generated content could be downloaded and played. Also, content can be shared across platforms. So if your friend creates a level on their Wii U, you will be able to download and play it on your PS3.
But creating your own gaming experiences won’t be the only thing you will be doing. Disney Infinity also comes with adventures for players to take on with their toys. One such mission that was shown was Mr. Incredible having to save Snow White from a gang of Omnidroids. The game quickly changed into a brawler as the Pixar superhero began bashing wave after wave of droids until he could save the princess.
Also with these adventures came toy specific missions. These are missions that only certain toys can undertake. During one such mission, Mr. and Mrs. Incredible were sent into a city to save the citizens from being attacked by the criminal Syndrome. Here we go to see more of Mr. Incredible’s fighting prowess as well as Mrs. Incredible ability to grab at objects from across the map saving trapped citizens and destroying Omnidorids.
Disney Infinity is an idea for a game series that has already been tested and proven a success. But with the added bonus of the toy box feature enabling players to create their own gameplay experiences and worlds, it is a game that imaginative players will indeed love. The seventeen launch characters for the game are more than enough for players to toy around with come August 18th.