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Disney Infinity
Developer(s) Avalanche Software
Altron (3DS)
Heavy Iron Studios (Wii and Wii U versions)
Publisher(s) Disney Interactive
Namco Bandai Games (Japan)[1]
Microsoft Studios (Xbox 360, Windows)
Genre(s) Action-adventure
Rating(s) E10+

Disney Infinity is a game universe where a spark of imagination unlocks a fantastical world where players have unprecedented freedom and endless opportunity to create stories and play experiences starring the beloved characters from Disney’s most popular franchises.

Players place real-world interactive toys – Character Figures, Play Set Games. and Power Discs – on a device called the Disney Infinity Base to activate original, story-driven adventures in the game worlds. In each respective Play Set, players take on the role of a variety of popular characters to battle enemies, solve challenging puzzles, overcome obstacles and complete a variety of other unique quests.

As players advance through each adventure, they will unlock characters, upgrades, gadgets and more which they can use in a virtual Toy Box. At any time, players can access their personal Toy Box and use the items to create their own adventures featuring any combination of items across all franchises. The possibilities are endless and players are only limited by their imaginations in the Toy Box.

The first Edition is Disney Infinity: 1.0 Edition, and was released in 2013. Other editions released annually thereafter.

Key Features[]

Unprecedented Creative Play
Featuring a virtual Toy Box and a vast open world environment, players can create their own stories and customize their adventures combining characters, environments, gadgets, vehicles and more.
Infinite Storyline Possibilities
Disney prides itself on its storytelling culture and for the first time ever, Disney Infinity puts the story creation into the hands of consumers. Players can create their own adventures in an open-­world environment and gives players unprecedented freedom for creative play.
Multiple Franchises
Disney Infinity introduces an all-new universe, featuring a toy‐inspired art style where multiple Disney franchises and characters can exist and interact in one game.
Interactive Toys Activate In-Game Adventures and Customizations
Disney Infinity will initially introduce a line of almost 40 collectible interactive toys - Character Figures, Game Pieces and Power Discs - that allow players to expand and customize their play experiences.
Character Figures
Character Figures allow players to experience a variety of their favorite characters in each Play Set and in the Toy Box.
Game Pieces
Game Pieces provide access to themed games based on various Disney owned studios and franchises.
Power Discs
Power Discs enhance Toy Box environments, add character abilities, packs, tools, vehicles, and more.
Co-op Multiplayer Action
Disney Infinity supports 2 player local co‐op play in structured adventures and up to 4 players[2] in "Toy Box" mode.
Sparks
In Disney Infinity, Sparks are how Character Figures earn experience, heal themselves, build up power for special moves, and earn economy to purchase toys from the in-game Toy Store.

Gameplay[]

The game has the player place their Disney Infinity figures onto the circular spots of the Disney Infinity Base to jump into the game and come alive in a fully animated interactive world. With the exception of non-humanoid characters such as those from the Cars series, each character has a double jump and a default set of attacks, as well as an ability unique to each figure. For example, Sulley can roar to scare others whilst Violet and Randy can turn invisible.

Physical elements[]

The Starter Pack[3] edition of the game is bundled with three figurines (Sulley, Jack Sparrow and Mr. Incredible), the play set piece for Monsters University, Pirates of the Caribbean and The Incredibles, and a Disney Infinity Base. The base has two round spots to place Character Figures and Circular Power Discs, and a hexagonal spot to place Play Set Game pieces and Hexagonal Power Discs. When a Character Figure is placed on the Disney Infinity Base, the character is registered in the game, while Play Set Game pieces unlock Play Sets.[4]

Gameplay Modes[]

There are two main modes in the game: Play Set and Toy Box.[4] Play Set mode has Disney Infinity play sets of films which are accessed via placing the relevant play set piece onto the hexagonal spot of the Infinity Base. Some examples include Pirates of the Caribbean, Monsters University, The Incredibles, Cars, The Lone Ranger and Toy Story. These play sets have their own unique campaign, which can be played with up to two players. The player takes control of characters, and plays as them in original adventures in different worlds. In these worlds, the player battles enemies, solves puzzles, overcomes obstacles and completes a variety of other unique quests. Each play set is essentially a self-contained world, based on a specific movie or series with recognizable characters, gameplays and storylines. Characters from one world cannot enter into another world, meaning two figures from the same series are required to play a play-set in split-screen multiplayer.[5] Playing through the play sets unlocks objects and vehicles that can be used in the Toy Box Mode.

Toy Box mode allows the player to create their own world and stories, similar to Toy Box mode in Toy Story 3: The Video Game. It also allows the player to mix and match everything that is unlocked within the Play Sets including characters, weapons and gadgets. There are various "Adventures" in this mode, which help teach the player how to use the mode's tools. Players can also earn "spins", which can be used to unlock additional items in the Toy Box, by playing through play sets as well as the "adventures" for the first time, or leveling up their characters. The mode supports online multiplayer, in which players can play around with items that only the other player has, albeit only during that session.

A portable Toy Box, called Disney Infinity: Toy Box, became available in late 2013, exclusively for the iPad and PC.[6] These versions of the Toy Box utilize the web codes included on the Web Code Cards that come with each Disney Infinity character.

Power Discs[]

Main article: Power Discs

Power Discs are discs that can be placed on the Disney Infinity Base along with their characters to add new elements to the game. Players can use up to three environment enhancements (Hexagonal Power Discs) that can only be used in the toy box mode, and up to two character enhancements (Circular Power Discs) per character. The environment enhancements can alter the terrain, change the background "sky," add new vehicles or add new weapons. The character enhancements will alter things about the character such as damage done, replenish health, allow for faster experience gain for leveling and so on. One Power Disc is included with the Starter Pack whilst additional discs are sold in blind bags each containing two discs.[7]

Platforms[]

Following a delay, the PC version of Disney Infinity was released on November 14, 2013. This version is available free of charge, and can be downloaded from the official Disney Infinity website. This version originally contained only the game's Toy Box mode, similar to the iPad version. However, a patch was released on February 28, 2014 that added in all six Play Sets, putting it on par with the console versions.[8] The game features several changes from the console version, however. The game does not support the Infinity Base. Instead, characters are unlocked either by purchasing them from the Disney Infinity website (at a discounted rate, due to the lack of a physical figurine) or by redeeming a web code card included with the physical figurines. Since Power Discs do not come with web codes, they must be purchased from the PC Shop. The game also does not support multiplayer, though players can link up with the console version to share Toy Boxes between the two versions.[9][10]

Due to the space limitations of the Wii platform, some design decisions had to be made in the game. The gameplay does not have online play or multiplayer in Play Sets, but there is multiplayer in Toy Box.[11] That means: smaller play set worlds, no downloadable or shareable toy box worlds. Toy Box version has only 6 different Toy Box Worlds, each with different toys and tools.[12] On August 21, 2014, the Disney Infinity software was released as a free download for the North American Wii U eShop, for the convenience of upgrading to the superior Wii U version for players who originally own the Wii Starter Pack, although the Wii version is backwards-compatible on Wii U.[13] The follow-up game will not be available for Wii.

Different from the console and PC versions, the Nintendo 3DS version of the game, called Disney Infinity: Toy Box Challenge, is a party game, in which up to four players play on various themed game boards and participate in various minigames. The Toy Box mode can be used to create new game boards. This version uses its own Disney Infinity Base, which has only one character slot compared to the console version, and connects to the 3DS wirelessly.[14]

Development[]

Concept[]

The concept for Disney Infinity first began to take shape in the minds of the Disney Interactive crew back in 2008, when they first saw the pitch for Toy Story 3, which they were being tasked with making a video game out of. The part that really captivated their imaginations was the very beginning of the film, where all of Andy Davis' toys are coming to life and having adventures in a western fantasy world inside of his imagination.[15] [16] The staff decided that that would be not only where they started the game, but where a lot of it would take place. They envisioned a game where players could create and customize their own world within this world, and use their imaginations to craft their own creations. This concept manifested itself in the game in the form of Toy Box mode, a mode in the game separate from the typical story mode where players could create their own creations. (This was not much like the Toy Box mode in Disney Infinity, but it laid the foundation for what it was to become.) It was while the team was creating this game that they came to the realization of why the many characters of Toy Story can coexist in one universe even though they are all very different: they are all toys playing inside a child's imagination. This would be the foundational concept of Disney Infinity.[17]

Toy Story 3: The Video Game was a good success with critics and audiences alike, which was welcome news to Disney Interactive, which at the time was a company struggling to sell its games. As a result of the game's success, the company began work on a sequel, a Buzz Lightyear-themed game called Star Command, which would expand on the first game's Toy Box mode.[18][15][16] However, it was around that time that John Pleasants joined Disney Interactive as a co-president upon Disney's acquisition of his company, Playdom. Pleasants was the one who suggested to the team at Avalanche Software that they should consider incorporating other Franchises into their games, not just Toy Story.[18][16] At first, the team was reluctant to do this, as they knew that it would be a difficult concept to sell to the heads of Disney Interactive due to the unwritten rule that characters from different franchises should not mix in video games;[15] however, as Pleasants pointed out, there are precedents to Characters interacting outside of their franchises, for example, at Disney Parks, or as physical toys in a child's playroom.[18] The team soon came to love the idea, and added to it the idea of making the game toys-to-life, meaning that players would play by collecting physical figures of the characters and placing them on a portal to make them appear in-game.[18]

The team decided that the best way to make their idea a reality was to pitch it to John Lasseter, which they did in late 2010.[18] At first, John was displeased with the idea of combining many different franchises, due to the differentiation of art style that would naturally occur given the different art styles of each of the films that the characters were taken from;[16] however, after about twenty minutes of the team convincing him, he said that if the artists could find an artistic style that would make sense for all of the characters as well as cause them to look like they belonged in the same universe, then their idea might have a shot.[15][16] The team had come to the pitch with the concept of having each character in the art style of their original media, the way that the different types of toys (for example, the plush toys and the action figures) interacted in Toy Story; however, Lasseter said that he felt it would be more "powerful" for them to all have one unifying art style.[19] He also said that whatever the team did, it would have to be "wicked awesome."[15]

Before a full-scale game was created, John Blackburn came to Chad Liddell of Avalanche and asked him to create a simple prototype of what the gameplay was to be in the new game.[17] The premise of the prototype was simple: some Disney/Pixar characters (which ended up being Sheriff Woody and Buzz Lightyear) were together on an island, and there was a toy machine in the middle from which players could purchase, using Crystals as currency, virtual toys that the characters could play with in-game.[17] It was to have no structured gameplay (i.e., no storyline); it was only to be about experimenting with toys and discovering what you could do.[17] The prototype was created using models straight out of Toy Story 3: The Video Game. When they gave the prototype to some children to test it, it was a huge success. As they played longer, the child testers began to realize that by combining different toys in different ways, they could make them do different things that the toys could otherwise not do; according to John Blackburn, the moment the team saw this was the moment where the team realized they had a real potential success on their hands.[17]

Initially, Jeff Bunker, one of the developers who got the initial idea for the game, tried to find people to make the games who came from outside Avalanche Software, like people from Pixar; he said that it was "...crazy the amount of designers (they) went to." However, as he later recalled, he found that the best work was coming from inside of Avalanche.[15]

The animators at Avalanche experimented with many different art styles - over 100, according to Jeff Bunker[19] - before they found one that worked. Their earliest designs involved characters with large heads and smaller feet.[15] They tried turing the Characters into tiny toy versions of themselves, as well as into plush toys, but John Lasseter rejected both of those ideas.[18] At one point, the team played with the idea of characters that would come in three pieces (a head, a torso, and feet), held together with magnets, that could be swapped around, similar to the format used for Skylanders: Swap Force; however, the idea was scrapped due to the magnetic interference that this would cause with the RFID fields that would cause the characters to work with the Disney Infinity Base.[15] The designers found many of these early designs simply too kiddy-looking; they were looking for a design that would appeal not only to children, but to players of all ages, so as to make a game that the whole family enjoyed playing.[19] The art style finally began to come together when animator Jon Diesta started making sketches in a new art style, where the characters resembled their real selves, only with slightly exaggerated proportions.[19] This was the art style chosen for the new game, as it was determined to be the best aesthetic that would permit the combining of Disney, Pixar, and live-action characters together into one game.[15][18]

The designers of Disney Infinity had never worked with physical toys before, so making the game's Figures was a challenge for them.[15] When they first started making figures, the only thing they were concerned with was making a good looking figure that people would want to collect, not as much with the in-game models of the characters. However, when they sent these figures to the factory to be made, they found that the figures that were made did not translate well into virtual characters. For this reason, they decided to start with the in-game models of the characters and then make those models into figures; this caused the process to go a lot more smoothly.[20] They found that the limbs of characters were especially difficult to do, because when the characters were pulled out of their mold, they were very pliable.[15] Fortunately for the team, when they brought their prototype figures back to John Lasseter, he was thrilled with them.[15]

Figure Design[]

The process for making a figure (which is referred to as "infinitizing" by the team at Avalanche Software),[19] as outlined by Jeff Bunker, is as follows: first, when the team has a character they want to build, the artists begin to draw various caricatures of the character. When the team feels that they have come to a caricature that features a design that they like, they present this caricature to the filmmaker who was originally behind that character to get their opinion on it. Then they sketch some more until they feel they have come to a design that they all like.[21] When the design is decided upon, the team then decides what pose the character's figure should be in. The team always tries to get a pose that is unique to the figure, one that would not look right on any other character.[22] They try to capture the character in what John Vignocchi describes as a "state of anticipation", meaning they want the character to look not as though they are in the middle of an action, but as though they are about to perform an action. The team tries to make the figures look as alive as possible. They do a lot of research to choose a pose, watching the movies many times, looking at promotional material, and hearing feedback from the character's creator in order to get the pose that feels most iconic for that character.[21]

When a pose has been decided, the team decides on the character's color scheme. The team are very particular with what colors are used on their figures. While most toys use pantone colors (a book full of thousands of colors) to decide on colors for their toys, Disney custom chooses each and every color for their characters so as to achieve the exact right color.[21]

The team does a black-and-white sketch and a color sketch for each character before creating an uncolored clay maquette of the character in order to figure out how the character looks in the real world as opposed to a 2D drawing. They then make a 3D virtual model of the character,[21] which is once again taken to the filmmaker for approval.[22] The figure is further tweaked based on the filmmaker's preferences and the constraints of the size of the box. (Certain characters are so large or tall that they must be posed in certain ways just so they will fit inside the box.) The only design steps left after this are the creation of the colored prototype model of the physical figure and the design of the character's box. When all of this has been completed, the figure is finally ready for mass production.

Altogether, Disney Interactive spent over $100 million on Disney Infinity and its accompanying Figures.[23]

Release[]

Announcement[]

The game was first announced at the El Capitan Theater in California on January 15, 2013 at a large presentation for D23 members and press, where John Pleasants, John Blackburn, and John Lasseter spoke about the game's concept, gameplay, and development, in addition to announcing many of the game's figures.[16][24] They also first showed the game's official reveal trailer at that time.

Marketing[]

Reception[]

Disney Infinity received mostly positive reviews from critics (except for the 3DS version, which received negative reviews). It received a 74 and 75 out of 100 on review aggregrator site Metacritic, for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 respectively.[25][26]

The Toy Box mode received much praise. Steven O'Donnell of Good Game: Spawn Point stated that "it's a bit like Minecraft in that you're dropped into an open world that you can then build some pretty spectacular structures in."[27] Kevin VanOrd of GameSpot called the Toy Box "a gleefully entertaining shared space," and greatly preferred it over the story mode.[28]

The figurines of the playable characters received mixed to positive reactions. Daniel Krupa of IGN said that they're "well-made statues," and that "each one really captures the personality of that character with a charismatic stance."[29] The soundtrack and dialogue of Disney Infinity also received mixed reactions. Andrew Reiner of Game Informer said that "characters repeat dialogue way too often," and that the soundtrack is "often surprisingly absent."[29] Andy Robertson of Forbes stated that his children loved playing with the figurines, both in the game and as toys.[30]

The overall price of the game and all of the toys received media coverage. Jeff Cork of Game Informer said that to purchase all items at the launch (the game, all launch toys and power discs) it costs a minimum of AUD$460.[31] Kevin VanOrd of GameSpot called Disney Infinity "a platform designed to keep you spending money."[28] Nick Cowen of The Guardian warned parents to "get ready with those wallets."[32]

In September 2013, Disney revealed that the game had sold 294,000 copies in the United States during its first two weeks on sale.[33]

On October 18, 2013, Disney Interactive announced that the game had sold more than a million copies worldwide. With more figures not yet released, Disney hopes the number of units sold will continue to grow.[34] As of January 20, 2014, three million starter packs have been sold.[35]

The game was nominated for the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards in 2014,[36] but lost to Just Dance 2014.[37]

Sales[]

Editions[]

Disney Infinity: 1.0 Edition[]

On August 18, 2013, Disney released the first edition of Disney Infinity for PS3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii, Wii U, and 3DS. It was released for the Wii U eShop on August 21, 2014. It was later released for Apple iPad on September 18, 2013, and finally on November 14, 2013 for PC (Windows). For PC and console, each Disney Infinity Starter Pack consisted of a Disney Infinity Base, three character figures (Jack Sparrow, Mr. Incredible, and Sulley), and a Play Set Game piece with three initial games - one for each character figure's franchise (The Incredibles, Monsters University, Pirates of the Caribbean).

Disney Infinity: 2.0 Edition[]

On April 30, 2014, Disney announced a follow-up game, Disney Infinity: 2.0 Edition, which was released on September 23, 2014 (US release date) for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U, iOS, PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 (as well as later for PlayStation Vita, PC, iOS, and Android) which was centered around Characters from the Marvel Comics universe, such as Iron Man, Hulk, Spider-Man, and the Guardians of the Galaxy. The game featured improved Toy Box editing tools and introduced Toy Box Games, discs which grant players access to special minigames which either have a tower defense or dungeon crawler premise, depending on the disc. The game was compatible with all figures and accessories from the previous Disney Infinity.

Disney Infinity: 3.0 Edition[]

On May 5, 2015, Disney announced the third installment of the Disney Infinity franchise, Disney Infinity: 3.0 Edition, which is to be released on an unspecified date in Fall 2015 for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, Wii U, iOS, Android, and PC (presumably not all at the same time). As the previous game was centered on Marvel Comics Characters, this game will be centered on characters from the Star Wars universe, such as Darth Vader, Ahsoka Tano, Yoda, and Chewbacca. However, it will not be solely focused on Star Wars the way 2.0 was mainly focused on Marvel; it will incorporate more content from Disney/Pixar and Marvel as well. It will also feature enhanced combat and driving mechanics, better quality Toy Box Games, and a new system that allows players to grow crops. Like the previous game before it, it will be compatible with all Figures and Power Discs from the first two games.

Gallery[]

For more game related media, see Disney Infinity/Gallery.

Videos[]

External Links[]

References[]

  1. Namco Bandai And Disney Are Buddies In Japan
  2. Disney Infinity supports up to 4 players when linked to their Disney accounts. Following the shutdown of the Disney Infinity servers on March 3rd, 2017, only local co-op play is possible.
  3. Disney Infinity Starter Pack
  4. 4.0 4.1 Disney Infinity preview: Skylanders challenger not the usual toy story
  5. Disney INFINITY Playsets
  6. Disney Infinity Goes Mobile
  7. Disney INFINITY Figures — Power Discs
  8. Disney Infinity Play Sets Land On PC With Huge Discounts
  9. Disney Infinity Finally Arrives on PC
  10. Disney Infinity PC Shop
  11. Disney Infinity - Game Profile (Wii™)
  12. Disney Infinity - Hints: Toy Box Mode (Wii™)
  13. Upgrade Disney Infinity Wii to Wii U free of charge
  14. If You Like Disappointment, You'll Love Disney Infinity 3DS
  15. 15.00 15.01 15.02 15.03 15.04 15.05 15.06 15.07 15.08 15.09 15.10 15.11 http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2015/05/06/star-wars-meets-disney-designing-infinity-s-new-toys.aspx
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HhGLfXw5c4
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIuyzFfC-2U
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 18.6 Disney Infinity developer says Star Wars, Marvel characters under discussion, but not decided
  19. 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 http://mashable.com/2015/06/02/disney-infinity-3-ahsoka-tano/
  20. http://comicbook.com/2015/06/04/mtfbwy-exclusive-bringing-star-wars-to-disney-infinity-3-0---des/
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 http://www.shacknews.com/article/89615/how-a-disney-infinity-figure-is-made
  22. 22.0 22.1 http://www.starwars.com/news/infinity-gets-rebellious-bringing-star-wars-rebels-characters-to-disneys-hit-game
  23. http://www.gamespot.com/articles/disney-spent-100-million-on-infinity-report/1100-6413088/
  24. http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2013/01/15/disney-infinity-revealed-an-ambitious-cross-platform-gaming-toybox/
  25. Disney Infinity for Xbox 360 Reviews
  26. Disney Infinity for PlayStation 3 Reviews
  27. Good Game Spawn Point - Disney Infinity
  28. 28.0 28.1 Disney Infinity Review
  29. 29.0 29.1 Disney Infinity Review
  30. Disney Infinity Review: Show Time
  31. Cork, Jeff (2013). "Dragon vs. Mouse". Game Informer (GameStop Corporation) (45): 29.
  32. Disney Infinity – review
  33. Disney Infinity sells 294,000 copies in US
  34. Disney Infinity’ Reaches 1 Million Global Sales Milestone
  35. Disney Infinity sells 3 million starter packs
  36. Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards Nominations Revealed
  37. Kids' Choice Awards winners: One Direction, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, Justin Timberlake and more
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