Concept Art Unveiled for Top Secret "Epic Mickey" Video Game

Game Informer has displayed some concept art and video of Epic Mickey, the top secret Wii video game in development for a fall 2010 release. Although details are sketchy, Epic Mickey will be a dark, good vs. evil Disney game starring Mickey Mouse, with an art style rooted in post-apocalyptic imagery and "steampunk."

Epic Mickey is being designed by Warren Spector, best known for his work on the Deus Ex video game franchise. His video game design studio, Junction Point Studios, has not developed any video games, but they were acquired by Disney Interactive.

Preliminary reports of Epic Mickey gameplay have pegged it as a cross between the painbrush element of Okami and the Kingdom Hearts franchise, which combined Disney characters into a mosaic universe of good and evil. However, unlike Kingdom Hearts, which combined Mickey Mouse with recent Disney characters like Mulan, Epic Mickey will combine retro staple characters from Disney's past, including Donald Duck, Goofy, and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

With some plot points drawn from the classic movie Fantasia, it might be safe to assume that the Epic Mickey video game will keep its characters to those created before World War II. Some of the locales are drawn from Disneyland buildings like Cinderella Castle, so the emphasis is on vintage Disney mythology. If the game is successful, perhaps a sequel will continue the story of the Disney empire. The Disney universe is certainly big enough to turn Epic Mickey into a franchise video game.

The game will have a moral choice system, in which players can play Mickey as a Scrapper or a Hero, using his paintbrush for either destructive or constructive purposes. The paintbrush gameplay is custom-fit for the Wii's motion controller, however there is speculation that Epic Mickey will not be a Wii-exclusive video game. Disney would be wise to distribute this game to as many game consoles as possible. The dark, stylized look of the game added to its recognizable, loved Disney characters make it a video game that transcends age demographics, similar to the Super Mario Bros. franchise.

Epic Mickey for the Wii has a tentative release date of sometime in fall of 2010, just in time for the holiday shopping season. The full slate of concept art and a write-up about the Epic Mickey will be featured in November's issue of Game Informer Magazine, and Game Informer's Web site has semi-weekly updates on the development of Epic Mickey video game.

Sources:
Game Informer, "The Art of Epic Mickey"
Wikipedia, "Epic Mickey"
Wikipedia, "Warren Spector"
Wikipedia, "Junction Point Studios"
The Escapist, "Epic Disney May Not Be Wii Exclusive After All"
Game Informer, "Epic Disney News"