Disney: Infinity launches today for almost every major gaming platform, and it’s quite possibly going to be the Next Big Thing in kid-friendly gaming. That’s because Disney has not only made a game starring its most popular intellectual properties with more kid-appeal than a warehouse-sized sweet shop, but it has created a line of figurines alongside it that will have kids doing whatever it takes to get their grubby little mitts on them.
But the genius doesn’t stop there; it’s just getting going, in fact. Disney: Infinity is not just one game: it’s actually a collection of games, featuring the game worlds of its most popular franchises. In the “Starter Pack” that most parents will be buying this weekend, there are three figurines (Mr. Incredible, Jack Sparrow, and Sully from Monsters, Inc.) and three “play sets” (game worlds) that include The Incredibles, Pirates of the Caribbean and Monsters University. You’ll also find the Infinity Base and a pack of two “Power Discs” in the box.
It’s these last two things that really set Disney: Infinity apart from most games. The Infinity Base connects to your console, and is where the figurines and Power Discs are placed. Once on, the game detects which figure is there using fancy NFC technology, and within seconds that character is in the game as the player’s avatar. Power Discs can also be placed on the Infinity Base at the same time as the figurines, and these serve as power-ups that give characters additional powers. Discs can apparently be mixed and matched to create what Disney calls “alchemy” that results in a third power being granted, and kids are encouraged to experiment to see what works and what doesn’t. It’s a clever incentive to swap discs with friends and collect as many as possible (i.e. nag mom and dad to keep spending until they have the entire set). As you can probably imagine, Disney: Infinity is a marketer’s dream.
And that’s just the start. There are already two additional “play sets” to buy, namely ones that feature the Cars and Lone Ranger universes, with Toy Story and Wreck it Ralph on the way. There are also tons of other figures and Power Discs to buy, and if you (or your kids) want them all, you’re gonna have to start saving now, because there are 17 currently available, with another 12 planned for future release. And then there are extra Power Discs…
Where Infinity really shines, and the element that gives the game its name, is in the Toy Box, a free play mode that lets kids create anything their imaginations can come up with. They can use a huge range of toys (unlocked while playing in the Play Sets) to create their own worlds, and populate them with Disney characters and then play in them with friends, either locally or over the internet. The number of options are truly staggering, and yes, quite possibly even infinite.
I managed to snag a 20-minute interview with Mathew Solie who served as Producer on the project, and he had some pretty cool stories to share. Infinity’s Toy Box mode actually had its roots in the Toy Box mode of the game that accompanied the release of the Toy Story 3 movie. It had kids running around a sandbox, doing fun stuff and discovering for themselves what each toy can do and how they interact, in a very similar way to how kids learn things by playing with real toys. The team saw that they were on to something and ran with that idea, using the emergent gameplay they saw happening in Toy Story 3 as inspiration, expanding on the options kids were given. That project that eventually turned into Infinity’s Toy Box mode.
Solie went on to say how, during play testing, he witnessed a kid play for half an hour or so, then stop, put the controller down and say to the person who was supervising him “Wow. This is just like Red Dead Redemption, but my mom will let me play it!”. That, says Solie, was one of the highlights of his career, as he knew then that the team was on to something truly special.
He also went on to say that the Avalanche guys had had the idea of using toys with a game as far back as 2008, around the time Toy Story 3 was being developed, but that the execs at Disney thought it was too risky. Then, when Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure came out in 2011 with its own take on using toys and games together and sales went through the roof, that proved the market was actually quite receptive to the idea, and the use of toys with Infinity was given the go-ahead.
In retrospect, it’s hard to understand how anyone could have thought the idea would go wrong. Disney has a fantastic cast of characters to use, kids are intimately familiar with the company’s many storied franchises, and you’d think the idea of combining physical toys with fun games would go together like cream and apple pie in anyone’s mind.
Whatever the case, it took the success of Skylanders to give rise to the Disney: Infinity franchise, and today is the day it launches in South Africa. Here is the recommended pricing of the packages that are available for purchase:
Core game: Infinity Base, 3 x play sets, 3 x figurines, 1 x power disc pack – R699
3-figurine pack – R349
Individual figurines: R149
2-Pack of power discs: R69
From what I’ve heard, there is huge anticipation for Disney: Infinity, which is why you’ll find it available from any shop that sells games. From my own limited exposure to it, I can safely say that it offers very kid-friendly gameplay that’s actually fun enough to appeal to adults as well, so you might even find yourself joining in, and having some fun too.
