The Epic Mickey 2 press junket. Touring the Magic Kingdom. - a 1UP classic from Oct 10, 2012

Hello friends, yesterday I posted a short placeholder blog to let you know I was at a press event. It was hosted at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel, easily one of the nicest hotels in Orange County and the nicest hotel on Disneyland Resort property. The company was promoting Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two and they flew in representatives from all of the major gaming media outlets as well as a few Disney media sites including JimHillMedia. Jim invited me to join him as his West Coast Correspondent and video game expert. Needless to say it was quite an event.

We got to the conference room early to set up our video equipment. We took some pictures of the setup and demo stations before the rest of the journalists were let in.

We went right into a presentation of Epic Mickey and an introduction to Disneyland, Disney's California Adventure and the most recent additions of Buena Vista Street and Cars Land. The studio really pulled out all the stops on the press tour for this game. I wouldn't blame them for all the extra effort they put in for the event. I believe reviewers were a little heavy handed with the original Epic Mickey and this time Disney wanted to get off on the right foot.

Warren Spector quickly mentioned all of the details that had been covered already at the E3 and San Diego Comic Con, then he showed off new game levels, gameplay features and all sorts of other goodies for those in attendance. Unfortunately there is another day until the press embargo is lifted but trust me when I say the wait will be worth it.

Peter Ong, the Creative Director from Dreamrift talked about the 3DS version of Epic Mickey Power of Illusion and the various game modes, cameos and control features. The game is inspired by his personal favorite 16-bit series, namely the Castle of Illusion. Long-time Sega fans would enjoy the feel of the game and homage to the classic titles.

After the presentation the press was released to enjoy a fully catered breakfast, complete with the most delicious deserts ever and try out the games on all of the consoles including the first public showing of the Wii U. I made a beeline to the console and was first in line to try it out. The graphics were much improved over the original Wii and looked great on an HD display. The build was not finished, the buttons had just been remapped for the console and the studio had literally brought the build in that morning right from the studio. I then tried out the Wii version and saw a stark difference in the graphics department, the saving grace for the Wii build was that the controls seemed slightly more forgiving than the Wii U version and I was able to try out the updated brush and remote peripherals.

The guests were then asked to turn in their cameras and video recording devices because the studio wanted to take us on a very special tour of the park and no cameras were allowed. Since I was an 11th hour addition to the list I was worried about joining the group. Thankfully Jim talked to the organizers the night before. Since he had a good history writing for the company and since he represented both his own outlet as well as was a contributor with the Huffington Post they were able to accommodate me as well. It was a brief tour of the park with VIP access to the Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room and the inside of Walt's Apartment. Access to Walt's apartment is very rare, even for most tours. As a lifelong fan I was humbled to stand in the same places as the man and to get a view of the park from a very unique perspective. At the end of our tour we were given two rare pins, one for Walking in Walt's Footsteps and the rarer Lamp Pin which symbolizes that we had been inside his apartment.

As an extra-special surprise the group was taken to Club 33 for drinks and dinner. I had talked about this exclusive club inside the park previously. They gave us gift bags filled with items from the parks and Epic Mickey 2. There was an EM2 pin and tee shirt featuring Oswald and Mickey. I had not heard of the club having bags previously, they used to just wrap items from the gift shop in regular plastic Disneyland bags.

In the bag was a Cars Land travel kit, complete with pen, pad and keychain to the new area of the park. Each guest was also given a random Epic Mickey Capsule Toy from Japan. The luck of the rabbit was on my side as I ended up with an Oswald figure. Disney Artist Stacia Martin joined us for dinner and talked about park history and shared some pictures and posters from the archives to highlight the real attractions that inspired the levels in Epic Mickey 2. It was a great way of reminding the journalists that every little detail featured in the game came from somewhere and was part of a legacy. She then surprised the group by saying there were two tickets hidden under the chairs in the club. Two lucky guests got a sketch from her. One was of Mickey and the other of Oswald. Jim won the Mickey drawing and he asked the other person if he wouldn't mind trading for Oswald. The person did one better and gave Jim the drawing as to not break up the set. Jim gave me the Oswald one as he knows I'm a huge fan of the rabbit.

Both of the new light-up controllers for the Wii were included as well. Gaming will be a lot more interesting with my little gal and I going through the co-op mode this way. A copy of the soundtrack and a brush-shaped pen rounded out the gifts.

For a press junket Disney certainly went above and beyond the challenge. Getting game journalists to understand the genesis of Epic Mickey 2 and how it tied directly into 85+ years of the Disney legacy would do plenty to help the reception of the finished game. Last year the journalists ran speculative stories with some concept sketches that were never meant to be seen outside of the studio. Those pieces and articles skewed public perception and hurt the game before it came out. This time the studio is showing the community specifically what made it into the game and how it related to the company. Let's hope that the reviewers will go into the new experience with an open mind and give their honest critique to audiences. I certainly can't wait to play and review it for my friends on 1UP. Until then, stay tuned for new details about the game... 

Did you play Epic Mickey, or Epic Mickey 2? Tell me about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Oswald art for your walls - A 1UP classic from March 8, 2013

A year ago I had attended the Epic Mickey 2 press junket as the guest of Jim Hill. We were treated to a fantastic breakfast and presentation by Warren Spector and Peter Ong after which we got some hands on time with the game on all the platforms. Afterwards the editors of various game sites were taken on a tour of Disneyland where we got to eat at the exclusive Club 33. I ended up winning an Oswald sketch by Disney artist Stacia Martin.

All of the journalists were promised a limited edition print for visiting the junket. Due to problems in production the painting was not available right away. A few months later Disney honored their promise. They sent out copies of an amazing painting by Shawn Melchor which was also autographed by Warren Spector. All of the major characters from Epic Mickey 2 were featured including Prescott the Gremlin and the Mad Doctor. Each painting came with a certificate of authenticity which was also signed. As the man that writes most of the articles and owns the domain Jim Hill received the painting but decided to send it to me instead. He knew how crazy I was about the rabbit and would proudly display the painting at home with the rest of my Oswald figures.

Over 85 years Oswald had his ups and downs. He was transferred to new owners twice after being created. He contributed greatly to the golden age of animation before falling out of the spotlight. He even made it through many historic events. Oswald survived through the Great Depression, the second World War, 14 US presidents and Duke Nukem. Oswald was absent for the rise of the video generation, cable, satellite, DVD and HD. He also missed the rise and fall of the arcade, the console wars and the transition to 3D gaming. With a Masters in Animation Warren Spector made sure to help make the character memorable to modern gamers while creating the next chapter in his history.

It was not easy to decipher the motivations of the character, especially since both Walt Disney and Walter Lantz weren't around to answer questions. Thanks to Junction Point and writers Marv Wolfman and Peter David the Disney Studios had a greater understanding of the character. They now knew more about him than the ratios and proportions scribbled on a design sheet. They learned what made the him unique, his temperament and personality. They learned why audiences fell for him in 1927. Only when the notes were compiled for Epic Mickey did the studio realize what a great influence Oswald was on his little brother.

Having a unique piece of art related to the Epic Mickey series was something I would cherish. Of course not everyone was lucky enough to win a painting like that and chances were a copy would never turn up on eBay. However fans of Oswald that would like to decorate their walls were still in luck. Disney had been making inexpensive prints featuring the rabbit for a few years. Most recently they had added a tin sign, available at Oswald's Service Station in Disney California Adventure and a print ready for framing in Disneyland. Either of these pieces would be great buys and would be perfect to hang over a fireplace or even garage. Now if only I could get one of the gas pumps from DCA to go along with it...

I hope you have enjoyed this look at rare Oswald merchandise and as always please leave a comment or question. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!