Topic: The Future of the Epic Mickey Series

[Kytim89]

When the Epic Mickey series was first announced there was initially shock and awe at the awesome screenshots and concept art that the game was thought to offer. To add credibility to the game's potential, Warren Spector, the behind the Deus Ex series, was the game's lead designer and Disney enthusiast. When Epic Mickey was finally released in the winter of 2010 the fans gave it a warm reception, but its wonky camera was not so well received. It was considered too unresponsive for a platformer of modern times. However, despite the outcries of things that the game did not live up to it did sell 1.3 million copies over the course of a year.


Then in 2012 Warren Spector announces the sequel to Epic Mickey, and the world is excited at the prospects of a sequel to the original that improved the faults that many fans detracted from the game being really good. Despite the popularity of the game, however, Epic Mickey 2 was met with fierce criticism and only sold 270,000 copies, which is abysmal compared to that of the original.


With the poor reception of Epic Mickey 2 the long term health of the series is in question. Where will the series go from here?  Here are some possibilities:

• Disney forces Warren Spector to abandon the series and never makes any more Epic Mickey Games.
• Warren Spector does make EPic Mickey 3 but makes it more in line with the original in terms of its dark atmospherics. He delivers on his promises and makes the game the best in the series, which spur another handheld game of some kind.

[Pixelated Pixies]

To be honest, I kind of hope Junction Point don't get another shot at this series. I think some gamers were willing to cut the first game more slack than it deserved because the core premise and the art direction held promise, but from a mechanical and design standpoint that first game was pretty woeful.
 
I have not played the sequel, but from what I understand it is somehow worse that it's predecessor (which is difficult for me to comprehend, because I really disliked the first game).
 
The Epic Mickey name has now been attached to three critical flops, so I don't see there being another entry in this series any time soon. I also think that while Junction Point have shown a real love of Disney properties, they have not demonstrated an aptitude for making a good Mickey game. I would take them off Mickey altogether and see what else they can come up with.
 
Just because you love a character or franchise, does not make you qualified to handle that property.

[ShyGuy]

Epic Mickey was such a disappointment. The concept was brilliant and there was some awesome art design, but the level design and the core mechanics were mediocre at best. It's so weird that they failed so badly. I think it would have been a much better game if it had a stronger adventure element, with items and resource to manage.

The 2D levels were gorgeous but all they seemed to be was get from point a to point b. The 3D levels had that hideous camera and extremely dull objectives.  The create and destroy paint system was a cool concept, but not utilized creatively. The hunt and find mechanic they did with it got really old and sometimes frusturating. You would literally spray the entire neighborhood one way then the other to find things.

Despite all that there was a lot I liked about the first game. The Junk Island area was epic to behold.

[Kytim89]

Here is a list of things that could improve with Epic Mickey 3:

• Bring the Phantom Blot back as the main villain.
• Create more varieties of Blotlings similar to the number of different Necromorph forms in the Dead Space series.
• Fix the camera system.
• Take advantage of being on a HD system to improve the graphics.
• More boss battles.
• Make it a Wii U exclusive.
• Keep the Wiimote pointer controls.

[ShyGuy]

8. Have more interesting level design
9. Have more things to do and interact with in the world.
10. Have a more complex power up and inventory system

[Kytim89]

Would anyone object to the Phantom Blot returning as the villain? I feel as though he was not used enough until the ending of the original game, so he could return as some kind of miasma that is inflicting the people of the Wasteland.

[ShyGuy]

I subscribe to the comic book Phantom Blot continuity.

[Mop it up]

There shouldn't be a future because the games keep getting worse.

[Shaymin]

1) Remove Mickey, Oswald and all related characters
2) Insert Scrooge McDuck with a pogo-stick cane.
3)
4) PROFIT!

[Kytim89]

It appears that Junction Point has been shut down, so anyone looking forward to Epic Mickey 3 will be SOL.


http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/01/28/epic-mickey-studio-junction-point-reportedly-closed


Epic Mickey developer Junction Point has reportedly closed. The news comes via the[/size]Twitter[/size] [/size]account of Robert Space Industries (the crowdfunding platform behind Chris Roberts’ upcoming Star Citizen), which wrote “Fare-the-well Junction Point! We hope that you all find new studios soon!�[/size]Reports circulating earlier this month suggested that sales of Epic Mickey 2 were[/color]significantly lower than the original, prompting speculation about the future of the studio. 3D Realms co-founder George Broussard [/color]tweeted “the Junction Point rumors have been circulating a while. Warning signs when you give employees 2 months off after shipping.�[/size]
We’ve reached out to Disney for official confirmation and will update this story with any additional info we receive. IGN wishes the best of luck to anyone affected by the news.[/font][/size]

[alegoicoe]

Just read it over at gonintendo, i hope now warren spector can put his skills to work on another studio, a new deus ex  produced by him migh be just the start.