Way back in 2004, rumors surfaced (in an interview with IGN) that there would be an entire Kingdom Hearts series. Because of that fateful literal elevator pitch. And more than 20 years after the hit strange fusion of Square Enix fantasy and Disney magic, Disney games want more of those wild moments.
I met Luigi Priore, Vice President of Disney and Pixar Games, at Disneyland, where it’s most fitting. We are at Disney’s His Illusion His Island preview event at a hidden ballroom in Tomorrowland. There, Priore is clearly delighted at the prospect of finally showing off the game. Disney Illusion Island has a look reminiscent of the slow-paced and friendly Rayman game, and his four-player co-op of Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy evokes classic Disney-style, but mimics It’s not done with detailed animations. Not far from our interview, Toontown has an all-new ride that also sees animated versions of Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy confronting cartoon antics together.
Priore has been involved in Disney video game efforts for 28 years, currently overseeing Disney, Pixar and 20th century games among others. He’s a bit away from Star Wars and Marvel. He went through countless video game-related ups and downs with the company, from licensing his game craze to Epic He Mickey, to his six years of seemingly disappearing from the game entirely. I’ve beenPrior to I’ve told you before that Disney was just timing it strategically.and with the recent explosion of games such as Disney Dreamlight Valley, Marvel Midnight Sons, Tron: Identity, Disney: Speedstorm, Marvel Snap, and the upcoming Avatar: Pandora’s Frontier, Arguing with them is a bit difficult.
Disney’s current approach to these numerous licensing partnerships is for developers (or “storytellers,” as Priore said internally, who want to articulate Disney’s unique stories). Looking for , says Priore. They don’t just think about recreating movies in game form.
“There was a time when I was like, ‘Watch a movie, play a game,’ right? And that was fine,” he says. “We’ve made some good products, and we used to do really good things in the old days, and that was fine. This is different.”
Disney would definitely do it
Unsurprisingly given the background, Priore refers to Disney Illusion Island developer Dlala. Previously worked with Disney One of Disney’s biggest IPs is back in license without notice. We still don’t know what Dlala’s original project was, but it had many similarities to Illusion Island. When Disney pulled out of game publishing in 2016, the plan was scrapped along with a $3.5 million deal. But vestiges of Dorala’s vision are evident, thanks to a team obsessed with telling Disney stories.
And that excitement, especially for Disney, is something Priore wants to see more of.
“There are developers out there, and they might be like, ‘Oh, I could never do that.’ Disney wouldn’t respond to that.” But it’s like, “Come in, let’s have a conversation.” With the right partners and a development team with that vision, you can have those conversations. It’s not always the right time, but we want to find such a partner. you never know I mean, even if Kingdom Hearts didn’t do that, we wouldn’t be here now. “
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When I asked if he was referring to the old story about how producer Shinji Hashimoto pitched Kingdom Hearts to Disney executives in an elevator, Priaulx got it.
“[Square Enix and Disney] It used to be in the same building…and they used to talk about it. “Have you ever wanted to make a Disney game?” Nomura said, “Hahaha.” And no matter how many times they were there, they would say, “Hey, I have a suggestion for you guys.” And from there it started. So I think there are wonderful creative people out there. Epic Mickey is one of them.Warren [Spector] You had that thought in his head, right? So Epic he had a concept from Mickey’s intern his team, but he’s always wanted to work on Mickey’s game. So we combined these two ideas. “
Happily looking for another place
I spent a few minutes asking Priore to drop a tip for an upcoming project. A crossover between Disney’s Dreamlight Valley and Disney’s Illusion Island? “It’s not a bad idea, but you never know. I can’t tell you.” he still wants a pitch. Is there a big Disney showcase for his games this year, like last year’s D23?No comment.
At one point, he seems to be hinting at other upcoming Mickey games, referencing the distinct art style of Disney’s Illusion Island. “We may have a Mickey game or another Mickey execution somewhere else. And if you see Mickey on Disney Illusion Island, it’s Disney Illusion Island I want to be able to understand that.It is an interpretation.”
Now that Disney is back in the video game world enough, I asked Mr. Priore the same question I asked him last year. Are there any plans to revive Disney’s in-house studio? There is simply no need.
“I think we’ve had great success working with our partners in this way, but why not? Our business is doing very well. We’ve been making a lot of games. We have a great partner with us, and we have a release date in three to five years.”
Nor is it interested in flooding the market with Disney productions. “We’re not going to put out four more Mickey games.” Priore says he wants a space where each of Disney’s games can shine, especially given the amount of effort put into making each one.
All Priore really wants to say is that he wants developers to pitch their wildest ideas, whether in a formal meeting or in an elevator. They can dig Disney’s vaults as deep as they want.
“Some of it is nostalgic for a certain age group, some of it’s old, some of it’s old enough to sit in a vault and feel like it needs to be dusted off, but it’s still really great characters and story,” he said. says. “And there’s even more new stuff… but I just want someone to come out and say, ‘I’m a big fan of this and I feel like there’s a story to tell, a game to tell.’ . I want someone to come and tell me what they want to do. “
Rebekah Valentine is IGN’s Senior Reporter. you can find her on her twitter @duck valentine.
