Disney Epic Mickey

2008-2010  Art Director 

Disney Epic Mickey is one of the titles I am most proud of having been a part of. 

It was to be a Wii exclusive, yet graphically it needed to convey a lot, to say the least. The game was based on a sort of alternate reality Disneyland, in which a cataclysm had taken place.

As an artist, to me that was a dream to visualize. The focus was on the pre-1960 films and shorts, and of course Disneyland and its history, and we had access to much of Disney's early archives for reference. As an internal Disney studio, we were given a great deal of latitude, but our intention was to push the limit of what we would be allowed to do with these classic characters and settings to appeal to modern gamers. We created a dark yet playful title that surprised everyone, and appealed to a wide audience.

The main game play mechanic was the act of painting and thinning- the player adding and removing geometry, manipulating the environment to achieve the goals of each level. This mechanic tied art to design in a way that I have yet to see since, as neither group could act without the closest collaboration. One of the most difficult tasks we faced daily as artists was to convey to the player at a glance what they could manipulate, and what they could not, look cohesive visually, while supporting game design goals and fitting within the tiny memory available on the Wii.

Outside of directing all character and level art, some of my other contributions included direction of all in game and associated video, and directing the creation of promotional art. 

While it looks somewhat dated now, visuals for this title were highly acclaimed at the time, winning dozens of industry and publication awards including several specifically for it's art direction.  The promotional art piece "Wasteland" won the "Into the Pixel" exhibition at E3 that year.