If Disney went to a bar, found Nintendo, and the two crazy kids got drunk and had a one night stand, and then Disney found out she was pregnant with Nintendo’s baby, it would look like this image.

The above pic seen on DeviantART uses Mickey Mouse’s iconic 1920′s cartoon, Steamboat Willie, as inspiration to create this epic Super Mario artwork. The creativity behind this hybrid photo is so inspiring, I’m now desperate for it to become an actual game. A black and white Mario platformer with hints of color in the simplistically upbeat hand-drawn 20s art style.

Do it!

Bellydandies
via Kotaku

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When Epic Mickey was first revealed as part of an exclusive Game Informer feature (in the November 2009 issue), gamers were shown many of the game’s characters, environments and features. The paintbrush and paint thinner mechanics were details, the Wasteland of fan favorite rides and forgotten characters was mentioned, and the three Mickeys were introduced. “Scrapper Mickey” is an oddly hued, darker character, “Wastelander Mickey” is a middle of the road adventurer, and “Hero Mickey” is there to save the day. The creation of these Mickeys was, as creative director Warren Spector “demanded” (as the article put it) to have a character that alters based on the player’s action.

After E3, fans noted that Scrapper Mickey was not in the playable demo on the show floor. Spector responded that the Scrapper idea was nixed due to focus testing where complaints were made that Mickey Mouse should visually always stay the same recognizable character. Now, Spector is backing off those comments as a reason for Scrapper’s omission.

1UP spoke to Spector at Gamescom, where he made some noteworthy statements about the development of Epic Mickey’s lead character. “About three years ago when we first started thinking about this, we did over a thousand versions of Mickey, I’m assuming this is where this started,” said Spector. “So we did a focus test because I had a thousand different looks for the character and people just said ‘don’t mess with Mickey.’”

“People must have just put two and two together; ‘focus tested in 2007 and a statement I made personally and creatively in November of last year, and they put two and two together,” Spector continued. “The idea of Scrapper Mickey went away because I didn’t like it. There was no focus test.”

As we noted however, the November Game Informer issue was released in mid October of 2009, which featured the introduction of the Scrapper Mickey character. So in less than one month’s time, it’s surely possible Spector changed his mind about having different Mickeys. Or, Disney nixed the idea of players controlling a menacing purple and green Mickey Mouse. But if anything, we can be sure that a focus group was not the reason for the deletion of Scrapper Mickey. “…I have never and I will never, make a design chance as a result of a focus test,” said Spector. “I will quit if that happens.”

1UP
GameInformer

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Game Informer subscribers are well aware that a new Mickey Mouse Wii title will be revealed in the upcoming November issue, but that was just one part of the unveiling.  Disney Interactive Entertainment will also be detailing all the goods, starting next month.

The speculation about this title is that the title will take a darker approach from the usual slap-happy world of the Magic Kingdom.  All we know for certain, is by this time next month, Epic Mickey will be revealed.

Destructoid

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The above image is a piece of concept art for Warren Spector’s Disney Wii project, named “Epic Mickey.” Yes, this is not only a Disney game, but a Mickey Mouse game. Judging from the pieces of concept art found on artist Fred Gambino’s website, it appears to be a pretty disturbing steampunk take on the classic Mickey Mouse characters. Images include a terrifying robotic monstrosity wearing Mickey Mouse ears, an elephant elevator/Bioshock splicer, a robotic zombie Goofy, and the most un-Phantom Blot-like Phantom Blot ever conceived. One particular feature common in a lot of the landscape pieces is a castle sitting on a plateau high above the rest of the world.

Now, keep in mind that none of these images were officially released, only leaked. They’re just concept art, so the end result may not look quite so disturbing. In fact, what exactly are the odds that Disney is ok with mutilating Goofy and putting him in a game that’s likely to disturb small children for life?

I’m looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

Joystiq

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Warren Spector’s development studio, Junction Point, happens to be owned by Disney. In addition, Spector has also recently stated that he and his team “have been working hard on our own and (get ready for the cool factor to go way up) in collaboration with folks from Disney Feature Animation and Pixar.” What’s going on??

Well apparently, it’s something codenamed “Epic Mickey,” and it may actually exist. Gamasutra has seen concept art, and describes it as such:

Another sketch included a surreal seashore invasion scene, in which machines wearing the faces of the Seven Dwarfs deposit old-fashioned renditions of Disney characters onto the beach with mechanical hands… Though the kooky environmental concepts, with visible large cogs, gears, and even a large fork that serves as a building’s awning, are somewhat reminiscent of Disney’s Toontown Online MMO, the images — particularly the cloud-stained seaside painting — have a distinctly shadowed, steampunk vibe.

Interestingly enough, there’s a whole bunch of evidence that seems to line up and point to this game being a reality, be they from EGM articles or from Spectors’ own comments. Head on over for more, and prepare for some mind boggling!

Gamasutra

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