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Despite the critical admiration for Disney Epic Mickey’s wonderfully twisted reimagining of the Disney universe, the game has received consistent demerits for its wonky camera design. Junction Point Interactive creative director Warren Spector has chimed in on the criticism, admitting, “Third person camera is way harder than I even imagined it could be. It’s the hardest problem in video game development.”
Speaking with MTV’s Clutch Blog, Spector initially deflected some of the criticism heaped on the game back towards the third-person action genre in general, explaining, “There has never been a game that I couldn’t break if you give it to me for 30 seconds. I mean, I will break a camera in any game ever made…Everybody gets it wrong. It’s just a question of how close to right do you get it.”
Spector then goes on to spill a heaping helping of insider beans on the camera development process for the game, suggesting that because Epic Mickey is a blend of platforming and adventure game styles, the camera had to be designed in such a way so as to accommodate a variety of gameplay options.
“So in a platform game you want the camera up higher in a steeper angle because the important thing for the platform player is to be able to see the next jump clearly. In an action adventure game, like Zelda for example, you want the camera down lower so you have more tactical awareness because there are enemies out there. There are traversal problems that require a tactical awareness that a high camera does not provide.”
As for reviewers voicing their displeasure over the camera’s design, Spector said he is “proud as hell of my camera team,” and “If reviewers want to give us a hard time about it because they’re misunderstanding the game we made, it’s not for me to tell them that they’re wrong, absolutely not.” However, Spector concluded, “I wish people would get it out of their head that we made a ‘Mario’ competitor, because we didn’t.”
I’m currently a few hours into Disney Epic Mickey, and while I have definitely had a few fights with the camera, it has never broken the experience for me, and everything else about the game is so wonderfully realized that a few moments of frustration over not being able to see the entirety of my surroundings are a small price to pay.
What say you, fellow Disney Epic Mickey players?
Source: MTV Clutch
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Displaying 1–12 of 12
mario54671
Wow, really? I "don't understand the camera"? Quote from a podcast "'If you're not enjoying it, you're playing it wrong.' Incorrect assumption sir, if we didn't enjoy it, you made it wrong!"
And no, this camera is nothing like a Mario game. I barely notice the camera when I'm playing Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2. Those cameras were REALLY well done, this game has no excuse because it doesn't have all the gravity effects Super Mario Galaxy has.
Also, I don't understand the whole "I've had many issues with the camera, but it's still an amazing game." The camera is probably one of the most important elements to a 3D platformer. If it doesn't work, then you don't know what you're doing, and it affects the gameplay quite a bit.
It's sad developers still think that "they know better" and that if someone doesn't like a game, it's the person's fault. They should ALWAYS be thinking about the people who are playing it. Their main goal should be to make the game more fun for the person who's playing it, and they need to put their ego aside. It doesn't matter how we're playing it or how we "understand" it, if we didn't like it, it's your fault. So take some responsibility for this Warren, suck it up.
NocturnalX
I don't have a single problem with the camera. It's the same as Banjo Kazooie or any 3D Mario game. Judging by my experience with the game, it's probably a problem with the players.
I bet the people having problems with the camera are the ones with their thumbs going back to the d-pad every minute. Let the camera do it's thing. that's what it's there to do. You would never manage a camera excessively in mario, why would you in this game?
theantigzus
the hell with the critics, this is the game i had been waiting for all year and it did not dissapoint at all. I do wish they had released a soundtrack and a collection of classic mickey and oswald cartoons on blu-ray though : (
rayjay99
I think warren spector knows what he is doing with this game. I mean if xplay gives the game a 5 out of 5 even with the camera. It must be a good game.
DavidRyuu
if the camera is like the 64 ones like Zelda and Mario then there is no problem..I think it everone else who has the problem..not Warren. if you have the "Z" button like the one back on 64 to make the camera reset to the back of u ..no prob..that fixes everything. now if the D-pad has a camera mover like Monster Hunter tri does..you can move the camera yourself to whereever you want..and problem ar only your fault..for not moving it. true the game is not like mario or zelda or anything else..it's it own breed of game.
ckthecerealkiller
I've always had a bit of a theory about third person cameras. I think one of the biggest problems is trying to translate the level design to the player so they see where they are supposed to go or where key points are. By giving the user 100% control they are always going to have trouble but also giving them 0 control hurts it just as much if not more.
But, if you perhaps gave the user constant situational control over the camera, during action sequences for example, they can move as they wish. But during certain platforming elements still give them most of the control but have certain "gravity points" on the camera. Then when you haven't moved the camera or have been stationary for a few seconds the camera will start to pull tword the point of "gravity" then the user will be given suddle suggestions on where you might want to do one thing and the other "gravity points" will slowly pull the camera in another direction. Uncharted did something like this by giving you a "pull L2 for a hint." But even then it was only after a few minutes of punishment or confusion.
The inherent problems with this system would be level design. You would almost have to certainly design every level with these in mind, It would be more and more difficult on large scale maps, or you would need some very ingenious tweaks or adjustments. Most developers today should have the resources and the ability to program something like this though.
Now, I know I can't be the first person to think of this camera system. Name a game with something like this for me please! The only thing I can think of that comes close is Prince of Persia or Assassin's Creed. Which both have good third person camera IMO.
Sally Wong
Dear Warren: If you were aware of all the problems with the Third Person Camera, I think you had a responsibility to fix it before you released this epic mess to the public.
Love and Kisses: Sally Wong :
Greibach
Meh... the camera has started to drive me crazy in general, but I suspect much of that is the wiimote's fault as well. The positioning of the controls are awkward for me to access if I need to do it quickly, and in a game like this where you are supposed to look around to see things you can/can't paint, it can be really tough at times. There are especially some times where you may think that you are supposed to do something a certain way, and the camera makes it nearly impossible, only to find out that there is a scripted way to do it LATER, but you had no way to know that. I suppose I should take the hint that if the camera won't cooperate, it usually means I have nothing to look for, but it is a hard thought to break. They made the game to be extremely aesthetic based, so not being able to investigate the aesthetics seems counterproductive.
LordPunch
The camera doesn't break the experience, but it is annoying. It's the same type of camera set-up that existed on the Nintendo 64. That was over a decade ago.
I don't blame Spector as much as I understand that control is limited with the Nintendo Wii. There's just not too much you can do without an additional analog stick.
Marshman09
I agree about the camera not ruining the experience. Not once did I ever think it was taking away from the game because there are so many good things about Epic Mickey. I've never made a game so I don't know how difficult it is to make a good camera, but regardless, they did a phenomenal job with everything else in the game.
JohnnyFive812
Translation: "It's not my fault, it's everybody else's! I'm Warren Spector!!"
JustTheBeginning
I hate the "its not our fault, you just dont understand!" excuse...
Displaying 1–12 of 12