Disney Infinity is proud that their Force Awakens play set is the only video game to feature plot points from the film. However, getting this honor came with a set of caveats such as not being able to release the set until the day the film hit theaters. To discuss the play set, VP of Production, John Vignocchi, spent some time talking with the Disney fan media about the groundbreaking play set.
When asked what made this play set unique, outside of opening day and date with the film, Vignocchi said, “I would say that this particular playset does feature more ranged combat than we’ve done in other play sets, but it definitely is a balanced experience between vehicles and ranged combat, and also retelling the story… Twilight of the Republic is about lightsaber combat, Rise Against the Empire was about vehicles.” However, he backtracked some saying, “I don’t want people to feel like it’s just strictly a ranged combat experience, because it definitely draws on elements from the other Star Wars play sets to make it feel like a complete and whole experience.”
Of course, there are challenges of having all this access and one major drawback: the film was spoiled for the team.”We had read the entire script in August of 2014 and then worked very, very quickly with the team at Lucasfilm through daily check-ins with them about the content we were creating and making sure that everything that they were seeing coming back from the film dailies, we were on point with the experience we were delivering.” He added, “In terms of when was the entire film spoiled for us, it was right there in the very beginning when we read the script.” It should also be noted that Vignocchi would not comment on if he has read the script for Rogue One.
As Disney Infinity grows, there has been a lot talk about the future of the games including the much anticipated Marvel Battlegrounds play set. Vignocchi updated us on the status of that set, saying, “We did a Marvel Battlegrounds tournament two days ago and had, like, I think we had about 30 people participating in it. It is really shaping up nicely, and I think people are going to have a really, really fun time with this playset because it’s so much different than anything we’ve done before.” He also spoke on what makes the Infinity sets so appealing and different, saying, “I think that that’s what makes Disney Infinity, in general, unique in comparison to the other toys… The way that we’ve architected this platform is that we can go and do something like a Marvel Battlegrounds and say ‘This is going to be a fighting game.’ Because of the way we structured this from the very beginning.”
The Infinity team keeps upping their game (no pun intended) and innovating with each new set just as they did with the new Force Awakens. As far as what twist we can expect in Battlegrounds, Vignocchi said, “I am really happy with the way the team has integrated all the different power discs from Marvel into the playset. You’re gonna see those Marvel power discs behave in a way that is different than how you traditionally have experienced them in Infinity to date.”
There are plenty more play sets and figures coming to Disney Infinity, but The Force Awakens should provide you with hours of fun until more is released. Look for Alex’s review of the play set soon on LaughingPlace.com