disney-interactive posts

In 1982, Disney took a bold risk with the release of the movie Tron, a film set largely inside a fictional world in the computer and made largely with CGI. It was different and new and at the time the movie didn't get a huge box office reception. However the legacy of that movie, and of the arcade games it spawned, have influenced the world at large, and game and computer programmers in particular, for years to come.

While developer Monolith released Tron 2.0 in 2003 for PC owners as a sequel to the movie, Disney decided later to create a true movie sequel in Tron Legacy which is due in theaters on December 17. On December 7, Disney Interactive and developer Propaganda Games will release Tron Evolution for the PC and other platforms. This action-adventure game serves as a prequel to the new movie. Big Download got one of the game's designers Dan Bourdage to give us some more info on the game including some PC specific features.

With DC Universe Online being pushed back to early 2011, it looks like this fall's PC game lineup is looking a bit sparse than in previous years. On the other hand the first quarter of 2011 is looking like it will have plenty of new PC game titles.

• New Steam bug patches have been released for Puzzle Quest 2, Mount and Blade Warband, Puzzle Dimension, Galcon Fusion and Worms Reloaded.
• The Steam client also got a bug fix update.
• You can also pre-purchase the upcoming PC port of Lost Planet 2 via Steam and save 10 percent. off its normal price.
• Former Glu Mobile CEO Greg Ballard is now the new head of Warner Bros. Interactive's new senior vice-president of digital games.
• Disney Interactive now has two presidents, John Pleasants and Jimmy Pitaro.

If you been good all week, we are betting that this weekend will see a bunch of you knee deep in Civilization V. Admit it.

• This week's Mutation gameplay mode for Left 4 Dead 2 players is a repeat of Versus Survival.
• A new patch for Global Agenda is available to download on Steam.
• Disney Interactive's head man Steve Wadsworth has announced his departure from the company after 11 years at Disney.
• Darksiders is the latest game that's been added to the OnLive streaming game service.
• A new Team Fortress 2 mod has one side fighting off against Saxton Hale. Neat.

While Eidos Montreal is working hard on Deus Ex: Human Revolution, we could have had a spiritual successor to the first two games in the sci-fi RPG series from the man behind those classic games Warren Spector. In a new chat with the Develop web site Spector admits that he pitched such a game to the higher ups at Disney Interactive.

However he figured beforehand that the Disney execs wouldn't go for his game idea and he says, " ... I was right. The guys started texting in the middle of the meeting. I was convinced they were not interested." Instead Disney pitched an idea to Spector that eventually became his next game, the upcoming Wii exclusive Epic Mickey. However that sci-fi game idea might still happen in some form. Spector says, "Disney now owns the IP to it. So who knows – I certainly have ideas of how they would work in a Disney context."

The light cycles are getting closed to being revved up again. Publisher Disney Interactive has just announced that Tron Evolution, a prequel game to the upcoming film Tron Legacy, will ship for the PC and other platforms on December 7. That's just 10 days before Tron Legacy heads to movie theaters.

Our sister site Joystiq reports that Tron Evolution will be getting a Collector's Edition,. That edition will cost a whopping $139 and, among other things comes with a toy version of the movie's iconic light cycle. Unfortunately the Collector's Edition is only slated for the PS3 and Xbox 360 ports. At least PC gamers will be getting some Tron-based gaming mice and keyboards.

Sid Meier's Pirates! is a game which has yet to be accurately imitated by any other developer. Propaganda Games, however, seems to be giving it a shot. They are working with Disney to make another Pirates of the Caribbean game - subtitled Armada of the Damned - and it looks to be a successor to the Pirates! formula. Here's hoping it lives up to this trailer.

Download HD Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned E3 2010 Trailer (213MB)
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Comic books love the game industry now. Every time you turn around you see yet another game franchise get a new comic book mini-series or graphic novel. The latest discovery indicates that Disney will be releasing a new graphic novel based on the video game-based Tron franchise.

Amazon.com has a listing for the original graphic novel Tron The Betrayal to be released this October. The 128-page graphic novel is supposed to take place in between the original 1980's Tron movie and this December's new film Tron Legacy. Of course developer Propaganda Games and publisher Disney Interactive are doing their own prequel with Tron Evolution. In short be prepared to be bombarded with lots of Tron. We think there's an ointment for that.

Split/Second puts a unique twist on racing games. As stunt drivers on an action TV show, players can activate power plays, which are events placed all over the studio lot set to go off. These events can range from exploding objects to dropping gigantic structures on opponents, and they're key to winning. So it's not enough to race well and memorize tracks... drivers will also have to keep an eye out for potential power plays and try to evade them as they go off. This all builds up to some very intense racing, where a player can be knocked from first to last place in a blink of an eye. We just wish a little more thought went into the PC port.

Download the Split/Second Demo
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This is the playable demo for Split/Second, the racing game where players compete as stunt drivers on an action movie set. Racers build up power to trigger explosive events to delay opponents. The demo includes the tutorial and Airport Terminal level. System requirements are shown after the jump.

Download Split/Second Demo (1 GB)
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Black Rock Studio provides an in-depth behind the scenes look at the development of Split/Second, the racing game where players drive on the set of a stunt movie and can trigger explosive events to slow down the competition. This developer video focuses specifically on design decisions in creating the special effects and cars. The game is available now for consoles and the PC.

Download HD The Making of Split/Second Part 5 (134 MB)
Download HD The Making of Split/Second, Part 4 (97 MB)
Download HD The Making of Split/Second, Part 3 (104 MB)
Download HD The Making of Split/Second, Part 2 (89 MB)
Download HD The Making of Split/Second, Part 1 (244 MB)
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