The following is a PC Gamer feature article on Atlantis: The Lost Empire - Trial by Fire (reprinted by permission). I present the article, rather than my own commentary because it comes from a third-party source and because it already does an excellent job of summarizing the scope of the project. Thanks to Executive Publisher, Dan Morris of Future Media for permission to reproduce the content.


Some introduction: I lead the team that pitched the project to Disney and assembled the initial proof-of-concept demo using the original Tribes engine. I also wrote the proposal, which outlined the marketing strategy for the project, including the interactive prequel.


I created the initial design document and produced the game, which saw release concurrent with the feature film. In addition to my duties designing and producing the game, I created textures and 2D art for the game as well as designed the HUD and interface assets.


The total development time from being awarded the contract to GM was a little under eight grueling months. The game met with moderate success, and I felt the team successfully accomplished a lot of work to a high degree of quality. Especially given the extremely short dev cycle against unproven play mechanics and an unconventional target.


All contents copyright (c) 2006-2009 Tom Kim, Inc. / Future US, Inc. / Disney Interactive Studios



Click here for screenshots.


Disney’s Atlantis

No blood, no gibs, no weapons. Welcome to the Disney-fied FPS.

by Rob Smith, PC Gamer, Volume 8, No. 5 - May 2001


List five publishers of first-person action games. Was Disney Interactive on the list (yes, the Disney, the one with the mouse)? Thought not. How about listing 20? Still no mention? Well, that’s no surprise to anyone, least of all the brain trust behind this ambitious project. But Disney Interactive is getting serious about PC gaming, and while its LithTech-based rendition of the Atlantis movie is ultimately unlikely to garner No One Lives Forever-like critical adulation among the hardcore crowd, it’s an intriguing exploration of new territory for the company, and a potential kick up the jacksey for a market desperately seeking new gamers.


Here are the basics: this summer, Disney’s feature-film studio will release Atlantis, a Jules Verne-like mixture of Journey to the Center of the Earth and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea that follows the studious story of lead character, Milo as he sets off to find the fabled Atlantis with an eclectic bunch of characters, backed by a millionaire who paid for their submarine. The movie has no songs, and the stylistic look has been influenced by the creative vision of Mike Mignola, the comic-book artist behind thoroughly non-Disney characters like Hellboy. The Interactive branch recognized the potential of this action/adventure, particularly in its slightly more mature themes (guys actually die, and are mourned), exploration as the crew finds the city, and constant races against time as bridges collapse, the sub sinks and fills with water, and volcanic lava rises.


Disney Interactive gave four developers the opportunity to pitch their interpretation of Atlantis as a first-person action game. Using the limited toolset of the Tribes engine, Zombie (previously known for Spec Ops, the also-ran in the realistic action shooter category) won the deal, and now armed with LithTech’s increasingly popular kit, has constructed what could easily be considered a beginner’s guide to first-person action games.


Of critical importance to the retail game’s commercial success is its marketing strategy. Disney’s massive campaign will put some 10 million “prequel” CDs into mass circulation with prominent partners (see Atlantis: The Search For The Journal.) The prequel -- a demo by any other name, and also included with the full game -- has the important distinction of actually telling the pre-story to the tale in the Atlantis movie and retail game. Key to finding the location of Atlantis is the Shepherd’s Journal, and while the details of the book’s discovery are passed over quickly in the movie, the prequel allows that tale to be told.


The prequel intro begins, impressively with a mini-animation sequence created by Disney’s feature studio for this game project. As the gameplay begins, it’s evident that this title is designed to be playable by anyone. That means your mother, and even your grandmother, should be able to navigate the linear mountain path that still manages to incorporate some decent environmental effects. On the easiest of the three difficulty settings, the enemies will barely bother you (there aren’t many), and even at the hardest level, hardcore Quake players aren’t going to be challenged. Nevertheless, it’s a fun distraction to breeze through the opening, listen to the excellent dialog (recorded by the movie’s voice-acting talent, with the exception of James Garner’s Rourke character), and fly the Whitmore Wings, one of four controllable vehicles in the retail product.


The retail game follows the more action-oriented elements of the movie, such as the firefly invasion of the adventurers’ camp, which leads to a hair-raising race across a crumbling bridge, and the eventual journey to activate the stone-giant guardians of Atlantis, who will protect the crew from the erupting volcano. For the first-person-shooter veteran, the retail game is likely to weigh in with about eight to 10 hours of gameplay, enhanced by the extensive multiplayer CTF options.


To get an “E” (Everyone) rating from the ESRB, Atlantis couldn’t have any blood, gibs, or even weapons. Instead, enemies “pop” out of existence when “shot” using the game’s eight “tools” (three of which are included in the prequel). It’s tough for us hardcore gamers to take these tools seriously, with names like Squincher (shrinks opponents), Goober (slows enemies’ firing rate), Bouncer (a bouncy ball that can strike multiple foes), and Puffer (pushes enemies away). But the design team deserves major credit for their creativity in incorporating some effective gameplay uses for the weapons. Point the Puffer at the ground and fire, and you’ve got the gib-free equivalent of the rocket jump. Arrive at a platform blocked by swiftly swinging blades and shoot the Froster at them to slow them down, making it easier to get across.


The weapons’ creative uses become more apparent in the multiplayer component, which focuses on CTF games. Eight levels will ship with the retail product and a couple more will be available for online play with the prequel. The family-friendly theme is in strong evidence here, as you can’t create your own unique name for your online avatar (though you can slightly modify the names of the game characters to add some level of personalization). This limitation is to prevent young gamers from seeing bad words on the servers that GameSpy and others will be hosting. Chat will be limited to typical CTF instructions for the same reasons, though the retail game will include a couple of taunts and salutes to let you gloat or vent with some form of expression.


Atlantis’ 3D models don’t sport obscene numbers of polygons, but characters from the movie have been ported from celluloid with true Disney artistry, complete with full facial animations. The feature studio’s artists helped ensure that the distinctive character style was retained, and the game environments accurately re-create the stylistic hard-shadow look of the movie.


The Atlantis game project is an audacious attempt to cast the FPS net farther than it’s ever stretched before. “It’s certainly a huge risk,” says Disney Interactive’s director of product marketing, Jamie Berger. “We’ve had to address so many things in getting an E rating that other game companies never have to worry about when working on a first-person action game.” Notice he didn’t say “shooter”. Disney’s challenge in appealing to all comers is to not fall into the middle and fail to fully capture the attention or excitement of either Disney movie fans or longtime gamers.


Blow through the prequel and give it a chance. If 10 percent of those prequel CDs are installed and tried, then that’s plenty of potential for fresh meat in the industry -- and who doesn’t want that?


Sidebar: All The Way To The Top


The Atlantis animated movie is coming to life in vivid detail under the production auspices of Don Hahn, the Academy Award-nominated producer of The Lion King (the sixth-highest-grossing movie of all time). It wouldn’t be remiss to think that the game tie-in sits as a faint blip on his constantly buzzing radar -- but it would be wrong, as we found out when we talked to Hahn about the involvement of the feature film’s major players with the project. “I’d go over to the DI studio and play the single-player and multi-player game with the [movie] directors, Gary and Keith. We’d be [DI line producer] Ryan Moos’ beta-testers, and try to break his game while we were having fun playing,” Hahn told us.


The feature animation studio’s involvement is probably more extensive than that in any other movie-related game. “We created a lot of mythology surrounding Atlantis,” says Hahn, “so there was a lot to feed on. But the most important thing was to create a game true to the mythology -- not a literal re-enactment of the movie, but more in the spirit of the movie.” The look and feel of the graphics style will remain consistent with the film’s as a result of the numerous meetings between DI art director Robert Miles and the production designers and artists from the movie. “Disney always creates strong characters,” Miles says, “so the movie’s art team would give pointers on specific traits, and ensure the shapes and edges of the characters [matched those in the movie].”


It’s incredibly refreshing to get the sense that the game isn’t just a marketing throwaway as an addendum to the movie. But the pressures of entering a market dominated by game names like Doom and Quake is felt even at this high level. “Movies are rateed as ‘Disney’ and people expect that,” says Hahn, “and we don’t want to alienate our core audience.” Even big-time Hollywood producers acknowledge the scale and nature of what the game is attempting: “It was a huge risk and terrifying,” admits Hahn. “But if it works, we have the chance to create a new medium.”

 

Atlantis: The Lost Empire - Trial by Fire