goofyspaceranger
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2013
Follow the Bouncing Ball
There is nothing so fundamental to young kids' outdoor games than a bouncy ball. Before the start of organized sports (admittedly, the latter starts at younger & younger ages), the games of kickball, dodge ball, ball-tag, or spud are the go-to activities. The bouncy ball has also been fundamental to video gaming since Pong, and has not stopped being so. The appearance of the Pixar bouncy ball in one of the earliest Disney Infinity images was a welcome sight. At the risk of sounding simplistic, with all of the virtual gizmos & gadgets already seen for this gaming platform, it would be nice to unlock a separate ball for each Play Set with corresponding color & icon. The Toy Box editor could scale any of these balls up or down, adjust the buoyancy in the Physics simulation, and change the sound effects associated with the bounces. A collection of Play Set balls could then be used to make lots of different games. Kids could design a Disney Infinity variant of the popular bubble shooter games, or a classic breakout game where the ball changes appearance & properties when hitting certain bricks. There could be variants of games similar to PopCap's Peggle or Atomica. Combined with collages and unlockable "bumpers", the balls could be used to create themed Pinball games, or on tablets, gyro-enabled labyrinths. Yet another possibility could be a Disney Infinity variant of billiards, specifically 8-ball...
Disney Infinity Billiards
Proposing a Play Set-based collection of balls for a billiards game makes Disney Infinity card games look inexpensive in comparison. But what if there weren't any numbers on the billiard balls, and not that many colors? For a 2-player game, there could be 7 identical balls from one toy's Play Set, 7 from the other, and 1 from a third Play Set of which neither player belongs. This last ball is the equivalent of the 8-ball. The other two colors are the equivalent of "stripes" and "solids". You could have an online 4-player game with 2-player teams where team members were from the same Play Set. Or you could have a 4-player game with 5 Play Set colors, 5 balls for each player, plus 1 for the "8-ball", for a larger starting triangle of 21 balls. The tables could be different polygons, pockets could be placed anywhere, and they might even be "stacked", where dropping down one pocket drops the ball onto a separate table. The players might need to play through two or three different tables to win the game, and on any given turn need to decide which table is best played to make a shot (there could be a cue ball on each table and returned to that table in case of a scratch). Imagine a Disney Infinity world where the toys set sail on a pirate ship to a gaming "Pleasure Island" with billiards, card games, and maybe bowling.
Disney Springs
Regarding Pleasure Island (or the closing thereof), how might Disney Infinity be further incorporated into the redeveloped, renamed Downtown Disney? In addition to rebuilding Disney Quest, there could be a Magic Cabinet featuring sports games at the Team Mickey Athletic Club, along with T-shirts featuring all of the Disney Infinity sports teams, and sports balls/equipment matching the Play Set logos. Disney Infinity decals could also be provided at the Design-a-Tee store for kids to design their own gaming T-shirts. Another Magic Cabinet could feature Phineas & Ferb themed games if the new "Phineas & Ferb & YOU" persists. What about Splitsville? It already has some Mickey Mouse themed bowling balls. What about colors & icons on the bowling balls that would match the Play Set versions? What if there were optional racks of billiard balls to match these Disney Infinity logos as well? It would be a novelty for this Disney location of the Splitsville chain. A Magic Cabinet or two could feature the virtual versions of these activities, perhaps with some card games as well, to connect the theming together.
One Mickey Glove
Side-note on Disney Infinity golf: at Disney World, Cast Members often sport a single plush Mickey glove to greet park guests. Pairs of these Mickey gloves can be purchased at the parks as souvenirs, but it's more practical for a CM to just wear one. Consider real golf, where a single white glove is typical to keep grip on the club for those long shots. It would be fun for Disney Infinity toy golfers to each have this one huge Mickey glove too. There can never be too many reminders that "it all started with a mouse".
There is nothing so fundamental to young kids' outdoor games than a bouncy ball. Before the start of organized sports (admittedly, the latter starts at younger & younger ages), the games of kickball, dodge ball, ball-tag, or spud are the go-to activities. The bouncy ball has also been fundamental to video gaming since Pong, and has not stopped being so. The appearance of the Pixar bouncy ball in one of the earliest Disney Infinity images was a welcome sight. At the risk of sounding simplistic, with all of the virtual gizmos & gadgets already seen for this gaming platform, it would be nice to unlock a separate ball for each Play Set with corresponding color & icon. The Toy Box editor could scale any of these balls up or down, adjust the buoyancy in the Physics simulation, and change the sound effects associated with the bounces. A collection of Play Set balls could then be used to make lots of different games. Kids could design a Disney Infinity variant of the popular bubble shooter games, or a classic breakout game where the ball changes appearance & properties when hitting certain bricks. There could be variants of games similar to PopCap's Peggle or Atomica. Combined with collages and unlockable "bumpers", the balls could be used to create themed Pinball games, or on tablets, gyro-enabled labyrinths. Yet another possibility could be a Disney Infinity variant of billiards, specifically 8-ball...
Disney Infinity Billiards
Proposing a Play Set-based collection of balls for a billiards game makes Disney Infinity card games look inexpensive in comparison. But what if there weren't any numbers on the billiard balls, and not that many colors? For a 2-player game, there could be 7 identical balls from one toy's Play Set, 7 from the other, and 1 from a third Play Set of which neither player belongs. This last ball is the equivalent of the 8-ball. The other two colors are the equivalent of "stripes" and "solids". You could have an online 4-player game with 2-player teams where team members were from the same Play Set. Or you could have a 4-player game with 5 Play Set colors, 5 balls for each player, plus 1 for the "8-ball", for a larger starting triangle of 21 balls. The tables could be different polygons, pockets could be placed anywhere, and they might even be "stacked", where dropping down one pocket drops the ball onto a separate table. The players might need to play through two or three different tables to win the game, and on any given turn need to decide which table is best played to make a shot (there could be a cue ball on each table and returned to that table in case of a scratch). Imagine a Disney Infinity world where the toys set sail on a pirate ship to a gaming "Pleasure Island" with billiards, card games, and maybe bowling.
Disney Springs
Regarding Pleasure Island (or the closing thereof), how might Disney Infinity be further incorporated into the redeveloped, renamed Downtown Disney? In addition to rebuilding Disney Quest, there could be a Magic Cabinet featuring sports games at the Team Mickey Athletic Club, along with T-shirts featuring all of the Disney Infinity sports teams, and sports balls/equipment matching the Play Set logos. Disney Infinity decals could also be provided at the Design-a-Tee store for kids to design their own gaming T-shirts. Another Magic Cabinet could feature Phineas & Ferb themed games if the new "Phineas & Ferb & YOU" persists. What about Splitsville? It already has some Mickey Mouse themed bowling balls. What about colors & icons on the bowling balls that would match the Play Set versions? What if there were optional racks of billiard balls to match these Disney Infinity logos as well? It would be a novelty for this Disney location of the Splitsville chain. A Magic Cabinet or two could feature the virtual versions of these activities, perhaps with some card games as well, to connect the theming together.
One Mickey Glove
Side-note on Disney Infinity golf: at Disney World, Cast Members often sport a single plush Mickey glove to greet park guests. Pairs of these Mickey gloves can be purchased at the parks as souvenirs, but it's more practical for a CM to just wear one. Consider real golf, where a single white glove is typical to keep grip on the club for those long shots. It would be fun for Disney Infinity toy golfers to each have this one huge Mickey glove too. There can never be too many reminders that "it all started with a mouse".