Guilty Party sneaks into the Nintendo media summit
Between the Metroids and Yoshis taking all the spotlight the other day at Nintendo's media summit, Disney's Guilty Party managed to slip through virtually unnoticed. The first game developed by Wideload Games after their acquisition by Disney, it looks like a kid-friendly version of Clue.
The Wii has seen a revival of sorts in the point and click adventure genre, and it's nice that Wideload is making one for younger players. It can't all be Monkey Island and Strong Bad I guess, but I'm sure Wideload will manage to inject some of their humor into game too. What surprised me is just how easy it was to miss this game's announcement; it was practically the only casual title at the show. Almost as if...it didn't want to get caught...
DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS ANNOUNCES ORIGINAL MYSTERY PARTY GAME - DISNEY GUILTY PARTY
Players will uncover clues to deduce the identity of the culprit in the family friendly whodunit video game exclusively for Wii
BURBANK, Calif. - (February 24, 2010) -There's been a crime... can you follow the clues to find the Guilty Party? Disney Interactive Studios today announced Disney Guilty Party, a family-friendly mystery party game being developed exclusively for the WiiTM console. Created by Wideload Games, Disney Interactive Studios' Chicago development studio, Guilty Party is scheduled for release in the second half of 2010.
Guilty Party tells the thrilling tale of the Dickens Detective Agency as they solve crimes set in motion by the master criminal known as Mr. Valentine. Up to four players can solve crimes in a variety of locations all over the world to unlock the secrets of Mr. Valentine's grand scheme.
Guilty Party offers both cooperative and competitive gameplay for all ages. Players choose a detective and take turns exploring the environment to uncover clues to discover the culprit's identity. When players have enough evidence, they can accuse their prime suspect and try to solve the case.
"Mysteries are one of the world's most beloved forms of storytelling, and Guilty Party brings mysteries to Wii in a way that the whole family can play together," said Tom Kang, studio head and general manager, Wideload Games. "Everyone loves a good mystery, especially when they get to be the detective."
Players step into the shoes of the Dickens family and work together to explore crime scenes and play mini-games to collect clues and interrogate suspects. Guilty Party transforms the Wii RemoteTM into classic detective tools: a magnifying glass, a flashlight, a lock-pick, a fingerprint kit, and more. Players then discuss and piece together the clues in their detective notebooks to deduce the identity of the culprit.
The Dickens family tracks Mr. Valentine across the globe, from a high-speed train to a leaky aquarium to many other locations to solve new mysteries. Once the mysteries are solved, players can play again with a new set of clues, suspects and mini-games with a different experience every time. It takes more than quick reflexes to win, it also takes quick wits.
"We're packing an amazing amount of play-time into a single game," said Patrick Curry, game director, Wideload Games. "Guilty Party is a bit like a board game, since families can play each mystery over and over again and never have the same experience twice."
Guilty Party is the first new franchise developed by Wideload Games for Disney Interactive Studios. The game's characters and locations are inspired by classic detective lore, with the storytelling, unique humor and art style that have distinguished Wideload Games. Guilty Party will have players applying logic to solve the mysteries while laughing at the wacky cast of characters, situations and animated scenes.
"Wideload Games is a leader in unique creative games that keep players entertained and amused for hours," said Craig Relyea, senior vice president of global marketing, Disney Interactive Studios. "Guilty Party was a natural fit for Disney and the beneficial working relationship led to the highly creative studio joining our portfolio of talented studios."
In September 2009, Disney Interactive Studios acquired Wideload Games and studio founder Alexander Seropian took on the role of vice president of creative at Disney Interactive Studios in Glendale, Calif.
Disney Guilty Party is Rating Pending by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB).
About Wideload Games
Wideload Games, a development studio of Disney Interactive Studios, focuses on creating interactive entertainment with original intellectual property and humor as an underlying theme. Based in Chicago, Wideload Games was founded as an independent studio in 2003 and acquired by Disney Interactive Studios in 2009. Wideload's first game published for Disney Interactive Studios is the original mystery party game, Disney Guilty Party. For more information, log on to http://www.wideload.com.
About Disney Interactive Studios
Disney Interactive Studios, part of Disney Interactive Media Group, is the interactive entertainment affiliate of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS). Disney Interactive Studios self publishes and distributes a broad portfolio of multi-platform video games, mobile games and interactive entertainment worldwide. The company also licenses properties and works directly with other interactive game publishers to bring products for all ages to market. Disney Interactive Studios is based in Glendale, California, and has internal development studios around the world. For more information, log on to http://www.disneyinteractivestudios.com.
