DuckTales (2007 Video Game)

DuckTales is a 2007 action-adventure video game developed by Both StrikerX and Heavy Iron Studios and published by THQ. It is based on the Disney animated series of the same name. The Console versions incorporate a full open world design, being the first game based on a TV Show to do so.

Development
DuckTales has a long and storied development history that spans over a decade, starting in 1992. It went through several iterations of the game design and software technology before its eventual release in 2007.

False starts
In 1992, the first incarnation of the game was announced. originally Super DuckTales, created by Capcom. This incarnation was to be a sequel to DuckTales 2 for the NES, and was also intended to use the Cancelled Super NES CD-ROM Add-on for the Super Nintendo. Super DuckTales was eventually cancelled due to Sony (The Manufacturer of the Super NES CD-ROM) dropping further development of the Super NES CD-ROM to focus on what would later become the PlayStation.

In 1996, the second incarnation of the game was announced. It was as an platformer game where you played as Huey, Dewy, and Louie together as they automatically run forwards through the stages while having to dodge obstacles and follow various alternative paths. It had a different plot where a villain called Vickey kidnaps a TV show host that was set to interview McDuck Enterprises, and they now have to go to various locations and collect 13 keys to unlock his secret hideout. It was directed by Yoshinori Kawano, and produced by Keiji Inafune and Yoshinori Kawano. It also featured various 2D animated cutscenes storyboarded in-house at Walt Disney Animation Japan. The music was composed by Makoto Tomozawa, and the script was written by Yoshinori Kawano and Shin Kurosawa. Christopher Sentance was art director, mechanical designer, and the event planning director. DuckTales 3-D: Game Over was an intended Nintendo 64 exclusive for the 64DD add-on to be the first game from Capcom Boston (Later StrikerX), This version was eventually cancelled due to Capcom spun off StrikerX as an independent company, effective on June 1, 1999. Eisner and Christopher later met with Brian Farrell, then CEO of THQ, who would share his vision of the title and agreed to publish it for PlayStation, Dreamcast and PC as well as Nintendo 64.

Final production
The Third Incarnation began development on June 2, 1999, The team hastily created a brief clip of Scrooge McDuck taking a Swim in his money bin for a demonstration at the 1999 Space World exposition. The clip resonated with fans and commentators who hoped it previewed the next DuckTales game.

Eisner hated the demo, finding it derivative of a PS1 game. The team explored other directions until animator John Lasseter shown the team an episode of DuckTales, and the team seized on the new gameplay and combat possibilities afforded by the stylized cartoon aesthetic. To achieve this look, they used cel shading on 3D models, giving the look of an interactive cartoon. With this decision, development proceeded swiftly. The team quickly decided the setting would be an Open World DuckBurg, determining it would provide interesting visuals and mechanics in the cel-shaded style. This in turn inspired the central sailing feature. Some features drew skepticism; for instance producers Eisner and Lasseter requested an Inspiration from the Upcoming game Jet Set Radio for the Sega Dreamcast.

Lawsuit
On September 9, 1999, the video game developer Sega filed a filed suit against Disney Interactive, THQ, and StrikerX, claiming that DuckTales 3-D: Game Over had an Art Style that was directly inspired by the upcoming game for the Sega Dreamcast Jet Set Radio. The two companies resolved their differences in December 1999 without going to court.

THQ unveiled the first video footage of "Retitled to the name of the finished product" DuckTales using the RenderWare engine "a game engine developed by Burnout developer Criterion Software" at Microsoft's 2000 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) Press conference. The trailer showed Huey Skydiving down to DuckBurg and jump into a mech suit to destroy a mothership from destroying what resembles the World Trade Center. reception was more positive than that for the Space World demo. The game received the 2000 Game Critics Awards for Best Console Game at E3. IGN editor Fran Mirabella said the cartoon look "works very nicely" and that "it feels very much like an interactive Disney Movie". The whimsical style was compared to the show of the same name. The E3 2000 Trailer got removed from IGN's Website 2 days after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and development restarted Winter 2001, becoming the basis for the final version. A prototype build from E3 2000 was released on the Internet Archive in 2021. Later that year, Eisner said StrikerX had told him that DuckTales was to be finished by the end of 2004, or the beginning of 2005. In 2003, Cristopher said that when he met with Brian Farrell, he asked if there could be cameos of THQ games including Red Faction, Farrell was enthusiastic about it. StrikerX's Work on the PS2, Xbox, and GameCube was completed and credited as Asobo Studio and also ported on the PSP. DuckTales Took there work on the Xbox and then Reworked it "Along with Heavy Iron Studios" on the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii and PC. The Game was re-revealed at THQ's 2006 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) Booth as a Wii Launch Tile before getting delayed to November 16, 2007.

Reception
Reception The game received "Positive" reviews for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 version of the game. Praise focused on the game's visuals and writing, which lampooned the gaming industry and the show itself. DuckTales won the award for Best Game Based on a Movie or TV Show at the Spike Video Game Awards 2007, and was nominated for the first-ever award for Best Video Game Writing at the Writers Guild of America Awards 2007. As of January 31, 2008, four million copies of the game have been sold overall. Its PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS releases each received a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies per version in the United Kingdom. ELSPA presented the game's Wii, Xbox 360 and PlayStation Portable versions with "Silver" certifications, for sales of 100,000 units or more each in the region. Peter Nowak of CBC News named it the third-best game of 2007 and described it as "easily the best game starring the wacky residents of DuckBurg".

The game's use of humor received a Possitive reception. Both GameSpot and GameTrailers said that the game delivered more than enough laughs to make it worth playing through at least once. It was considered enjoyable for both hardcore and casual DuckTales fans by IGN and GameDaily, who also called it a particularly appealing game for diehard fans. Despite the few problems that the game had, GameSpy said that it was worth it to see the humorous parodies. Eurogamer's Tom Bramwell, however, believed that the game's humor could only carry it so far, and suggested that those interested in DuckTales humor should purchase a box set of one of the television series' seasons instead. Joe Juba of Game Informer called the game an average experience. He elaborated that the game would appeal primarily to fans of the television series, but would not be worth playing for people unfamiliar with it

The video game won the award for the "Best Animated Video Game" award at the Annies in 2008.