Five Disney games that deserve the “Gold Master” Treatment…

Digital Eclipse has announced a whole new line of “interactive documentaries” which is basically a whole new way of experiencing classic games. More than just a mere restoration and a couple of neat tidbits for nerds, these games are given the ultimate treatment, the game or games included are merely icing on the cake in addition to the exhaustive features you can spend tons of time diving into if you so wish.

The first in this “Gold Master” series as Digital Eclipse is calling it is a classic many people my age should fondly remember, Karateka, a martial arts adventure that was a precursor to games such as Prince of Persia and a seminal game for many both in and out of the industry. It definitely got me thinking about what games based on properties Disney owns I’d like to possibly see get the “Gold Master” treatment. Admittedly a big part of this line of games will be having a lot of interesting insight and history and it’s possible some of my picks will have none of that but assuming they could get this kind of treatment it would be cool to see…

#5. The Black Cauldron

The Black Cauldron movie is a pretty infamous low point for Disney animation. It was expensive, it flopped and frankly, it’s not good with a slapdash story, poor animation, and one of the most annoying furry sidekicks in animation history.

Still, there was a licensed adventure game based on it made by one of the best adventure game companies at the time, Sierra. Sierra did not make a habit of working on licensed games, so why this property, and how did they decide to go about making it? Maybe there are a couple of cool stories there. I don’t have fond memories of The Black Cauldron movie, but I do of the game and it’d be cool to see it in a modern restoration with people talking about memories of it and the making of it (and maybe if the failure of the film had any impact on the game and Sierra not making any more licensed games, etc.)

#4. Donald Duck’s Playground

Another Sierra joint, though not their usual genre of adventure game (maybe release this and The Black Cauldron as a combo pack). Donald Duck’s Playground is definitely more on the “Edutainment” genre that was a popular thing to do in the 80s and early 90s and definitely still exists today, just not as widespread as it used to be.

But many of those games were incredibly boring. I had lots of fun with Donald Duck’s Playground and would be very excited to play a restored version of it and it’s actually likely to have some interesting stories about making games for Disney around that time, what went into making a game with Donald and his nephews and why it was designed the way it is and just what the experience was like for designer Al Lowe, who would go on to make the Leisure Suit Larry adventure series. Potentially lots of interesting stuff for a “Gold Master” release.

#3. Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis

Yes, this game is already currently available on PC and you can buy it real cheap. But there’s been plenty of full-fledged remasters of games readily available, there’s no reason the best Indiana Jones game shouldn’t get a similar treatment. Most LucasArts adventure games are very fondly remembered, and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis is no exception.

There’s tons of extra content to be potentially mined here from interviews on the making of process and why the game holds up as well as it does. It doesn’t even have to be included but they could even talk about the virtually forgotten action game of the same name and why there even were two completely different versions (though not unprecedented, the same thing was done with Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade). It may be easily available, but Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis is exactly the kind of game that screams for the ultimate treatment a Gold Master edition would give it that allows you to deep dive into the product.

#2. Virtual Springfield

It’s fair to say that Digital Eclipse is no longer really in the business of making games, they are out to make interactive products that help you experience games in an entirely new way. Each product is its own interactive museum. So, how about an interactive museum about something that is in and of itself an interactive museum?

Virtual Springfield barely would qualify as a game, but it’s an extremely fondly remembered exploration of the hometown of everyone’s favorite cartoon family, The Simpsons with some interactive elements. I think most Simpsons fans would love a proper re-release of this title with touched-up animation and sound along with interviews from the cast and crew of the show that participated and just the making of it in general. In a sea of very bad Simpsons titles, Virtual Springfield was one of the few enjoyable things made and that should probably be remembered and celebrated.

#1. Disney Infinity

This is easily my most pie-in-the-sky impossible pick but Disney Infinity would be such a rich and fascinating subject for a “Gold Master” edition. Much like Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, you can buy Disney Infinity on PC. All three volumes are usually on sale for pretty cheap. However, there’s a big caveat that comes with that purchase. The PC version was only updated to a certain point. There are not just quality fixes but content that just isn’t available. That should be restored and updated and that’s exactly the kind of thing a “Gold Master” edition would hopefully include.

Beyond that, an exploration of the rich history of videogames should include both successes and failures, and an in-depth look at the story behind Disney Infinity, something that seemed guaranteed to print money, and its subsequent failure to do so (at least to Disney’s satisfaction to the point they pulled out of making games altogether and have just licensed their IP out to other companies ever since) is an incredibly fascinating one and probably shouldn’t be forgotten in the annals of game history.

And that’s the list. I love the idea of “Gold Master” editions of historic games and how Digital Eclipse is handling them and hopefully, it’s a blueprint a lot of other companies remastering or re-releasing games try to follow to some extent. I had been on hiatus for a little bit due to some personal stuff going on but I should have time to put out at least one more blog entry this month so see ya real soon!