Toys for Bob and Vicarious Visions on keeping annual Skylanders 'magic' alive

by Bags Hooper on Feb 6th 2013 5:45PM

Since first launching in 2011, Activision has turned its toy-powered gaming franchise Skylanders into an annual release. The third game in the series, Skylanders: Swap Force, is set to arrive this fall and will allow players to mix-and-match parts of 16 new toys for over 250 in game character combinations.

Despite the franchise's success, solidifying it as an annual title in Activision's portfolio, it may not be immune to its new schedule. Activision has walked this road before, with the once-popular Guitar Hero franchise buckling under its own weight of too many releases in too short a time period. But Paul Reiche, Studio President at Toys for Bob [above, left], believes that innovation is the key to growing the franchise; innovation that will keep the "magic" alive for children.

"The way that we're going to succeed is by ensuring that every year we have a meaningful innovation both in the toys and in the software as well," Reiche told Joystiq. Though Toys for Bob first developed Skylanders and launched its successor, Skylanders Giants, in 2012, developer Vicarious Visions has taken over to help the third entry in the series – a studio that developed ports and iOS games in the Skylanders universe and, at one time, helped Activision port the Guitar Hero franchise to mobile and Nintendo platforms.

Going forward, both Toys for Bob and Vicarious Visions will lead the charge for Activision's Skylanders series. The two developers first collaborated in 2003, before Vicarious Visions became a part of Activision, on Disney Extreme Skate Adventure. Although Toys for Bob isn't heading development, they are still providing daily input on the toy design, character images and level feedback.

The two studios are fully invested in the Skylanders project and don't have any other projects in the works. "This is our entire focus," Guha Bala, co-head of Vicarious Visions [top, right], told Joystiq. "Between the two studios, that's all we're working on," Reiche added.

While Vicarious Visions takes the lead on Swap Force, Reiche has been exploring ways to innovate on the line. Last week was the first time he visited Skylanders' toy manufacturing facility in Shenzhen, China. Reiche wants to be more aware of the manufacturing process so that he can hone his craft and come up with new ideas for the toy line. He admitted that seeing the workers hand paint the Jet Vac's yellow talons was a joy.

As for next gen, Bala doesn't see technology, platform or rendering features as a driving force for the franchise. For Skylanders, his goal is to find play patterns that are enriching for kids and bring those concepts to life. The Swap Force concept hearkens back to the days when children broke apart their GI Joe toys and mixed and matched the tops and bottoms of their action figures. Bala hopes to stay ahead of the technology curve, by looking to simple ideas that make you think in new ways. "The fundamental experience will be about the magic of the toys."

Of course innovation isn't without a cost. Swap Force will only be available as a starter pack, as the franchise's original portals – where players place their figures to transport them into the game – will not be able to read new swap figures. The new Starter pack, which is expected to retail for $74.99, will include the new base as well as two Swap Force characters and one 'Core' character, a standard Skylander.

Activision has long-term ambitions for its successful franchise. "We have goals of making this a 10 to 20 year franchise that becomes a staple for kids," Joshua Taub, Vice President of Skylanders Business told Joystiq. The Giants franchise alone took in 195 million during Q4, while the entire franchise topped 500 million in sales. Toy sales continue to be "strong" across both lines.

Bags Hooper is a writer based out of Brooklyn, New York. He has contributed to multiple outlets, including BuzzFocus, USA Network, Showtime's Pop Tudors, Monsters & Critics and FHM. You can follow him on Twitter at @BagsHooper.

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Skylanders Swap Force assembles this fall, developed by Vicarious Visions

by David Hinkle on Feb 5th 2013 2:15AM

Skylanders proprietors Toys for Bob will step aside for the latest franchise installment, Skylanders Swap Force. Vicarious Visions is handling development this time, which Activision says will allow Toys for Bob the space and freedom to come up with their next thing.

The main toy gimmick of Skylanders Swap Force is simple: 16 new special figures have inter-connecting torsos and bottom halves. Once you've combined two pieces, you place the resulting amalgam on the portal to realize your creation within the game. I replaced the tentacle-laden bottom half of a squid with the electricity wheel of a robotic Skylander, making my new squid-machine hybrid much more agile. Tentacle feet aren't an ideal form of transportation on land.

Skylanders Swap Force is still early in development, so I wasn't able to see much in the way of gameplay – there was only one small area and a miniboss encounter, and it was a hands-off demo. Vicarious Visions has added jumping, though, one of the most requested features missing from the last two games.

Of course, Skylanders Swap Force is compatible with all the previously released Skylanders figures. Swap Force will also present 32 new core Skylanders figures – 16 are new and the rest are updated versions of older figures. Considering the potential of lost halves, Activision tells me its customer support team will be ready to help replace or otherwise assist with any issues the new figures incur.

The Skylanders Swap Force starter pack will come with a copy of Skylanders Swap Force, the new portal, two Swap characters and one standard Skylander. Old portals from Skylanders and Skylanders Giants will be incompatible with Swap Force.

Skylanders Swap Force will launch on the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, Wii and 3DS. The Wii version is being developed by Beenox, while the 3DS version is coming from n-Space.

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Vicarious Visions has three unannounced projects, including one for Wii U

by JC Fletcher on Sep 30th 2011 1:02PM

Longtime Guitar Hero, Tony Hawk, and now Skylanders developer Vicarious Visions has three new projects in the works, according to a report from GameSpot. Reportedly, an associate producer's LinkedIn page specifies something codenamed "Project Nova" for Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii U, the PS3/Xbox 360 "Project Atlantis," and "Project Phoenix," for Xbox 360, PS3, and regular-style Wii.

Of course, no other information was given about these projects -- except that they prove that VV owner Activision is already integrating Wii U into its multiplatform development. Not only would "Project Phoenix" be the first Wii U game from VV, by the way, these would also be the second, third, and fourth PS3/Xbox 360 games from the studio. It's only made Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 for those platforms.

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Develop source: 50 staff cut at Vicarious Visions

by Richard Mitchell on Feb 10th 2011 3:00PM

News from Activision's music game shake-up continues to trickle out, with Develop now reporting that Vicarious Visions is among the studios targeted for cutbacks. According to Develop's source, the studio has escaped complete closure, though it has been hit with "around fifty" layoffs, which the source notes is "easily a quarter of studio staff." The report adds that those laid off should receive assistance from Activision in the form of counseling and job placement services.

Over the last several years, Vicarious Visions has been known primarily for developing licensed games as well as the Wii and DS versions of Tony Hawk and Guitar Hero titles. In fact, Develop reports that the studio was actually working on a new Guitar Hero when it received the news.

The layoffs come as part of a company wide plan to reduce the workforce by 500 positions. Elsewhere within the company, 7 Studios has reportedly been shut down entirely, while DJ Hero developer FreeStyleGames is "actively working with Activision on various options going forward."

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