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During a London event to showcase Disney Epic Mickey, developer Warren Spector revealed that his initial pitches to Disney were for two very different titles; hinting one -- in many ways -- may have been a spiritual successor to Deus Ex. The other title, according to The Cut Scene blog, was a "big fantasy" story the developer and his wife unsuccessfully pitched to DC Comics.

Prior to the announcement of a new game in the series, Spector said he had previously attempted to acquire the Deus Ex license from publisher Eidos, but was unsuccessful. Since then, Spector's Junction Point Studios has been acquired by Disney Interactive, revealed his latest title and hinted at more from the Epic universe.

While Spector says there are still stories in the Deus Ex universe he would like to tell, the upcoming prequel, Deus Ex 3 -- helmed by developer Eidos Montreal -- will be the first title in the franchise without the original creator's watchful eye. "That story is not done for me," Spector said. "Deus Ex was very much a game of the millennium." Sadly -- with another team on the project -- it appears Spector's dream of continuing the Deus Ex conspiracy personally have indeed come to an end, for the time being.

[Via GamePro]

In the ongoing media blitz that Disney Epic Mickey (yes, it's really still named that) has been receiving over the past few weeks, the game's creative head Warren Spector has been decidedly candid. First, he spoke about the difference between the game's concept art and in-game graphics, then he discussed its roots on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and just this week, in a talk with 1UP, he confirmed his hope that the game would spawn two more adventures.

One hitch – those games have yet to be approved by his new overlords at Disney. "In my head, I've got two more planned ... those games have not approved and who knows if we'll ever see them," he said. "I had three games planned for Deus Ex and you see where that got me." As far as other titles that Spector's Junction Point Studios were working on before being acquired over two years ago, Spector confirmed that Disney has officially dropped the lot of them. Wait, even Ninja Gold?! Yes, even Ninja Gold.

If you're anything like us, you may have felt a bit ... underwhelmed by the recently released screenshots of Warren Spector-lead project Disney Epic Mickey, especially when compared to the magic-filled concept art leaked so many weeks ago. Speaking to 1UP in a recent interview, Spector says he works on creating concept art that will find the metaphorical "line" by "pushing past it." For him, it is a question of finding the boundaries for not just himself and his development team, but also Disney. "I know where my lines are, but I don't know where Disney's are."

He additionally teases, "Some of what you saw was beyond the line ... some of it was early design ideas that are no longer relevant ... some of it is stuff that's still in the game, and I'm not saying what." If the recent steady stream of information on Disney Epic Mickey continues, we'll likely see at least a few of those original concepts in their current form at a point in the not-too-distant future.

While the family-friendly Wii seems like the starting point for a Mickey Mouse relaunch, the decision to make Disney Epic Mickey a Wii exclusive wasn't automatic. In fact, it wasn't even the original plan. "The reality is that we started Wii development in 2008," Warren Spector told Official Nintendo Magazine, "but before that we were a PC, PS3, and 360 title."

When the issue of a Wii port was raised, Spector told Disney that it wasn't going to work. "It needs to be its own game. A lot of the design ideas just won't work on the Wii, we need to give the Wii its dues." In response, Disney Interactive's Graham Hopper suggested that the game simply be a Wii exclusive, thus solving the problem of a subpar Wii port and addressing Spector's desire to focus on a single platform. That single platform just happened to be none of the ones for which the game was initially planned!

Gallery: Disney Epic Mickey

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In a new feature titled "Anatomy of a Screenshot," Game Informer dissects in-game screens and details the situations found within. The first title to receive the treatment is the recently revealed -- but long rumored -- Epic Mickey, from Warren Spector and Disney. The screen above details the upcoming Wii-exclusive title's heads-up display (HUD), showcasing Mickey's "persona" status, special items and details on the world around the classic Disney hero.

Also, it points out Mickey's "iconic" ears ... you know, in case you missed them.

As promising as Epic Mickey is starting to sound, we're secretly pining for a different Disney-based offering helmed by Warren Spector -- something of the billed, winged and web-toed variety. We speak, of course, of DuckTales, which recently came up in a Game Informer interview with the ghostly developer. "I want to do a DuckTales game," Spector mentioned. "I can't convince anybody at Disney to let me do a DuckTales game. How can that be?"

We don't have an answer for your query, Mr. Spector. Perhaps we no longer live in a world where mallards can bounce through lunar canyons on walking sticks. Perhaps you can take us back to that beautiful time, someday. You know, when you're not busy fusing Mickey Mouse and Bob Ross.

[Thanks, Koshi.]

Game Informer's slow trickle of Epic Mickey deets has turned into a full-on firehose today, as the site has published a massive five-page feature on the game's environments, concept art and character animations. The feature not only talks about the developmental process for animators and designers at Junction Point Studios, but also delves into the game's world a bit, showing off screens of the cartoon objects and inert objects populating the land. The former are things the player can create and erase in the game, whereas the latter are permanent objects in the game world that the player cannot affect.

There's even some really odd stuff to look at -- like a robotic Donald Duck and a video of Mickey Mouse shadowboxing. Looks like we can cross one item off our list of Sentences We Never Would've Imagined Ever Having to Write.

Here's a great example of why it's tough serving two masters. Game Informer has totally re-engineered its web site, and one of its first big scoops was a teaser image and info on Epic Mickey, which was touted as a Wii exclusive.

When that last detail was removed from the website, however, it sent the internet into a tizzy of speculation, with some assuming the change put the exclusivity in question. Enter our good friend, the fact: Game Informer has today reconfirmed that Epic Mickey is only coming to Nintendo's box, a revelation that it was hoping to save for the magazine. If only the accursed internet hadn't noticed!

We're impressed with GI's new site and wish it all the best as it tries for a stronger web presence alongside its mag; however, we're equally interested in how the team deals with the growing pains from aligning the print and online offerings.

It appears that Epic Mickey might wind up on more platforms than initially suggested. 1UP is reporting that GI's original post on the November issue of the mag has removed all mentions of Wii exclusivity, a potential sign that the deal is not yet cast in stone -- or, at the least, that other consoles are being considered. And why not?

Frankly, we'd like to see it ported to every console in existence, not just because we're big Warren Spector fans, but ... okay, it's because we're big Warren Spector fans. Huge.

We can't seem to stop waffling on Epic Mickey. At the start, Warren Spector's involvement was enough to pique our interest. But we couldn't help but be a bit disappointed to see that Wii exclusivity might keep the game from being the graphical masterpiece we'd hoped for. But now, after reading a few details about the game scooped up by Eurogamer, we're right back on board.

The game reportedly revolves around forgotten Disney characters who, after years of being ignored, have grown bitter. None more so than Walt's first cartoon creation, Oswald the Rabbit. He's the one who spread all of the evil black goo around that you see above. Mickey will apparently have to use paint, thinner and erasers to draw his way through the world, which makes the Wii exclusivity a lot easier to understand.

Okay, so the black goo all over the world isn't the most original, but disgruntled Disney characters trying to wipe out Mickey? How cool does that sound?

(P.S. Captain EO as a villain. We demand it.)

[Update 2: NeoGAF user cuyahoga has dug up more conceptual drawings for Epic Mickey from yet another artist, Gary Glover, who lists Junction Point Studios as one of his clients. His drawings (added to the gallery) appear to depict various lands from Disney's themeparks using the established steampunk / dystopian look of the game, suggesting that it may be broken up into these themed "worlds."

[Update: superannuation found concept art labeled "Epic Mickey" on the site of artist Fred Gambino! Have a look in the gallery -- if this is what the game looks like, with its rickety machine characters and post-apocalyptic Magic Kingdom, we are in. "Y"? Because we like it.]

More evidence has appeared for the existence of Epic Mickey, the "steampunk" Mickey Mouse game from Warren Spector's Junction Point Studios. Artist Tony Pulham lists his work as a concept artist on the project, which is described as a "Wii Video Game." The fact that Pulham started at Junction Point in June suggests that the game hasn't been canceled yet!

Of course, it could appear on other platforms, but at least we know now that one of the platforms in the works is Nintendo's, which is appropriate for a game rumored to be Disney's latest attempt at a Mario-style game.

[Via superannuation]

Disney Interactive has been having a pretty rough year. The company kicked off 2009 with a handful of layoffs, and now, according to reports at Gamasutra, it's also facing a near 20 percent drop in year-over-year revenue. Big surprise? Not exactly, considering the publisher only internally published a handful of games last year (including critically acclaimed Pure and not so critically acclaimed Turok).

Also not a big surprise, Disney Interactive prez and CEO Bob Iger cites "the weak economy and other factors" when explaining his company's less than fantastic financial situation. Let's just hope Warren Spector's "epic" Mickey Mouse game can help to bolster Disney's 2009 lineup.

Warren Spector, the man behind Deus Ex, thinks that games cost a little too much. In competing with other forms of media on the market, he says that video games have too high a price for admission, and that these prices only act as a barrier for drawing new customers in.

Of course, there are plenty of things to consider even beyond that. With publishers enjoying profits (they aren't in this to make friends), and the game industry reporting record numbers last year, there are valid points of argument all over the place. Plus, there's this horrible economy to consider, which Spector thinks could aid in bringing prices down. We will say this, however: We like saving money. It helps us purchase more games.

Imagine sitting at lunch with Will Wright, Neil Young, and Warren Spector. They're each eating, laughing, and talking about game design with animation and enthusiasm. On the other side of the table are David Perry, Rob Pardo, and Brian Fargo.

Collectively, you have the founder of Interplay, Blizzard's top designer, the father of Earthworm Jim, the man credited with Deus Ex, an iPhone pioneer, and the mind behind Spore – guided in discussion by screenwriter and former game journalist Garry Whitta.

Also at the table, a dozen of the top game industry journalists sit quietly, taking notes and typing into small laptops. And excellent food is entirely secondary: it's the conversation that matters at this luncheon.