Theme park game (changing from Disney to generic)

[Timothy Page]

I pitched a game to Ravensburger earlier this year, and though they said they have the game saved and will let me know if want to pursue in the future, I’m assuming nothing will come from it. Because of that if I want to move forward with making my game, I’ll need to drop the Disney licensing for a fair-use version.
Without getting too deep, it was a family game about spending your day at Disneyland and at the end you use the cards you completed to share the story of your day. My concern is that if I drop the Disney IP, then the gameplay and ending (story sharing) would lose the nostalgia and interest some people would innately feel toward it. Like if you’ve been to Disneyland/world then when you read your completed card you can picture yourself there and it’s more impactful, as opposed to a generic copyright-free attraction.
So my question, after all this rambling, is do you think it would still be enjoyable to share the story of your day using original attractions? — side question, would it be better to try to make it as unique as possible, or try and do copyright-free versions of Disney rides/attractions?

[Matt Stow]

I know I’m not answering your question, but have you pitched it to Funko or usaopoly who also make Disney games?

[Timothy Page]

This will probably be my immediate next step. I have written down “maybe other Disney game publishers?” in my game journal, but haven’t looked into it yet. Thanks for tossing out the two solid options too!

[Tim Gee]

Personally, describing a day at a theme park would be boring. All the excitement comes in going on the rides. Having the touchstone of nostalgia allows people to make more of a connection so would find the stories more interesting.

Have you thought of retheming the game? Would it work as an Indiana Jones-style adventure, or a trip through space where the excitement can come from describing crazy situations you wouldn’t do in normal life.

[Timothy Page]

The game mostly focused around dice placement and manipulation. Use your dice to complete cards (hooray you completed/”rode” Space Mountain! – now add it to your ‘day tracker’) and different cards are worth different points, based on how many dice needed to complete. Basically you could totally skip the endgame ‘sharing your day’ step, but as I was pitching with Disney in mind, I thought having people imagine and describe how they’re day went, taking turns to create this positive group experience, would be something Disney as a brand would like. But without the known IP attached I’m thinking this attempt at a ‘fun/thematic’ ending could fall flat.

I have been thinking lately about retheming, but only as far as generic theme park or copyright free Disney-esque attractions. Having said that, I do really like the idea of trying to spin it into some other kind of group adventure. As you said something like Indy or space travel, where the endgame story element would lean more on sharing wacky adventures instead of nostalgia toward an established IP. Thanks for the comment!

[Emily Bekius]

Being a Disney World fan, I think it sounds fun and nostalgic to actually re-live those experiences, and would be fun for those who have not yet been able to. So I would say don’t give up and definitely keep looking into other publishers that sell Disney games! That being said, I also really like the other themes that have been suggested- it sounds like those could be completely new game ideas for you to get into!

[Kyle Bruner]

I agree that, as a big Disney park fan the theme sounds actually quite interesting, but mainly so because of the Disney part. As we know, visiting a Disney park is a game in and of itself! The only other thing would be to try and make a license-friendly version that people would still associate with Disney, a-la “Dinosaur Park” and “Dinosaur World”. Not easy to do though. Good luck!