Skylanders: Imaginators

Last updated
Skylanders: Imaginators
Skylanders Imaginators cover art.jpg
Developer(s) Toys for Bob
Publisher(s) Activision
Designer(s) Toby Schadt
Programmer(s) Avery Lodato
Artist(s) Terry Falls
Lee Harker
Writer(s) Alex Ness
Composer(s) Lorne Balfe
Series Skylanders
Engine Vicarious Visions Alchemy
Platform(s) Switch, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
ReleasePS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
  • AU: October 13, 2016
  • EU: October 14, 2016
  • NA: October 16, 2016
Switch
  • WW: March 3, 2017
Genre(s) Toys-to-life, role-playing, platform
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Skylanders: Imaginators is a 2016 toys-to-life 3D platform game developed by Toys for Bob and published by Activision. It is the sixth installment of the Skylanders series, a successor to Skylanders: SuperChargers , and was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. It allows players to create their own characters, known as Imaginators. The game received generally positive reviews, but its sales were below Activision's expectations. It is the sixth and most recent Skylanders game released on consoles, as the franchise went into hiatus after its release.

Contents

Plot

In the past, the Ancients used Mind Magic to create anything they could imagine. However, one of the Ancients, known as Brain, tried to use Mind Magic to brainwash all of Skylands, so the Ancients sealed him away along with the power of Mind Magic to prevent evil from using it.

Following the events of the last game, there has been an era of peace. However, a mysterious being steals a book from the Skylanders Academy and is revealed to work for Kaos, who seeks to use the power of Mind Magic to create an army of Doomlanders and conquer Skylands. To this end, he teams up with Brain, the last remaining Ancient, and they decide to brainwash Skylands, leaving only Spyro immune because he is a dragon. They are able to free Skylands and fight Kaos in a final battle, during which he transforms into a more powerful form and summons various Doomlanders to aid him. However, Brain betrays him and fights alongside the player. When Kaos is defeated, Brain tries to flee, but instead works alongside the Skylanders under the threat of being sealed away again and shrinks Kaos and Glumshanks.

Gameplay

Similar to its predecessors, the core gameplay of Imaginators revolves around solving puzzles, platforming, and fighting enemies. [1] Being a toys-to-life game, players can put a figurine onto a Portal of Power, which allows them to control the represented character in-game. [2] It also features Creation Clash, a remake of Skystones, which was introduced in Giants . [3] The game supports local multiplayer.

The game introduces "Imaginators", which are characters created by the player that can be shared with other players. At the beginning of the game, players can select a battle class (Knight, Smasher, Sentinel, Swashbuckler, Brawler, Sorcerer, Quickshot, Ninja, Bazooker, and Bowslinger) and elemental class, which determines their fighting style. [4] While the battle class cannot be reset within the game itself, unofficial methods exist to do so using older games on the Wii and Nintendo 3DS. Afterwards, players can customize the names, voices, fighting abilities, appearances, colors, and sizes of their Imaginators. The game also features the option to automatically generates an Imaginator randomly or use existing Skylanders featured in its predecessors. Imaginators created can be shared to other players. Body parts, which are classified into four types, Common, Rare, Epic, and Ultimate, can be found during exploration and used to customize the Imaginators, which can be modified at any time. [5] Imaginators are stored in Creation Crystals, through which players can use their Imaginatiors on other video game consoles. In addition to Imaginators, the game also adds 31 typical Skylanders. These include "Senseis", powerful Skylanders who are refined in their respective classes. 11 of them are villains who had appeared in previous Skylanders games. They also have the ability to perform a special attack called "Sky Chi". These Senseis lead the Imaginators, and involve in helping them to unlock their abilities, techniques, weapons, and level-cap. [1]

Crash Bandicoot and Doctor Neo Cortex appear as guest characters with their own level, Thumpin' Wumpa Islands, which has features present in previous Crash Bandicoot games. [6]

Development

Development of the game began after completion of Skylanders: Trap Team , with a development cycle of approximately two years. With SuperChargers not being a commercial success, [7] and Disney's decision to shut down its own toys-to-life developer Avalanche Software and its franchise, Disney Infinity , Activision, which had grossed $3 billion with the franchise, remained hopeful and believed that the genre still has potential for continuous game development. [8] As the game's target audience is kids, many development team members suggested ideas to their own children to see whether they resonate with them, and pitched these ideas to other members to see whether their children are equally interested in order to ensure that these gameplay ideas appeal to them. [9]

According to Jeff Poffenbarger, the senior executive producer of Imaginators, innovation is one of the most important aspects while designing the game. They hoped that with new mechanics and systems, they can continue to attract new customers to play the game, as well as retaining the core players. [4] In addition, according to CEO Eric Hirshberg, one of the advantages is that Skylanders, unlike its competitors, features largely original characters and would not be confined to any limitation. The Imaginators mechanic was the most significant introduction, and was designed to be similar to other complex role-playing games. However, one of the key principles is to retain its accessibility. They hoped that players can make use of their creativity to create unique Skylanders, and that the team "can’t wait to see what people create". This mechanic was inspired by a fan letter after the release of Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure . [5] Selected player-created Imaginators had been printed out through 3D printers by the Skylanders team. [10] [11] As this creation mechanic introduced many new characters, the team decided to create a story that puts a huge emphasis on existing characters, so that these characters would remain relevant to the franchise. [10]

In February 2016, Activision confirmed that there would be a new Skylanders title set to be released in 2016. [12] The game was officially revealed on June 1, 2016. [2] Imaginators was released for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360 and Xbox One in October 2016. The team opted not to port the game for mobile platforms as the team realized that there is not a huge demand or market for toys-to-life games in these platforms. [9] The developers have also decided not to make a Wii or 3DS version, unlike in previous titles, possibly due to this particular game's technical limitations. A Dark Edition, which costs more than the standard edition, was released alongside the game. It adds several cosmetic designs to the Senseis, and added three more Creation Crystals. [2] A digital Starter's Pack would not return, as the team thought that physical toys should be a key part of the game. [10]

In June 2016, Sony Interactive Entertainment revealed that Crash Bandicoot would be a new guest character in the game. His level and character include designs created by veteran Skylanders developer, Vicarious Visions. To create an accurate version of Crash, the team studied old documents of the old games, including the original concepts. As Crash has his own physical figure, the team went through multiple design iterations to ensure that they had successfully captured his personality, and that its final pose and appearance are cohesive with his old version. The team began animating Crash after finishing up the model, with the goal of ensuring that Crash's "edginess, trademark wackiness, and swagger" are preserved. To capture Crash's legacy, the team specifically created a new life system, spin attack mechanic for it, and numerous crates for the level based on his setting. [13] Imaginators marked the first major appearance of Crash in several years; though he had a cameo appearance in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End , the last game in which he was the main character was 2010's Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2 . [14] In August 2016, at Gamescom, it was announced the game would also feature Crash Bandicoot series antagonist Doctor Neo Cortex as a playable character, along with an additional level featuring gameplay and design elements derived from the Crash series. [6]

Following the Nintendo Switch Presentation on January 13, 2017, Activision announced that Skylanders: Imaginators would be released on the console as a launch title. [15] Due to the Nintendo Switch version not supporting previous Portals of Power, the version would not support Traps and Vehicles introduced to Skylanders: Trap Team and Skylanders: SuperChargers respectively (although the Vehicles can still be scanned to unlock one free Imaginite Chest each). [16]

Reception

Skylanders: Imaginators received "generally favorable" reviews for most platforms according to review aggregator Metacritic; [17] [18] [19] the Nintendo Switch version received "mixed or average" reviews. [20] Despite the generally positive reception, the game sold only 66,000 copies during its launch month. [34]

Related Research Articles

Toys for Bob, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Novato, California. It was founded in 1989 by Paul Reiche III and Fred Ford and is best known for creating Star Control and the Skylanders franchise, as well as for working on the Crash Bandicoot and Spyro franchises.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crash Bandicoot (character)</span> Fictional video game character

Crash Bandicoot is the title character and main protagonist of the Crash Bandicoot series. Introduced in the 1996 video game Crash Bandicoot, Crash is a mutant eastern barred bandicoot who was genetically enhanced by the series' main antagonist Doctor Neo Cortex and soon escaped from Cortex's castle after a failed experiment in the "Cortex Vortex". Throughout the series, Crash acts as the opposition against Cortex and his schemes for world domination. While Crash has a number of offensive maneuvers at his disposal, his most distinctive technique is one in which he spins like a tornado at high speeds and knocks away almost anything that he strikes.

<i>Crash Bandicoot</i> Video game franchise

Crash Bandicoot is a video game franchise originally developed by Naughty Dog as an exclusive for Sony's PlayStation console. It has seen numerous installments created by various developers and published on multiple platforms. The series consists predominantly of platform games, but also includes spin-offs in the kart racing and party game genres. The series was originally produced by Universal Interactive, which later became known as Vivendi Games; in 2008, Vivendi merged with Activision, which currently owns and publishes the franchise.

<i>Crash of the Titans</i> 2007 video game

Crash of the Titans is a 2007 platform beat 'em up video game developed by Radical Entertainment and published by Vivendi Games for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii and Xbox 360. It is the first game in the Crash Bandicoot series not to have a Japanese release, and the last to be published by Vivendi Games before Activision merged with the company the following year. Amaze Entertainment developed a version of the game for Nintendo DS. The game is the fourteenth installment in the Crash Bandicoot video game series, and the sixth game in the main franchise.

<i>Crash: Mind over Mutant</i> 2008 video game

Crash: Mind over Mutant is a 2008 platform game developed by Radical Entertainment for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii and Xbox 360. The Nintendo DS version of the game was developed by Tose. It was released in North America on October 7, 2008, and was later released in Europe and Australia on October 30 and October 31, respectively. It is the second game in the series not to have a Japanese release,, the first to be published by Activision following its merging with the series' previous publisher Vivendi Games, and the last major console entry as a whole until 2017's Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy — a remaster of the first three Crash games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doctor Neo Cortex</span> Character from the Crash Bandicoot series

Doctor Neo Periwinkle Cortex is a character and the main antagonist of the Crash Bandicoot video game series. He has appeared in every mainline game in the series as Crash Bandicoot's archenemy, as well as a playable character in several spin-off titles. Cortex is an egomaniacal mad scientist who seeks to achieve world domination with the use of the Evolvo-Ray, a machine capable of creating genetically enhanced soldiers from ordinary animals. Crash was one such subject but thwarted the scientist's plot; Cortex is subsequently determined to eliminate Crash as an obstacle to world domination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spyro (character)</span> Video game character

Spyro is a fictional character and the titular protagonist of the same name video game series, including The Legend of Spyro, and a guest character in the Skylanders series, first appearing in Spyro the Dragon in 1998.

<i>Skylanders: Spyros Adventure</i> 2011 video game

Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure is a 3D action-adventure platform game and the first video game in the Skylanders series. It is played using with toy figures that interact with it through a "Portal of Power" that reads their tag through NFC.

<i>Skylanders</i> Video game series

Skylanders is a toys-to-life action-adventure video game franchise published by Activision. Skylanders games are played by placing a character's figure on the "Portal of Power", a device that reads its tag using NFC and "imports" them into the game as a playable character, leveling them up and saving its progress on the figure to potentially be used on a different game with its saved stats. Skylander figures are sold separately from the game itself unless you buy the starter pack. Typically, the starter pack for each game contains two or more Skylanders, a Portal of Power, the game disc and sometimes something else to show off the game's newest feature.

<i>Skylanders: Giants</i> 2012 video game

Skylanders: Giants is a 2012 video game in the Skylanders series and a direct sequel to the 2011 game Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure. It features the voices of Kevin Michael Richardson, Greg Ellis, Peter Lurie, Steve Blum, Dave Wittenberg, Carlos Alazraqui, Kevin Sorbo, Bobcat Goldthwait, Patrick Seitz and Julie Nathanson. As the title suggests, it features larger Skylanders known as "Giants", along with other new gameplay mechanics. 16 new Skylanders were introduced, including 8 "Giants": Bouncer, Crusher, Eye-Brawl, Hot Head, Ninjini, Swarm, Thumpback, and Tree Rex.

<i>Skylanders: Swap Force</i> 2013 video game

Skylanders: Swap Force is a 2013 platform game developed by Vicarious Visions and Beenox and published by Activision. It is the third main game in the Skylanders video game and toy franchise, following 2012's Skylanders: Giants, which was a direct sequel to 2011's Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure.

<i>Skylanders: Trap Team</i> 2014 video game

Skylanders: Trap Team is a 2014 3D platform game developed by Toys for Bob and Beenox and published by Activision. It is the fourth installment in the Skylanders video game franchise and was released on October 2, 2014, in Australasia, October 5, 2014 in North America, and October 10, 2014, in Europe, for release on Android and iOS mobile platforms, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Nintendo 3DS. It is the sequel to Skylanders: Swap Force, and features the voices of Fred Tatasciore, Billy West, John DiMaggio, Matthew Moy, Laura Bailey, Alex Ness, John Paul Karliak, Matthew Yang King, and Richard Horvitz.

<i>Skylanders: SuperChargers</i> 2015 video game

Skylanders: SuperChargers is a role-playing platform video game and the fifth installment of the Skylanders series. It was developed by Vicarious Visions and Beenox and published by Activision. It was released on September 20, 2015, for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and was released on October 25, 2015, for iOS. Skylanders: SuperChargers Racing was released as a standalone title for Wii and the Nintendo 3DS on the same date, and focuses on racing. A sequel, Skylanders: Imaginators, was released in October 2016.

Toys-to-life is a video game feature using physical figurines or action figures to interact within the game. These toys use a near field communication (NFC), radio frequency identification (RFID), or image recognition data protocol to determine the individual figurine's proximity, and save a player's progress data to a storage medium located within that piece. It was one of the most lucrative branches of the video game industry especially during the late 1990s and 2010s, with the Skylanders franchise alone selling more than $3 billion worth over the course of four years.

<i>Skylanders Academy</i> Animated web television series

Skylanders Academy is an animated television series produced by TeamTO and Activision Blizzard Studios based on the Skylanders series. The first season debuted on Netflix on October 28, 2016. A trailer for the series debuted on October 12, 2016. The second season was released on October 6, 2017 and the third and final season was released on September 28, 2018.

<i>Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy</i> 2017 video game

Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is a 2017 platform game compilation developed by Vicarious Visions and published by Activision. It includes remasters of the first three games in the Crash Bandicoot series: Crash Bandicoot (1996), Cortex Strikes Back (1997), and Warped (1998); which were originally developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation. Initially released for the PlayStation 4, it was later ported to Nintendo Switch, Windows, and Xbox One in 2018.

<i>Crash Bandicoot 4: Its About Time</i> 2020 video game

Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time is a 2020 platform game developed by Toys for Bob and published by Activision. It was originally released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with releases for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows following in 2021. The eighth main installment in the Crash Bandicoot series, the game's story follows Crash Bandicoot and his sister Coco as they recover the all-powerful Quantum Masks in a bid to prevent Doctor Neo Cortex and Doctor Nefarious Tropy from taking over the multiverse. They are indirectly aided by their former enemy Dingodile and an adventuring alternate-dimension counterpart of Crash's old girlfriend Tawna.

<i>Crash Team Rumble</i> 2023 video game

Crash Team Rumble is a 2023 online multiplayer video game developed by Toys for Bob and published by Activision. The game is the third of the party genre released in the Crash Bandicoot series, and features several members of its cast as playable characters. The gameplay pits two teams of players against each other as they stockpile Wumpa Fruit while impeding the opposing team's efforts.

References

  1. 1 2 Pearce, Alanah (June 1, 2016). "New Skylanders Let You Create Your Own Characters". IGN . Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 O'Brien, Lucy (June 1, 2016). "Skylanders Imaginators Announced". IGN . Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  3. ↑ Peckam, Matt (June 1, 2016). "The Next 'Skylanders' Is Way More Imaginative Than Anybody Realizes". Time . Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  4. 1 2 Stuart, Keith (June 1, 2016). "Skylanders Imaginators: Activision pins its hopes on player creativity". The Guardian . Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  5. 1 2 Takahashi, Dean (August 17, 2016). "Hands-on with Skylanders Imaginators' zany user-generated characters". VentureBeat . Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  6. 1 2 Paget, Mat (August 10, 2010). "Another Crash Bandicoot Character Is Playable in Skylanders Imaginators". GameSpot . Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  7. ↑ McFerran, Damien (February 12, 2016). "Activision's 2015 Figures Show Slight Growth, But Skylanders And Guitar Hero Underperform". Nintendo Life. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  8. ↑ Sinclair, Brendan (June 1, 2016). "Activision still committed to toys-to-life". Gameindustry.biz. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  9. 1 2 Peckham, Matt (June 1, 2016). "Exclusive: Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg On 'Skylanders Imaginators'". Time . Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 Peckham, Matt (June 1, 2016). "11 Things to Know About 'Skylanders: Imaginators'". Time . Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  11. ↑ Scammell, David (June 1, 2016). "Skylanders Imaginators lets you create your very own Skylanders". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  12. ↑ McWhertor, Michael (February 11, 2016). "New Call of Duty and Skylanders games coming this year". Polygon . Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  13. ↑ A. Rodriguez, David (June 13, 2016). "Skylanders Imaginators: Crashing Into Skylands". PlayStation Blog . Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  14. ↑ Goldfarb, Andrew (June 13, 2016). "E3 2016: Crash Bandicoot Comes To Skylanders: Imaginators". IGN . Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Award-Winning Skylanders Imaginators Lands on Highly-Anticipated Nintendo Switch" (Press release). Activision Publishing, Inc. January 13, 2017. Retrieved 2017-01-14.
  16. ↑ McFerran, Damien (February 1, 2017). "Nintendo Switch Version Of Skylanders Imaginators Doesn't Support Traps Or Vehicles". Nintendo Life. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  17. 1 2 "Skylanders Imaginators for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic . October 16, 2016. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  18. 1 2 "Skylanders Imaginators for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic . October 16, 2016. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  19. 1 2 "Skylanders Imaginators for Wii U Reviews". Metacritic . October 16, 2016. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  20. 1 2 "Skylanders Imaginators for Switch Reviews". Metacritic . March 3, 2017. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  21. ↑ Carter, Chris (October 20, 2016). "Review: Skylanders Imaginators". Destructoid . Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  22. ↑ Reiner, Andrew (October 17, 2016). "Skylanders Imaginators Review". Game Informer . GameStop Corp. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  23. ↑ Ramsay, Randolph (October 12, 2016). "Skylanders Imaginators Review". GameSpot . Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  24. ↑ Blain, Louise (October 18, 2016). "Skylanders Imaginators review: "A genuine pleasure to explore"". GamesRadar+ . Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  25. ↑ Hannley, Steve (October 12, 2016). "Review: Skylanders Imaginators". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  26. ↑ Hannley, Steve (March 7, 2017). "Review: Skylanders Imaginators (Nintendo Switch)". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  27. ↑ Pearce, Alanah (October 14, 2016). "Skylanders Imaginators Review". IGN . Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  28. ↑ Robertson, Andy (January 3, 2017). "Skylanders Imaginators Review (Wii U)". Nintendo Life . Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  29. ↑ Robertson, Andy (March 9, 2017). "Skylanders Imaginators Review (Switch)". Nintendo Life . Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  30. ↑ Ronaghan, Neal (October 12, 2016). "Skylanders Imaginators (Wii U) Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  31. ↑ Ronaghan, Neal (March 4, 2017). "Skylanders Imaginators (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  32. ↑ Talbot, Ken (October 20, 2016). "Skylanders: Imaginators Review (PS4)". Push Square . Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  33. ↑ Watts, Steve (October 24, 2016). "Skylanders Imaginators Review: Figments of Imagination". Shacknews . Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  34. ↑ Phillips, Tom (February 10, 2017). "Skylanders franchise kept alive, but no new game this year". Eurogamer . Retrieved May 11, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.