Disney games are hampered by preconceptions, says Black Rock boss

Black Rock Studio's general manager, Tony Beckwith, has said the studio's greatest challenge will be overcoming stereotypes associated with the Disney brand.

The Brighton-based developer, previously known as Climax Racing, said that it would have to fight preconceptions around the Disney name if it is to make its upcoming arcade racer Pure a success.

"The big hurdle for us has been the Disney angle," Beckwith told GamesIndustry.biz.

"When we were acquired by Disney I had friends phoning me up asking 'are you going to be making Mickey Mouse kart games?' You can just see looking at user comments online now, on videos for Pure, saying 'oh my God that's amazing.' But people are surprised that it's coming out under the Disney label."

"The key message that we want to drive home is Disney did High School Musical and the Hannah Montana stuff, but this is pushing the Disney brand further," he added.

However, Beckwith was keen to add the unusual benefits of working with Disney.

"My guys have been out on trips and training with Disney's Imagineers - Imagineers are the guys who create all the theme park rides," he explained.

"So as well as having sister videogames studios we have sister divisions that are very, very creative divisions in spaces that are outside of videogames, but there's lots that we can learn from them."

"Why is Imagineering such an amazing thing for this studio? Well, what are theme park rides? They're one minute experiences. What's a racing game? They're all sort of one minute exhilarating experiences," he said.

The full GamesIndustry.biz interview with Tony Beckwith is available now.