Pap the Disney Gamer's Highlights Revisiting Week: Walt Disney World Quest: Magical Racing Tour

It is hard to believe that it has been a year since Days of the Week premiered on From Screen to Theme. For over 50 weeks, I've touched on everything from beloved Disney video games to games that are not as known to the mass gaming audience. In honor of our first anniversary, I have decided to look back at the very first Gamer Tuesday article I have ever written: Walt Disney World Quest: Magical Racing Quest.

The very first thing you might be wondering is why did I chose this game as the first Gamer Tuesday article. Well, originally, my first Gamer Tuesday was going to be about Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep for the PlayStation Portable. I had gotten the game for Christmas so it was still fresh in my mind, and thus wanted to highlight it. But then I took a look at the site as a whole and especially the book that inspired it: From Screen to Theme. The concept of the book is to find references to the Disney animated classics at the Walt Disney World resort. Not only is the book dedicated to Walt Disney World, everything from Brent Dodge's Fun Find Friday articles to several episodes of the WEDnesday Show were all based on the famed Florida project. I thought it would be far more relevant if I instead talked about a Walt Disney World based game, and Magical Racing Tour seemed like the perfect candidate for a Gamer Tuesday article.

Using my experience as a writer for Nintendo World Report, I wrote a detailed look at the game with a strong focus on the Disney history behind it. One thing I promised myself when I started doing Gamer Tuesday is that I would make the articles entertaining to read even if the reader is not a gamer. I know that not everybody is into gaming, but I believe that there is a rich Disney history in video gaming that should be explored and even celebrated. That's why when I wrote about Magical Racing Tour, I placed a strong focus on the attractions that were featured in the game and how accurate it was in its virtual recreation of the theme park. That way, even if the reader had never picked up a controller before, he/she would be interested in how the Disney legacy was presented in video game form.

I must, however, clarify something. Yes, there was indeed a Game Boy Color version of the game. Why didn't I mention it? Because not only did I never play that version, it plays completely differently from the console version. Not to mention that with the limited capabilities of the handheld the way it presents Disney history is not as in-depth and detailed as in the console release. One of these days I may talk about it in better detail, but for now the console version should be fine.

One thing I noticed is that there was an attempt at incorporating humor alongside the information. In my discipline as a writer for Nintendo World Report, I have learned to be straight forward as a writer, something I strongly believe in as I feel that most Internet writers tend to focus more on witty commentary than actual information. That being said, the first Gamer Tuesday was an experiment in how I would present these articles. I wanted them to be a fun read while still being highly informational and relevant to the content of the site. The humor would be featured every now and then should the game call for it, but I have kept the informational aspect intact in the past 50 weeks of Gamer Tuesday.

But throughout the year there was indeed one worry about Gamer Tuesday. Admittedly, video games are not as timeless or chock full of history as fictional characters, theme park designs, and film and television. So would people even be interested in reading about a Disney video game? That worry would be destroyed several times as I have seen the warm response it has gotten throughout 2011, with my article on Kemco's Donald Duck and its troubled licensing history being voted as the best Gamer Tuesday article for 2011 by the visitors of From Screen to Theme. It's that sort of feedback that keeps me writing and inspiring me to become more ambitious with the content that I write.

As for the game itself, my opinion on it has yet to change. I still see it as one of the most solid and creative Disney game of its time. Sure, Kinect Disneyland Adventures beats it in terms of overall presentation, but Magical Racing Tour still remains one of the better Walt Disney World based games.

It is my dream to keep on improving my craft as 2012 rolls on. I promise to bring more innovative Disney games as well as highlighting the classics everyone knows and loves. The Kingdom Hearts retrospective is under way so stay tuned for that. I want to thank everyone for their support of Gamer Tuesday and Days of the Week as a whole. It has been an honor being part of such a prestigious group of Disney fans.