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.