The devil’s in the detailing when it comes to the World of Cars Online

Jim Hill

14 years ago

So how’s your summer shaping up so far? Are you like so many of us these days? In that you’re really feeling the call of the open road and yet unable to get away in June, July and August because there are things to do and bills to pay.

Well, given that it’s unlikely that you’ll actually be able to get out and cruise the real Mother Road this year, may I suggest an alternative? Which is to take a drive along the virtual version by clicking on over to the World of Cars Online.

This new virtual world (which quietly shifted out of open beta to soft launch mode earlier this month) is really a wonder. As you cruise through Radiator Springs, you’ll find that you’re being addressed by the characters from “Cars.” What’s more, most of the characters sound exactly as they did when they spoke in that 2006 Pixar Animation Studios’ release.

“That’s because we were able to get almost everyone who worked on that film to come back and record new dialogue for our virtual world,” explained Rachel DiPaola, Product Director on World of Cars Online. “The only performers that we weren’t able to get back were Paul Newman and George Carlin, who sadly had passed away, and Owen Wilson, who was busy with another project while we were working on World of Cars.”

Now it might seem somewhat excessive to bring well-known performers like Tony Shaloub, Bonnie Hunt and and Cheech Marin to record new dialogue for their “Cars” characters. Especially when you consider that this new virtual world is primarily designed for 6 to 12 year-olds. But according to DiPaola, John Lasseter insisted that the folks at Disney Online get the detailing … er … details just right.

“John’s all about consistency,” she continued. “Be it the ‘Cars’ die-cast toy line or that new Cars Land area that the Imagineers are building at Disney California Adventure or our virtual world. He insists that the ‘Cars’ characters remain consistent, that the same level of quality and attention to detail flows through all of these projects.”

Of course, what’s kind of ironic about all this is – while Lasseter has done a ton of consulting on this new virtual world – John wasn’t the one who actually dreamed World of Cars Online. Rachel credits that idea to Disney CEO Bob Iger . Who – back in 2007 – saw the untapped virtual potential of this Pixar film.

“Long before Pixar had started work on ‘Cars 2,’ Iger saw the virtual potential in Radiator Springs. That this was a world that people would enjoy exploring online,” DiPaola said. “Bob was the one who gave us the go-ahead to begin development 2 ½ years ago.”

The first iteration of this virtual world – World of Cars: Test Track – debuted online in October of 2008. Which Rachel says taught her team a lot about when it came to what the online community was really looking for in a “Cars” –themed MMOG.

“We had two race tracks in that version of World of Cars Online. And – to be honest – what our users told us was that these tracks were tougher than they really needed to be. So we made some adjustments as we moved to our open beta,” she continued.

But given that users enjoyed being able to build their own Race Car, the folks at Disney Online really piled on the customization features in World of Cars Online Version 2.0. Allowing game users to pick the body style, color and name of their Race Car. Making it 100% their own.

“That’s something that Lane Merrifield, Executive Vice President of Disney Online Studios, really brought into focus for us. That we had to really listen to our World of Cars Online users and – when possible – quickly incorporate their suggestions into the game,” DiPaola said.

Which – given that different kids will be looking for different play experiences – World of Cars Online had to be built to accommodate multiple play patterns.

“There are kids who are more social. Which is why we built all of these areas into World of Cars Online that they can then go off and explore with their friends. For the kids who are more competitive, they can race their cars out on a variety of tracks and then win badges & trophies,” Rachel continued. “And for the kid who just want to build Race Cars, we offer all those customization features.”

Mind you, where this really gets interesting is with the transmedia aspect of World of Cars Online. Where game players can use the Race Codes that they find on the back of tickets that are located inside of specially-marked “Cars” –branded die-cast toys from Mattel. Which can then allow these users to unlock special items that can be used to customize their Race Cars.

And from what WDI insiders tell me, Cars Land at Disney California Adventure Park will also have a transmedia component. Which will allow World of Cars Online users to have a truly unique experience whenever they visit this real world version of Radiator Springs.

But that’s a while off. 2012 to be exact. For now, DiPaola and her team are concentrating on getting World of Cars Online through its soft launch.

“As we bring more servers online, we’ll be rolling out new mini-games and opening up new areas to explore.”

Speaking of which: When I asked Rachel about her own personal favorite aspect of the World of Cars Online, she immediately brought up the mudpits in the Willie’s Butte section of the game.

“Our team did a really great job with this section. As your Race Car swerves through the mud and the geyser, it moves just like a real car does. Echoing the physics of the real world,” said DiPaola.

When asked if John Lasseter has a favorite part of the World of Cars Online, Rachel laughed and then talked about Fizzy Fuel. Which is a special type of organic gasoline that can be purchased at Fillmore’s Store in Radiator Springs. Which – when a Race Car consumes this stuff – then causes this vehicle to belch and … Well, fart.

“We were initially pretty nervous when we showed Fizzy Fuel to John. But he loved it. He said that Fizzy Fuel fit the fiction that we were trying to tell with World of Cars Online,” she continued. “More to the point, that it would give kids a fun goal to work toward as they explore this new virtual world.”

So if the high price of real gasoline is preventing you from hitting the road this summer, maybe you should consider heading on over to the World of Cars Online. Where you can first load up on Gastro Blastro and then head off to explore exciting new virtual places like Fillmore’s Fields.

And speaking of new … With last week’s news that John Lasseter is now officially on board as “Cars 2” co-director, the Web was suddenly awash with stories about how this 2011 Pixar release was supposedly in serious trouble. But as one Emeryville insider recently told me:

“Every Pixar production – at some point – has run into story problems. In the case of ‘Cars 2,’ we just wanted to make sure that this movie lived up to the promise of its premise. There were initially some aspects of this ‘Cars’ sequel that were seriously out of balance. That Brad (Lewis, the producer of ‘Ratatouille’) couldn’t really get a handle on. But John has fixed all of that now. So people don’t have to worry about us making ‘Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo 2.’ ‘Cars 2’ is now going to be a worthy follow-up to the first ‘Cars’ film.

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And as for the impact that “Cars 2” might have on the World of Cars Online, DiPaola was non-committal. Stressing that she and her team at Disney Online were more concerned right now about getting this new virtual world safely through this soft launch.

“That said, we will be adding new stuff to World of Cars Online all the time. New mini-games, new areas to explore. And when the holidays roll around, you should expect to see some Christmas magic come to Carburetor County,” Rachel concluded.

But that’s all in the future … For now, why not add some fun to your summer by going on a virtual vacation? Customize a Race Car and then go for a Low and Slow cruise around Radiator Springs by visiting the World of Cars Online. Where the devil is definitely in the details.

Your thoughts?