On behalf of all of the interested Disney Infinity Fans we asked itstimechicken some questions.
What is your real name?
Mark Deguzman (USA)
What is the origin story of your Toy Box submission username?
I honestly, don’t really know. itstimechicken is just something that popped into my head. I normally make random usernames for different accounts. But I have gotten so much praise from this username that now it is mainly what I use.
What made you decide to buy Disney Infinity?
I love LittleBigPlanet & Minecraft, when I first heard on an IGN article that there was a new game by Disney that would be a blend of the two, I could not wait! However when I saw the trailers, my first reaction was, meh. It didn’t look very good. It wasn't until I saw a YouTube video of GameSpot showing off the toy boxes capabilities that I got excited again.
What is your favorite play set and why?
I enjoy them all, but Toy Story in Space is my favorite. Easily because of the awesome Items you unlock. The story and characters are also pretty good.
Who is your favorite Disney Infinity character and why?
There are a lot of characters I like in Disney Infinity. My favorite though is Buzz Lightyear because of his awesome jet pack and gun, yes they can be played on any character but it just looks so cool on Buzz. A runner up would be Vanellope because her glitch abilities are just amazing.
Which character would you like to see included that hasn't already been and why?
Easy, Stitch. He's just a character that would work well in the game.
What is your favorite power disc and why?
Sky = Wreck-It Ralph Sky
Terrain = All of them.
Car = Mickey’s Car
Weapon = Stitch’s Blaster & Midway Mania Blaster
Circular Disc = Dr. Doofinshmirtz’s Damage-Inator
When you hear of a new challenge, what steps do you take to make your idea for a Toy Box a reality?
For me it’s the usual “Brainstorm, Plan, Build, Test, Name/Describe, Send It”
I guess there are some things I do differently, Is in the testing phase. I friend request all the talented toy box artists on the forum, and make them test it. That way I can get good pointers and suggestions from experts. Other than that though there really isn't much else I do differently than what other people do.
How long did each of your featured Toy Boxes take to build?
Extreme Racing – 1Hour, 26 Minutes
Most Wanted – 10 Hours
Mulan's Race – 7 Hours
What do you consider to be your specialty when building Toy Boxes?
Well, I personally think my specialty is being able to blend gameplay elements together. For example in Mulan's Race, you start by finding a waterfall, once done the game turns into a combat/platforming game, and once you rescue the citizen at the very end you get a racetrack. But I guess since 2 out of 3 of my featured toy boxes are racetracks, that must be what I am known for.
What is your favorite Toy Box that you have built?
All 3 of my featured toy boxes have been milestones for me. Extreme Racing is my very first featured toy box, it also happened to be the shortest toy box build there is out there. Most Wanted in my opinion was my first true win. I also thought it was pretty polished and well designed. But my favorite (of my featured toy boxes) is Mulan's Race, I couldn't believe that I created that Mulan block-art piece, it was pretty cool and one time I forgot I made it and thought PapaEcho made it for me. Also like I mentioned above I liked how I was able to blend different Toy Box gameplay elements together.
What is your favorite Toy Box that someone else has built?
I personally am a fan of Touch the Light, Pride Lands, Carnival of Love. I also think I Love Halloween is a very underrated toy box, Frozen Hunt was also amazing. But my favorite toybox is Frozen Adventure. I personally love what XShadow produces and hopes he comes back to building toy boxes soon.
@tangled&tron I LOVE your toy boxes, but it’s not one of my favorites, sorry.
What are some of your classic Toy Boxes that have not been a featured top 5 Toy Box?
Way too many! Some highlights include:
Extreme Racing 2.0 – This is one of the few toy boxes I made for fun and I have to say, it looks amazing. It doesn't look like a rushed toy box with no detail. Add a zero to the time it took me to make Extreme Racing to get how many hours I spent on this creation.
Infinity Racers – Infinity Racers is one of my favorite creations I made. That is mainly because of a menu system I incorporated into the toy box, it includes a loading screen, a starting screen & thee actually menu. As a plus I was able to make 5 racetracks.
Offical Princess - This toy box originally started out as a tribute to Frozen Adventure, Got entered into the Aladdin challenge and got in the video then got turned into what it is now.
What is your dream Toy Box challenge?
Anything that would allow me to recycle a toy box.
Please provide some additional details about your Muppets Most Wanted toy box.
I don’t really know much about the Muppets. The only thing that kept popping in my head was the Muppets Attraction in Disneyland & Disney’s Hollywood Studios. I then randomly thought of Constantine, the villain of Muppets: Most Wanted. Then the perfect idea came to me! To do a movie tie-in, I knew it was something that wouldn't be overlooked, because they practically did the Muppets challenge for Muppets Most Wanted. I got to work right away.
The original idea consisted of escaping jail, driving through town, getting to the Muppet Theater and then capturing Constantine. It sounded good, but the meter filled up right away, so I replaced the driving sequence with an abstract town/city and turned it into a basic combat level. Originally the Muppet Stage was supposed to be indoors, and you would have to fight off enemies to open the doors. But the meter was filling up so quickly I just stuck with an outdoor theater.
I thought the level was a bit on the short side and would have loved to add a lot more, but the meter continually kept arguing with me over that. I loved how it turned out, but I think #5 was a fair position for the toy box.
Do you place any hidden tributes in your winning Toy Boxes?
None of my featured toy boxes have hidden tributes; however, I began hiding Mickey Topiary’s in my new toy boxes. Look out for the Hidden Mickeys if any are featured.
Now that I think about it, each of my featured toy boxes were inspired by other toy box artists. The only reason why I made racetracks is because of PGZoneHD’s Channel. I clearly got the idea to do a battle map from Tangled&Tron. Mulan's Race has the sort of creativity that I learned from XShadow's toy boxes.
Share a story of adversity from when you were building one of your Toy Boxes that you had to overcome.
The biggest challenge I face when I make toy boxes come down to three words. Don’t Give Up! It took me so long to get featured that I think I almost gave up like 3 times, one of them you can find in the forums somewhere . It is so hard to get rejected and just be fine with it. (Unless you're PapaEcho)
The only thing that keeps me moving (honestly for everything, not just DI) is the thought of missing out on so many amazing opportunities. I’m honestly glad I never gave up, as not only did I manage to win, but I managed to make amazing toy boxes in the process.
Share a funny story from when you were building one of your Toy Boxes.
Extreme Racing only took an hour to do, that’s right an hour. That alone is pretty funny but it beat out another toy box I made for the Winter Sports challenge titled “Winter Hurdles” which took me 20 hours.
Also while I’m on that note, I just need to mention something else. During the Arcade week I had made one of the best toy boxes I have created. It was one of the only toy boxes where I thought FOR SURE I would get a placement. Winners get announced, not on there at all. Toy Box TV is published, not on there at all. I was pretty upset and I fully admit to it leading into one of my whiny sessions where I almost gave up on making Toy boxes. Well leave it to irony to win the next challenge for me. Man, I should threaten to quit more often.
Do you have any advice for aspiring Toy Box Artists?
Similar to what I side in the adversity question! Don’t give up! I almost did three times, and the fact that I considered it was a regret to me. You will get featured just be open to feedback and suggestions! Good Luck on your creations.