On 5 May 2014 that dream came true when crazybynick became the first person to go from Disney Infinity Fans Toy Box Artist to Avalanche employee ...
"I truly appreciate DisneyInfinityFans, I have learned and gotten so much from the people on here, I don't think it would have been possible for me to have gotten this job without it, again Thank You."
On behalf of all of the interested Disney Infinity Fans we asked crazybynick some questions.
What is your real name?
Stewart Malcolm (USA)
What is the origin story of your Toy Box submission username?
Many years ago when we bought our Playstation, my wife and I were having a hard time coming up with a user name. Our son Nick kept bugging us to hurry up so he could play a game. I said "Nick, you're driving me crazy!!" and crazybynick was born. Nick is now 20 and works at Farsight Studios where he gets to drive others crazy now. Just kidding, son.
What made you decide to buy Disney Infinity?
My cousin told me about it last fall when we were at Disneyland. We were on the Innoventions attraction and they had a setup of the game. We played it a little and thought it was pretty fun. A couple of months later, we were at Costco and saw a starter bundle, bought it on impulse and have been playing it ever since.
What is your favorite play set and why?
My favorite play set is Pirates of the Caribbean. I love RPG's and this felt like that to me. The graphics are great and the game play was a lot of fun for me. I especially enjoy the ship battles.
Who is your favorite Disney Infinity character and why?
Jack Skellington. I am a big fan of Tim Burton movies and The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of my favorites. I can relate to Jack Skellington.
Which character would you like to see included that hasn't already been and why?
This is a hard question for me. I love so many of the Disney characters, but if I had to choose just one it would be original Mickey from the Steamboat Willy era. I love the golden age of the Disney movies and really appreciate all of the artwork that went into the making of the animated cells.
When you hear of a new challenge, what steps do you take to make your idea for a Toy Box a reality?
When a new challenge is announced, I start by thinking of what I want the player to accomplish within the Toy Box and write some of my ideas down. I start an empty Toy Box and experiment with a few of the creativi-toys and terrain. I usually sleep on it for a day or two and then an idea will come to me about what I want it to look like and what I want to do. I never map things out, I just start going with it. My wife will help me in the creative process, giving me ideas and sometimes it takes both of us to make things come together. Once I start I can't stop. I will spend an entire day or two working on it, then every night after work. Sometimes I get very little sleep but that is how I am. I have to finish anything I start. When I think I'm done I have my son Nick test it out for me before I submit.
How long did each of your featured Toy Boxes take to build?
Jack's Maze - 20 hours
Capture Zurg - 28 hours
Saving Christmas - 17 hours
Tower of Terror - 12 hours
Indiana Jones - 18 hours
Save Heartland - 20 hours
Ursula's Revenge - 20 hours
Escape the Grid - 30 Hours
Pirates - 30 Hours
Asteroid Race!! - 10 Hours
You created two Toy Boxes for the original Disney Parks Challenge (Indiana Jones and Tower of Terror). What made you choose to do these two attractions?
When the challenge was first announced, I knew that I wanted to do the Indiana Jones ride. It is one of my favorite rides at Disneyland, and I got to work on it right away. We really researched the ride and having been on it many times, tried to capture the feeling of it. Indiana Jones was originally intended to be an AI race, however when I got to the lava section, the track bridge just didn't have the feel I wanted. The rope bridges ended up having the right feel so I abandoned the AI. I also felt that if you were racing through, you would miss some of the things you were supposed to see. I was really happy with the way it turned out and how it truly had the feel of the actual ride.
When I was done with the level, we had 2 days left so my wife thought we should do Tower of Terror as well because that is one of her favorite rides. The Tower of Terror was actually a very simple build other than getting the connections to work how we wanted. That level was a joint effort with myself putting the level together and my wife doing a lot of the connections.
Describe your reaction when you found out that both of your Disney Parks Challenge submissions were rewarded the #1 spot in the countdown?
When I first saw them as downloads, I thought I won first and second and we were blown away. I then realized that there were six listed and it wasn't until the next morning when I watched the video that I realized that I had won double first place. I was completely shocked that they would choose them both and very honored as well.
You successfully recreated my favorite Disney Park ride, the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, in the 2nd edition of the Disney Parks Challenge.
I wasn't sure if this toy box would even place. I wanted to do Pirates but I knew it was a slow ride and may not have the playability that most toy boxes have, it was more just a visual one. The challenges I faced in this one, was first, how do I simulate water moving you along? And second, how do I get the floor pieces to touch the walls without having the collision problems. The first came pretty easy when I played with the conveyor belt it looked like water moving. The second came from the lantern floor glitch (Thank You, Tangled&Tron).
What do you consider to be your specialty when building Toy Boxes?
I don't really think I have a specialty. The one thing I do like to do is to have things complete. For example, when there are enemy generators active and you leave the area without destroying all the enemies, I make sure that they will clear so the Toy Box doesn't lag. I also always try to hide my Creativi-toys.
What is your favorite Toy Box that you have built?
Capture Zurg...I had the most fun building it and I like that there are so many different aspects to the level. I really like the look and feel of it and it is a fun level to play.
What is your favorite Toy Box that someone else has built?
Anna's Quest by Father911. I loved the gameplay and was blown away by the ending.
What are some of your classic Toy Boxes that have not been a featured top 5 Toy Box?
Wreck-It Rush...Wreck-It-Rush starts with Ralph in his brick pile and then he wrecks his way up the Nicelander building where he finds Fix-It Felix. He leaves his game and heads to Game Central Station where he is faced with doors to all of the other games. Behind those doors are enemies to fight. Ralph makes his way to the Sugar Rush door and enters in at the racing arena. His truck is there and the goal is to find Vannelope and her car which are located in the mountain via one of the track's shortcuts. This is an AI race through Sugar Rush. This level didn't place but it has been shown in several Disney YouTube video segments.
Frozen Adventure...Frozen Adventure begins in a small town at the base of a forested mountain. Your goal is to find and release 3 princesses and find the 10 yetis that are tormenting the town. Search the hidden ice caves and mountains to find and bring the yetis back to the town pen. Look for the button and watch Elsa's Ice Palace appear before your eyes. When you complete your task, the townspeople will come out to celebrate with you. This is one of my favorite levels that I have created so far. It is really a beautiful level with mazes, enemies, search & find and rail slides.
In our previous interview, you said that your dream toy box challenge would be a Tron challenge. That challenge became a reality and you nailed it with the #1 featured toy box in that challenge. Please provide some details about your Tron Challenge toy box, Escape from the Grid.
This toy box was the one I had been waiting for, it was my dream challenge. I knew I was going to either do a classic Tron or Tron Legacy theme, with Tron Legacy ending up being the one I choose obviously. The only difficulties I had building this one was my replayers; the Recognizer wouldn't stay up straight, and the end portal would combine with the "out of time closed portal". The way I fixed the Recognizer was to move it just a little so that it was on a flat surface. The portal situation was a little more challenging, I had to build both portals so that they would not touch each other when the one cleared and the other replayed.
You submitted a Toy Box for the Christmas and Valentine's Day Challenges. What is your favorite holiday? Any interesting behind the scenes stories on these two Toy Boxes?
Christmas is my favorite holiday.
Saving Christmas originally began as an outdoor level, but after building the tree I was running low on space so my wife suggested that I make it an indoor level. The biggest obstacle I faced on this level was positioning the "ornaments" so that they appeared to be on the tree. The moving wall section was inspired by one of my friend's toy boxes.
Save Heartland is completely different from what I started building. It just sort of evolved as I built. The biggest challenge on this one was that my replayer that was supposed to clear the "black box" over the town kept leaving one piece of terrain showing. I finally figured out that that piece was too close to existing pieces of the Heartland roof. I ended up removing the roof of the town and when the relayer cleared the box, just having an open sky. It worked out to be better than my original plan - sometimes really frustrating things work out that way in Disney infinity.
Share a story of adversity from when you were building one of your Toy Boxes that you had to overcome.
One word - Replayers.When I was setting up the replayer for the aliens in the ship on my Capture Zurg level, those little guys would squeeze through the smallest cracks and even fall through the floor. I had aliens wandering around the outside of the ship and falling to their deaths. I had to fill in every crack and had to place them away from the edges. I must have redone that replayer 7 or 8 times before they started behaving.
Share a funny story from when you were building one of your Toy Boxes.
Sometimes when I am building a Toy Box, I will have an online friend (which are usually little kids) come in and try things out. One kid asked me how old I was. I replied "old." He responded "Like 12?" I replied "No, 44." His response "(awkward silence).......oh. Shouldn't you being playing grown-up games like Call of Duty?" I said "No. You don't have to be a kid to enjoy this game." Then we continued playing. I tell all the kids how old I am. They don't attack me as much as they used to.
Please tell us about your 10th featured and final challenge submission, Asteroid Race!!, for the Air Race Challenge.
I didn't have a lot of time for this one due to the fact I was packing and getting ready for my move. I just wanted something spacey, so I came up with flying through asteroids - pretty simple with just a little combat. I'm so happy I got this last win. This was my last toy box for any of the challenges. It has been so fun competing.
Please describe the feeling of getting the call from Avalanche to be hired to work on the Disney Infinity team.
My initial reaction when I received the call from Avalanche was shock. I literally shed a tear, as the HR person was telling me all the specifics. I was holding my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming out loud. This was a dream come true.
Any advice for gamers that dream to work for a video game developing company?
The only advice I can give is to keep pushing forward and the right opportunity will open up for you. It may take time but again, don't give up! Keep creating and follow your dreams!
We end this interview with a glimpse of the toy box that started it all for crazybynick, Jack's Maze.
Dreams really do come true!
It just strikes me as a feat that only a Rockstar could accomplish... you know like having 2 number 1 hit singles, like the Beatles or something. 
