Now imagine a robot. A pair of inquisitive, binocular-like eyes. A square body perched between a pair of treads. Two arms designed for scooping up junk and compressing it into neat cubes. And a fierce desire to find a purpose beyond the mundane tasks that have occupied his time for more than seven centuries. Add WALL•E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) to that aforementioned list.

Robot Race. One of several mini-games that you’ll unlock along the way.

“When we first saw the story reels for the movie a few years ago, we were very excited about the characters and the story, and we knew that Pixar had once again created something unique and compelling,” relates production director Keith Pope. “WALL•E was such an inspiring character that we had to take a step back for a moment and ask ourselves how this character and his abilities could be adapted to a videogame.”

“We knew that the relationship between WALL•E and EVE was very important, so we created game mechanics and levels where they work together as a team.”

- Keith Pope, production director

Deriving Gameplay From Motivations

To that end, Pope and his team first looked to the movie’s back story for clues. Several decades from now, humans have caused so much damage to the planet that they flee aboard massive spaceships and wait in orbit while the Buy ‘n’ Large Corporation’s WALL•E robots clean up the mess. Hundreds of years pass, during which time the machines break down and fail in their task, except one, our unlikely hero. That era became the game’s tutorial, explains Pope, introducing you to the ability to create cubes and use them to complete tasks, fire lasers, and more.

I Spy With My Little Laser... WALL•E’s ability to shoot objects comes in handy, especially on the spaceship.

“We came up with the design for the trash cubes and explored what could be done with them,” the production director recalls. “We ended up expanding that idea with the concept that WALL•E could make different types of cubes based on what’s in the trash he crushes. So WALL•E has the ability to create regular, magnetic, or explosive cubes and solve some fantastic puzzles. WALL•E himself is actually a physics object, and we really take advantage of that in the game.”

He notes that the game’s story “follows the broad brushstrokes of the movie and expands on areas only hinted at in the film. It also features some unique areas that our designers drew inspiration from. Our approach was to look at the characters’ main motivations in the movie and see how we could derive game mechanics from them, as well as understand how level designs would work, based on the worlds described in the movie and some of its big moments.”

Can You Feel the Attraction? WALL•E creates four magnetic cubes.

One of those moments takes place outside the spaceship that delivers the robot EVE (Extra-terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) to the Earth’s surface in search of signs that the planet is habitable again. In love with EVE and desperate to escape a dreary existence where a cockroach and a videotape of the movie “Hello Dolly!” have been his only companions, WALL•E makes the bold decision to hitch a ride on the craft when EVE is recalled by her human owners.

“Pixar has a unique ability to consistently create these amazing characters and worlds that pull you in and do not let you go. They are clearly the best at what they do, and it’s a privilege to work alongside them.”

- Keith Pope, production director

Pope explains: “The scene outside the spaceship is a brief one in the movie, but its exterior is such a fantastic location for gameplay that we expanded greatly on what goes on, both outside the ship and inside the ventilation shafts, engine rooms, and general superstructure.”

The Relationship at the Core

Some of the game’s 20-plus missions put you in control of EVE, whose character was just as vital to Pope’s team. “I believe there has yet to be a game developed in the industry that will truly make you cry, and romance is a theme that few have tried in games,” he observes. “We knew that the relationship between WALL•E and EVE was very important, so we created game mechanics and levels where they work together as a team.”

Do You See What I See? Look through WALL•E’s eyes to scan for things you can’t see otherwise, such as artifacts.

Pope adds: “If you let them just idle for a few seconds, you’ll see EVE in the first level not pay much attention to WALL•E, kind of playing hard-to-get, but in a later level where they are working together to rescue humanity, EVE pays much more attention to him. We have other levels where the mission is to save one character or the other, depending on the level, deepening the emotional tie between them.”

With a Little Help From Their Friends

The Heavy Iron Studios team consulted with Pixar, including director Andrew Stanton and producer Jim Morris, every step of the way. “They had tremendous influence on the visual development of the game worlds and character animation and also how we approached introducing the enemies, player moves, and cinematics,” says Pope. “To ensure he looked and moved correctly, our animation team worked with Pixar through several revisions of WALL•E, his rig, and his animations to get him as close to the film version as possible and yet still retain the functionality we needed for the game.”

Riddle Me This. Puzzles are a major part of the game.

He adds: “Visually, we focused on recreating parts of the film sets in what we call dioramas. We used these to let the art department push their use of shaders, lighting, and special effects to try to get our game levels looking as close to the film as possible.”

In the end, you’ll feel like you’re guiding WALL•E and EVE through Pixar’s actual sets, embarking on an adventure that shows them the sorry state of humanity hundreds of years from now, and how people can learn the error of their ways and begin life on Earth anew. “Pixar has a unique ability to consistently create these amazing characters and worlds that pull you in and do not let you go,” says Pope. “They are clearly the best at what they do, and it’s a privilege to work alongside them.”

If you liked this game, check out:

• Bugdom 2
• Disney/Pixar Cars: Mater-National
• Disney/Pixar Cars: The Video Game
• Finding Nemo
• Freedom Force
• The Incredibles
• The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer
• Otto Matic
• Ratatouille: The Video Game
• Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc
• Shrek 2
• Spider-Man 2