He recalls: “From the minute our screening of ‘UP’ — in storyboard fashion nearly two years before the film’s release — ended, the film team was talking to us about gameplay ideas, games they had played previously that could be inspirational, and ways we could explore the ‘UP’ universe using angles that perhaps wouldn’t make it into the film.”

Cooperation is Key. Russell helps Carl ascend a cliff.

Wiklem adds: “The film team are avid gamers, and they’ve been vocal about what we’ve created for the UP videogame. On average we were talking to members of the film team bi-weekly. Oftentimes they were blown away that we could prototype full game sequences before they had even blocked them out in the film version.”

The Essence of the Tale

The movie’s storyline features the unlikely pairing of elderly widower Carl Fredericksen and eight-year-old Wilderness Explorer Russell. With the threat of being moved into an assisted living facility over his head, Carl decides to fulfill his late wife’s dream of seeing South America by tying thousands of balloons to his home and taking to the skies. Russell, who had visited Carl to earn his “Assisting the Elderly” merit badge, becomes an accidental companion on the voyage.

“We tried to capture the essence of UP’s most exciting film moments and offer an experience that happens between those big moments in the film.”

- Brian Wiklem, senior producer

After Carl and Russell arrive at the majestic table-top tepuis of South America, however, their journey takes a sharp turn when they encounter famous adventurer Charles F. Muntz, his airship, and his pack of talking dogs, including one named Dug. A prehistoric flightless bird called Kevin adds to the intrigue as Carl and Russell try to keep him from being captured. Soon the pair find themselves embroiled in an adventure worthy of Indiana Jones.

A Prickly Predicament. Russell’s mirror could come in handy here.

Wiklem explains: “We tried to capture the essence of UP’s most exciting film moments and offer an experience that happens between those big moments in the film. The Pixar team was very detailed about what they saw and witnessed in South America on those tepuis, and we tried to be as faithful as possible to the reality of not just that area of South America, but also what was visually expressed in the film.”

He adds: “For example, we have a couple boss levels that you won’t see in the film, but all of the animals and vegetation in the game were thoroughly researched and taken directly from the geographic region.”

A Dug Dig. Dug the talking dog lends key support.

Rounding Out the Characters

As gruff Carl slowly warms to energetic Russell, the two work together to navigate the harsh environment, fend off enemies, and keep each other safe from danger. That dynamic encompasses the movie and the game, as Wiklem explains: “The entire game is based on cooperation, rather than individual challenges that require only one character. Even in single-player mode, the player will have to switch characters so they can work together and achieve their goals.”

“The entire game is based on cooperation. Even in single-player mode, the player will have to switch characters so they can work together and achieve their goals.”

- Brian Wiklem, senior producer

The Heavy Iron team also made sure the pair’s relationship came through whenever possible: “The characters need each other,” says Wiklem, “not just in the physical challenges, but emotionally as well. They have a ton of bantering back and forth in the game, some of it just in the nature of their personalities, with other bits in the same tone but disguised as hints and tips for players.”

Top of a Tepui. Russell and Carl negotiate vertiginous territory.

Tools of the Trade

Carl and Russell’s backgrounds also enabled Wiklem’s team to introduce tasks and challenges geared specifically toward the characters: Carl smashes spiders and collects his late wife’s mementos, which fell out of the house as it descended from the sky, while Russell catches rare bugs and completes the tasks that earn him more Wilderness Explorer badges. As both characters accomplish their goals, you’ll unlock cheat codes, bonus content, and video clips.

Our heroes’ possessions also play vital roles: Carl’s cane serves as a weapon and a tool, and he can use his hearing aid to stun enemies, while Russell’s mirror blinds opponents. In addition, they rely on other objects found along the way, including a magnifying glass and a pick axe, with Dug and Kevin providing specialized support at opportune moments. “Dug and Kevin appear just when players think they cannot go further, or a challenge seems impossible,” Wiklem says.

Biplane Battle. Take to the skies and engage in aerial duels against friends.

Capturing the Top of a Tepui

The tepuis fill the game’s primary underlying function, as they do in the movie, Wiklem explains: “After we saw the first cut of ‘UP,’ one of the aspects continually hammered on by the film team was how high up a tepui is. The film team thought we captured that sense of height and vertigo perfectly.”

He concludes: “Our goal was to make the player feel they were not only part of the Pixar ‘UP’ movie world, but that they could really be in a South American jungle. The joy of Pixar’s films is that they create these worlds so full of color and life that the audience is taken in and wants to be part of that world, even for just a short period of time. It’s a formula that has consistently worked, and we’re proud to have been part of the ‘UP’ process.”

If you liked this game, check out:

• Disney/Pixar Cars: Mater-National
• The Incredibles
• The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer
• Ratatouille: The Video Game
• WALL•E: The Video Game