"The speaker is in the portal which is sort of a hardware innovation for this year's game alongside a fun new mini game that is focused around the sound and music." —Dan Neil, Audio Director
The core concept for Skylanders Trap Team was allowing the player to actually feel like they are sucking the characters out of the game and having the ability to put them back in it. The audio department did this with the sound by synchronizing the game with another audio device to allow the player to feel the character go back and forth. The new portal for Skylanders Trap Team actually has realistic sounds for each character that make it feel like they are trapped inside of it and then magically jump back onto the screen once you release them. Every character has their own unique catch phrases and music themes to make each one feel different while allowing for some fun commentary throughout the game. The team has definitely went the extra mile in Skylanders Trap Team when it comes to audio--the characters definitely feel more personable and realistic this time around. Players can also look forward to an exciting new addition to Skylanders Trap Team utilizing the game's audio that comes in the form of a mini-game. The fun mini-game allows gamers to rock out in a band with the characters by pressing the correct button sequences on the screen delivering a wide variety of sounds in various melodies like classic, rock and so forth. Basically, these little mini-games are similar to that of Rocksmith or Guitar Hero but much cuter! The way the portal interacts with the toys is a crucial part of the Skylanders series and contributes to its continued success among families and children. Toys for Bob has made the new portal fun and easy to use which allows even young gamers to enjoy it. The design and look of the Skylanders portal may have changed over the years, but the new release proves that it has managed to keep its magical essence. Skylanders Trap Team returns with a mystical new experience that features a redesigned portal--that now has an acoustic chamber that sounds amazing--delivering fun audio cues and transitions throughout the entire game!
"We're convincing kids that there is a lot of magic in the world, and we have got this magical mechanism of getting the toy to come to life in the game." —Robert Leyland, Principle Engineer
Bringing the characters to life in Skylanders Trap Team may seem a lot simpler than it actually is. BioGamer Girl actually got to see the characters brought to life at the Toys for Bob Studio in Novato, California which all started with coming up with ideas for various characters and then creating sketches of possible Skylanders and villains from that information. The process entailed designing a character, such as Food Fight, and bringing what started out as a few doodles to full fruitation. Once the drawing of the character is complete then the next step is to model it in the game and pose it in various poses to print it out via the 3D printer. The prototype segment allows the designer to test out the various expressions, colors and poses in order to tweak them for the final stage. The digital sculpt allows the designer to create a prototype to get a better idea of the character's movements, abilities and so forth. In bringing Kaos to life I-Wei Huang stated: "In the first game we needed an evil portal master, but we didn't know what that was going to be. So I started drawing kind of evil characters but they were kind of like generic evil guys. And it didn't feel quite right. In the next step we decided it should be a little guy--so we kind of went there. However, now the problem is that he can't emote enough. He is a little powerful guy, but he isn't quite there yet. So here is where we took a big turn, we decided that you are the portal master, so what if the evil portal master was also a real human character."
"A lot of it is exploring visually what will be compelling as a toy or a new character. " I-Wei Huang, Director of Toys and Characters
Skylanders Trap Team isn't all about the sound, portal and toys but combining all of those aspects to bring the characters to life. A core component of a great Skylanders game is creating character movements and animations that will deliver a fresh and unique experience each time. The character's physical limitations are tested during the animation phase with everything being done that is unique to the character. The first thing that the animator will do is get comfortable with the character's controls and do a series of pose tests to reveal the personality of what the character might actually become. Once the animator figures out the character's core pose then they move on to its core motion which is simple things like walk, run, and jump. The way the character sits, walks, stands and so forth tells a lot about the specific toy and its personality. Toys for Bob is the original inventors of Skylanders and have been creating the loveable characters for over five years now. Skylanders Trap Team features new concepts and technology but still involves the same creative process that it did from the very beginning. The company makes sure to create fresh and entertaining characters each time even though that may seem difficult with over 300 total characters and 260 of those being playable! 
Skylanders Trap Team features an intriguing new storyline that is primarily about capturing bad guys and turning them good. Kaos has been the main villain for three games, and he has finally decided to get a group of notorious criminals that he grew up idolizing to help him, so he can maybe take over the Skylands. Kaos decides to bust these other villains out of Prison made completely of Traptanium--who were originally put there by the trap masters with their magical weapons--by using a mighty explosion to shatter the prison to set them free. The player must now use traps to capture the baddies and turn them good. In the end, all of the other villains look down on Kaos, and eventually he wants the same thing as the player and to just get rid of them. Yes, for a short time you actually team up with Kaos!
"We wanted to do something new with the franchise, while using existing lore, but with new situations. We have gone the take over Skylander bit every time but this time wanted to raise the stakes a bit. Instead of taking over Skylands it is coming after you the Portal Master on Earth. So if you don't stop these guys they are going to bring you into the Skylands--so you better stop them!" —Alex Ness, Chief of Staff at Toys for Bob.
In Skylanders Trap Team, Kaos actually gets his own gameplay mode, with the Kaos Doom Challenge. Gamers will utilize their Skylanders army to take on hordes of evil villians while building defensive towers to stop them from opening the Mystery Box of Doom. If the box is opened, then giant villians will be released and cause all out chaos! The Kaos Doom Challenge is insanely fun and addictive and will adds hours upon hours of replayability to Skylanders Trap Team.
All-in-all, Skylanders Trap Team is shaping up to be another great and maybe the best release in the series. I had so much fun playing the game that I had to actually be pried me off! Skylanders Trap Team manages to add a fun twist on an already established series. Prepare for the battle ahead fellow Portal Masters--see you in Skylands!
Check out Part 3 of our preview to learn more about Skylanders Trap Team on tablets.
Skylanders Trap Team is now available for pre-order for Nintendo Wii, Wii U, 3DS, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4 and tablet devices. To learn more, visit the official Skylanders Trap Team website.