Skylanders Imaginators will introduce custom 3D printed Skylanders when it releases this month.
When Skylanders Imaginators releases on October 16th it will introduce one of the most important changes to the series yet by allowing players to create their very own Skylander to use inside the game. Imaginators features a robust creation tool packed with hundreds of options to ensure you can design that special character you’ve always wished was in the series. But Activision and developer Toys for Bob aren’t stopping there and are giving you several ways to bring your creations into the real world with a new app and the magic of 3D printing.
Toys for Bob wanted to be responsible for bringing the toys-to-life genre forward. And since the release of Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure the developer has wanted to interact with fans and have them share their creations. Yet there has never been a way for players to take their own characters and creations and truly bring them out into the world. Enter the Skylanders Creator, a solution to that problem.
Skylanders Creator is a new free mobile app available on iOS and Android devices that will offer Portal Masters new and old the opportunity to interact with Skylanders Imaginators and their own Imaginator characters in some exciting ways. The Creator app takes the creator tool found inside of Imaginators and brings it onto tablets and phones. Echoing the user interface from the base game, the app lets you create an Imaginator from scratch with the ease of a touch screen. The whole suite of customization options will be available from battle classes, elemental alignment, costume choices, and armor sets.
The Creator app is a great way to get up close and personal with your Imaginator because what you see on the screen is a 1-for-1 representation of what can been seen in the base game. On the app you can put your creation in landscape or portrait view, zoom in for better detail, or rotate the character around to see all its moving pieces. Also included is the My Imaginators’ Creation Gallery, a menu where you can access any previous Imaginators you have made. To keep players coming back to the app when they aren’t making creations are a few timed features. Sensei Chests are available once a day that will reward you with special parts unique to that Skylander Sensei and further build on your collection of parts. Timed imaginite chests are also available throughout certain points of the day, encouraging you to check into the app to acquire new parts for your Imaginator.
Being able to share your Imaginator with the world will be the true joy of using the Skylanders Creator app. Toys for Bob wants everyone to be able to create a character and even wants those who are not in the console or PC space to have the ability to make magic and get involved in the toys-to-life experience. And the app makes this fun and easy to do. After creating an Imaginator, you can upload it to any social media site you’re on, text it to friends, or e-mail it to everyone on that massive work e-mail chain.
Transferring a character from Skylanders Imaginators is also possible and done through a truly unique method. At the Toys for Bob studio I had a chance to try this process out for myself. Once your Imaginator is completed on console, an option is available to transfer it to the Creator app with the simple use of an audio tone. Players will select the transfer option in the game with the Creator app open and then a tone will play. The process takes about ten seconds or less while the phone or tablet listens for the tone. The electronic chirps and buzzes almost sound like aliens beaming some signal into the TV! It’s a little surprising at first but extremely fascinating. The app is tolerant of ambient noise and the tone should stand out to allow the transfer to happen painlessly.
3D printing has become a hot commodity across all types of technology. Now Portal Masters will be able to use the creation tools in Skylanders Imaginators and the Creator app to bring their imagination and digital creation to life! Your Imaginator can now be brought to life as a 3D-printed figure. While we weren’t shown the process of how you will submit your Imaginator for 3D printing, we were shown an early prototype for the physical figure.
Imaginator Cards will also be available to order that work similar to the 3D-printed figures. These cards also feature a full color image of your created Imaginator with its name and other stats appearing on it. Like the 3D-printed figures, these cards can be placed on the Portal of Power to be played in the game. Of course, if you have a change of heart you can alter the attributes of the Imaginator even though the image will remain the same. The quality of the cards is impressive. At 2½ by 3½ they are somewhat bigger than a driver’s license or a typical wallet size but still thick, compact, and high quality. T-shirts of your Imaginator can also be made if you want to adorn your body with your love for Skylanders. The shirts feature an image of your creation, its battle class, element, and name.
“Since we first pioneered toys-to-life, fans have been clamoring for ways to express their love for Skylanders. Now with the Skylanders Creator app and the launch of Skylanders Imaginators, the sky is the limit,” says Paul Reiche, the co-founder and studio head at Toys for Bob. “This year, Skylanders is putting the power of creation in the hands of fans in ways never before imagined, and we can’t wait to see the millions of Imaginators that will be dreamed up by our Portal Masters around the world.”
Reiche told us at the preview event that Skylanders Imaginators is the best Skylanders game that’s ever been done. Sure, it may be easy to brush off the comment as promotional fluff. But after having hands-on time with the game and seeing how it and the app can truly bring your creations and imaginations to life, the claim rings true. Fans will be able to take a character they’ve created in the game and bring it into the real world. It’s been a hope and dream of players for years and one of the biggest pieces missing from the toys-to-life puzzle.
Creators around the world can record the audio for their custom Imaginator and share it around the world with those who play the sound on YouTube or through an MP3. Parents can surprise their kids with a physical form of something they only thought could exist in the TV. Creations can be made into figures and cards and carried around with you to a friend’s house and played on their console. You can make the most absurd, laughable Imaginator in the world, give it a goofy nickname, and wear it proud on your body. Boundless imagination is present in every part of Skylanders Imaginators. Better yet, it’s all wrapped up in the core of a fun, wacky series that shows no signs of slowing down.