If you’ve ever watched an Avengers movie or read one of their comic books in your lifetime, get ready for an adventure-filled treat featuring hundreds of characters from the famous franchise. Marvel and TinyCo have reimagined the iconic cast of Avengers characters as college-aged students enrolled in superhero school for the mobile game Marvel Avengers Academy.
Available on iOS and Android devices, the free-to-download game allows players to build their dream school and guide the paths of characters such as Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk and Thor as complex young adults grappling with emerging superpowers, social lives, all while training to one day save the world. It marks the first time the Avengers are re-envisioned as student versions of themselves.
“The launch of this game is a big deal for us,” Jeremy Horn, general manager at TinyCo, the developer and publisher of the game, told [a]listdaily. “We really wanted to make a fun, light-hearted game that was for all audience quadrants. We saw that there was a space in the mobile market for Marvel fans that was not filled. People wanted to see characters in a new setup while adding an emphasis on their relationships. We’re here to validate a story that would please all generations of Marvel fans.”
Players will be able to unlock characters through exploration, go on dates, confront rival cliques and upgrade and develop superpowers. Each crewmember is also suited with unique abilities and exclusive outfits in a campus replete with training facilities, combat arenas, dorms, laboratories, classrooms and sports stadiums.
Bill Rosemann, the creative director at Marvel Entertainment, says he was immediately intrigued as soon as TinyCo delivered an out-of-the-box idea for the game. “I think we all know, at some point in our lives, it’s not easy growing up when you feel different. Maybe you act, talk or dress differently. But the thinking differently brought us here,” he says. “The team at TinyCo rolled the dice. They had this crazy idea, and they made the game.”
One of Rosemann’s goals was to deliver a product that was going to reach people who perhaps were not playing Marvel’s games. “When I heard (TinyCo’s) idea, I said, ‘Yes! This is the kind of game we want to make – games that are different and haven’t been done before. So it’s that ‘thinking differently’ that created this game. We think we’ve created not just a game, but a place where everyone who feels different can come together and be celebrated to become the hero they know they could be.”
David Nakayama, a former Marvel cover artist and current art lead at TinyCo, drew and reimagined all the characters. It was his first time working on a video game, and he says the hardest part was figuring how to use art to portray the youth of each superhero. “We tried hundreds of different ideas for each character until we found the perfect mix that showed youth, cool and fun,” Nakayama says. “It was fun taking everything I know about these characters and putting them together into a game. My favorite character to work on was Iron Man. He’s a badass.”
Characters in Marvel Avengers Academy’s narrative-driven stories, spearheaded by Allen Warner, TinyCo’s senior narrative designer, include Loki, Black Widow, Ms. Marvel, Hawkeye, Nick Fury, Ant-Man, Ultron, Pepper Potts, Wasp, Enchantress, Tigra, Baron Zemo, Falcon and many more.
“Finally … I get to go to homecoming with a hot date,” Rosemann joked to his wife at the game’s officical launch party at the Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles last month.
In addition to models clad in character costumes, actresses Kiernan Shipka (Spider-Woman) and Alexandra Daddario (Wasp) as well as actors Colton Haynes (Thor) and Dave Franco (Iron Man) – all of whom served as voiceovers for the game – were in attendance.
A$AP Rocky (Falcon), John Cena (Hulk) and Bella Thorne (Tigra) round out the all star cast who lend their voice to help bring the characters to life.
Andrew Green, head of business development and operations at TinyCo, the seven-year old company responsible for such game titles as Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff and Tiny Monsters, also considers incorporating YouTube stars and online personalities as a very valid marketing tactic for the game to reach a wider audience. The Bay Area-based game developer tapped Internet influencers like Michelle Phan, Toby Turner and Swoozie to help market Marvel Avengers Academy.
“When someone loves the game, it resonates and makes us incredibly proud,” says Horn. “It’s an amazing franchise with near-endless possibilities. I can’t wait to read the reviews.”
Follow Manouk Akopyan on Twitter @Manouk_Akopyan.
