Infestation 88, the Mickey Mouse horror game, is Nightmare Forge games’ latest offering, a 1-4 player survival horror co-op game that blends nostalgia with terror, similar to ‘Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey.’ This innovative game transforms the now-public-domain Steamboat Willie into a spine-chilling adventure and is currently in development for PC.
Meet Infestation 88, the Mickey Mouse horror game
The developers have outlined the the Mickey Mouse horror game’s premise:
“In the year 1988, what was thought to be an outbreak of rodents in various locations morphed into something far more sinister.”
Players will find themselves in situations where they must choose to either fight, flee, or hide in lockers. The game allows for the setting of traps and the use of CCTV cameras to gain an edge over the terrifying infestation. To keep each game experience fresh and challenging, the layout of items is randomized.
Mickey Mouse entered public domain
Today marks a significant milestone for public domain advocates, despite the complex web of protections still surrounding Mickey Mouse. This long-anticipated moment brings a wealth of exciting new entries into the public domain.
The Center for the Study of the Public Domain at Duke Law School, consistent with its annual tradition, provides a comprehensive list of works whose copyright protections have expired in the US. This year’s release includes sound recordings from 1923 and various other media works first published in 1928. The array of newly available works encompasses:
- D.H. Lawrence’s scandalous, oft-censored Lady Chatterley’s Lover
- Virginia Woolf’s Orlando
- J.M. Barrie’s play Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up
- Bertolt Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera and Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front, both in the original German
- The original German composition of Threepenny Opera song “Mack the Knife”
- W.E.B. Du Bois’ Dark Princess
- A. A. Milne’s House at Pooh Corner, which introduced the character of Tigger
- The film The Man Who Laughs, a Victor Hugo adaptation widely known for inspiring the look of Batman villain the Joker
- The musical composition for Cole Porter’s “Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love)”
- M.C. Escher’s Tower of Babel woodcut
The Library of Congress National Jukebox is a treasure trove where you can download numerous public domain sound recordings. The situation with ongoing characters like Mickey Mouse, featured in Infestation 88, is particularly intricate in terms of copyright law. The public domain version of Mickey doesn’t encompass significant design alterations seen in later works, such as the Sorcerer’s Apprentice Mickey from 1940’s Fantasia. Additionally, producing a work that misrepresents itself as a Disney production or official merchandise is prohibited, given that Mickey Mouse is also a registered Disney trademark.
The public domain is intended as the ultimate destination for all copyrighted works. This arrangement balances the short-term benefits for artists and thinkers to control and profit from their creations with the long-term communal growth through building on each other’s ideas.
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Furthermore, the public domain is crucial for archivists to preserve old media, especially after the creators’ demise or when they can’t be located. It enables copying without legal hindrances, which is significant since only a minor fraction of copyrighted works retain commercial value throughout their full term of protection.
Currently, there’s a waitlist for Infestation 88, the Mickey Mouse horror game, on Steam, while the producers of Mickey Mouse Trap are aiming for a March release.
Featured image credit: Nightmare Forge
