Game producer talks new Lego video game

A scene from the video game Lego Dimensions.

A quick word with Mark Warburton, an associate producer with TT Games, the creators of Lego Dimensions.

Is Lego Dimensions an easy game to play for people who love Lego but don't play video games?

Mark Warburton: Absolutely. The physical building experience that Lego has perfected has been integrated into the whole gameplay experience. Not only do you get to build your own gateway into the Lego Dimensions world, but you also have the opportunity to build and rebuild a massive selection of vehicles and gadgets from across all of pop culture that can be used in any part of the game.

How does the game work?

Players begin the experience by building the minifigure heroes and firing up the game. They then follow the in-game instructions to assemble the loose bricks. The Lego Gateway and toy pad transports the characters into the game. Players can continue to expand their adventure by collecting more characters, vehicles, weapons and new levels with the purchase of additional expansion packs.

Naturally, some people will choose not to follow the instructions and make something different. You're totally free to do this, although the game will display items as outlined in the build instructions.

Were there many issues getting all those characters into the game?

We are incredibly fortunate to have worked with some amazing partners over the years, and so it only made sense to go back and ask them to be involved again. And because we have been making Lego games for 10 years, we have an enormous legacy of titles that shows how much reverence we give to each brand. This made the conversations to get potential partners involved much easier. We are lucky to have all the partners we wanted on-board.

How long has Lego Dimensions been in development?

The idea started being kicked around about eight years ago, but we have been in active development for two years. We were simply waiting for the technology to catch up with the vision for the game. Having seven individual toys-to-life characters in a huge mashed-up world was a tough ask. Couple that with the idea of using the Toy Pad and you can see why it took some time to bring our idea of a toys-to-life game to life.

How interchangeable are the characters in each level? Is it truly open?

Yes, the game is truly open. When you have a box of Lego at home, all of the different types mix together, so we thought, "Why not have that in the game?" Any character and vehicle can be used anywhere, at any time.