Disney Online recently released a developer diary and new assets for the upcoming game Pirates of the Caribbean Online.In addition, below you¡¯ll see the first in a series of developer diaries from the folks at Virtual Reality Studio.

After more than two years fully immersed in all things pirates, and not really seeing a whole lot of the sun, it?s an exciting feeling to know that the game launch is on the horizon. Our team has put in countless hours and dozens of red-eyed, head-down, caffeinated nights, cranking out an incredibly deep and compelling online world. We?re really just eager for MMO players and fans of the movies to finally experience Pirates of the Caribbean Online and see all of the work we?ve put in.

I?m sure some of you are thinking right now that this is an improbable project: an MMO based on a pirate movie, and from Disney of all places. It?s definitely been a challenge, but through it all we?ve remained focused on making the best game we possibly can. I should start at the beginning...

It started over 10 years ago, in 1996 when I got the chance to work for Walt Disney Imagineering - the creative concept team behind Disney?s theme parks. At Imagineering I worked with a seasoned, talented group, from whom I?d learn a lot over the next decade. Our group was called the Virtual Reality Studio, and our mission was to design and build virtual reality attractions for the Disney theme parks.

Over the next several years, we forged a new kind of experience that combined the physical thrill of a theme park ride with the cutting-edge graphics of a video/computer game. Our goal was to transport Guests to another world, to give them the sense of being enveloped in a fantasy universe. We developed a head-mounted display (HMD) device that delivered the sensation of total 3D immersion to audiences. Motion bases and huge multi-screen theaters surrounded them with 360 degrees of infinity optics for a pretty unforgettable experience.