Have you ever wondered how an idea find its way into a Toca Train toy and want to know more about the development process? To dig out more info, take a look at this interview with our well-talented Toca Train designer, Jens Peter de Pedro!

Hi Jens Peter Please tell us a little about yourself?
I’m a half Spaniard, half Swede, married to an American. Father of two girls. I’m the Play Designer behind Toca Hair Salon, Helicopter Taxi, Toca Kitchen, Paint My Wings, and now Toca Train. Many years ago, I was a student of Child Development and a graphic designer. A lot of people call me JP for short.

What is Toca Train and what can you do with it?
Toca Train is sort of like a train play set. You can drive the train around a track and pick up passengers and goods.

What inspired you to develop Toca Train, How did the idea for Toca Train come about?
Independently people had been bugging our CEO about trains. Their kids loved trains and why didn’t we do something with trains. So the question landed in our game design team. I started thinking about what it could be that makes kids love trains so much. I encountered a blog that an autistic woman had written to explain to regular folks how autistic people think. She described their thinking and at the end, to summarize her point, she said their thinking is sort of like the movement of a train, and that perhaps that is why autistic people love trains so much. I thought that was very interesting because I believe all of us have a bit of autistic thinking at times, that we all need to be in this mind state occasionally, to some degree. So I started thinking of the train and the mind moving together through a landscape and that was the seed for what became Toca Train, a stress free game about a train that always moves forward and that you can control and follow from every different angel.

What has been the hardest obstacle you have had to overcome in the development process?
Our team was rather new to the technology that we used to make the game three-dimensional. So there was a lot of learning on the go. Some lessons where tougher than others! Also, getting the interface for controlling the train right took a few tries.

And how long was the process from the original idea to the release of the toy?
It was about 6 months, perhaps 5 months of intense work.

Besides cute and adorable characters, the driver in Toca Train is particularly arousing our interest. Can you introduce him to us briefly?
His name is Kenta Karlsson. We don’t know if he is half Japanese or not, because Kenta is also a Swedish nickname for Kent. Originally his granddaughter was going to be riding with him on the coal wagon, but we had to cut her out due to time restrains in the project. I think Kenta misses her.

And finally, what are your plans for the future? Will there be any updates?
There will surely be updates. We’d like to make the world and the characters to feel even more alive. Kenta needs not only his granddaughter but he also needs to be relived from his job on occasion. We are thinking his wife should be able to drive the train too. We think they met in train driving school in the fall of 1898. It would also be fun to add bifurcations and open up new places where the train could go in the world. Perhaps there could be people cheering and waving to Kenta or his wife as the go. We’re going to see what reactions we get from our fans too, so please send us your suggestions! Thanks again for your time, JP!

For all the Toca Train fans!

Can’t get enough of Toca Train? Now, we’re thrilled to be able to give you some extra bonus material of Toca Train. And the best part of this collection is that it will be available for absolutely free. Watch this extended Toca Train trailer showing the train in action, something extra for all the little train lovers!

Toca Train map of the landscape!

Meet all the cute characters in Toca Train, check out their names!

You can download these wallpapers on your iPhone, iPad or Desktop, see them all below! To download the wallpaper, click on the wallpaper you want below. Once you get the image in your browser, simply right click on it and save it. Enjoy!

Toca Train wallpaper for your Desktop!

Toca Train wallpaper for your iPad!

Toca Train wallpaper for your iPhone!

We hope you’ll enjoy! Get onboard and start driving the train straight away.

Best,
Jenny