Greetings, Ratchet & Clank fans! I am Thom Olson, Character Artist on Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time. Most of what I’m doing on this project is making weapons, so this contest was especially interesting to me. It was really fantastic to see so much interest, enthusiasm and work in the responses! I can’t comment on which ones, but some of the weapons that we ruled out were actually the ones that were so perfect we already had very similar ideas in production in some form or other. Here are 5 that didn’t make it, but I was rooting for.
Alien Abductionator
Indirect fire weapons are something we don’t see enough of in games. To hold a seemingly harmless device in your hand, and then call in overwhelming power from somewhere Beyond would be awesome. They don’t call artillery the King of Battle for nothing. The idea of having 50’s sci-fi UFOs come buzzing in instead of explosives, hopefully animating like they’re dangling from strings in an Ed Wood movie, and abduct your enemies is perfect for Ratchet! And this one came really close to making it, too! Maybe next time. Keep watching the skies…
Spike Gauntlet
Another indirect fire weapon, this one would have given the satisfaction of a sneak attack, even though you were facing your enemy. Who expects to get spiked from below when the Lombax in their sights punches the ground? Seeing the ground erupt in spiky rock or volcanic shards would really have been visually fantastic, but a challenge to make work everywhere, though, and a bit outside the budget for a single weapon.
MaskerAID
The confusion weapons have a high potential for humor, as well as destruction. This one is very similar to a an idea of our own we ruled out early in production—putting the enemies in ridiculous Ratchet disguises of some sort. Unfortunately, the labor involved in selling the joke, doing all the extra animations for each enemy, as well as creating the Ratchetized versions was prohibitive. But this entry really made us think twice.
Chickaboom
Alright, this is another decoy weapon that we considered. I think the strategy behind this weapon is great—pop out an attractive decoy to lure your enemies out from behind cover and blast them while they’re distracted. And the double entendre is wonderful—it’s not the gorgeous hologram they enemies are drooling over, it’s the grilled cheese sandwich she’s offering… yeah, that’s the ticket. Nutritious grilled cheese! What could be more wholesome? I’m not sure the ESRB would buy it, nor would my wife for that matter, but it was a great idea. Maybe it should have been hot wings?
Boomerang Gun
This is a really clever idea. A gun that needs no ammo. And who wouldn’t love to see Ratchet smack the heads of a whole group of enemies and then catch the boomerang and do it again? But like the idea of a bolt cannon, (a weapon allowing you to fire the bolts you pick up), this was a game balance breaker. Really fun idea, and it actually was pretty close to making the finalist group, balance issues and all.
Also, wanted to remind you that Insomniac’s podcast has returned, and you can download it here! That’s all for now, James and Bryan will be answering your questions in the comments!
-Thom
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