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
(Average: 4.35 out of 5)
44 Comments // 3 Replies
Add your own
1
emjayx | May 22nd, 2009 at 9:05 am
nice list
2
nokedimyo | May 22nd, 2009 at 9:16 am
I agree that the boomerang gun does seem very neat.
James Stevenson replied on May 22, 2009 at 10:46 am
It was soooo close. I love it.
3
spunnups | May 22nd, 2009 at 9:20 am
Alien Abductor FTW! That would be complete mayhem! The spike gauntlet would be my 2nd choice.
James Stevenson replied on May 22, 2009 at 10:46 am
Both were top 20 submissions! Very very close to each.
4
spunnups | May 22nd, 2009 at 9:21 am
Alien Abductor FTW! That would be complete mayhem! The spike gauntlet would be my 2nd choice. Actually, the top 3 are all very clever, I wouldn’t be mad if you picked either one of those.
5
Ftwrthtx | May 22nd, 2009 at 9:28 am
Should have used the boomerang gun in the game. Neat idea.
6
Arcturian | May 22nd, 2009 at 9:44 am
The boomerang gun could just not do all that much damage — it’s not like the Ratchet games have exemplified balance much, what with the RYNO series and Golden Groovetron.
7
DonnyG | May 22nd, 2009 at 9:47 am
Sorry this is off topic.
The “This Week On Playstation.Blog” post for the 18th stated news about R2 DLC. Was that a typo or mistake? I saw some Killzone 2 DLC announced but no R2 DLC. Was the R2 Home space the DLC?
8
WantAPopsicle | May 22nd, 2009 at 9:55 am
Lots of good ideas.
9
Saigon1914 | May 22nd, 2009 at 9:59 am
Aces to the Boomerang Gun
10
Insyt | May 22nd, 2009 at 10:02 am
Chick-A-Boom Gun, Boomerang Gun, and the Shotgun Nunchucks are the best i’ve seen…
11
TheRealMike83 | May 22nd, 2009 at 10:04 am
Should use ice. Although I think they have done this? Played them all cant remeber them all. Freeze and shatter with the Ratchet.
But in basic the formula of almost all the RandC games has worked so far. Key is tuns of different planets to keep things changing and long. Although I felt the ship in the Ratchet tournament “whatever it was” game was cool. Where he had a ship to chill out at.
James Stevenson replied on May 22, 2009 at 10:47 am
Now that’s an interesting idea… stay tuned for E3! ;-)
12
RobRoks | May 22nd, 2009 at 10:10 am
Ok im sorry but I have read all 3 lists so far. There have been some really good stuff in there and your reasons for not taking some of it is because its too challenging for your design etc.. teams? I think tbh that a challenge is a good thing and it will definitely help you in the future for harder projects so try and push the boundaries whenever possible. My favorites from this list are the boomerang, mask and the spike idea is quite good. Apart from that my favourite one is probably the pixelator. I think that most of these are really good and some of the concept art done for it is very impressive. Anyway if i recall you asked for something along the lines of innovative and creative and out of the box, just something very different. I would love to see some of these ideas come to life, i mean there should never be a maximum on the amount of guns, you could always make something like a bank account almost for ratchet in clank where he can store stuff eg weapons etc. so the player cant have too many at any given time. Lots of guns = more potential, different strategies, more room for trophies etc. :) Anyway im sorry for the rant but good ideas guys :D
13
Gamester101 | May 22nd, 2009 at 10:11 am
Some really great ideas shown in these posts.. shame they cant all make the cut! =D
14
JaKhris | May 22nd, 2009 at 10:11 am
I like the Boomerang gun, pretty clever idea. :)
All the others submissions are quite nice too. ;)
15
usjvc | May 22nd, 2009 at 10:13 am
Hello Insomniac! The Resistance Playstation Home is fantastic, but being a long time Ratchet and Clank fan, i was wandering if you guys were actually considering introducing a RaC Space as well? Thank you and keep up the outstanding work.
16
NoobianGod | May 22nd, 2009 at 10:25 am
My favorite out of this list would have been the Alien Abductionator.
17
Cutz0r | May 22nd, 2009 at 10:27 am
Make some of these DLC.
MaskerAID FTW! Large mascot size masks would’ve been neat.
I also like the Chickaboom. Boom chicka wah wah …BOOM! lol
And the Boomerang Gun is genius! Wouldn’t have been too hard to balance imo…
18
MadmanEU | May 22nd, 2009 at 10:27 am
Have Insomniac considered DLC (paid or otherwise) for these “too hard because we don’t have enough money or time” weapons? Perhaps some of the more hilarious but harder to pull off ideas?
I would gladly shell out 2 or 3 or 4 bucks for a weapons pack that came with a handful of these awesome weapons.
19
TOY_ROBOT | May 22nd, 2009 at 10:35 am
lol. Those are pretty cool. :)
20
ShimmySham | May 22nd, 2009 at 10:47 am
clever names on the decoy gloves/guns. My overall favorite for this week is defiantly the spike gauntlet, perfect for so many scenarios. So pumped for E3 to see some new weapons and gadgets!!! By the Insomniac, great show yesterday, good to have you back. You guys always get me ubber excited for your new releases!
21
TheZed88 | May 22nd, 2009 at 10:55 am
I really like the boomerang Gun. The idea could be tweeked to fix balance issues. Maybe it doesn’t hit ALL the enimies. Maybe it has reduced damage as compared to other weapons. Or maybe it takes some time for the boomerang to return, leaving you helpless for a time.
22
Cutz0r | May 22nd, 2009 at 11:02 am
^ I agree.
23
almighty-slayer | May 22nd, 2009 at 11:02 am
Tat Chickaboom is awesome. All of those have fatastic artwork too, wish i could draw like that O_O
Can’t wait for the game guys :D
24
PirateThom | May 22nd, 2009 at 11:13 am
With the Alien Abductionator, when fired it would be awesome if the music cut to old school sci-fi theremin music. Maybe next time!! :D
25
Thrasher20 | May 22nd, 2009 at 11:54 am
LMFAO, Alien Abductionator has my vote!
26
AKhydrosmoke | May 22nd, 2009 at 12:16 pm
James is the contest over? Can i submit a gun?
27
Lil_Mermaid_Girl | May 22nd, 2009 at 12:34 pm
I like the MaskerAID, Chickaboom, and Alien Abductionator in that order. Would have been some nice weapons.
28
alaM0000 | May 22nd, 2009 at 2:20 pm
FINALLY!!!! CAN’T WAIT EVEN MORE??!! :P
29
Lucreto | May 22nd, 2009 at 2:47 pm
These are pretty good.
I hope you do something like this when the European Blog opens.
30
mckg123456789 | May 22nd, 2009 at 2:55 pm
SWEET! I CANT WAIT FOR THIS GAME! tools of destruction was awesome and this game looks like its going to be AMAZING! this will be a first day buy like tools of destruction was!
31
karuban12 | May 22nd, 2009 at 3:32 pm
some of those a good designs
32
Korbei83 | May 22nd, 2009 at 4:01 pm
I cant wait to see how the Resistance engine is coming along in ‘09.
33
TubaDude49 | May 22nd, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Wouldn’t you go for the grilled cheese, I would!
34
cell989 | May 22nd, 2009 at 5:00 pm
I would have loved the alien abductionator, you guys better put that in DLC form at least.
35
Maluraq | May 22nd, 2009 at 6:54 pm
I love the weapons in the series, and I’ve also loved the total lack of consistency. From one game to the next, technology ceases to exist or suddenly pops out of nowhere.
One feature I quite liked having to pick my own weapon upgrade path in Future, but the paths were too easy to complete :-)
Now if you had that with optional secondary fire options selectable only after the path hits certain edge points (adding lava, ice, etc. like a previous game had) would be very interesting indeed.
Keep it up you guys, on my fourth or fifth time through R&C: Future.
36
Jeigh | May 22nd, 2009 at 8:37 pm
I LOVED the fact that you guys did an audio podcast yesterday. I listened to it maybe two or three times while leveling up in Disgaea 3. Full Moon Show rocks! :D
37
Jeigh | May 22nd, 2009 at 8:47 pm
I’d have to agree with Maluraq (35)- the raritanium upgrading system from ToD was far too easy. It seemed like no sooner do you start filling it up than you are finished entirely. The obvious solution is to have more upgrades (perhaps in the Omega forms), but maybe just placing higher prices on them could add some challenge.
I can’t wait to see what- Kellar Canyon, was it?- looks like.
38
krae_man | May 22nd, 2009 at 11:07 pm
How many “red rings of death” gun ideas did you guys get?
39
zacypoo11 | May 23rd, 2009 at 1:15 am
Cant Wait To Hear About What All Happened At E3 I Hope You Guys Do A Great Job! Ratchet and Clank A Crack In Time Will Make Other Games Very Jelous
40
waffman11 | May 23rd, 2009 at 4:28 am
@#12: It sounds a little like you wanted some of the weapons to be in the games because they had good concept art, which isn’t a very good reason. Also, Insomniac has to meet a budget and a deadline, but I don’t think those words mean anything to you.
41
krae_man | May 23rd, 2009 at 9:22 am
Wow, you guys keep on saying “we thought of this on our own and decided against it” and have said “great idea but we dont have the time to do it” for everything else.
Is this a “create a weapon” contest or a “Guess the weapon we’ve already decided(and started) to make” contest?
42
LOCO209 | May 23rd, 2009 at 12:22 pm
WOW MY WIFE made the(hand drawn)
ALIEN ABDUCTIONATOR! HER name is
PATRICIA SAVALA she was really hoping to win but we were out of town and she didn’t check her e-mail in time to say, she was from the US … BUT this weapon is a must in one way or another for the ratchet and clank story line …. WISH it was one the playstation people could vote on ..HINT HINT lol have a good one INSOMNIAC
43
DustyBlue | May 23rd, 2009 at 1:38 pm
There are so good… Couldn’t they at least be DLC that you can use after you beat the game? Or something along those lines? I really like the Chickaboom. LOL @ “alluring booby trap”.
44
t178abc | May 29th, 2009 at 11:49 pm
Great weapons!
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