Insomniac divulges some Ratchet development stories
by Nick Doerr 
{ Oct 24th 2007 at 5:15PM }
To boast the increase in graphics on the PS3, Insomniac divulged that on the PS2, Ratchet had 112 joints in his entire polygonal body -- the PS3 has given Ratchet 90 joints in his face alone. But of course, graphics aren't everything: "My game-designer side wants to say graphics don't matter and it's all about what the player is doing. But the other side is that it really immerses you in a world. ... Our burden is to create a world that is very convincing. So the fact that we can improve the visuals and the graphics adds to that."
The online options were dropped for this title not because Insomniac couldn't have done it (just look at Resistance), but "we were kind of disappointed to find that less than 5 percent of players actually played it who actually played the game for both Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal and Deadlocked." If any reviewers detracted points for lack of online, well, there's always a reason. There's plenty of details in the full story, so check it out if you want to learn about how graphical detail was approached and the possibility of future titles.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
OrganicShadow @ Oct 24th 2007 5:24PM
I agree about the online aspect of R&C games. Hardly anyone got into it, yet game reviewers are still going to take away partial points for it's absence.
I feel like im the only person that didn't hate Deadlocked. It was fun as hell with a buddy over split screen. Never played the MP of the other games though.
Perhaps they should make an R&C PSN title that's MP-only? Focus 100% on multiplayer instead of story(running man) etc.? If they brought as much innovation and variety as RFOM and UT2004/UT3 then im all for it.
Andy @ Oct 24th 2007 5:34PM
I would have tried the online had it been there. But after an hour or so I'd go back to Warhawk or the single player game.
Andy @ Oct 24th 2007 5:39PM
2/3 friends believe R&C was a Pixar movie not a game*. The other friend has a PS3 so it was a longshot to get him to think Disney** made this.
*Thoughts are only based on the demo
**Pixar is a subsidiary of Disney
Paul @ Oct 24th 2007 5:51PM
Speaking of Pixar...would I be the only one to think that a R&C movie could be really, really good? (and I'm 32)
ninxf @ Oct 24th 2007 6:05PM
The big question is...out of the people that played the PS2 R&Cs, how many of those even had network enabled PS2s?
Barndo111 @ Oct 24th 2007 6:12PM
If Bioshock can get a 10 without multiplayer so could this game. And Bioshock was an FPS. You know, the laziest type of game to make. You don't have to program character movement in an FPS.
So yes, R&C could do great.
Man, I need a PS3..
comtar @ Oct 24th 2007 7:25PM
"If Bioshock can get a 10 without multiplayer so could this game. And Bioshock was an FPS. You know, the laziest type of game to make. You don't have to program character movement in an FPS."
This comment made me laugh, you obviously haven't played System Shock 2 or Bioshock... then again or any first person shooter.
God knows no one in first person shooters of any type have any movement. It's just a bunch of people with no motion at all who chase you and look for you. It's like I'm being chased by motionless stick figures.
Fact is... Most first person shooters this year have been people who actually gave a shit and tried their best not to be lazy. With Portal someone proved you could make a puzzle game with a first person shooter. With Bioshock, people proved you could make a rich deep enviornment and create a mood limited by most 3rd person survival games. And hate to tell you the animations of the characters you see in Bioshock are quite extensive.
There's also Metroid Prime 3 with some amazing level design, each room of Metroid Prime 3 is unique in some way and doesn't use alot of repeated patterns or textures. It was to me artisticly amazing, there's also plenty of times you do things in 3rd person which again, has lots of animations.
I'll agree that first person shooters can be created with laziness. Postal is probably a huge example of this... I'll even agree that the FPS is often a cliche and is overdone, but there have been some really good first person shooters this year that have broken the traditional mold...
Mind you... Halo 3 isn't one of them.
John @ Oct 24th 2007 8:58PM
Uh, Paul? You think that BECAUSE you're 32.
I think it, too, I'm 38!
And I can admit that I would make a point of going to opening night-- and if they make it eclectic enough, attending midnight showings 10 years later, yeah!
I got this game today, on my lunch break, the shipment had just come in. In Google news under sci/tech someone had written a positive article about them achieving the much-sought-after "Pixar" look-- and I was delighted to see, on the back of the game (which I haven't put in yet), a quote from the New York Times:
"...the first game to truly deliver the long-sought 'You are playing a Pixar movie' experience."
Now that's good press.
Consolcwby @ Oct 24th 2007 9:42PM
@John: Lol! I thought you were more like 19!! XD (I'm 37, and I was thinking the same exact thing about a R&C movie!)
@ninxf: Me. =)
@Barndo111: You're absolutely correct about Bioshock - R&CF should be getting 10s, online mp notwithstanding. And, yes, you DO need a PS3. It is getting to be the case that people are going to be wanting one so badly, I expect to see a run on a $350 PS3 sometime during Christmas08. With MGS and FF - ANYTHING is possible!
Kyrre @ Oct 25th 2007 4:31AM
The comment about previous games not being played online does not take into consideration that the original PS2 did not include an ethernet plug. I am sure that more than 5% would have played (at least once) the new Ratchet and Clank online.