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Who comes up with the new
weapon ideas – are there ever
any that are too crazy even
for
Ratchet & Clank
?
The whole team collaborates
to think of weapon ideas.
It’s a favourite thing to do for
just about everyone here. We
get together and brainstorm,
and always end up with more
weapon ideas than we can
possibly execute. And yes,
some are too crazy, weird, and downright
silly even for Ratchet & Clank - we once
prototyped a weapon called the “Mackerel
3000” that was nothing but a big electric
fish. Another time, we prototyped a
Captain Qwark airstrike beacon—Captain
Qwark would fly in, but instead of helping
in battle he’d stand around and admire
himself in a mirror. We dropped both of
those even though we thought they were
funny; we want Ratchet’s weapons to be
strategically useful as well as unique.
Has making a movie based on your
franchise always been something
you’ve wanted to implement?
It’s been a dream of ours for a long
time. We’ve always thought that Ratchet,
Clank, Qwark, and the rest of the universe
would make a great feature film. We’re
pretty ecstatic that the movie is about
to arrive in theatres; in some ways, it’s
deeply surreal.
What’s it like working with the voice
talent?
They were great! Everyone involved
was gracious, talented, and intuitively
tapped in to the characters.
How much collaboration did you have
with those working on the film?
Quite a lot. The game and film were a
true co-development.
Ratchet & Clank
’s
long-time writer TJ Fixman wrote the
script for both projects. Rainmaker
Entertainment was very open to
suggestions for the film, and in turn their
contributions helped shape the game. At
times, we’d send a model from the game
to Rainmaker. They’d rework it for the film.
And then we’d take the model back and
drop it into the game. At other
times, we’d send over location
concept art, then grab a still
frame from the film and match
it carefully in the game. It was a
constant back-and-forth.
Did both begin production
around the same time?
Yes, both stuck to almost
identical production schedules.
Ratchet and Clank
has always
been predominantly a single player
experience – minus
All 4 One
.Why
do you think that is? Are people just
looking for an escape from all the
multiplayer games out there?
The series is fundamentally about
story. It’s about discovering an amazing
sci-fi universe. And it’s about Ratchet
and Clank’s character arcs, about how
they face challenges and grow from their
experiences. Given the narrative focus,
a single player experience usually makes
the most sense for the series. That’s not
to say we don’t dip a toe into multiplayer
from time to time—
Up Your Arsenal, Full
Frontal Assault
, and (as you mention)
All 4
One
all have big multiplayer components.
It’s really a game-to-game decision about
what best supports the material.
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