Brian Allgeier, Creative Director on Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time, goes behind the scenes of the latest outing for the intergalactic duo on PLAYSTATION 3.
How has the relationship between the two titular characters evolved over the years?
Ratchet and Clank have had their ups and downs over the course of the series, but their bond and friendship has only grown stronger. After Clank’s kidnapping in Tools of Destruction, Ratchet has searched tirelessly for his best friend, and finally got a clue as to his location in Quest for Booty. In A Crack in Time, both Ratchet and Clank meet significant figures that connect to their past resulting in some new revelations. They’ll face some tough decisions - including whether or not they should split up for good!
As players have more freedom when travelling between worlds, is there going to be greater emphasis on exploration?
We had a lot of positive feedback to our more non-linear levels like Sargasso in Tools of Destruction and the Merdegraw area in Quest for Booty. We wanted to continue to give players larger levels that encourage exploration and experimentation. This non-linear style level is necessary with Ratchet’s new hoverboots, his newest gadget which allows him to speed around levels and jump off of ramps to get to distant locations. As far as travelling between locations, space combat is going to take a new turn this time around, as Ratchet will be able to engage in space battles – and also explore the surrounding star systems. We really want to encourage the player to explore the galaxy, and searching it well will yield hidden collectibles and other rewards. We have a lot planned for the space part of the game, but you’ll just have to wait to see more!
Multiple, interwoven gameplay styles are a staple of the series; can we look forward to more of this?
Variety is always a key point for us with the Ratchet & Clank games and A Crack in Time is no exception. Between the large, non-linear levels, the gadgets like the Hoverboots and Omnisoaker, space combat, time gameplay, and more, we think there will be plenty of variety for players.
How much of an influence is time manipulation going to have on gameplay?
Time is the biggest feature and a major element for both the story and gameplay. Ratchet and Clank learn that Dr. Nefarious is attempting to tamper with time itself! We’ve never fully explored time as a gameplay element in previous R&C games and I think fans will be pleasantly surprised by some of the cool gameplay twists that this game introduces to the series.
How many new weapons are there and can you reveal any?
The Ratchet & Clank games are known for their outrageous arsenal, and A Crack in Time delivers. For example, there’s the CryoMine Glove, where Ratchet can toss out these mines that will seek out enemies and instantly freeze them leaving them open to attacks. There’s also the Sonic Eruptor which is a fancy name for a bloated creature held by a harness. When Ratchet fires, he squeezes it to let loose a massive burping sound. It can be fired repeatedly to create lots of damage and some good belches. The damage for this weapon can be maximised by timing the firing to on-screen indicators. We love the new Plasma Striker too – it’s an energy-weapon crossbow with a scope that has a special sensor that can detect enemy weak spots.
The Omniwrench debuted in Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty. Is it back and does it have any new uses?
The wrench is back, and Ratchet will use it in many of the same ways he did in Quest for Booty, including manipulating objects. He can also use it to pick up battery bots that charge doors that need to be opened. Some of the enemies in the game, like the Hydra Tank, will require Ratchet to use the wrench manipulation to defeat them.
How much have you learnt about getting the most out of PS3, having now released two Ratchet & Clank and two Resistance titles?
Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time is the first fourth generation PS3 game. We continue to evolve our engine and technology from each game, and you’ll see and hear a lot of features we developed for Resistance 2 in this game. The biggest example of this in Krell Canyon, our E3 level, is the water technology. We think it’s a really great simulation of water and looks fantastic – thanks in large part to the power of the CELL processor.
This will be the first Ratchet & Clank game to support Trophies. What do you think makes a good Trophy list?
Trophies are one feature we’re very excited to bring to the Ratchet & Clank series. We’ve been doing skill points in the Ratchet series, and even Spyro games, for a long time before Trophies even existed! For Trophies though, we definitely like to have some that are very attainable, it’s really satisfying to beat a major level or boss in the game and receive a Trophy for it. That said, we do love the very off-the-wall and crazy Trophies too, so you can definitely expect some of them.
In terms of difficulty, how does the game compare with the previous titles on PS3?
One thing we discovered with Tools of Destruction was that a lot of players fall into very different skill sets. We tried to address this in Quest for Booty, where we offered easy, normal and hard modes. We will also offer these modes in this game, and the difficulty levels should be similar to those seen in Quest For Booty. We will also include the standard replay challenge mode for those who want the ultimate challenge.
Do you have any Ratchet & Clank plans for PlayStation Home?
All of Sony’s big franchises have Home spaces. While we don’t have anything to announce at this point, we definitely think a Ratchet & Clank space would be very cool.
