November 4th marked the official 10 year anniversary of the Ratchet & Clank series. With a total of ten games releasing in the span of a decade, not to mention an HD collection earlier this year and Full Frontal Assault on November 27th, the series has enjoyed ever-lasting popularity on Sony systems.
In honor of the 10 year milestone, the PlayStation Blog caught up with Ted Price, President and CEO of Insomniac Games. Right off the bat, he was asked about the original concept for the game, which has a surprising Looney Tunes answer:
After deep-sixing the concept we called “Girl with a Stick,” we had to come up with something else, and we had to do it quickly. Brian Hastings, our chief creative officer, suggested we make a game about a spacefaring alien who has an outlandish arsenal of gadgets and weapons. He cited Marvin the Martian as inspiration. That idea clicked with everyone and we all started digging in to flesh out the concept.
The inspirations for the Ratchet & Clank games don’t just stop with Looney Tunes though:
We drew from all sorts of sources. Cartoons, sci-fi movies, popular culture… There were certainly some direct playful references to other properties in both the initial concepts and in subsequent games. Captain Qwark was partially inspired by the Tick. Metropolis with its flying cars and city canyons is reminiscent of The Fifth Element. Courtney Gears from Up Your Arsenal was a riff on Britney Spears who was popular at the time. But these are exceptions rather than the rule. Most of what you see in the games is a direct result of our team just having fun in a universe with very few constraints.
Lastly, he was asked which character from the games is closest to his heart:
Captain Qwark. I love him because he’s always larger than life, always 100% sure of himself, and usually wrong. My wife tells me she knows people like that. Still trying to figure out who she’s talking about.
To help celebrate the 10th anniversary, let us know your favorite memory, game, and/or character from the Ratchet & Clank universe in the comments section below.
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