[BTinside]

Intervista a Brian Allgeier

IGN: There have been four PS2 games and a PSP title in the series already, in developing R&C Future how is Insomniac pushing the franchise forward and using the new hardware to make the most of the Lombax and his robot?

Brian Allgeier: After having completed four Ratchet and Clank games, we felt that we really pushed the franchise to the PS2's limits. We had our best pre-production period yet during development of Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, which gave us some extra time to play with the PS3 technology and think of how we could evolve the franchise. It has been really exciting for us to be able to envision a much richer and detailed universe. The quality of the lighting combined with our highly detailed surface technology has helped to create a convincing world where there's lots of activity and places to explore. In addition, more sophisticated character techniques allow us to create characters that are more detailed, more expressive and more fun than ever before.

Many of the things that players have enjoyed from past games have benefited from the new technology as well. We've incorporated Sixaxis into some of our weapons, for example. The Tornado Launcher is one such weapon that can be used to fire out whirlwinds that the player can guide by tilting the controller. They can do this while simultaneously evading enemies and even using other weapons. This is something that we could not have done on past games without losing control of Ratchet.

IGN: A little known fact about the development of Tools of Destruction is that you're heading up the Ratchet team completely while Ted focuses on the Resistance franchise. Can you talk a bit about how your role has changed from previous games and what's different about making this game for you compared to the previous titles?

Allgeier: Those are certainly some big shoes to fill! Fortunately, Ted still checks in very frequently on the project and offers a lot of great advice. Though I've led the design on the PS2 franchise since the first R&C game, I now have some new responsibilities as creative director, which involves directing the overall creative vision for Ratchet & Clank Future.

While much of my role as lead designer has stayed the same, I now review the story, art, and animation aspects of the game. This role is fairly new for us and it's been working out well to have one person who makes sure that the story, gameplay, and visual direction are in alignment.


IGN: With Sony's Gamers Day coming up next week, the time is nigh. This will be Ratchet's "coming out" party. What do you guys have in store for the show and what are you going to focus on?

Allgeier: We're excited to share a work-in-progress glimpse into Tools of Destruction at Gamer's Day. We're going to talk about our vision for the next-generation of the franchise and why it involves dancing centipedes. We're also going to show examples during gameplay of ways we're trying to make Ratchet Future the most vivid and vibrant Ratchet and Clank game yet. As for specifics, we'll be revealing a new weapon and gadget, along with a new level.

IGN: How long will the demo be and which section of the game is it taken from?

Allgeier: The presentation will be relatively short, though we'll also be showing new content in the Arcade afterwards. The gameplay shown in the presentation will be from Kerchu City, which occurs roughly 2/3 the way through the game. The new level occurs toward the game's onset.

IGN: How many weapons will we get to toy around with?

Allgeier: Depends. Do you have a license to operate them? You'll get to see more than five weapons, but that's all you're getting out of me for now.


IGN: How far along are you guys in the development cycle? When do you think you'll be finished?


Allgeier: We're more than half way done. We're still working hard on making improvements in the lighting and shader pipeline, for example. We have a good idea for when we'll be finished, but we don't want to jinx anything by giving a date yet. We're looking to release the game this fall though.


IGN: How has the development of Future differed from Resistance? Is it completely different tech or was it an easy transition between the two titles?


Allgeier: First, though it may seem obvious it's important to reiterate how different the Resistance and Ratchet and Clank franchises are. The art, animation, and gameplay styles are about as opposite as it gets. This means that while we made many technology advancements during the development of Resistance, several of those advancements would be inappropriate to use in Tools of Destruction.

For example, watching a space pirate react realistically to being hit by Ratchet's wrench isn't nearly as fun as watching the pirates react in an exaggerated, comical manner. How we handle every detail in the game like the squash and stretch nature of the animations requires a different set of techniques and technology.

All that said, we've applied several lessons learned from Resistance to the development of Ratchet Future. As a result, we think people will see some notable technology-driven enhancements from Resistance to Ratchet. We've still been able to incorporate a lot of our existing proprietary technology, which has given us a great head start compared to other game makers.

In particular we're getting the benefits of our tools and the ability to create highly detailed worlds and characters. We've made many improvements like showing more detail at greater distances, optimized physics and FX systems that can feature more objects and better explosions, and an improved lighting pipeline that gives us more control over the finer details and nuances of our worlds.


IGN: How much longer before you think you'll announce a release date? Let's make it easy for you -- tell us right now.

Allgeier: I'm still waiting for the Magic 8-Ball to give me that answer. These items are so finicky!

IGN: The past few Ratchets have had some cool multiplayer functionality. What sort of multiplayer goodies can we look forward to this time? Co-op? Deathmatch?

Allgeier: We've decided that for Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction it was best to focus solely on creating a massive single-player adventure. This decision is based on what we believe our fans would want (the vast majority who play single-player) and where our time would best be spent. After stepping back and looking at the franchise as a whole, we felt that crafting a massive single-player adventure would be more in line with the true essence of the series.

Really? But you already have that huge infrastructure and working code for Resistance -- we figured you'd just be moving a lot of that stuff over. Is it not that simple? Or did you just feel like getting back to Ratchet's roots and focus on the single-player?


Allgeier: While we do have a lot of great MP tech from Resistance, it was more of a question on where to focus our energy. The R&C franchise began as a big exploration-themed adventure and over time evolved into a game with a more shooter-focused direction on the PS2 featuring many new modes. In starting out fresh on the PS3, we wanted to go back to our exploration and adventure roots and develop an intriguing story that would span multiple games. To provide the level of variety and scope that people would expect of such a massive story-driven game, we decided to put our energy solely in that single-player direction.

IGN: Is some sort of multiplayer add-on a possibility for Tools of Destruction in the future? An expansion pack if you will (or won't)...

Allgeier: I'd love to answer that question, but honestly it's a bit too early to tell. We have some ideas but right now we want to concentrate primarily on finishing the core game -- which is shaping up to be very, very large.

IGN: When are you going to give Evan at Naughty Dog a call and pitch the idea that Ratchet should land on Jak's planet so the two icons can team up? It would be awesome!


Allgeier: I keep leaving messages for Evan that we should do a Ratchet and Jak MMO where they travel to earth and team up with Hale and Drake, but for some reason he never returns my calls…maybe the part about ottsel mages was too bold after all.