• Disclosure
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
  • CCPA
  • Medical Disclaimer
Thursday, March 23, 2023
Comal County News Online
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Technology
    • Crytpocurrency
    • Gaming
    • Gadgets
  • Sports
  • Health
  • General
    • Business Services
  • Travel
  • Press Releases
  • Popular
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Technology
    • Crytpocurrency
    • Gaming
    • Gadgets
  • Sports
  • Health
  • General
    • Business Services
  • Travel
  • Press Releases
  • Popular
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
Home Technology Gadgets

Ratchet & Clank: Rejected Names For Rivet Included Rachette, Gadget, And…Ratchet – IGN

by NewsReporter
March 29, 2022
in Gadgets
ratchet-&-clank:-rejected-names-for-rivet-included-rachette,-gadget,-and…ratchet-–-ign
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

In the wake of the initial announcement of Ratchet & Clank: A Rift Apart, one question was on everyone’s minds: who was that very cool new lombax?

After months of internet theories and embarrassing people referring to her as just “Girl Ratchet” or similar, we finally learned her name was Rivet — an absolutely perfect name for an equal fighter to Ratchet from another dimension. But as it turns out, it wasn’t an easy road for developer Insomniac to arrive at Rivet’s incredible design, her place in Rift Apart, or even her excellent name itself.

In his GDC talk: “Lombax Lessons: A ‘Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart‘ Design Postmortem,” Insomniac lead designer Mark Stuart walked attendees through the story of Rivet’s naming and design. Rivet was born from one of Rift Apart’s design pillars, he said, which is that “Everyone’s a Hero,” meaning the team had an opportunity to create a “strong, playable, female lead” alongside Ratchet.

They began work on Rivet early on under the code name “Ratchette,” but quickly nixed it for being “too diminutive” and “reducing her existence to a gender-swapped Ratchet,” he said.

And then, Stuart continued, things got even sillier.

“For a while we switched to her just being named Ratchet. After all, she and Ratchet are technically dimensional counterparts. Ratchet is a non-gendered name. This stuck for a while, but ultimately made every draft of the story very confusing. For example: ‘Ratchet needs to rescue Clank from Ratchet, who doesn’t trust Ratchet and has a long history battling Nefarious.’ At a time where story treatments were being rapidly iterated on, it was hard to tell what dimension you were in, but also which Ratchet you were talking about.”

Next, Stuart said, they switched to the codename Gadget. That was better, but it ultimately didn’t sit right with team members who were kids in the 80s due to multiple other similar characters named Gadget from around that era (Inspector Gadget and Gadget from Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers were given as examples in his slideshow).

It was hard to tell what dimension you were in, but also which Ratchet you were talking about.

Then in a weekly meeting where name ideas were being thrown around, someone pitched Rivet off the cuff and people immediately loved it. It fit perfectly as another tool like Ratchet, and it also called to mind an image of Rosie the Riveter. And so Rivet became canon.

Stuart then went on to share details about the early visual designs of Rivet. He took us through a number of interesting pieces of concept art (which artist Dave Guertin has also shared on his personal page), showing off how the Insomniac team explored different themes for the character. Early on, one they honed in on was the concept of the “survivalist beastmaster.”

This version of Rivet would have leaned into her grudge against Nefarious, extending it to all machines to the point of a total rejection of machinery. Instead, Rivet would embrace nature, and would have the ability to tame three different mounts: a beetle, a flyer, and an Agorian beast.

Rivet’s beast taming ability was ultimately rejected, though, in part because in this version of the game Ratchet was turning out to be much more fun to play. His regular toolkit let him do everything Rivet could do without the assistance of other creatures. But there’s another reason they nixed the idea.

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart Photo Mode Screenshots

“We realized the nature-loving woman was a trope,” Stuart said. “Think FernGully, Pocahontas, or Krystal from Star Fox. Moreover, constraining the theme of her weaponry stifled the creativity the franchise was known for. Ratchet’s weapons can shift, cut, bomb, and transmute. Making her set exclusively nature-based put unnecessary constraints on us.”

Ultimately the nature design did inspire a few of Rivet’s final weapons, like Mr. Fungi, and some of the beast ideas were later recycled into Rift Apart’s Speedle and Trudi, though Speedle lost an earlier concept ability where it had a large, glowing butt that would explode whenever it collided with something. Apparently, murdering your mounts didn’t jive with the idea that “everyone’s a hero”.

Insomniac still struggled to find a good way to make Rivet distinct, though. They tried giving Rivet and Ratchet completely different ability sets, but that made it frustrating for playtesters, who would forget which lombax they were in control of at a given time and realize mid-jump they didn’t have the abilities they thought they did. So Insomniac added the ability to swap between the two on the fly, but that was also confusing in action, and they were hard-pressed to create a lore explanation for where the other lombax went when they swapped out, or who was where during the cinematics.

“Faced with the knowledge that strongly differentiated playstyles were actively hurting the holistic experience, we were forced to reexamine how long we were going to play as each lombax,” Stuart said. “Or to put it another way: is Rivet cake, or frosting? Is she what makes up the core of the game, like Ratchet, or is she a unique and enjoyable diversion in small doses throughout? After all, Clank has drastically different mechanics than Ratchet in most games, but we only play as him for [a small portion] of the game. Clank is generally considered to be delightful frosting. A lot of these problems go away if Rivet is only playable for small, focused sections of the game.”

We wanted Rivet to be core gameplay. Her inclusion was meant to be inspirational representation and not a bonus mechanic.

But to find an answer, Insomniac had only to look back to its design pillars, including “Everyone’s a Hero.” Insomniac had wanted from the beginning to include a strong, playable, female protagonist, and they wanted to make the best distinctively Ratchet & Clank game they could from start to finish. Put together, that meant no shortcuts with Rivet.

“Rivet needed to be pure cake like Ratchet,” Stuart continued. “We wanted Rivet to be core gameplay. Her inclusion was meant to be inspirational representation and not a bonus mechanic. In fact, in the final product, she makes up about 50% of the playtime.”

Which is how we got the Rivet we know today. Insomniac unified the two under the same pool of weapons and abilities, then differentiated them in other ways, such as personality, appearance, animations, and obviously the story. And we’re glad they landed on the Rivet we know and love, as you can tell from our launch review of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and its place as one of our favorite games of 2021.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Related Posts

this-awesome-mystery-box-is-a-great-surprise-for-an-unsuspecting-tech-lover-–-boing-boing

This Awesome Mystery Box Is A Great Surprise For An Unsuspecting Tech Lover – Boing Boing

by NewsReporter
April 14, 2022
0

Sometimes, surprises can be a terrible, no good, awful thing. And it seems like, no matter how much you say you hate surprises, they still come your way either during birthdays, holidays, or when your car's check engine light comes on (the worst shock of them all, if we're being sincere). And...

the-utterly-genius-cubii-workout-machine-lets-you-get-fit-while-you-sit-—-and-it’s-$70-off-at-amazon-’til-midnight-–-yahoo-philippines-news

The Utterly Genius Cubii Workout Machine Lets You Get Fit While You Sit — And It’s $70 Off At Amazon ’til Midnight – Yahoo Philippines News

by NewsReporter
April 14, 2022
0

We may receive commission from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change.Workout while you work! (Photo: Amazon)Wish you could keep your blood pumping while you’re busy doing paperwork? Struggling with achy joints that are making you lose your motivation to even get off...

our-favorite-board-game-crowdfunding-campaigns-of-the-week-–-gadget-flow

Our Favorite Board Game Crowdfunding Campaigns Of The Week – Gadget Flow

by NewsReporter
April 13, 2022
0

Passionate about role-playing, board, and card games? Then check out our favorite board game crowdfunding campaigns of the week. Save your eyes and go all-in on tabletop and role-playing games with our favorite board game crowdfunding campaigns of the week. Whether you’re a longtime role-playing, card, or tabletop gamer or...

why-the-cloud-numbers-don’t-add-up-–-gadget

Why The Cloud Numbers Don’t Add Up – Gadget

by NewsReporter
April 13, 2022
0

In a recent survey by large-scale tech learning platform O’Reilly, 90% of respondents said their organisations are using cloud, and 30% said they’re fully cloud native. This makes it clear why ‘cloud’ is the buzzword on every IT leader’s lips. Seemingly, if you’re not getting on the cloud, you’re getting...

Comal County News Online

© 2021 Comal County News Online

Navigate Site

  • Disclosure
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
  • CCPA
  • Medical Disclaimer

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • DMCA Policy
  • Medical Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure
  • CCPA
  • Terms of Use

© 2021 Comal County News Online

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT