Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on Ratchet & Clank. We delve primarily into the variant game play we start to see at this point in the game, though admittedly with other topics sprinkled in. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played: Up through Bomb Factory

Issues covered: voice cast, Ratchet's longer story arc, dark and snark, opposing ideas of what have to be done, building story around archetypes, attitude mascots, moving from mascots to more realistic rendering and characters, PlayStation moving to more "mature" themes, Microsoft pulling Sony, changing strategy, wanting the variant game play to reinforce the setting, spline enemies, aim down sites, using tools to create problem-solving scenarios with weapons, having lots of rewards for completing variant play, enjoying being able to visit a space a second time, sticking with a single design structure for years, fighting the Snagglebeast, what we have to look forward to, miniaturization for backwards compatibility and as a business plan, picking the right version of a game to play, not looking to fans for what they want, having the tools to talk about game design through engaging with the podcast, talking about the end of Death Stranding.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Lost, Hitman, Pulp Fiction (obliquely), David Kaye, Transformers, GI Joe, Paul Giamatti, Mikey Kelley, Michael Richardson, Mortal Kombat, TMNT, Jim Ward, Prince of Persia, Star Trek, Mario (series), Nintendo, Sonic the Hedgehog, Crash Bandicoot, Jak & Daxter, Uncharted, The Last of Us, Sly Cooper, Infamous, Ghosts of Tsushima, Spider-man (PS4), Sony Santa Monica, Twisted Metal, God of War, Xbox, Halo, Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect, Mark Cerny, Starfighter, Rogue Squadron, Starfox, Zelda (series), Spyro, Sunset Overdrive, Tony Hawk, Jet Grind Radio, Kingdom Hearts, Death Stranding, Ben "from Iowa" Zaugg, PSOne, Metal Gear Solid, LucasArts, Truffles Mochachino, Final Fantasy VI, Square Enix, Waypoint Radio, Chrono Trigger, Sebastian Deken, Bloodborne, Sekiro, Dark Souls, Horizon: Zero Dawn, biostats, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia.

Next time: Finishing the game

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