The High Impact Games Treehouse in Size Matters is the first of two High Impact Games Treehouse locations. It is a secret location in the style of the Insomniac Museum that contains developer commentary on unused content from Size Matters. The room features commentary on ten info messages throughout a treehouse resembling that seen on the High Impact Games logo.
The High Impact Games Treehouse is accessed either by collecting all skill points, followed by selecting the "Climb the Treehouse" option in the Cheats menu, or by entering through a teleporter on Metalis when the internal clock is set to a time between 4:52 and 4:57 AM (or 2:42 and 2:48 AM). To access this way, the player must travel to the world with the Polarizer and take the path to the titanium bolt on the planet. If accessed during the right time on the internal clock, a teleporter will appear to the treehouse.
Entering the High Impact Treehouse will unlock the bronze trophy Welcome, Enjoy Your Stay.
Exhibits[]

The entrance to the Treehouse.
The exhibits of the High Impact Games Treehouse are primarily contained inside the building, with an associated info message listed on a sign adjacent to them. The building spans three floors in total, though a few contents can be found on a balcony outside each of the floors. Throughout the building are frames on the wall hung up as paintings, each of which contain concept art for locations in the game.
The ship lands on the bottom floor, with the High Impact Games logo on the front entrance to the first exhibits, though an entrance is also located on the right by a giant wooden Ratchet statue. On this floor, the left-hand side contains several computer desks, while a large TV screen is located on the right, with the Game Pyramid from Clank's apartment on Endako nearby. A ramp leads up to the second floor, which is smaller but has a few exhibits contained inside and on a balcony nearby. A ladder leads up to the third floor, which has only a single desk, and a bridge on its balcony out to the final exhibit.
Birdadactyl and Ratchet statue[]

The balcony.
Located on the balcony outside the treehouse, to the right of the main building, is a gigantic wooden statue of Ratchet, and out in the distance are several flying creatures known as "birdadctyls". These creatures strongly resemble skreeducks seen in previous games. An info message explains the absence of the birdadactyl:
The birdadactyl was one of the early moving "objects" in the game (called mobys by us), also made for the first playable level. Since he (she?) was a prototype, he's pretty expensive to process. If we put him in the regular levels of the game the framerate would drop. Poor buddy is a bit overweight!
Info message commentary
Past this is a right entrance inside the treehouse.
Character sketches[]

An area with concept art.
Located on the bottom floor of the treehouse is a computer with a gallery of concept art and sketches for enemies. Behind it on the walls are paintings with concept art for Quodrona and Pokitaru, and nearby is a stockpile of cereal boxes.
Initially several versions of a new enemy are drawn, and art and design work together selecting traits they like from each drawing. Eventually a final concept sketch is refined from all the previous suggestions, and then sent to an artist to be modeled.
Info message commentary
Clank vehicle sketches[]
Also on the bottom floor of the treehouse is a computer with sketches for vehicles that would be used in Clank Challenges. This is located in the desk opposite the TV screen with the Game Pyramid.
Concept sketches of some vehicles, not all of which were ultimately made.
Info message commentary
Clank Challenges[]

The Clank challenges area.
Interacting with the large TV screen on the bottom floor will give the option to play four much harder Gadgebot Survival Clank Challenges. These have the names listed simply as "^_________^", "(>'.')>", "("\(.:...:.)/")", and "\m/>_<\m/", and all grant 10,000 bolts upon completion.
Solving any Gadgebot Survival challenge will unlock the gold trophy Clank Would Be Proud.
^_________^[]
You will have more gadgebots than you need for the house, but will have to sacrifice a few either way. To start with, send down three or four using the teleporter, then while they are walking around at the second platform. Detonate one while there are none to its right (if there are, have them form a bridge to plug the gap so it is not entirely wasted). The two teleporters on the bottom-right correspond with the platforms on the bottom-left, but they are also switched; the right one connects to the left one and vice-versa. Get at least one bot to use the right teleporter, coming from the left, to come down in front of the house, after which it must form a bridge. This will let the other bots that use the left teleporter (coming from the right) to then land on said bridge and enter the house. The reason as to why you had to plug the first gap you made on the second row is so that you could get the next batch of gadgebots to come down and rotate directions so that they would be walking to the right again.
(>'.')>[]
This challenge will rely on quick reflexes, micro-managing multiple gadgebots at the same time. You will have to get the first ten gadgebots to come out to swing twice, followed by using the teleporter on the top right. While doing so, use the first three bots to form bridges at the second row. The next two bots can then use the teleporter, followed by the swing on the bottom right. This takes care of the right-most house. Meanwhile you will have to set the next four bots, no. six through nine, to use the teleporter after they turned around. Get the first two to then form a bridge, after which the leftovers can enter the left-most house. Lastly the final two bots will be coming out, which you can let land down on the second row without using the swing. Detonate the last bot in line on the block prior to the second teleporter, after which you can let the other two turn around and fall down to enter the middle house.
("\(.:...:.)/")[]
Get the first bot to jump down the gap, then immediately form a bridge next to where it lands. The second bot must plug the first gap, and the third must create another at the far-right, next to the wall. The fourth bot must go through that hole, and then use the teleporter after it has turned around, after which it must walk down and form a bridge next to the bottom-right teleporter. Meanwhile detonate the fifth bot to the right of the second bot's bridge, after which the remainder (six through twelve) can go down that gap, use the swing, walk two steps down, swing again (landing on the fourth bot's bridge, presumably), and use the teleporter to be send to the bottom platform. The first two bots on the bottom level will need to form bridges, after which the rest can swing across and enter the house. In total you can lose two bots before you are unable to complete the challenge entirely.
\m/>_<\m/[]
The first bot will have to be blown up above the stairs, after which the remainder can go down. Get the first four to swing across, and have the first of those form a bridge at the bottom of the second staircase. The second bot can be ignored at this point, as it will enter the house safely. Have the third bot that swung over detonate on the stairs, letting the fourth bot use the direction-changing platform to enter the right-most house. Meanwhile you will have to let the next bot (the sixth) blow itself up on the first stairs so that the next bots can land on the platform below it, sending them to the left. Have the next in line immediately detonate after it steps off the platform, and let the next two form bridges after they fall down that new gap. The final bot can then go down the stairs, change directions on the platform, go across the new bridges, turn to the right, and safely go straight into the final bot house from there.
Multiplayer skins[]
A desk on the balcony at the back end of the treehouse has a computer. When interacted with, it will display a gallery of sketches for said skins. Nearby is an info message detailing the following:
We had a ton of ideas for multiplayer skins, but only so many can be displayed in the game at once, so we had to pick and choose carefully. Here, you can see a lot of ideas for skins that didn't make the cut, as well as sketches for the ones already in the game.
Info message commentary
Dreamtime concept art[]
After taking the stairs up to the second floor, immediately in front of a painting of Dreamtime concept art is an info message, explaining the following:
Although designers make the layout of levels, the look and colors of the levels are decided by art. Concept art plays a huge role in helping visualize these decisions.
Info message commentary
CUT (MiniTurret)[]

The CUT.
On the second floor just past the stairs is a floating weapon, which has an untextured model. This is a prototype of a weapon resembling the Miniturret Glove from previous games, which was cut in favor of the Bee Mine Glove. If it is packed up, it will enter the player's inventory, named simply "CUT". An info message nearby explains the following:
The miniturret was coded in basic form and working in the game, but ultimately we realized it would be very similar to the Bee Mine Glove. Although we all wanted to include the venerable MiniTurret, the Bee Mine was already created and working well, so the MiniTurret got de-prioritized.
Info message commentary
The weapon can be used while the player is in the treehouse. It has 30 ammo, but using it will cause it to slowly fire rockets at anything nearby. Acquiring it will unlock the bronze trophy What Could Have Been.
Giant hand Ratchet clone[]

The cut Ratchet clone.
Located on the second floor of the treehouse is an inactive model of a third elite Ratchet clone type that was removed from the game, but is still present in the final cutscene.
Originally, there were to be 3 new "elite" clones in the arena before Otto chases you. As it turned out, though, all three types had rather short range weapons. So instead we included the Lacerator clone as the third variety - he was satisfyingly challenging, so this giant hand clone never got past the art stage.
Info message commentary
The clone has an idle animation by default, but its animations can be cycled through, showing a running animation, an attack animation, hit animations, and a death animation.
Japanese fanart contest[]
Located by a computer on the second floor, just to the left of the Ratchet clone model, is a computer showing fanart from a Japanese fan contest. The message describes it as follows:
There are a lot of R&C fans in Japan, and a major comic (Korokoro comic) held a fan art contest for Ratchet skins. Here are some of the top entries. All the drawings are from younger, pre-teen contestants.
Info message commentary
Giant bulldozer[]

The Giant Bulldozer.
On the balcony outside on the second floor is an orange bulldozer robot, which was used in the first playable demo for the game but not present in the final game. An info message describing it reads as follows:
This is a giant bulldozer that was generated for our first-playable (a demo level that proves the game engine and idea work). He chased you down a city street and smashed through buildings as he went along.
Info message commentary
Animations of the robot's movement of its limbs can be cycled through.
Technomite designs[]
On the third floor is a single computer desk, with a gallery for concept art of the technomite designs. An info message nearby reads as follows:
The design of the Technomite race had a lot of different inputs before the current ones you see in-game were chosen. These sketches directly affected how Otto would end up looking.
Info message commentary
Grind Lock[]
On the third floor, a bridge from the balcony leads out to a small tree with a difficult Grind Lock challenge. The challenge is quite long, and there is no reward for completing it, nor info message to go along with it.
Behind the scenes[]
The additional Gadgebot Survival challenges were added due to how successful the challenges throughout the game had been. Of these, one of the challenges was designed by Ronn LeFeuvre (the gameplay programmer of the challenges), two by Sony Computer Entertainment testers, and one by the gameplay designer. ASCII art was used to name the challenges because because the game had been text locked (meaning no new text could be added as it could not be translated in time).[1]
Citations[]
References[]
- High Impact Games (2007). Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation Portable.
- LeFeuvre, Ronn (n.d.) . "Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters". From skinnycoder. Archived from the original on June 8 2023.