Insomniac Museum (A Crack in Time)

Location information
Type	Insomniac Museum
Galaxy	Polaris
Sector	Corvus Sector
A Crack in Time
Missions	"Explore the Insomniac Museum"

The Insomniac Museum appears in A Crack in Time as a secret location featuring developer commentary, unused content, and playable minigames. The exhibits provide insight into cut content and design philosophies from both A Crack in Time and the broader Ratchet & Clank Future series.

The museum can be accessed near the end of the game. After collecting all Zoni and defeating Lord Vorselon for the final time (which is only possible after beating the game's final boss), a mission to "Explore the Insomniac Museum" becomes available in the Corvus Sector. It can also be accessed immediately by purchasing the "Discovery Package" DLC.

Exhibits

The museum's layout resembles the Insomniac Games office from the era of the game's development. At the lobby's front desk, a message welcomes the "weary space traveler" to a place where they can "feast [their] eyes upon all that makes up the Ratchet universe."

Exhibits are located around desk cubicles and inside conference rooms. To the left of the lobby is the "Facilities" area, containing a "Burn Room" and restrooms decorated with a laser-eyed cat effigy (men's room) and tracking robot eyes (ladies' room). To the right are two empty rooms named the "Qwark Conference Room" and the "Server Room".

Animation

The Animation section details challenges and decisions related to character models. An exhibit on "Upgradeable Armor" explains the technical difficulty of showing player-chosen armor in pre-rendered cutscenes. To solve this, the developers gave Ratchet special armor that deactivates for these cinematic moments, allowing them to render one version of the cutscene while still letting players see Ratchet's expressions up close.

Proto Ratchet.

Another display on "Proto Ratchet" reveals that for Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, the team initially created a more detailed Ratchet model with human-like facial features. This concept was eventually scrapped after the team felt "That's not Ratchet anymore," and they reverted to a higher-resolution version of the classic Ratchet style.

Support

The NanoRatchet.

This section contains a single exhibit for the "NanoRatchet", a cut gadget. The developers considered a device that would let the player control a miniature Ratchet to investigate small areas, but ultimately decided it was a "one-off gimmick" and that it was more important to create gadgets that could be used in many different places.

QA

The QA area provides insight into gameplay mechanics and technical implementation. An exhibit titled "A Farewell to Crouching" explains that the crouch maneuver, a series staple, was removed to free up controller space for the new wrench tether and hoverboot gameplay. The developers felt Ratchet was more of a "jump into the battlefield with guns blazing" hero than one who hides behind cover, and the new "wrench ready" stance was a suitable alternative for winding up throws.

Other exhibits detail how the team designs destructible objects ("Tools of Destruction") by modifying properties like strength, weight, and force to get the right feeling, and the technical process of "Rigging". Rigging involves adding joints to an object and assigning it a gameplay class (e.g., enemy, destructible, grapple platform) to determine its in-game behavior.

Art

The Art section explores the core design philosophies of the series. The "Retro and Deco" exhibit explains that the franchise's aesthetic is heavily influenced by retro appliances and Art Deco furniture, which feature large, clean surface areas complemented by small clusters of technical or organic detail.

Strange machinery.

To maintain immersion, designers often ground outlandish technology by basing its joints and articulations on actual machinery, which provides a trace of plausibility.

Another key focus is the "Silhouette", as a character, ship, or weapon with an iconic and memorable silhouette has a much better chance of being a successful and recognizable design. Finally, "Genre Consistency" is stressed, explaining that designs should have clear reasons for drawing from a particular era or culture to help tell a story about the character or object.

Audio

The tetramites.

This area showcases various concepts related to world-building and level design. An exhibit on tetramites reveals they were based on a "flying swarm" enemy from Resistance 2 and adapted to be a ground-based creature that is part of the environment, eating Breegus nectar.

An "Epic Fairy Tale Style" exhibit describes the Breegus System as a mysterious, enchanted, and haunted place where time behaves strangely. Its worlds are overgrown with vegetation invading ancient architecture, mixing beautiful, romantic scenery with spooky, gnarled woods.

The Zoni's large, round eyes are also noted as a recurring architectural theme in their structures ("Zoni Themes").

Rocket Ride to Oblivion.

Lastly, an exhibit details a cut sequence, "Rocket Ride to Oblivion", which would have involved Ratchet traversing an escape rocket that was jettisoning sections from the bottom up. The segment was cut after it was determined that the time needed to polish it would detract from more important aspects of the game.

Cut Crates

This area displays two types of crates that were removed from the final game. The "Dice Crate" would cycle between rewarding ammo, bolts, health, nothing, or exploding. It was cut because players found the symbols confusing and there were too many minor polish issues to address for a low-cost interaction.

The "Dimension Crate" would implode upon being damaged and create a portal to a random bonus challenge. If the player succeeded, the portal would close; if they failed, they could jump back in for another try.

The Dice Crate.

The Dimension Crate.

Teleport Floors

The Teleport Floors.

A teleporter near the cut crates area leads to a playable version of a cut puzzle from the Nefarious Space Station. The original concept required players to throw a Time Bomb to slow down a grid of security panels, allowing them to navigate a safe path. The exhibit explains that the puzzle was cut because focus testers found it extremely frustrating, repeatedly taking wrong paths or trying to jump over the panels, which led to "numerous head injuries received as a result of thrown controllers."

Players can attempt the challenging puzzle in the museum.

Cut Weapons and Gadgets

This area contains several weapons and gadgets that did not make the final cut.

The "Phoenix Launcher", a glove weapon that launched fiery birds at locked-on targets, was cut because it was not a player favorite, took too long to deploy, and was functionally identical to the Predator Launcher from the previous game.

The Phoenix Launcher.

The upgraded Phoenix Launcher.

The "Razor Talons", energy blades based on the Razor Claws from Tools of Destruction, were cut because the team lacked time near the end of production to create all the necessary "cool attacks" and chose to focus on the ranged arsenal instead.

The "Shotgun Chuk" was a weapon based on a submission to the My Blaster Runs Hot weapon contest that, while it didn't win, was modeled by a character artist "just for kicks."

The "Babel Horn" was a gadget for hacking doors by communicating with troopers via flashing light patterns; it was cut because the design work was too extensive for what was essentially a timing minigame that lacked the humor of past disguise gadgets.

The Razor Talons.

The Shotgun Chuk.

The Babel Horn.

Grav-Sphere concept art.

The "Grav-Sphere" was a major gadget concept that would envelop Ratchet in an energy sphere, allowing him to become very light (for higher jumps and longer glides) or very heavy. It was ultimately cut due to production constraints and the realization that the team could not fully support two major alternate travel modes alongside the hoverboots.

Cut Creatures

This area showcases three creatures that were cut from the game.

The "Astrolabe" was designed as a large centerpiece in the Great Clock that would channel time energy through giant ribbons and would be seen in both broken and repaired states during the story.

"Time Cleaners" were natural denizens of the Great Clock created by Orvus to eat small temporal anomalies; they would appear as small, playful creatures but swell into a "vicious eating machine" to devour Clank's recorded selves and Time Bombs.

An "Extinct Enemy", based on the drophyd models from Tools of Destruction, was a race of squishy brain organisms in powered suits intended for the game's moons. They would have used telekinesis to pull Ratchet in for an attack, but were cut because the character team was overbooked.

The Astrolabe.

The Time Cleaners.

The Extinct Enemy.

Mail Room

Agorien Carrier concept art.

This small room contains an exhibit on the "Agorian Carrier", a huge space vessel that Ratchet would have had to strafe repeatedly to destroy. The carrier would have defended itself by opening up with gun batteries and launching fighters to take Ratchet down during his attack runs.

Agorian vs. Nefarious Troopers arena

Warrior	Weapon
Warrior	Armblades
Soldier	Flameshot
Grenadier	Timed Explosives
Hunter	Clusterbomb
Blademaster	Energy Blades
Crusher	Atomic Clusterbomb
Phalanx	Exoshield

The Agorian vs. Nefarious Troopers arena.

This interactive exhibit allows the player to create a custom team of two agorian warriors to fight against waves of Nefarious Troopers in a four-round match. The player first chooses a warrior class, each with a unique weapon. After selecting a class, the player can customize the warrior's gear with purely aesthetic options for headgear, shoulders, and chest pieces. Once the match begins, the player acts as a spectator, watching their custom warriors battle the troopers.

A victory message reads "We have vanquished the filthy cowards! Popcorn and sodas for all!", while a defeat results in the message "Disaster, Commander! We have been defeated. Mistakes were made, and now is the time to point the Claw of Blame!"

Core

The Teleporter Moon.

The "Core" area contains several unrelated exhibits. One on "Character Texturing" details the philosophy of using simple blocks of color that hold up from a distance, having distinct "first read" and "second read" levels of detail, and avoiding photorealism in favor of stylized surfaces. A playable early version of the "Teleporter Moon" is also here; it features more confusing, branching paths that were streamlined in the final game after testers found it frustrating.

The Physics Attachments.

An exhibit on "Physics Attachments" explains a new tool that allowed developers to attach objects with physics to each other in a more organic way. Concept art for an underwater level reveals that swimming was cut ("Lombaxes Don't Swim") to focus on faster-paced gameplay and because the underwater visuals didn't match the surface quality. The "Junk Totem" was a cut object made of scrap parts that would crumble and reward bolts when the player unscrewed its primary bolt.

The Nefarious Carrier.

Finally, the "Nefarious Carrier" was a large capital ship that would launch fighters and use a large beam weapon, but was cut because attacking a large, static object in space proved problematic for players.

Ted's office

Classic and Modern Ratchet.

"Ted's office" contains a direct comparison of two Ratchet models. The "Classic Ratchet" model from the PS2 era had 6,912 polygons with a larger head and hands, making him look younger. In contrast, the "Modern Ratchet" for the PS3 era has 9,435 polygons and 253 joints, with a trimmer waist and more delicate features that allow for more expressive and subtle actions.

Community

The Stellar Leviathan.

This area is marked by a model of the "Stellar Leviathan", an evolution of the creatures from Tools of Destruction. These space-faring creatures would have traveled in packs and used a telekinetic tractor beam to pull Ratchet's ship in. They were cut because their procedural animation system from the previous game would have needed to be completely redone, and there was not enough time.

Finance

The First Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler.

The finance room displays "The First Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler", the original, much smaller model of the device. The exhibit explains that because the H.B.S. was so destructive to the Great Clock, it needed to be "beefed up to a larger shape" to be more visually threatening and easier to identify from a distance.

Kitchen

The kitchen contains an exhibit on "Agorians", describing their design concept as a sci-fi version of dimwitted high school jocks and bullies. The lore explains that they are a warlike species with an asinine warrior code who operate a traveling coliseum known as the Agorian Battleplex.

Clank Conference Room

The Clank Conference Room.

This room, featuring models of Dr. Nefarious and his troopers, is dedicated to the art design of the game's villains. The overall art direction is described as a "Sci-Fi B-Movie Style", where dramatic flair and presentation are prioritized over purely functional designs.

Another exhibit, "From Pencil to Computer", details the process of translating 2D concept art into 3D models, emphasizing the importance of clear silhouettes, easily parsed details from any distance, and a unified style even between characters with contrasting forms.

The use of "Animal Influences" is also discussed, explaining that while creature designs are abstract, they are often derived from the surface qualities and anatomical structures of real-world animals to add a sense of believability. The "Fun Factor" is highlighted as a staple of the franchise, where designers lean towards archetypal designs or even use forms that are in direct opposition to a character's traits to make their personality more dramatic.

Finally, an exhibit titled "More Shiny!" discusses the improved surface lighting technology in A Crack in Time, which allowed for more detailed specular highlights, making robots shinier, scales slimier, and the overall game more polished.

Ratchet Conference Room

This room features a video exhibit, "Who is the Agorian Warrior?", in which various team members describe the creation of the Agorians. The developers, including Bryan Bernal (Project Manager), T.J. Fixman (Story Writer), and Brian Allgeier (Creative Director), discuss conceptualizing the Agorians as high school jocks with a mutable code of honor. The video also details the design process from sketches to 3D modeling and animation, explaining how each warrior type's combat ranges were designed to match the player's weapons.

Angela Conference Room

This small room contains a single exhibit on "Pole Moves". Concept art shows acrobatic moves intended to highlight Ratchet's animalistic nature, such as climbing and swinging on vertical and horizontal poles. The feature was cut because the amount of custom animation required for what was essentially a complex jumping puzzle was deemed too great.

IT

The IT room contains a teleporter to a playable "Hoverboot Track". This feature was originally planned for the Agorian Battleplex to reintroduce racing to the series. It was cut because getting the races up to the standard of the rest of the game was "akin to making another fully featured game". The playable version in the museum features two variations of the track where the player races against the clock while a simple version of Alister Azimuth hovers along a path, serving as a dynamic obstacle.

The Hoverboot Track.

Hoverboot track concept art.

Chimera Conference Room

The Nefarious Destroyer.

Named after the creatures from the Resistance series, this room contains a single exhibit for the "Nefarious Destroyer". This ship was a larger version of the common Nefarious Fighter, designed to dock with smaller ships to enhance their strength. Its combat pattern involved launching seeker missiles, docking with bombers to unleash a crescent-shaped energy wave, and then pulling out of the fight to make another pass.

Hale Conference Room

The Procedural Arena.

Named for Nathan Hale from the Resistance series, this room contains a playable version of the "Procedural Arena". This feature was intended as a lobby game in the Agorian Battleplex that would procedurally generate a timed platforming challenge. Each generated arena would have a unique number that players could re-enter to play again or send to friends. It was ultimately cut due to the huge number of potential testing, lighting, and generation issues.

Gameplay

The Gameplay Philosophy.

This area explains the core design philosophies of the series through pieces of concept art. One exhibit on "Level Design" lists four core principles: an emphasis on fun over realism, worlds saturated in color, a sense of exploration, and fun cartoon violence. Another on "Setup Design" stresses the importance of using the environment to sell the world as a believable place, which requires understanding the world's ecology and architecture. A third on "Design Theory" describes a level as an exploration packed with varied 'setups' or micro-games (such as enemy encounters or puzzles) that conspire to obstruct the player's progress.

Creative

This area has a single exhibit on "Gameplay Philosophy". It explains that the game's design emphasizes strong primary gameplay (exploration, platforming, combat), integrating story and gameplay to make environments feel meaningful, compelling secondary gameplay (optional missions and secrets), and layouts that allow players to tackle objectives in any order.

FX

While there are no text exhibits in this area, walking through it causes time to slow down. A pyramid of crates is stacked here, which can be broken to demonstrate the effects of slowed time, suggesting this was a testing area for time anomaly effects.

Vullard Settlement

The vullard settlement.

A teleporter locked behind voltan ivy leads to a large, cut section of Krell Canyon. The area was intended to be a settlement where players could interact with the Vullard townsfolk after saving them from the Agorian invasion, opening up optional collection quests. It was fully completed but had to be cut because Krell Canyon was already too memory-intensive. Planned content for the area included hoverboot chases for Zoni, a tetramite puzzle, and an optional firefighting mission.

Hydroid concept art.

Within the settlement are further exhibits. The "Hydroid" was a living hydroplant that Ratchet could carry to reach high ledges, but it was cut because players could use it to easily jump out of the world. An exhibit on "OmniSoaker Functionality" describes two cut liquid types: "gelatonium" (a bouncy gel) and lava. Both were removed for being redundant with other mechanics.

An info icon at a cliff edge gives background on the "Wrench Tether", which was first tried in Quest for Booty to allow for more than the standard bolt-turning interaction. Finally, an exhibit on the "Future Frontier Style" explains that the civilizations of the Breegus System were secluded, resulting in older, clunkier, "Wild West" style technology that mixed old-world construction with hi-tech gadgetry.