The Insomniac Museum in Up Your Arsenal is the second incarnation of the museum in the series. Much like its predecessor in Going Commando, it is a secret location containing developer commentary on unused material from Ratchet & Clank, Going Commando, and Up Your Arsenal. The museum features donated exhibits and commentary from twelve different developers.
The Insomniac Museum can be accessed in two ways. A teleporter in the Starship Phoenix becomes available after the player obtains all trophies for the trophy room. Alternatively, a teleporter on a balcony in Metropolis, Kerwan will activate when the console's internal clock is set to 3:00 AM. This teleporter is found to the left of the first tower encountered.
Exhibits[]
Exhibits are found in various rooms throughout the museum and can be visited in any order. The items are donated by one of twelve developers, who provide text commentary via a help message when the player stands on a floating icon.
Some exhibits are located in a large room locked behind a forcefield, which requires the Hacker to access. This area is themed around the Qwark vid-comics and contains a replica of Ratchet's quarters from the Starship Phoenix, with the Insomniac game pyramid replacing the VG-9000.
Mike Stout[]
Mike Stout, a Designer on Up Your Arsenal and the creator of the original museum,[1] donated several exhibits. As the designer and programmer of the Hacker,[2] he presents a set of "fiendishly hard" Hacker puzzles created by QA testers Ed Kim, Bill Powers, Chris Towne, Bryan Bernal, and Tyler Moore, which award 40,000 bolts upon completion.[3]
An editable Hacker puzzle is also present, which allows players to modify its variables using the same debug interface the developers used; this is accessed by holding 
and 
when approaching the port.[4] Stout also donated the return of editable special effects from the previous museum, where players can stand on one of four devices to open a debug window and alter effect values.[3]
His final donation is a showcase of vid-comic enemies, allowing players to view the models up close and cycle through their animations with 
, as they appear very small on-screen during gameplay.[3]
Cory Stockton[]
Cory Stockton, a designer, donated the unfinished turboslider races. He explains that while the feature was planned for the game, it was cut early due to a lack of time, with the museum's track and model being the only completed assets.[5][6] The exhibit features a unique, untextured turboslider model with jet thrusters behind its front skis and a smaller turret.
Pressing transports the player to the unfinished racetrack on Florana, where they can drive the standard multiplayer turboslider model. The track winds through a jungle, under nabla native treehouses, and past a temple, featuring numerous ramps, branching paths, and mud and water patches. Many environmental objects lack collision detection. The player can return to the museum by pressing again. Scott Reeser's image also appears next to the donation, suggesting a shared contribution.
Ken Strickland[]
Ken Strickland, a programmer, was one of the developers responsible for the Qwark vid-comics.[7] He donated a model of Captain Blackstar, the original boss for the first vid-comic. He explains that the character proved too complex and was cut as a boss, though he still appears in cutscenes.[8] Players can cycle Blackstar's animations with .
Strickland also donated the playable "Special Edition" of Booty is in the Eye of the Beholder. This original version is slower-paced and more difficult, requiring frequent wall-jumps and forcing the player to find two separate crystals to progress.
It features a different soundtrack (from the grind rail segment on Batalia in the first game) and culminates in the fight against Captain Blackstar.[8] This version was poorly received by focus testers due to its difficulty, leading to the more streamlined version in the final game.[9]
Sean Wissler[]
Sean Wissler was a designer also responsible for the Qwark vid-comics.[7] He donated the first level ever designed for the vid-comics, which remains unnamed. Set in a mining area, it features a robotic eye boss and enemies that would later appear in the vid-comics Shadow of the Robot and The Shaming of the Q. Wissler explains that because it was a very early prototype, many of the concepts attempted in the level did not work well, resulting in the entire level being cut.[10]
Scott Reeser[]
The multiplayer mini-mech models.
Scott Reeser donated an exhibit showcasing the multiplayer mini-mech. He explains that originally, this "monstrosity" would appear and wreak havoc on the battlefield if one team controlled all nodes. The feature was ultimately cut for being too complex.[11]
The exhibit contains two models: a blue, arched robot with a single red eye and back-turrets, whose animations can be cycled with }; and an untextured tank with legs that has no collision. Unused game text also makes reference to the "Mini-mech".[12]
Carl Grande[]
Carl Grande, QA Manager, donated two exhibits. The first is a showcase for his dog, Hank, who he humorously pushed as a "De Facto mascot for Insomniac Games." The room contains posters with captions such as "HANK Says I'm Proud of you ... so stand tall like me!" and another with a "Ratchet & Hank" logo.[13]
His second donation is an early concept model for the sandshark from the original Ratchet & Clank. This version is a quadrupedal creature, larger than the final sandshark with a much taller fin, which Grande explains "ended up not being the look we were going for."[13]
Gray Ginther[]
Gray Ginther, an artist, donated early concepts for two items. The first is the original mask Captain Qwark wears on Florana, which features a different design, particularly on the mouth. Ginther explains it was replaced with a more "somber" one after being "found to be too silly."[14]
The second is an early, untextured model of the hovership vehicle, which has a similar round shape but larger thrusters at the back.[14]
Steve Moore[]
The "Hound of Doom" cut weapon models.
Steve Moore, a programmer, donated the "Hound of Doom," a weapon intended for Going Commando. The exhibit shows two models: a large, untextured version with cycleable animations, and a smaller, textured metal version.
Moore explains the weapon was designed to seek out enemies, attack, and "hang onto them until they shook him off or were defeated."[15] Its appearance and function are similar to the Agents of Doom. It is unclear why it was ultimately removed.
Tony Garcia[]
Tony Garcia, a programmer, donated several exhibits. He provides commentary on two fully textured and partially programmed enemies cut from Daxx. An ape-like enemy would throw crates (or other enemies) and beat its chest, but was cut for being too complex. A smaller, hedgehog-like swarmer that would roll to attack was replaced with the less bug-prone Floranian blood flies.[16]
Garcia later elaborated that the lack of inverse kinematics on the PlayStation 2 made syncing the two enemies' movements extremely difficult.[17]
Garcia's other donations have no in-game commentary. One exhibit features Chainblade from Going Commando armed with purple whips. Garcia later explained this was a personal project to test programmatic whip physics (inspired by Ivy from Soul Calibur), which led to the creation of the player's Plasma Whip.[18]
Garcia also donated teleporters to the "Bombs Away!" and "Pirate vs. Ninja" minigames. The latter is a two-player fighting game with controls for various attacks, jumps, and crouching.
John Lally[]
"Mister Fister," an unused creature model.
John Lally donated "Mister Fister," an unfinished model of a goblin-like creature, slightly taller than Ratchet, with an enlarged right fist. No commentary is provided, but a message near the model reads "All hail Mister Fister!". Its intended purpose is unknown.
Ryan Schneider[]
Ryan Schneider's exhibit is a community message encouraging players to visit the official Insomniac Games website to learn more about the developers and to unlock additional multiplayer skins by joining the online community.[19]
Other Exhibits[]
A few exhibits are not attributed to a specific developer. In the same cubicle as the mini-mech is "The Joaquin," a picture comparing a fan drawing by Joaquin Barlow to the concept art for the gladiator enemy it inspired. A nearby teleporter leads to the "Tank Room," a large, open area containing a driveable Megacorp Hover Tank from Going Commando. It can be moved with the 
, its turret aimed with the 
, and its missiles fired with 
or 
, with 
zooming out to an overhead aiming view. Its purpose is unknown.
Passwords[]
Two computers in the museum display the passwords 'YING_TZU' and '_MEGHAN_'. These can be entered in the VG-9000 on the Starship Phoenix to unlock and play the "Bombs Away!" and "Pirate vs. Ninja" minigames, respectively.
Behind the scenes[]
The museum's soundtrack is an unused track originally intended for the vid-comics for which no suitable place was found.[20]
Citations[]
- ↑ Allgeier, Fixman 2018 50:40
- ↑ Stout, Garcia May 28 2012 4:15
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Up Your Arsenal script § "Mike Stout"
- ↑ Stout, Garcia May 28 2012 9:10
- ↑ Stout, Garcia May 24 2012 0:27
- ↑ Up Your Arsenal script § "Cory Stockton"
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Stout, Garcia April 2012 0:41
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Up Your Arsenal script § "Ken Strickland"
- ↑ Stout, Garcia April 2012 6:00
- ↑ Up Your Arsenal script § "Sean Wissler"
- ↑ Up Your Arsenal script § "Scott Reeser"
- ↑ Up Your Arsenal, Scrapped Items on The Cutting Room Floor
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Up Your Arsenal script § "Carl Grande"
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Up Your Arsenal script § "Gray Ginther"
- ↑ Up Your Arsenal script § "Steve Moore"
- ↑ Up Your Arsenal script § "Tony Garcia"
- ↑ Stout, Garcia June 4 2012 1:01
- ↑ Stout, Garcia March 2012 14:30
- ↑ Up Your Arsenal script § "Ryan Schneider"
- ↑ Stout, Garcia September 2012 6:15
References[]
- Video games
- Insomniac Games (2004). Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal [Game]. PlayStation 2.
- Videos
- Allgeier, Brian; Fixman, TJ [@GDC] (2018, June 26). 15 Years of Ratchet & Clank: A Lombax Story [Video]. YouTube.
- Stout, Mike; Garcia, Tony [@uselesspodcasts] (2012, March 26). Ratchet & Clank 3 Dev Commentary: 3 - Starship Phoenix [Video]. YouTube.
- Stout, Mike; Garcia, Tony [@uselesspodcasts] (2012, April 24). Ratchet & Clank 3 Dev Commentary: 5 - Vid Comics Part 1 [Video]. YouTube.
- Stout, Mike; Garcia, Tony [@uselesspodcasts] (2012, May 24). Ratchet & Clank 3 Dev Commentary: 12 - Hate Missiles (Snowbeast Award Winner) [Video]. YouTube.
- Stout, Mike; Garcia, Tony [@uselesspodcasts] (2012, May 28). Ratchet & Clank 3 Dev Commentary: 13 - Hacker and VR Training [Video]. YouTube.
- Stout, Mike; Garcia, Tony [@uselesspodcasts] (2012, June 4). Ratchet & Clank 3 Dev Commentary: 14 - Crates, Crates, Crates [Video]. YouTube.
- Stout, Mike; Garcia, Tony [@uselesspodcasts] (2012, September 30). Ratchet & Clank 3 Dev Commentary: 30 - Music (No Video) [Video]. YouTube.