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My Blaster Runs Hot weapon contest

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The weapon contest poster.

The weapon contest poster.

The My Blaster Runs Hot weapon contest (also known as the "Captain Qwark's My Blaster Runs Hot Weapons Contest Sponsored by Gadgetron") was a fan contest run by Insomniac Games for A Crack in Time. The contest allowed fans to submit ideas for a Ratchet & Clank series weapon. It took place between March 27, 2009, and April 10, 2009,[1] and resulted in the Spiral of Death, which was revealed at San Diego Comic-Con on July 23, 2009.[2]

The contest had over a thousand entries.[3] After five finalists were chosen and announced on April 17, 2009, they were opened for voting.[4] The Spiral of Death ultimately won the contest.

Finalists[]

Spiral of Death[]

See also: Spiral of Death

Plasma Sprinkler Glove[]

The Plasma Sprinkler Glove weapon would throw a grenade-shaped item, which would then turn into an irrigation sprinkler that fired plasma.

James Stevenson, community director at Insomniac Games, voted for the Plasma Sprinkler Glove himself.[3]

Bubble Shot[]

The Bubble Shot would fire corrosive bubbles. Smaller, quicker bubbles could be created using small amounts of ammo; larger, slower-moving bubbles could be made which use up more ammo and cause much more damage.

The Bubble Shot is similar in game mechanics and aesthetics to the in-game Dynamo of Doom weapon, which charges up shots that use more ammo, do more damage, and are larger than a single button press, only they use electricity rather than bubbles of acid.

Qwark Machine[]

The Qwark Machine is a glove that fires small eggs which release miniature Captain Qwarks. The level 1 Qwarks would use a blaster, level 2 would use burping gas, level 3 would choke enemies with bare hands, and level 4 would eat the enemies.

Though the weapon did not win the vote, miniature Qwarks did appear as enemies in Clank's subconscious.

Super-Sized Sticky Hand Toy[]

The Super-Sized Sticky Hand Toy was a melee weapon that could be used to slap enemies. It could also wrap around enemies and allow the user to throw them around with the SIXAXIS.

Additional favorites[]

Shockwave Inducer[]

The Shockwave Inducer is an area-of-effect weapon that fires a shockwave around Ratchet. It was close to making the cut due to being different from previous Ratchet & Clank weapons, and Insomniac Games appreciated the art.[3]

The Pixelator[]

The Pixelator concept was a pistol that transforms enemies into pixelized versions of themselves. Though the idea had existed within Insomniac in the past, it was rejected due to the art and programming system required to enable the weapon to work.[3]

Notably, the concept eventually became a real weapon in the Pixelizer, first featured in Ratchet & Clank (2016 game).

Fruit of the Doom[]

The Fruit of the Doom concept would fire boxer shorts at enemies to force them to wear underwear. This was one of many weapons suggesting underwear guns, and was included in the list due to its clever title and imagery. It could not make the list due to the programming work involved in giving every enemy underwear and animations, as well as the potential to harm the ESRB rating.[3]

Peter Rottentail[]

The Peter Rottentail concept fired weapons spawning zombie bunnies. It could not make the cut due to requiring a full new character and animation set.[3]

Shotgunchuk[]

The Shotgunchuk (also referred to as the "Boomstickchuk" by Bryan Bernal[5] and the "Shotgun Chuk" in-game[6]) weapon combines nunchaku with shotguns. It was unable to make the finalists due to not fitting the Ratchet & Clank universe and requiring too much hero animation.[3] One of the character artists, Thom, loved the design enough to create a version of it that featured in the Insomniac Museum.[7]

Sammich Gun[]

The Sammich Gun concept fired grilled cheese sandwiches spiced with a napalm sauce at enemies, who would explode upon ingesting the sandwich. It would have upgraded into the "Sub" Machine Gun, replacing the grilled cheese sandwiches for club sandwiches. While the team enjoyed it, the weapon was ultimately cut due to them having trouble visualizing how the enemy deformation would work.[5]

I.B.S.[]

The I.B.S. (short for "Irritable Bowel Shotgun") concept induced bowel troubles on any enemies hit with its rounds. A single shot would cause them to hunch over in pain, while getting hit a second time would cause them to pass gas uncontrollably, causing nearby enemies to pass out or run away. The concept states that it would've been wielded by Captain Qwark, either implying that it wasn't a weapon Ratchet was meant to obtain it or that the weapon's creator believed that Qwark would have been playable in A Crack in Time.[5]

Arnold Schwarzeneggranade[]

The Arnold Schwarzneggranade concept released actor and former politician Arnold Schwarzenegger to attack enemies. Once his energy had been depleted, he would say "I'll be back," a reference to his film The Terminator. While the weapon is jokingly implied to have been cut because hearing quotes from Arnold Schwarzenegger for hours on end would become annoying, it's more than likely that the weapon was rejected due to the legal hurdles of acquiring his likeness.[5]

The TransVestor[]

The TransVestor concept dressed up enemies in women's clothing and make-up, stopping them from attacking for a brief time as they either ran off in embarrassment or distracted them as they embraced the outfit they received. The concept also allowed for Ratchet to use the weapon on Clank in order to sneak into gender-specific locales. It was rejected due to the difficulty in implementing it.[5]

Alien Abductionator[]

The Alien Abductionator concept signaled aliens to abduct and kill any nearby enemies. The concept states that the weapon was a gift to Captain Qwark by an alien race, as he reminded them of their former king. According to character artist Thom Olson, the weapon was nearly included in the game. Though a reason was not given for its rejection, its likely due to the weapon having very similar mechanics to the Rift Inducer 5000.[8]

Spike Gauntlet[]

The Spike Gauntlet concept allowed Ratchet to slam his fist into the ground causing a large spike to erupt from the ground and damage a nearby enemy. Its upgraded form was the Volcano Gauntlet, which created 3 spikes that would shoot molten lava from the tips. It was rejected due to its mechanics necessitating more resources than was allocated for a single weapon.[8]

MaskerAID[]

The MaskerAID concept fired Ratchet masks onto enemies, who would attempt to pull them off. Other enemies would begin attacking the masked enemy as if they were Ratchet. It was rejected due to the cost in animating a masked form for every enemy.[8]

Chickaboom[]

The Chickaboom concept fired out a holographic projecter that would display a sensually-designed Lombax decoy in order to distract enemies. Its upgraded form would have the decoy hold a grilled cheese sandwich as well.[8]

A mechanically similar weapon would be introduced in All 4 One in the form of the Doppelbanger.

Boomerang Gun[]

The Boomerang Gun concept launched a boomerang that would hit enemies twice - once as its shot, and once as it returns. It held a single round that would be reused endlessly, effectively meaning that it had no ammo. It nearly made the finals, but was rejected due to the infinite ammo being difficult to balance within the gameplay.[8] It's likely that the Spiral of Death, which ultimately ended up winning the contest, also played into its rejection due to it's near-identical gameplay whilst not having balance issues.

The Murderang weapon from Sunset Overdrive, a later title by Insomniac Games, bares a striking resemblace to the Boomerang Gun, although it too forgoes infinite ammo.

Other Known Submissions[]

The G4 television show X-Play once featured a segment discussing the contest[9], wherein a number of weapon submissions were shown.

Citations[]

  1. ↑ Stevenson March 2009
  2. ↑ Stevenson July 2009
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Stevenson May 2009
  4. ↑ Stevenson April 2009
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Bernal May 2009
  6. ↑ A Crack in Time, Insomniac Museum § Shotgun Chuk
  7. ↑ A Crack in Time, Insomniac Museum § Shotgun Chuk
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Olson May 2009
  9. ↑ X-Play 2009

References[]

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