The weapon contest poster.
The My Blaster Runs Hot weapon contest 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[]
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]
Shotgun Chuk[]
The Shotgun Chuk 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.[5]
Citations[]
References[]
- Stevenson, James (2009, March 27). "Ratchet & Clank Weapons Contest Opens Today!". From PlayStation Blog. Archived from the original on July 30, 2024.
- Stevenson, James (2009, April 17). "Vote now! Insomniac’s Ratchet & Clank Future Weapon Contest is on!". From PlayStation Blog. Archived from the original on July 30, 2024.
- Stevenson, James (2009, May 8). "Ratchet & Clank Future Weapons Contest: Our Fave Fives #1". From PlayStation Blog. Archived from the original on July 30, 2024.
- Stevenson, James (2009, July 28). "Ratchet & Clank Comic-Con Recap (with Videos!)". From PlayStation Blog. Archived from the original on July 30, 2024.
- Insomniac Games (2009). Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 3.