Ratchet & Clank All-4-One was the first Ratchet & Clank game created by the newly formed Insomniac Durham studio. It was a big pivot away from the transitional Ratchet & Clank gameplay that players were accustomed too. The goal was to create a fun and entertaining co-op experience that people could play together. Also introduced was the fixed camera which proved to be a challenging element to implement into levels.
I was the Designer for the following levels unless otherwise noted. I was responsible for the level's layout, combat setups, mechanics some enemy design, and assisting with level dialog.
Planet Magnus: Minion Training Center
This was the first level I ever designed for a Ratchet & Clank game. Let alone a four player fixed camera Ratchet & Clank game which was new to the franchise in general. The players would be introduced to Susie as well as being trained on a new gadget to the series, the Vac-U.
Planet Magnus: Aldaros Plains
This level ended up being longer then it should have been. I'll be the first to admit that. Hindsight is 20/20 and all that. It was still fun to design though and designing the different level traversal challenges was fun. The Glob Lobber also proved challenging and it was almost cut from the game. Thankfully I was able to design some traversal challenges that proved fun and worth while.
Designing the
N.E.S.T (Northern Extraterrestrial Sorting Terminal)
This level was fun and challenging to design. The layout proved tricky to resolve at certain spots. I might have gone a little crazy with flinging the players through a glass window and then having them do a loop on the grindrail, which was the first time that had ever been done.
09:38 – 12:28 just camera work, encounter tweaks and crate placement.
Weather Station (co-designer)
Playthrough Part 2 (00:00 – 08:00)
Terrawat Forest
Forest
This was a fun level to design. The forest is dark and dangerous and players need to work together to move a shard carrier, which also happens to be a light source, through the level. Should a player wonder off they will be snatched up by what lurks beyond the light. Players can charge the shard up by fragments bread crumbed through the level or at charging stations in order to keep the light level at its maximum. At the end the players deliver the shard to a waiting guardian bot that will need a shift in perspective before helping the group traverse the dangerous path ahead.
Guardian Ride
I was a co-designer for the Guardian ride segment, which was super fun to help design.
Power Station
The power station was another fun segment to work on. Definitely challenging as it required designing power puzzles of increasing difficulty. It was fun working with one of the animators to bring some personality to your friendly guardian. To give the guardian a final bit of personality we had it enter a pin code into a door, being careful to shield the numbers from the player before turning around and selflessly throwing its self at the enemy guardians to protect the players one last time.