Insomniac: If anything, it's got better since we were bought by PlayStation

[Gamernyc78]

Insomniac: If anything, it's got better since we were bought by PlayStation

An interview with Spider-Man 2 creative director Bryan Intihar about making the game, working at Insomniac and being bo…

www.gamesindustry.biz

Of course, Insomniac's games aren't exactly 100-hour epic RPGs. And it's a big studio with multiple teams. Yet even so, 2020's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, 2021's Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and the upcoming Spider-Man 2 is an impressive level of output for any developer.

"There are a lot of people who have worked on all of these games," explains senior creative director Bryan Intihar.

"So we are always evolving and challenging ourselves to get better. Miles Morales had a better production process than Spider-Man 1. Ratchet & Clank had better production process than Miles. We are always evaluating and improving. Have we perfected it? No. But we are always asking how we can make the process better for everybody.

We are honest with ourselves that we don't do everything perfect, and that allows us to have that open mind about how we can be better. Not just in terms of making the game better, but also to feel better about coming to work every day. We will be learning a lot from this project as well."

The project Intihar is talking about is Spider-Man 2, which is the big PlayStation 5 exclusive that launches next month. And unlike other big PS5 games, such as God of War Ragnarok, Gran Turismo 7 and Horizon Forbidden West, this one really is a PlayStation 5 exclusive. There is no PS4 version.

There have been other PS5 exclusives, but this is by far the biggest and will no doubt be watched closely by those looking to evaluate the capabilities of Sony's console. Is that something the Spider-Man 2 team were conscious of during development?

"I don't think we were conscious that we were 'the first'," Intihar answers. "We knew from the beginning we were going to make Spider-Man 2 for PlayStation 5. And then it's about what the PlayStation 5 offers that we can take advantage of. We are very lucky to work with Mark Cerny [lead system architect on PS5]. Mark is one of the producers of the game. He is my mentor. I owe a lot to him in terms of who I am today professionally. Working with Mark helped us understand where the console is going. We knew about the SSD. And so that fantasy of players of 'I want to swing faster and faster and faster', we knew we could deliver that.

"But also... what is it about the console that allows us to deliver the vision for the game? We wanted our set pieces, our villain moments, to feel bigger. And we wanted to go seamlessly from below ground to above ground, to go from exterior to interior quickly. With the PS5 and the loading, we can do that a lot easier than before."

Spider-Man 2 isn't the first PS5-only game, but it is the biggest

 

[Bryank75]

That's what it's all about.

I don't want to see excuses for other studios in first party, ND should have had something new out by now or at least very soon.

It was wrong to put them on a multiplayer Gaas style game IMO.

Anyway, Insomniac are incredible, I can't wait for Wolverine.

 

[Kokoloko]

Sony has done a great job with Insomniac, expanding the studios.
Since 2018 they’ve made: Spiderman, Spiderman MM, Ratchet and Clank, Spiderman 2 and if they get Wolverine out by early 2025 that would be very impressive.


I wish Sony also expanded Sucker Punch, Guerilla, Naughty Dog, Santa Monica in the same way. Maybe they have but we’ll have to see, so far Insomniac is the output kings of PS.

 

[historia]

I think they have been on a roll since Ratchet and Clank. Their engine is pretty flexible, may not looks as good as ND or Decima.

Also can Sony works with FromSoft using Decima next?

 

[Danja]

That's what it's all about.

I don't want to see excuses for other studios in first party, ND should have had something new out by now or at least very soon.

It was wrong to put them on a multiplayer Gaas style game IMO.

Anyway, Insomniac are incredible, I can't wait for Wolverine.

And what annoys me the most about the Naughty Dog situation is the fact, they make amazing multiplayer games and really should have been one of the big boys in online gaming from 2011, but Playstation didn't give them the resources and push they needed to fully get but they did try.

They lost the entire Uncharted 3 Multiplayer team. I know Factions would have been out long ago had they nutured the talent and kept that division of the company.

But I fully agree with you.

 

[Danja]

I think they have been on a roll since Ratchet and Clank. Their engine is pretty flexible, may not looks as good as ND or Decima.

Also can Sony works with FromSoft using Decima next?

They been on a roll since 2002 if we are to be honest.

 

[historia]

They been on a roll since 2002 if we are to be honest.

50-50 for me. Resistence 1 is pretty cool, basically a really good FPS. Resistence 2 and 3 was pretty meh.

Never played Sunset Overdrive because that game never get published in my country, and I sure damn hell wouldn't pay for GP later on.

Ratchet and Clank PS3 was OK and Spiderman is when they hit mainstream.

Also Spyro was great but that was like a long time ago. I

 

[Gamernyc78]

I think they have been on a roll since Ratchet and Clank. Their engine is pretty flexible, may not looks as good as ND or Decima.

Also can Sony works with FromSoft using Decima next?

Sony is definitely looking to have Decima be used by third parties and it makes sense especially with the unity bs going on.

 

[Danja]

50-50 for me. Resistence 1 is pretty cool, basically a really good FPS. Resistence 2 and 3 was pretty meh.

Never played Sunset Overdrive because that game never get published in my country, and I sure damn hell wouldn't pay for GP later on.

Ratchet and Clank was OK and Spiderman is when they hit mainstream.

Well my love for Insomniac Studios started with Spyro: Year of The Dragon.

But Ratchet & Clank 2002 was where they truly shined and then a year later they dropped the amazing Ratchet: Going Commando... and they never let up.

Loved Resistance 1 and online was great for the time. Resistance 2 Co-op was fantastic, didn't like some of the online changes but they made Resistance 3 which is one of the best FPS game of that generation, imo.

I also loved all the Ratchet games from that generation, even the 4 Player Co-op game was fun to me.

They're only misfire was Fuse and I don think it was terrible just very bland and by the books.

Sunset Overdrive another great game that unfortunately ended up on the wrong console.

I can't think of another Studio other than Naughty Dog and Polyphony with more consistency under the Sony Umbrella.

They've eclipsed Naughty Dog for now.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Sony has done a great job with Insomniac, expanding the studios.
Since 2018 they’ve made: Spiderman, Spiderman MM, Ratchet and Clank, Spiderman 2 and if they get Wolverine out by early 2025 that would be very impressive.


I wish Sony also expanded Sucker Punch, Guerilla, Naughty Dog, Santa Monica in the same way. Maybe they have but we’ll have to see, so far Insomniac is the output kings of PS.

I wouldn't say we haven't seen Guerilla put out some top-notch stuff pushing PS5. Though it was just an expansion, Burning Shores is great and has probably the most epic final boss battle so far this gen, when you consider the scale of it and everything happening at a technical level. You couldn't do that on a PS4.

But it's true Insomniac have been a true workhorse for Sony since this gen has started; if anything their pipeline is one the other studios should be emulating, especially Naughty Dog. And Insomniac's been working out much better for Sony, than, say, Bethesda has for Microsoft (while costing significantly less).

 

[historia]

Sony is definitely looking to have Decima be used by third parties and it makes sense especially with the unity bs going on.

The reason UE and Unity are popular are because of documentations and the amounts of pre-made assets.

Sony would definitely license Decima for second party use though. Devs like From lacks in tech aspects and Sony would help they as long as PS exclusivity is on table.

 

[Gamernyc78]

I wouldn't say we haven't seen Guerilla put out some top-notch stuff pushing PS5. Though it was just an expansion, Burning Shores is great and has probably the most epic final boss battle so far this gen, when you consider the scale of it and everything happening at a technical level. You couldn't do that on a PS4.

But it's true Insomniac have been a true workhorse for Sony since this gen has started; if anything their pipeline is one the other studios should be emulating, especially Naughty Dog. And Insomniac's been working out much better for Sony, than, say, Bethesda has for Microsoft (while costing significantly less).

Guerilla are beasts in their own right. Burning Shores is widely believed to be the graphical benchmark on consoles.

 

[Darth Vader]

Guerilla are beasts in their own right. Burning Shores is widely believed to be the graphical benchmark on consoles.

"Nah, the lighting on their game looks bad, much worse than starfield."

- Some dude that has issues with PS Studios Games

 

[historia]

"Nah, the lighting on their game looks bad, much worse than starfield."

- Some dude that has issues with PS Studios Games

I think he said it looks worse than Star Citizen. But you get the point. That guy is obssesed with RTGI and Ray Tracing.

 

[Danja]

Guerilla are beasts in their own right. Burning Shores is widely believed to be the graphical benchmark on consoles.

They just need better writers and maybe someone to help them perfect combat and they will finally ascend amongst the gods .. Sony Santa, Insomniac, Naughty Dog, Sucker Punch

 

[Gamernyc78]

Gwen Stacy "Isn't Part Of Our Story" Says Spider-Man 2 Narrative Lead​

https://www.thegamer.com/spider-man-2-narrative-lead-gwen-stacy-not-part-of-the-story/

However I definitely look forward to her being involved or a standalone would be imo.

 

[ethomaz]

They got more money and that makes a lot of things better imo.

 

[KiryuRealty]

Gwen Stacy "Isn't Part Of Our Story" Says Spider-Man 2 Narrative Lead​

https://www.thegamer.com/spider-man-2-narrative-lead-gwen-stacy-not-part-of-the-story/

However I definitely look forward to her being involved or a standalone would be imo.

But what if they hit Gwen with the same ugly stick they beat Mary Jane with for the first game?