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Gorehound
My current desktop. Starship designed and modeled by me with Google Sketchup (I love that program). I used Paintshop Pro 11 to put together the wallpaper. I'll probably make some more of my other models.
Friday, June 13, 2008
"What if" in the Ratchet and Clank universe
First off, I can't write worth beans. This won't be a story. It will be more of a collection of thoughts that may or may not interest you. If you're a Ratchet and Clank fan you may find this mildly entertaining. Please forgive if the background is a little shaky, I've only played the games and haven't dug any deeper. If there happens to be a highly chronological synopses somewhere, I don't know about it. Oh, and, just in case there's some individual out there who hasn't played the earlier games, there may be spoilers ahead. You've been warned. So sit back, put reality on the back burner and envision with me.
What if Ratchet actually meets a Lombax girl?
(I don't believe Angela or Sasha were actually Lombaxes. They were both way too tall, Angela didn't have a tail and Sasha was way too catlike in the face.)
There, the question is asked. Perhaps you've wondered similar. Here's my take.
Let's go back to the middle of the Cragmites' attempted takeover of the galaxy. The dimensionator has yet to be created, the war against the Lombaxes is in full swing. Focus in on a planet on the brink of total depopulation by the Cragmites. A Lombax planet. Chaos reigns. A young Lombax couple, desperate to save the life of their 3 year old daughter come up with a nearly unthinkable solution. Amidst much protest (believe me, a 3 year old can protest),they load the child into a stasis tank and launch her into space. Knowing without a doubt they will never see her again, the parents know too they may have doomed the child to a non-life, drifting through space forever. Cragmite depopulation is completed.
Time passes.
Dimensionator is created yadda yadda.
Cragmites...relocated? yadda yadda.
A whole mess o'time passes.
egg found, egg hatched, bad egg
vengeance begins
decision is made. Lombaxes will relocate this time. One remains behind to guard the dimensionator, infant son stays with.
Infant son sent packing to Solana Galaxy, presumably straight to Veldin to be raised by ??.
Anciently old automated deep space salvage vessel (hereafter referred to as AOADSSV), its creators long since extinct, picks up a certain space fairing stasis pod.
A few years pass. The concept of Ratchet as a toddler frightens me.
AOADSSV returns to base, an equally ancient automated, still functioning, foundry/refinery from the same extinct creators. Facility is on a lush, tropical world. Planet has remains of a once dominant, intelligent species but the jungles have over run nearly everything. Two giant lizard like ugly mutants (hereafter referred to as GLLUMs) have taken up residence in the facility. AOADSSV dumps payload. A certain no longer space fairing stasis pod is discovered by GLUMMs. GLUMMs have found new pet. Pet turns out to be intelligent. GLLUMs it would seem have a parental instinct and adopt child as their own. Child is named Keevie. Keevie is raised in a somewhat hostile environment. Learns at a very early age the flora and fauna of jungle world is not "so pretty I could eat it". GLUMMs and Keevie work hard to keep nature out of their living area. Keevie also, not so surprisingly, has a positive knack with technology. From keeping the facility's remaining security systems working smoothly, to inventing her own ways of dealing with intruders. Facility has rudimentary contact with the galaxy at large. Keevie, happens upon some online photos (minds out of the gutter please) of one Captain Qwark. Major crush is developed.
Core of facility is sealed off as GLUMMs' and Keevie's home, south wing is home to primitive tribe of something or others, remaining wings are a warzone between facility security systems and the forces of nature.
Keevie created her own weapons. She tried, and was terrifyingly inept with, firearms. She developed the Impactor hammer for hand to hand combat. The fourth iteration of said hammer has multiple functions. If she's simply hitting the bad guys, the hammer does marginally more damage than Ratchet's wrench. When striking the ground there are two possible effects. One face of the hammer (the blue side) creates a burst of electrical energy from the ground in a circle around impact. The other face (the pink side) uses stasis technology she salvaged from the pod she was found in. On impact with the ground the hammer can freeze nearby enemies in place for a short time allowing for escape or unopposed pummeling of the opposition. As would be expected these effects diminish on more powerful baddies. Hammer can also be thrown and then returned to her hand via phasic technology (more on this in a bit). Hammer can be upgraded to increase damage and effects. The Impactor IV also has a small wrench built into the top of the head.
Impactor IV created by me on Google Sketchup
Our clever little Lombax female also has another trick up her sleeve (on her back actually). Keevie developed a little device she refers to as a Phase Pack. In short, teleportation. There are limitations however. She needs direct line of sight. No phasing behind a rock, into a hiding place, to the end of the level, etc. Also, no phasing through solid objects or energy fields, even if she can see through it (glass, force fields etc.). Her hammer has built in phasic technology wherein she can through her hammer at walls, bad guys, stubborn vending machines, etc. on impact, hammer emits electrical explosion then "phases" back to Keevie's hand. Yes, she is temporarily unarmed when she does this so planning is necessary.
Defense. Another little Keevie creation is the portable shield pack. Capable of absorbing a percentage of damage taken, then discharging the absorbed energy to moderately damage nearby enemies. Shield pack can also be upgraded for increased effect. Shield would be invisible and be projected close to her body. Game mechanics would be similar to Ratchet's armour.
Personality-I envision Keevie acting a lot like Ratchet. Not as likely to think things through as Clank is, therefore more likely to land trouble. Not exactly reckless but close. Despite being independent, clever, and tough as nails, Keevie's led a sheltered life. Aside from a few grainy Captain Qwark pics and a Slim Cogneto advert she's had zero contact with the galaxy. Socially she is quite naive. Keevie learned the common galactic language from the facility's archaic computers, computers that were programmed by a species not well versed in the common galactic language, so her way of speaking is a little, shall we say, odd. She loves her adopted family to pieces but wishes they were a little more sociable. With thoughts constantly awash with dreams of galactic adventure, Keevie spends her days tinkering with and upgrading the facility's systems and working on her own inventions. She has occasionally entertained the thought of building a space ship and flying away but, she secretly fears leaving her "family" and going into space alone, again.
There, the introduction of a new character (who just happens to be a female Lombax), a new world in which Ratchet (and Clank?) can fight his way to the, um, story event?, potential boss fight (GLUMMs/Keevie), romance? That remains to be seen. Personally I'd like Ratchet and Keevie to get on one another's nerves something awful. Keevie gets under Ratchets skin because of her crush on the good Captain, and, well , he kinda thinks she's a witch with a capital B. Ratchet gets to Keevie because, well, he's a boy. Eventually they'll, of course, mesh but I don't know whether I'd prefer a romantic relationship or more of a best buds sort of relationship. Maybe start with the latter and work toward the former over several games. Above all else, NO MUSHINESS!!
Timing would be good for this sort of character addition to the series. When the next "Ratchet and Clank:Future" game is developed, Clank ain't gonna be there at the beginning. Ratchet's gonna need more help than just firepower (Kronk, Zephyr et al). With her enemy stunning hammer and phasing, Keevie could be a playable character more geared toward puzzle solving a la Clank.
Is there room in the Ratchet and Clank series for a permanent girl character? I think there is, as long as it's handled right.
Thanks for your time.
Above images were created by me.
What if Ratchet actually meets a Lombax girl?
(I don't believe Angela or Sasha were actually Lombaxes. They were both way too tall, Angela didn't have a tail and Sasha was way too catlike in the face.)
There, the question is asked. Perhaps you've wondered similar. Here's my take.
Let's go back to the middle of the Cragmites' attempted takeover of the galaxy. The dimensionator has yet to be created, the war against the Lombaxes is in full swing. Focus in on a planet on the brink of total depopulation by the Cragmites. A Lombax planet. Chaos reigns. A young Lombax couple, desperate to save the life of their 3 year old daughter come up with a nearly unthinkable solution. Amidst much protest (believe me, a 3 year old can protest),they load the child into a stasis tank and launch her into space. Knowing without a doubt they will never see her again, the parents know too they may have doomed the child to a non-life, drifting through space forever. Cragmite depopulation is completed.
Time passes.
Dimensionator is created yadda yadda.
Cragmites...relocated? yadda yadda.
A whole mess o'time passes.
egg found, egg hatched, bad egg
vengeance begins
decision is made. Lombaxes will relocate this time. One remains behind to guard the dimensionator, infant son stays with.
Infant son sent packing to Solana Galaxy, presumably straight to Veldin to be raised by ??.
Anciently old automated deep space salvage vessel (hereafter referred to as AOADSSV), its creators long since extinct, picks up a certain space fairing stasis pod.
A few years pass. The concept of Ratchet as a toddler frightens me.
AOADSSV returns to base, an equally ancient automated, still functioning, foundry/refinery from the same extinct creators. Facility is on a lush, tropical world. Planet has remains of a once dominant, intelligent species but the jungles have over run nearly everything. Two giant lizard like ugly mutants (hereafter referred to as GLLUMs) have taken up residence in the facility. AOADSSV dumps payload. A certain no longer space fairing stasis pod is discovered by GLUMMs. GLUMMs have found new pet. Pet turns out to be intelligent. GLLUMs it would seem have a parental instinct and adopt child as their own. Child is named Keevie. Keevie is raised in a somewhat hostile environment. Learns at a very early age the flora and fauna of jungle world is not "so pretty I could eat it". GLUMMs and Keevie work hard to keep nature out of their living area. Keevie also, not so surprisingly, has a positive knack with technology. From keeping the facility's remaining security systems working smoothly, to inventing her own ways of dealing with intruders. Facility has rudimentary contact with the galaxy at large. Keevie, happens upon some online photos (minds out of the gutter please) of one Captain Qwark. Major crush is developed.Core of facility is sealed off as GLUMMs' and Keevie's home, south wing is home to primitive tribe of something or others, remaining wings are a warzone between facility security systems and the forces of nature.
Keevie created her own weapons. She tried, and was terrifyingly inept with, firearms. She developed the Impactor hammer for hand to hand combat. The fourth iteration of said hammer has multiple functions. If she's simply hitting the bad guys, the hammer does marginally more damage than Ratchet's wrench. When striking the ground there are two possible effects. One face of the hammer (the blue side) creates a burst of electrical energy from the ground in a circle around impact. The other face (the pink side) uses stasis technology she salvaged from the pod she was found in. On impact with the ground the hammer can freeze nearby enemies in place for a short time allowing for escape or unopposed pummeling of the opposition. As would be expected these effects diminish on more powerful baddies. Hammer can also be thrown and then returned to her hand via phasic technology (more on this in a bit). Hammer can be upgraded to increase damage and effects. The Impactor IV also has a small wrench built into the top of the head.Impactor IV created by me on Google Sketchup
Our clever little Lombax female also has another trick up her sleeve (on her back actually). Keevie developed a little device she refers to as a Phase Pack. In short, teleportation. There are limitations however. She needs direct line of sight. No phasing behind a rock, into a hiding place, to the end of the level, etc. Also, no phasing through solid objects or energy fields, even if she can see through it (glass, force fields etc.). Her hammer has built in phasic technology wherein she can through her hammer at walls, bad guys, stubborn vending machines, etc. on impact, hammer emits electrical explosion then "phases" back to Keevie's hand. Yes, she is temporarily unarmed when she does this so planning is necessary.
Defense. Another little Keevie creation is the portable shield pack. Capable of absorbing a percentage of damage taken, then discharging the absorbed energy to moderately damage nearby enemies. Shield pack can also be upgraded for increased effect. Shield would be invisible and be projected close to her body. Game mechanics would be similar to Ratchet's armour.
Personality-I envision Keevie acting a lot like Ratchet. Not as likely to think things through as Clank is, therefore more likely to land trouble. Not exactly reckless but close. Despite being independent, clever, and tough as nails, Keevie's led a sheltered life. Aside from a few grainy Captain Qwark pics and a Slim Cogneto advert she's had zero contact with the galaxy. Socially she is quite naive. Keevie learned the common galactic language from the facility's archaic computers, computers that were programmed by a species not well versed in the common galactic language, so her way of speaking is a little, shall we say, odd. She loves her adopted family to pieces but wishes they were a little more sociable. With thoughts constantly awash with dreams of galactic adventure, Keevie spends her days tinkering with and upgrading the facility's systems and working on her own inventions. She has occasionally entertained the thought of building a space ship and flying away but, she secretly fears leaving her "family" and going into space alone, again.
There, the introduction of a new character (who just happens to be a female Lombax), a new world in which Ratchet (and Clank?) can fight his way to the, um, story event?, potential boss fight (GLUMMs/Keevie), romance? That remains to be seen. Personally I'd like Ratchet and Keevie to get on one another's nerves something awful. Keevie gets under Ratchets skin because of her crush on the good Captain, and, well , he kinda thinks she's a witch with a capital B. Ratchet gets to Keevie because, well, he's a boy. Eventually they'll, of course, mesh but I don't know whether I'd prefer a romantic relationship or more of a best buds sort of relationship. Maybe start with the latter and work toward the former over several games. Above all else, NO MUSHINESS!!
Timing would be good for this sort of character addition to the series. When the next "Ratchet and Clank:Future" game is developed, Clank ain't gonna be there at the beginning. Ratchet's gonna need more help than just firepower (Kronk, Zephyr et al). With her enemy stunning hammer and phasing, Keevie could be a playable character more geared toward puzzle solving a la Clank.
Is there room in the Ratchet and Clank series for a permanent girl character? I think there is, as long as it's handled right.
Thanks for your time.
Above images were created by me.
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