Tow #17: Visual Text: "Ratchet and Clank Collection" Cover Art

On August 28th, 2012, Insomniac Games released "Ratchet and Clank Collection" for the PlayStation 3 in the United States. In this special 10th anniversary edition of the game, one disc contained the first three Ratchet and Clank games digitally remastered for the PlayStation 3, because they were all originally released on the PlayStation 2. The picture above is the cover art that was used for the inside cover of the game. Insomniac Games chose to put this picture as cover art to summarize Ratchet's, and his robot friend Clank's, journey of their first three times saving the galaxy to remind old fans of the first three games and allow new fans to get a preview of the games. This artwork is effective because it not only tells a story, but also the character development of Ratchet through the use of body language and color. From the first picture to the last picture, Ratchet goes from being fresh-faced and excited Lombax (the made-up animal that Ratchet is) to an angry, professional hero. This illustrates Ratchet's development as a character from immaturity to maturity. The body language that mainly shows Ratchet's development is his eyes. In the first game, Ratchet's eyes are wide. However, by the second game they are squinting showing that he has some unfinished business to take care of. Finally in the last picture, Ratchet's eyes and powerful stance tell the viewer that Ratchet has experienced many horrors in the world and is determined to end these horrors to save the world. Ratchet knows that his journey is much bigger than it was in the first game where his biggest problems were shooting giant guns and defeating robots in hoverboard races. The artwork also tells the story of Ratchet through the use of color. In the first game, the background is a dull blueprint that shows various weapons Ratchet learned how to use in the first game. The next picture is purple, which is still a cool color, so it does not indicate stress. However, there is a bright light in the background that shows a larger conflict is coming closer. Finally, the last picture is a fiery red that screams terror and distress. The red color also symbolizes the anger that Ratchet now has to not let the villains take over the galaxy. Overall, Insomniac was successful in illustrating the character development and story of Ratchet. After all, I have been so attracted to the picture ever since I got the game that I had to write a TOW about it.