Insomniac Games took its Spider-Man 2 research so seriously even Norman Osborn would be impressed, having actually studied real lizards before creating the baddie for the upcoming sequel.
Revealed in a PlayStation Blog post, Insomniac senior art director Jacinda Chew revealed the team wanted to make every detail of Lizard accurate to his real-life counterparts. Ironically, however, Insomniac found an exact replication (reptile-ication) wouldn't quite work. Why? Not enough slime.
"We looked at a lot of lizard skin for research," Chew said. "The thing about lizards in real life, their skin’s actually really dry. Most people who looked at our Lizard kept initially saying: ‘He’s not slimy enough.’ But I think it’s a nod to what people expect a lizard to look like. He’s got that lizard skin, but it’s actually much shinier than what you’d see on a real lizard.
"We gave him spikes, too. For design references, I tried to look at real-life lizards that looked a bit more prehistoric, because some lizards can look kind of soft and cute. I was looking at spikier, more snake-like, more aggressive references. We also wanted eyes that look more like animal eyes. If you look at cats, their pupils grow at night.
"We made those kinds of eyes for him. When light hits his eyes, they look smaller, his eyes are actually reacting to light. We did a lot of research on how to make that happen in real time on the PS5."
Spider-Man 2 players will have to overcome a lots of baddies when it launches October 20 though, not just Lizard. A CGI trailer showed both Spider-Men fighting Venom, with an earlier one finally settled a hot debate over his true identity. While some were torn over Harry Osborn, Kraven the Hunter, or Eddie Brock, Insomniac all but confirmed who's really behind the mask (or goo).
Despite his intensity in these trailers, the main villain has also been the subject of a laugh among internet users after PlayStation offered Spider-Man fans "19 inches of Venom".
Those otherwise looking forward to Spider-Man 2 should beware of spoilers after a leaked Trophy list made its way online, prompting Insomniac to issue a warning for those looking to go in fresh. The developer has also shared a wealth of accessibility features coming at launch, including the ability to slow down gameplay.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
