For the art team at Insomniac Games, there’s one job everyone seems to want: working on Spidey’s suits. Since the first Spider-Man game on the PS4, modeling the in-game suits was “a hotly contested assignment” among the studio’s character team, according to senior art director Jacinda Chew. Over the course of three games, including the recently launched Spider Man 2the team has managed to add a host of unlockable colors, covering everything from the About the Spider-Verse animated film to the internet’s favorite bodega cat. “That’s the fun part,” Chew says, “being able to work on a suit.”
However, that was not something that was clear to her from the start. Chew says this was only the first Spider-Man launched and players started posting photos of their favorite suits, making them realize how important the different versions of Spidey could be to people. “Some people grew up reading a certain comic or watching a certain movie, and now they say, ‘That’s my Spider-Man,’” she explains. “That’s what I started to realize, how loyal fans are to that one Spider-Man who defined their childhood or a moment in their life. That’s why we try to be very respectful when reproducing those colors in the game.
(She was especially surprised by the reaction to Spider-Cat: “Man, people loved that cat. And obviously we brought it back. Hopefully there will be more cats in the future.”)
Spider Man 2 includes some returning suits, along with some brand new ones. It also covers two different characters, as both Peter Parker and Miles Morales (who had his own spin-off in 2020) are playable. That means there were a lot more potential colors to choose from when it came to deciding what would feature in the sequel. According to Chew, the main goal is to provide breadth. That includes pulling suits from different places – she divides them into three categories: comics, movies and Insomniac originals – but also that there are a number of different styles.
1/9
Image: Sony Interactive Entertainment
“Sometimes we say, ‘We really want a cape,’” Chew says. “We want a variety of materials, silhouettes and even headwear; whether he has a hoodie or a helmet or a mask. And I just hope that we get enough of a wide variety that people will find something that they like. Because it is impossible to please everyone.”
“You should be able to look at it and identify the character”
Some of the possible colors are rejected for technical reasons; others need to be tweaked or tweaked so they work in the game. Since you can basically wear the suits at any time during gameplay and they appear in most cutscenes, they should all support the same set of animations, as well as features like Peter’s mechanical arms or the new web wings that allow players to glide around New York City. Several had to have new features added solely for the game. “There are certain suits – for example the Agent of Shield suit that Miles wears – that traditionally don’t have a mask at all,” says Chew. “So we had to design a mask for that suit so that it would technically work for us.”
Another challenge was making sure that Peter and Miles remained distinct from each other, regardless of which suit they are in. “Whatever the genre, you have to be able to look at it and identify the character,” explains Bill Rosemann, VP and creative director. at Marvel Games. There are some obvious physical differences between the two – Miles is a bit thinner than Peter, and his web-swinging style is a bit more erratic – but according to Chew, the main difference comes down to their personalities.
1/6
Image: Sony Interactive Entertainment
“The great thing about Peter and Miles is that they are at different points in their lives,” she says. “So their views are different.” For Miles, that means more youthful suits and several that highlight his background and love of music. (A personal favorite is the “city sounds” suit, which makes Miles look like he’s been ripped out of a 1920s jazz concert — complete with a Spider-Man mask under his fedora.) Peter’s look, meanwhile, often takes advantage of the tall history of comics and films.
This time, Insomniac also collaborated with a number of artists, including Peach Momoko and Taurin Clarke, to create unique suits specifically for the game. The ultimate goal is again to offer something for every type of player. For Chew, however, despite all the different options available, she mostly uses one particular suit: the “advanced” version introduced in the original game. And that’s because, like many fans, it’s very personal to her.
“The first time I played the first game, I played in the Advanced Suit,” says Chew. “And I still play in the Advanced Suit because it literally is Mine business suit.”