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Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is so close now you can tase it in the air with the barest flick of your forked, reptilian tongue. In the lead-up to launch, Insomniac Games is highlighting how some familiar faces have evolved since the first game's events, and the studio's eagerly anticipated sequel crawls onto PS5 on 20th October.
Over on the PlayStation Blog, we learn that the more monstrous design of Dr. Curtis Connors, AKA Lizard, was inspired by honest-to-goodness lizards, leathery skin and all. Insomniac senior art director Jacinda Chew described the process, ultimately determining that nature's attempts weren't nearly slimy enough:
"We looked at a lot of lizard skin for research. 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."
Far more bestial than earlier incarnations, Insomniac wanted to create something striking yet vaguely realistic, and Chew notes that: "We gave him spikes, too. For design references, I tried looking at real-life lizards that looked a bit more prehistoric because some lizards can look soft and cute. I was looking at spikier, more snake-like, more aggressive references."
The wizards at Insomniac have even developed a slick technique where Lizard can shed his skin, and its "artists used a program to simulate how the skin might move fluttering in the wind."
On a scale from Skink to Stegosaurus, how excited are you for Marverl's Spider-Man 2? Slither down into the cool, dry safety of the comments section below.
[source blog.playstation.com, via ign.com]
Comments 13
That about seals it for Game of the Year now.
Its not inspired by jason vorhees.since its Friday the 13th.lizard thats a punisher.word up son
I never would have guessed.
People still think Reptiles are slimy?
Going to be honest i'm not a huge of his design as i'm more a fan of the classic design and don't like like these oversized monster type designs. I hope he's not just a raging monster in this though as The Lizards does retain his intelligence and isn't a hulking mindless creature.
@Powerplay94 Mine finished downloading 10 mins back, the wait is even tougher now haha.
I also understand that the cars are based on real life vehicles as well.
A character named the lizard inspired by actual lizards? I need to sit down to let this sink in...
Who are these people that think lizards are slimy? I’d like to make sure I avoid them, along with the people that think sharks aren’t fish (they exist).
Looking at lizard skin to research the look of a character who is a lizard - where did they get this idea from? How far did their research extend? Can they describe field trips where they observed lizards first hand? Do they have anything of any substance to add, or did they just look up some pictures on the internet? I’d be interested in hearing about their research process, but all we get is ‘People think lizards are slimy, they aren’t, we proved it’.
Coming next on Pushsquare, Breaking News: Spider-man inspired by spiders.
Amazing article, thanks for solving the mystery. I now wonder which animal the character Batman was inspired by? And same question for Spider-Man and Catwoman... I'm truly stumped...
The big glowing ball of light that you might have seen in the sky when swinging around the city is actually inspired by our sun.
Bowser in 4k.
Jokes aside, I'm happy we're getting a whole slew of villains in the sequel.
@Northern_munkey
Seriously! What’s next?!
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