‘Ratchet & Clank,’ ‘Spider-Man’ vet to video game developers: Innovate, don’t emulate

Shaun McCabe first became interested in video game development when he was playing Final Fantasy VII in the late 1990s.

But to turn that spark into an actual career, he looked to Full Sail University in Winter Park.

The classes there would prepare him for a career that has taken him to Insomniac Games to work on the Ratchet & Clank.

Ratchet & Clank lead a Full Sail hall of famer

Now a Full Sail hall of gamer, McCabe returned to Orlando this month for a series of appearances at the school and around Orlando.

After he did, he shared three tips with The OVG that he said could help up-and-coming game developers.

Continue reading ‘Ratchet & Clank,’ ‘Spider-Man’ vet to video game developers: Innovate, don’t emulate
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Full Sail grad, ‘Ratchet & Clank’ vet Shaun McCabe sought chance to explore amazing worlds, characters

When Shaun McCabe joined Insomniac Games near the end of 2003, shortly after he earned a degree from Full Sail University, he jumped into a game that the company hoped would recapture the magic it had discovered with its popular “Spyro the Dragon” series.

McCabe became the sound programmer on the adventure game “Ratchet & Clank,” the story of a Lombax named Ratchet who traveled around with a robot companion named Clank.

Several “Ratchet & Clank” titles later, McCabe continues to build video games for the studio as its head of technology.

“On the technical side, our good friends at Naughty Dog offered to let us use components of the ‘Jak & Daxter’ engine as a foundation for a demo,” he said. “The rest, as they say, is history. It speaks to the true nature of creativity. Great products are often the result of constraints and culture rather than resources and strategy.”

McCabe was recently named to Full Sail University’s Hall of Fame and granted The OVG an interview to talk about his career and his time in Orlando.

Continue reading Full Sail grad, ‘Ratchet & Clank’ vet Shaun McCabe sought chance to explore amazing worlds, characters