Back in 2018, Insomniac Games released their Spider-Man game on the Playstation 4, allowing fans back into Spidey’s shoes for the first time years. However, Insomniac went into the game wanting Spider-Man PS4’s story to not be just another Spider-Man game, according to Bryan Intihar, creative director of Insomniac Games, on a podcast.
The podcast in question, the AIAS (Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences) Game Maker’s Notebook, did an episode back in 2019 where host Ted Price, also of Insomniac Games, sat down to speak with him about his own development history and the process behind Spider-Man.
Intihar said that from the start they didn’t want to make a Spider-Man game where players were Spider-Man 95 percent of the time. To illustrate this, he brought up how the first Iron Man movie that kicked off the Marvel cinematic universe also gave Tony Stark plenty of time to be Tony Stark, going through character development along the way.
In Spider-Man PS4’s story, Peter Parker goes through a number of issues of his own, ranging from family and relationship troubles to work-related issues, in particular with his boss and friend, Doctor Otto Octavius. Many previous Spider-Man games mainly focused on the superhero aspect of Spider-Man, rather than on the normal struggles of Peter Parker.
Peter Parker’s civilian life has always been a big part of his character in the original comic books; his work at the Daily Bugle, his relationship with Mary Jane Watson, and attempting to keep his secret from his Aunt May are all big parts of his story, plus he’s not called the “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” for nothing.
Considering how the Spider-Man PS4 game got critical acclaim and turned out to be one of the Playstation 4’s greatest games, it’s safe to say that this sort of approach worked, so hopefully other future Spider-Man games will keep Spider-Man PS4’s story in mind when they make a game about him in the future. You can listen to the podcast episode yourself by following this link.
