Someone at Insomniac really loves hardcore mobile games
If you place books, games or DVD boxes in your video game, I will inspect each and every one of them. This and video game bathrooms are my particular weakness and I would appreciate it if you didn’t judge me.
Using photo mode to take a close look at a bookshelf or messy desk usually reveals the work of a very exhausted game designer or employee who had to fill out a spreadsheet before calling it a day. Books like Biology: A Science and films like Bad War 3. As a writer who is very familiar with deadlines and creative obstacles, I have a fondness for this.
Image: Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon
But I appreciate it when a writer or other team member – hopefully in a studio with the resources to afford this level of detail – uses these tiny, overlooked bits of set design to create something special for themselves. Someone who worked on Spider-Man 2 did exactly that.
At the beginning of the game we take a look at Peter Parker’s house, which he inherited from Aunt May. In addition to a messy kitchen and a ridiculously specific mortgage bill, the player finds a copy of a video game on Peter’s table: Speed Nonagon.
Image: Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon
The fictional game appears to be a warm nod to indie developer Terry Cavanagh’s masterpiece, Super Hexagon, which you can purchase for just $2.99 on Steam, iOS, and Android. In addition to the similar title, both games have a nearly identical all-caps font. And the orange cover of Speed Nonagon safety vest is similar to Super Hexagon.
Speed Nonagon is first mentioned in Spider-Man: Miles Morales as a game that Miles’ friend Genke develops on the side. (Thanks to commenter Narcissus1916 for pointing this out!) Congratulations to Genke on shipping at least one copy.
It’s a small thing, but it’s part of something bigger: little details like this remind us that games are made by people, and are part of a continuity in which each piece of art builds on what came before. I also feel apologetic for spending so much time looking at video game boxes, which doesn’t hurt.
To update: Discussion about Speed Nonagon in Spider-Man: Miles Morales added for context.
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