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Tidbits: What You Didn't Know About Batman: Arkham Asylum

Game development often lasts for years. And in that stretch of time, studios have their fair share of ups and downs. From humorous game bugs to stress-relieving antics, Game Informer peers behind the curtain of game development. In our first Tidbits column, Rocksteady Studios shares the stories behind the development of Batman: Arkham Asylum.

  • For some of the motion-capture scenes of Harley Quinn, we actually use one of the male producers!
  • Some of the SFX for the air-con vents are recordings of the audio director's fridge at home.
  • Three cans of whipped cream are used to create the sound effects of spraying the explosive gel.
  • When you first enter the penitentiary and are confronted with the wall of sound from the room full of lunatics, this is a recording of the entire development team!
  • Titan Ivy consists of 44,674 polygons.
  • Six Rocksteady babies were born during the development of Batman: Arkham Asylum.
  • The Rocksteady hacky-sack team managed 72 keepie ups between them. (Is this a world record?)
  • The Rocksteady team consists of 14 different nationalities.
  • The word ‘Joker’ is said 384 times in the game.
  • Nine members of the team support Arsenal Football Club, the most supported sports team in the company.
  • There are 4,556 AI navigation nodes on Arkham Island.
  • Combat went through three distinct revisions – the first one being a full rhythm action game! The second one was prototyped in 2D, which popped up whenever you got into a fight, and involved colored circles bashing into each other. This actually formed the basis of the final system.
  • We experimented with hundreds of control systems, right up until first submission.
  • The pictures you can find scattered around the floor of the asylum are of different members of the development team mostly from various team jollies!
  • The top of the Arkham Mansion Clock tower is 145 meters above sea level.
  • The main Intensive treatment lobby map was checked into perforce 883 times.
  • There are 314 breakable TVs on Arkham Island.
  • Over 14,000 post it notes were used on the schedule board by the production team to manage the scheduling of the game.
  • There were 174,405 separate art, code, design, audio and animation check-ins to make Batman: Arkham Asylum.

For other Tidbits entries, click the desired game name: Red Faction: Guerrilla, Scribblenauts

Email the author Andrew Reiner, or follow on Twitter, Facebook, and Game Informer.

Comments
  • "Three cans of whipped cream are used to create the sound effects of spraying the explosive gel." - I knew that sound was familiar!!

    Pretty fun read! I'm disappointed though, out of 314 breakable TVs...I didn't break one. :-/

  • I want to see more Tidbits!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • After I read the first, I thought, man this is gonna be cool. Way to impress, do more games now!

  • Hope to see more of these!

  • this game is awesome

  • this game is awesome

  • What an awesome article!  I love this behind-the-scenes type stuff.

    Kudos, GI.

  • Nice, I'm really gonna like future Tidbits articles.

  • Was a fun game, just no replay Value.

  • Staff

    Did you play Challenge mode? I can't stop trying to get three batarangs on everything. Much like Tony Hawk in the Press Start/restart way.

  • i propose someone make a video of all the "Jokers" said in this game, a la the "dude" or "f*ck" versions of The Big Lebowski.

  • I love Tidbits!

  • It's cool to find out where all the photos in the game came from. It was obvious that they were real pictures. Didn't know they were of the development team!

  • Love the Whip Cream fact. Sounded a lot like that.

    "Was a fun game, just no replay Value." Eh, depends. I really love the look, feel, gameplay, and acting. I can see myself playing it again in a few months on the hard setting and maybe at least once a month.

  • i did everything in this game except i can't the last few challenge maps.Sweat article by the way.

  • Staff

    Thanks. And Lambrick, I nominate you.

  • Pretty neat.

  • pretty interesting! i always like to know what goes inside those walls

  • Pretty cool, I might get this game one of these days.

  • That Harley's movements were mo-capped by a dude is no surprise: one of the game's few flaws were Harley's actions looking particularly masculine and unnatural.  Otherwise, great work, Rocksteady.    

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