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What You Didn't Know About Saints Row: The Third
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 this Tidbits column, Volition shares the secret stories behind Saints Row: The Third.
- The camera slew the developers use to fly quickly around the environment is the same code that was used on Descent.
- When Greg Donovan searches for the term “dildobat” in his SRTT email archive, the search yields more than 450 returns.
- Everyone in Steelport rides the short bus, lovingly named in reference to producer Greg Donovan as the "Dono Van."
- There are hidden nods to the dev team all over the city, from the names of vehicles, graffiti on the street, billboards, and even houses that were modeled after some of the artists' childhood homes (not the crackhouses).
- At Let's Pretend, the old man mask on the wall is modeled after former Volition art director Keith Self-Ballard.
- During the opening mission, you may notice one of the desktop computers in the bank office with a picture of Johnny Cat on the monitor playing piano, a Saints homage to everyone's favorite Keyboard Cat on YouTube.
- Mr. Toots, the rainbow-s***ing unicorn from Red Faction: Armageddon, is featured in STAG's official seal which can be seen outside the STAG PR Center.
- Ever the conspiracy theorist, Kinzie has a poster in her crib with a picture of the Cabbit and headline, "Hidden Bunny In Ocean," a reference to the mysterious Cabbit in SR2.
- Near the Deckers' HQ, you may stumble upon a magical faerie ring constructed of.... porta-potties. In the center is another faerie made out of... penetrators.
- Originally, two NPCs were supposed to be fighting in the city using giant dildos as a sort of deranged lightsaber duel. One thing led to another, and soon tech artist Randall Hess added jiggle simulation, and programmer Eric Braun added spring-type physics. Finally, audio designer Brandon Bray incorporated sage advice for the sound effect to include, "more splat, less slap." A cult classic was born, and the penetrator has killed more than 2 million NPCs so far, and counting.
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