Insomniac Games is making a guest appearance on next week's episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, IGN reports.

The developers decided to help out the family getting their house retooled by creating a digital version of the family's 9-year-old boy, James Westbrook, for use in Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction.

Westbrook was left paralyzed following a July 2006 car crash and dreams of one day designing vdeo games. The boy's father, SFC Gene Westbrook, is also paralyzed, after he was hit by a mortar at an American mess hall in Baghdad in 2004.

While the Extreme Makeover people worked to make the home more conducive to two wheelchairs, Insomniac stepped in to try and make one of James' dreams come true.

"We were immediately moved to do something special for the Westbrook family when we learned about their tragic situation and James' passion for videogames design," said Ted Price, Insomniac Games' founder and CEO. "For all of us at Insomniac, this opportunity to help such an amazing family with our game-making experience was a real honor. We've never inserted a member of the public into our videogames, and we think it's incredibly appropriate that James will be the first gamer to enjoy that unique experience."

The team managed to create a playable version of James, complete with a flying saucer, for the game in just one week. But the team still hasn't decided how the character will be used in th game.

The new character and a bit of the game will be shown off during the upcoming show on April 22. Brian Crecente

Insomniac Games takes over Extreme Makeover: Home Edition [IGN]

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