Mukow is a location in Tools of Destruction. A stormy, aquatic planet in the Cerullean Sector of the Polaris Galaxy, it is notably home to the Imperial Fight Festival, an exclusive battle resort for Emperor Tachyon's most elite troops in the Imperial Army.
Captain Qwark became the host of the Imperial Fight Festival, and invited Ratchet and Clank to participate using a disguise to win prizes at the event. Ratchet and Clank participated on two occasions to receive information from Qwark, while he was working undercover.
History[]
A few years prior to being converted to the Imperial Fight Festival coliseum, the arena was a daycare center for troubled orphans.[1] After being converted to the Imperial Fight Festival, Emperor Tachyon was known to capture or lure his enemies to the planet, to force them to participate in the festival for the amusement of his most elite troops in the Imperial Army.[2]
When battling Tachyon's forces in Metropolis, Kerwan, Captain Qwark defeated only two before surrendering to Tachyon, becoming his confidant and the announcer at the Imperial Fight Festival.[3] Qwark sent out a holo-vite to Ratchet and Clank using a pseudonym,[a] which the two received on Fastoon before decoding it on Aphelion. As the master of ceremony for the festival, Qwark used the opportunity to market his own products, including Frosted Qwarkios cereal, Qwarktastic Chewable Vitamins, a Qwark energy drink (sponsoring the musical act Comet and the Horntails), the Qwark Suppositractor, and the Qwark's Spandex Hero Emporium, as well as offering personal training sessions to winners.[1]
In "Find Qwark", Ratchet and Clank made their way to the coliseum to find Qwark, believing he would be at the coliseum due to his ego demanding a large audience.[5] Tachyon's forces, believing Ratchet was there to assassinate the emperor, issued a class B evac order to transport Tachyon away. Tachyon ordered the troops to kill Ratchet to prevent him desecrating the sanctity of the Imperial Fight Festival. Though holo-scans were set up to detect Ratchet if he entered, Qwark reconfigured the coliseum's teleporter pad to auto-equip a nano-molecular facial reconfiguration disguise, allowing him to participate in the arena.[6]
Qwark talking to Ratchet and Clank at the Imperial Fight Festival.
In "Win the Coliseum Battles", after entering, Qwark introduced Ratchet as "Mustachio Furioso", a challenger from the "Flurbian Galaxyverse".[7] Ratchet competed in the Rogar Tournament and defeated Crushto in the coliseum, Qwark explained how he had been working for Tachyon, and gave them the Heli-Pods gadget and an infobot with coordinates to the Apogee Space Station. Additionally, in "Trail of Turning Terror", Ratchet and Clank obtained six statues of Tachyon allowing him to enter Tachyon's carnival.
Qwark showing the Magnetum Tournament reward.
Later, in the Magnetum Tournament, Tachyon put up the Holo-Pirate Disguise, a gadget he had invented himself to spy on Captain Slag's space pirates but failed to use, as a prize, hoping to lure Slag to his death in the arena.[8] Qwark contacted Ratchet and Clank while they were on Sargasso to invite them to this tournament, telling them he had found a clue.[9] In "Return to the Fight Festival", Ratchet won this Holo-Pirate Disguise, and Clank won a copy of Qwark's book Body by Qwark,[10] before giving them an infobot describing the IRIS Supercomputer. Qwark begged Ratchet and Clank to take him with them, before Ratchet's words of encouragement led Qwark to stay.[11]
During Tools of Destruction, a Dr. Nefarious was reported to have a missing wallet and called to the concession stand.[1][b]
Geography[]
Mukow appears to be an entirely aquatic planet from space. On the surface around the Imperial Fight Festival coliseum, structures are located across an archipalego of rocky islands. All of the structural designs of the festival feature bright yellow with dark purple colors, as well as glowing green lights.
Surrounding the gladiator arena of the Fight Festival is a large carnival park. This features a large and deadly Ferris wheel, as well as Emperor Tachyon's Trail of Turning Terror. The Trail features a pair of rotating cylinders, the interior of which are lined with grav-ramps and sawblades. The area, called 'challenge entrance', leading to the entrance to the arena was heavily guarded by non-vacationing drophyd troops and enforcers.
The coliseum is the largest structure seen around the islands aside from the Ferris wheel. It is an immense yellow structure built on a large island that towers over the rest of the area. Air traffic is concentrated around the coliseum.
Behind the scenes[]
Concept art.
Mukow was designed by Mike Ellis, Senior Designer at Insomniac Games, who designed platforming challenges around the theme that they were based on theme park rides with a devious Tachyon twist,[12] and for the grav-tube in particular, wanted to make something disorienting for the player that tested their hand-eye coordination. Yancy Young, Environment Artist at Insomniac, animated these rides after having just taken a course in basic animation, beginning with the grav-tube, feeling it would be the most challenging to make.[13]
In unused dialogue, during the invasion of Metropolis, Emperor Tachyon offers two Imperial Fight Festival tickets to the first trooper to bring him Ratchet's head.[14]
Notes[]
Annotations[]
- ↑ Qwark either uses the names Walter Qwarkowski, Finnegan O'Qwarksalot, or Stefan Qwarkanopolous depending on the player's current save file.[4]
- ↑ It is possible that Dr. Nefarious was in attendance, given that around the time of Tools of Destruction, he would have escaped the asteroid he was on at the end of Up Your Arsenal thanks to the fongoids. However, his presence within the crowd for Tachyon's most elite troops is unlikely, suggesting it was also possible someone was using his name as a pseudonym.
Citations[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Tools of Destruction script § "Arena dialogue"
- ↑ Tools of Destruction menu § "Planet Mukow"
- ↑ Tools of Destruction script § "Qwark's Heroic Tale"
- ↑ Tools of Destruction script § "Find the Lombax Ship Parts (gameplay)"
- ↑ Tools of Destruction menu § "Find Qwark"
- ↑ Tools of Destruction script § "Find Qwark (gameplay)"
- ↑ Tools of Destruction script § "Win the Coliseum Battles (gameplay)"
- ↑ Tools of Destruction menu § "Holo-Pirate Disguise"
- ↑ Tools of Destruction script § "Investigate the Kerchu Outpost (gameplay)"
- ↑ Tools of Destruction script § "Return to the Fight Festival (gameplay, cont.)"
- ↑ Tools of Destruction script § "The Awesomeness of IRIS"
- ↑ Tools of Destruction script § "Level Design"
- ↑ Tools of Destruction script § "Environment Design"
- ↑ Tools of Destruction unused dialogue § "Metropolis"