Y.E.T.I.s[1] are enemies in Going Commando and Secret Agent Clank, with a brief appearance in Up Your Arsenal and a mention in Deadlocked. They are large, genetically engineered yetis native to Grelbin,[1] that overwhelm foes with strength and sheer numbers. Ratchet and Clank first encountered them on their native world of Grelbin, but they made two appearances in the Secret Agent Clank Holovision series since.
History[]
Y.E.T.I.s were genetically engineered to hunt down and destroy the arctic leviathans on Grelbin, before they instead went out of control and went on to live in the wild.[1] Y.E.T.I.s made the underground their habitat, living in pits in the ground and jumping out from the snow.
Going Commando[]
When visiting Grelbin to find Angela Cross, Ratchet and Clank encountered the Y.E.T.I.s while searching for moonstones for the Mystic, in "Bring Moonstones to Mystic", "Trade moonstones for Hypnomatic Part", and when hunting for moonstones to trade for bolts. The Y.E.T.I.s appeared to guard the moonstones, and many lived close to the arctic leviathans. Additionally, in the underground caves, a small concentration of Y.E.T.I.s was found in a cave near a platinum bolts.
Up Your Arsenal[]
A Y.E.T.I. appeared in the Secret Agent Clank movie which the cast watched at the very end. This Y.E.T.I. attacked Clank while skating down a snowy mountain with a hoverboard, but missed him, and instead tore a ninja bot chasing him apart.
Deadlocked[]
Y.E.T.I. hair was known to be incredibly strong, which is why it was harvested by several individuals and corporations. Vox Industries was known to use Tundorian Y.E.T.I. hair in the core of its Versa-Wrench Multicore, making the Wrench both lightweight and powerful all at the same time.[2]
Secret Agent Clank[]
While snowboarding on the ski slopes of Glaciara to escape during "Black Diamond of Doom!", several Y.E.T.I.s atop hills tossed down large snowballs, aiming to hit Clank.
Characteristics[]
Y.E.T.I.s are large, humanoid beasts with red eyes, horns on their head, sharp claws, and white fur. They are often found in large groups, living underneath the snow and popping out of pits when Ratchet comes close. They will attack by leaping forward and swiping with their claws. If they miss, they will slam the ground with their arms. They reveal themselves from either pits in the ground, or from underneath the snow, when foes come close enough, followed by chasing them for some distance.
Combat[]
Y.E.T.I.s are among the most difficult enemies, as their attacks are very quick, and they are highly durable, which makes them dangerous combined with their numbers and spawn rate. It is best to keep a good distance from them, and use weapons that do strong damage with an area of effect, such as the Bouncer, the Plasma Coil, or the Hoverbomb Gun. The Shield Charger is often essential when also fighting arctic leviathans, as it is better to focus on the leviathan than it is to focus on the Y.E.T.I.s. Using already upgraded weapons is also recommended to avoid being overwhelmed.
Behind the scenes[]
The Y.E.T.I.s were notorious internally at Insomniac Games, and were the source of a "Snowbeast Award" offered to the developer responsible for the worst thing shipped in a final game. The Y.E.T.I.s were programmed by junior programmer Tony Garcia, who was scheduled to code the level in only three days as only he was available to do so. Garcia coded Grelbin from scratch to save himself time, and as a result, the Y.E.T.I.s were hastily completed, and became extremely difficult due to their short pre-attack animation and large numbers.[3]
The Snowbeast Award
As a result, when new Insomniac employees joined the company and went back to play Going Commando, they would show up to work angry after reaching Grelbin, and complain to Garcia. Nathan Fouts was amused by this, and as a result, requested the Y.E.T.I.'s model from the artist that created it, and sculpted the "Snowbeast Award" awarded to the developer of the worst thing shipped in the final game, which Garcia was the first recipient of, and considered it a badge of honor.[3]
The Y.E.T.I. functioned as swarmer enemies (similar to the Megacorp Chickenbots, due to their number), but were not actual swarmer enemies due to Tony Garcia struggling to program swarmers.[4]
Citations[]
References[]
- Insomniac Games (2003). Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 2.
- Stout, Mike; Garcia, Tony [@uselesspodcasts] (2011, August 19). Ratchet & Clank 2 Dev Commentary: 27 - The Snowbeast Award [Video]. YouTube.
- Stout, Mike; Garcia, Tony [@uselesspodcasts] (2011, August 21). Ratchet & Clank 2 Dev Commentary: 28 - Grelbin Continued [Video]. YouTube.