Oddworld

Oddworld is a comprehensive fictional universe presented in video game form, created by game developers Oddworld Inhabitants under the direction of Lorne Lanning. Throughout games set in the Oddworld universe, Oddworld's peaceful nature is in danger of being consumed by the industrial ambition of sadistic corporations. Oddworld, as a planet, is measured as seven times the size of Earth, a fraction of which has been featured in the games. The main continent is Mudos.

Games in the series

The developers originally stated that the Oddworld series would be a pentalogy called the Oddworld Quintology, and that Abe's Exoddus and Stranger's Wrath games were bonus titles not counting toward the total of five. The Oddworld Adventures Games are handheld versions of Abe's Oddysee and Exoddus. The Quintology was halted after the first two games, when the company decided to redirect its efforts toward film production. There were also a few titles that were hinted at in interviews and press releases, but they were never developed.

Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee

Main article: Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee

At the beginning of this game, Abe is a happy, ignorant worker at RuptureFarms, a meat-packing plant.^[1] Working late at RuptureFarms, Abe passes an advertisement billboard for the upcoming latest product in the Tasty Treats line of snacks, and eavesdrops the factory’s annual board meeting. Here, he learns that wildlife resources have become depleted, for which reason Abe's boss Molluck the Glukkon has decided to use the factory's Mudokon slaves as a ready source of meat.^[2] After this epiphany, Abe panics and escapes from his workplace. At the end of the game's introductory sequence which is a retrospective voiced-over by Abe ^[3] Abe runs for his life.^[1] The Mudokons’ spiritual leader, the BigFace, appears to the unconscious Abe in a vision, revealing that the Mudokon race once lived freely with nature before they were enslaved by the Glukkons, and that their sacred animals were the very same ones being slaughtered and processed to manufacture 'Tasty Treats'. Prophecies have foretold of a Mudokon saviour whose worth would be tested by a journey to relight holy flames that were extinguished by the Glukkons. Abe does this with the aid of his pet Elum and then receives mystic tattoos. Abe infiltrates RuptureFarms, killing its entire board of executives before being captured and taken to a holding cell, where he has enough time to pore over the last day before facing execution. Should the player save over a certain number of Mudokons, Abe's actions will have impressed the holy Mudokons, who rescue Abe and transport him to safety, where he receives a hero’s welcome from the Mudokons he rescued. Should the player not save a sufficient number, Abe will not be rescued and is executed by Molluck.

Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus

Main article: Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus

Abe's Oddysee was very popular, and the bonus game Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus was released the following year.^[1] Abe's Exoddus begins where Abe's Oddysee ends.^[4] Abe's abilities in this game were similar to his abilities in the first game,^[5] with an expanded ability to communicate with other characters in the world using GameSpeak.^[6] As he was celebrating his new celebrity status, ghosts of old Mudokons appeared before him^[7] and told him that Necrum, a once sacred Mudokon burial ground, was being excavated by Glukkons, using blind Mudokons as slaves.^[2] Abe again journeys to the Scrab and Paramite lands, along with Alf, Ben, Phos, Han, and Luke^[8] to find a cure to the sickness the SoulStorm brew created from the excavated bones. Curing his friends, he then travels to FeeCo Depot, the main hub for many productions. He travels to Bonewerkz and the Slig Barracks to board the train to the Soulstorm Brewery - and eventually blows it up. If Abe actually tampers with the main boiler, Abe teleports from the explosion just in time and is greeted by all his saved Mudokon friends, one of which is Alf. If not, he is electrocuted by The Brewmaster.

Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee

Main article: Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee

A new character called Munch was added to this game.^[5] Not long after the events of Abe's Exoddus, Abe helps Munch (the last living remnant of an amphibious race called the Gabbits) to destroy Vykkers labs and save Gabbit eggs from destruction. They prevent the Gabbits from dying out completely. This increases his status as a hero and also makes him very unpopular with the Glukkon queen, Lady Margaret.

Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath

Main article: Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath

Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath is an action-adventure game published for the Microsoft Xbox in 2005. The game's main character is a bounty hunter called Stranger. The game utilizes both third and first-person perspectives and is less puzzle oriented than the previous three Oddworld games.^[9] The game has a Wild West setting.

Released titles

Title	Year	Platforms	Developer	Publisher	Notes
Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee	1997	PlayStation, Windows	Oddworld Inhabitants	GT Interactive[10]	First pentalogy game.
Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus	1998	PlayStation, Windows	Oddworld Inhabitants	GT Interactive[11]	Bonus pentalogy game and a sequel to Abe's Oddysee.
Oddworld: Adventures	1998	Game Boy	Saffire	GT Interactive Software Corp.[12]	Handheld version of Abe's Oddysee.
Oddworld: Adventures 2	2000	Game Boy Color	Saffire	GT Interactive Software Corp.[13]	Handheld version of Abe's Exoddus.
Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee	2001	PlayStation 2 (cancelled), Xbox, Windows(2010), PS3(2012)	Oddworld Inhabitants	Microsoft Game Studios[14]	Second pentalogy game.
Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee	2003	Game Boy Advance	Art Co.	THQ Inc.[15]	Handheld version of Xbox game.
Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath	2005	Xbox, Windows(2010), PS3(2011)	Oddworld Inhabitants	Electronic Arts[16]	First-person shooter/Third-person platformer

Unreleased/Cancelled titles

• "SligStorm". It would have followed the story of an albino Slig who was born in a complex it must escape to avoid infanticide, and would have been included with Abe's Oddysee and Exoddus in a combined package.
• "Oddworld": "Munch's Exoddus". Expected to be a bonus game based on Munch's Oddysee. It would have featured Munch travelling to a land named "Ma'Spa" to hatch the Gabbit eggs acquired from the original game. It is unknown whether or not the game was cancelled or halted.
• "Oddworld": "Squeek's Oddysee". Expected third game in the quintology.
• "Oddworld": "The Hand of Odd". A real-time strategy game planned to be online. Although being halted when Citizen Siege was planned, it has since been revived as plans for its development have been announced.^[17]
• "The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot". A mature rated game focusing on the life of a sheepherder.

Future game

A future game was confirmed by Maxis co-founder Jeff Braun.^[18] Speaking at Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada in 2008, Braun said of the team, "They're such a talented group of people and I really trust their ability to create compelling content." He went on to say that the upcoming game will have a cinematic quality on a one-to-one scale with CGI-based films.^[19] He also noted, however, that a slow production schedule could make it years before the game is released.^[20]

More recently (16 July 2010) Just Add Water announced that it is working on a new Oddworld title by releasing the following statement "While we cannot go into specifics right now, we can tell you that over the coming weeks and months we will be announcing these exciting projects starring all of your favorite Oddworld characters." Then, the team went on to say, "It’s almost symbiotic in that when something moves forward on any of the projects we just start chatting about new items, or what if we do this. We’re all extremely excited to breathe life into the Oddworld universe and indeed to let it breathe life into us."

It has since been announced that HD remakes of "Abe's Oddysee"(as well as possibly "Exoddus"), "Munch's Oddysee" and "Stranger's Wrath" have been planned for Playstation 3 and PC release. Also, the next game in the series will be the completed "Oddworld: The Hand of Odd" real-time strategy game.

OddBoxx

In 2009, the director of Oddworld Lorne Lanning announced that they planned to make an oddworld package for digital download sites. This package contains Abe's Oddysee, Abe's Exoddus, Munch's Oddysee and Stranger's Wrath for PC.

Oddworld Inhabitants finally re-designed its website and on November 4th 2010, announced that the Oddboxx is still in development.^[21]

On 6th December 2010, Oddworld Inhabitants announced that the Oddboxx will be released on the 2010 holiday season.^[22]

On December 14th 2010, they announced the European and USA prices and other online retail partners.^[23]

On December 17th, they finally announced the release date for the Oddboxx, December 20th 2010. Also, there will be a 25% discount which will run until December 21st 9AM PST.^[24]

On December 20th, Oddboxx was released on Steam.^[25] Munch's Oddysee has 30 achievements and Stranger's Wrath has 20 achievements. On April 29th, JAW announced at GameCity Nights that the OddBoxx will be coming to the PSN and other consoles that are soon to be announced. When Stranger's Wrtah HD and Munch's Oddysee HD become available on PSN, it will be the first time the Oddworld catalog will playable on the same platform besides pc.

Characters

Main article: Abe (Oddworld)

Abe is the strongly developed central character of the Oddworld series.^[26] He can also use GameSpeak, a way of communicating with other characters in the game.^[5] Along with Spyro the Dragon, Abe was one of the unofficial mascots of the PlayStation One.^[27] Computer and Video Games described Abe as "a new platform hero"^[28] and a "brilliant character."^[29] Lanning, Oddworld's creator, has stated that its "characters are driven in a way that is fired by larger [moral] issues."^[1]

GameSpeak

In the Oddworld games, the GameSpeak feature allows the player to interact with the non-playable characters (NPCs). Examples of GameSpeak commands in the original game, Abe's Oddysee, are "Hello," "Follow me," and "Wait." Rescuing Mudokons and opening certain doors are all achieved through Gamespeak. Enemies possessed by Abe can also use GameSpeak, and one can use Glukkons to order subservient Sligs around, or use Sligs to call their Slog pets to heel. GameSpeak also included less essential actions such as burps and farts, which were added with intent of a comical effect.

The GameSpeak feature was modified in Stranger's Wrath, with a single talk button that caused the Stranger to say something appropriate to the situation. For example, when the Stranger needed to cash in a bounty on an Outlaw, pressing the talk button would cause him to say, "Best be gettin' to the bounty store." This context-sensitive GameSpeak also worked for questioning the Clakker and Grubb townsfolk. This change made the talk button more comparable to a universal-action button in Stranger's Wrath.

Awards

The Oddworld games have received more than 100 industry awards.^[30] Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee received more than 24 awards and three nominations from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences over 1997 and 1998.^[31] Oddworld also was nominated for a Grammy with the release of Abe's Exoddus: the Movie (a short film combined with cutscenes from Exoddus).

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Carr, Diane, David Buckingham, Andrew Burn, Gareth Schott, 2006, Computer Games: Text, Narrative and Play, Polity
2. ^ ^{a b} White, Jason, Oddworld Adventures 2, All Game.
3. ^ Clarke, Andy, Grethe Mitchell, 2007, Videogames and Art, Intellect Books.
4. ^ Something strange is brewing in 'Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus', CNN.
5. ^ ^{a b c} DeMaria, Rusel, Johnny L. Wilson, 2003, High Score! The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill Professional
6. ^ Thomas, Maureen, François Penz, 2003, Architectures of Illusion: From Motion Pictures to Navigable Interactive Environments, Intellect Books
7. ^ Abe biography, Official Oddworld Website.
8. ^ Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus
9. ^ Underneath It All, Substance Sells, New York Times.
10. ^ Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, Moby Games
11. ^ Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus, Moby Games
12. ^ Oddworld: Adventures, Moby Games
13. ^ Oddworld: Adventures 2, Moby Games
14. ^ Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee, Moby Games
15. ^ Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee, Moby Games
16. ^ Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath, Moby Games
17. ^ Ridgeley, Sean. "Oddworld: The Hand of Odd revived, Stranger's Wrath HD delayed". Daily Gaming News. Neoseeker. http://www.neoseeker.com/news/16331-oddworld-the-hand-of-odd-revived-strangers-wrath-hd-delayed/. Retrieved 2 May 2011. 
18. ^ "Maxis Co-Founder Confirms Oddworld Return". News.spong.com. http://news.spong.com/article/15457/Maxis_Co-Founder_Confirms_Oddworld_Return. Retrieved 2011-03-12. 
19. ^ Guttridge, Luke (2008-05-23). "Jeff Braun helping out on Oddworld game". Play.tm. http://play.tm/story/18345. Retrieved 2011-03-12. 
20. ^ "Maxis Co-Founder Reveals Oddworld Return". Gamasutra.com. http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=18757. Retrieved 2011-03-12. 
21. ^ "The Oddboxx | Oddworld Inhabitants". Oddworld.com. http://www.oddworld.com/?p=249. Retrieved 2011-03-12. 
22. ^ "Oddboxx – Gets release window! | Oddworld Inhabitants". Oddworld.com. http://www.oddworld.com/?p=259. Retrieved 2011-03-12. 
23. ^ "Oddboxx – Euro and U.S. Prices. Also online retail partners announced! | Oddworld Inhabitants". Oddworld.com. http://www.oddworld.com/?p=271. Retrieved 2011-03-12. 
24. ^ "ODDWORLD INHABITANTS’ ODDBOXX: STEAM DECEMBER 20TH RELEASE DATE CONFIRMATION AND HOLIDAY SALE PARTICIPATION | Oddworld Inhabitants". Oddworld.com. http://www.oddworld.com/?p=292. Retrieved 2011-03-12. 
25. ^ "IGN: The Oddboxx". Pc.ign.com. http://pc.ign.com/objects/037/037836.html. Retrieved 2011-03-12. 
26. ^ Carr, Diane, Andrew Burn, Gareth Schott, David Buckingham, Textuality in Video Games, Utrecht University and Digital Games Research Association
27. ^ Lopez, Vincent, Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee: Does Munch live up to Abe's legacy?, IGN.
28. ^ "Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus". Computerandvideogames.com. 2001-08-15. http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=8340. Retrieved 2011-03-12. 
29. ^ "Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus". Computerandvideogames.com. 2001-08-15. http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=7684. Retrieved 2011-03-12. 
30. ^ Morris, Chris, Microsoft takes Oddworld, CNN Money
31. ^ Barlow, Nove, This Week in Gaming History, The Escapist

External links

• Official website
• Oddworld Wiki
• Oddworld series at MobyGames
• Unofficial fan forums