Oddworld

Oddworld is a fictional universe presented in video game form, created by game developers Oddworld Inhabitants under the direction of Lorne Lanning. The series has been released on various platforms such as PlayStation, Xbox, PlayStation 3, Windows, Wii U, and PC. Four games from the Oddworld series have been added to the OnLive cloud gaming service.^[1]

Throughout games set in the Oddworld universe, Oddworld's ecosystem is perpetually endangered by industrial corporations, which the player's character opposes.

Oddworld planet

Oddworld is the name of the planet on which all four Oddworld Inhabitants games are based, extant in another dimension.^[2] The planet was originally described as ten times the size of Earth; but Oddworld Inhabitants' president and creative developer Lorne Lanning has since explained that Oddworld's surface area is ten times the size of Earth's, given that Oddworld is predominantly a dry-land planet and Earth is predominantly water-covered.^[3] It has its own sun and thus its own orbit resulting in a unique clock and calendar.^[2]

At some point, the planet suffered huge natural turmoils that resulted in volcanic crusts forming a new layer upon the entire planet. When that crust collapsed, it created giant 1000-foot craters all over the planet.^[3] The planet has a total of three layers, each with its own climate, temperature and gravitational levels.^[3] The giant craters were then used by the various Oddworld species to house their cities, whose tips could be seen protruding above the crust surface when looking across the landscape.^[3]

Only one of Oddworld's continents has been featured in the games – Mudos – and only a tiny fraction of Mudos has been seen in-game.^[4] The journeys of Abe through Abe's Oddysee, Abe's Exoddus and Munch's Oddysee take him through that small portion, composed of fields, jungles, deserts, caverns, and swamps. Much of the planet is decimated by industrialist species for their own profit; this is represented by city-sized factories and mass transit systems.

Oddworld species

The protagonist species of the games in the Oddworld universe are the Mudokons (pronounced /muː.ˈdɑː.kən/): an oviparous anthropoid with blue or green skin. In Abe's Oddysee, Abe's Exoddus, and Munch's Oddysee, the Mudokons are peaceful, spiritual inhabitants of a mock-Paleolithic society. Oddworld creator Lorne Lanning has explained that the Mudokons were not always sympathetic protagonists,^[5] insofar as, though they represent a class of slaves exploited by the upper class, their ability to telepathically control other species contradicts that status.^[6] Their principal enemies are the Glukkons: a reptilian-like anthropoid with only vestigial lower limbs (usually concealed by clothing), representing an industrial master class. Subordinate to the Glukkons are the Sligs, who appear as soldiers or body-servants. The Mudokons have two sacred or totemic species, both of which resemble arthropods, but are actually vertebrates: the towering Scrabs and the arachnid-like Paramites, whereof both are hunted by the Sligs on the Glukkons' behalf to make pastries. Mudokons, Scrabs, Paramites, and Glukkons were designed by Steven Olds.^[7]

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 take control of Slig guards, use Glukkons to command subservient Sligs, or use Sligs to call their Slog pets to heel. GameSpeak also included burps and flatulence, for comical effect.

In "Munch's Oddysee" several creatures were added to the game including Vykkers, Interns, and Big Bro Sligs. Other species include Armored Vykkers, Armored Interns, Armored Big Bro Sligs, Fuzzles, Meeps, and Gabbits. The Vykkers are purple, hairless humanoids with four arms and four legs; Interns resemble Vykkers, but have only two sets of limbs; and Big Bro Sligs are bigger and more powerful versions of the original Sligs. The Fuzzles are small, furry, spheroidal predator-scavengers; Meeps resemble sheep, but with only one limb and one eye; and the Gabbit is an amphibian species whose single hind leg serves as both foot and flukes.

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. 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. New species included the Clakkers (anthropomorphic, flightless birds); the Outlaws (bulbous, hairless, blue-green humanoids); the Steef (feline-featured, gracile-legged centaurs); and the Grubbs (amphibian-like bipeds; symbiont of the Steef).

Games set on Oddworld

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

At the beginning of this game, Abe is a happy, ignorant worker at RuptureFarms, a meat-packing plant,^[8] but discovers that the plant's boss Molluck the Glukkon has decided to use the factory's Mudokon slaves as a source of meat.^[9] At the end of the game's introductory sequence, which is a retrospective voice-over by Abe,^[10] he runs for his life.^[8] The Mudokons’ spiritual leader, the BigFace, reveals that the Paramites and Scrabs slaughtered and processed by the Glukkons were formerly sacred to the Mudokons, and orders Abe to relight holy flames extinguished by the Glukkons. Having done this, Abe is empowered by Big Face and infiltrates RuptureFarms, where he frees the remaining slaves and destroys the Glukkon board of executives, but is himself captured. Should the player save a certain number of Mudokons, their free compatriots rescue Abe, and he receives a hero's welcome from the Mudokons he rescued. Should the player not save a sufficient number, Abe is executed by Molluck. The game and its bonus title are known to have major skip glitches which can result completing the Microsoft Windows version of Abe's Oddysee in 11 minutes in a single segment speedrun without the cutscenes. In Abe's Exoddus, a single segment run can be completed in 50 minutes. A tool assisted speedrun has shown that the Sony Playstation versions are slower and one of the hidden wells to skip to Tunnel 5 in Tunnel 3 doesn't exist but does exist in the Windows version of Abe's Exoddus.

Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus

Abe's Oddysee was very popular, and the bonus game Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus was released the following year.^[8] Abe's Exoddus begins where Abe's Oddysee ends.^[11] Abe's abilities in this game were similar to his abilities in the first game,^[12] with an expanded ability to communicate with other characters in the world using GameSpeak.^[13] Here, Abe is informed by ghosts of his species ^[14] that Necrum, a Mudokon burial ground, is being excavated by Glukkons, using blind Mudokons as slaves.^[9] Abe then departs, with his companions Alf, Ben, Phos, Han, and Luke^[15] to find a cure to the sickness caused by the SoulStorm Brew, created from the excavated bones. Having cured his friends, he destroys the brewery. If the player is successful, Abe is again rescued by his friends; if not, he is captured by the brewery's owner, and electrocuted.

Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee

Not long after the events of Abe's Exoddus, Abe helps Munch (the last living remnant of an amphibious race called the Gabbits) to save the Gabbits' eggs from destruction, in exchange for Munch's help in rescuing more captive Mudokons. On November 12, 2015, Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee was released for iOS.^[12]

Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath

Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath is an action-adventure game published for the Xbox in 2005. The game's main character is a bounty hunter named Stranger. The game utilizes both third and first-person perspectives and is less puzzle-oriented than the previous three Oddworld games.^[16] The game has a Wild West setting. It was later ported to the PC and release through the digital distribution service Steam.

Released titles

Future titles

In April 2015, Oddworld's co-founder Lorne Lanning announced on a live stream that a full remake of Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus will be the next Oddworld project. There will be a voting poll where users will be able to vote what name the remake should be. So far, a lot of fans like the title Oddworld: Twice ze Flavor: a reference to a line spoken in the animation. The game is in planning stages of development.

On March 14, 2016, Oddworld Inhabitants announced on social media that its next title, Oddworld: Soulstorm,^[24] is slated for release during the latter half of 2017.^[25]

Unreleased titles

• 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.^[26] Said to be in production after Abe HD. It is said to be free-to-play with optional extras that may be purchased.
• 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 Abe's Exoddus in a combined package. On May 9, 2011, an Oddworld Inhabitants representative released a list of FAQ answers in relation to future games, confirming Sligstorm will be worked on after Abe HD and The Hand of Odd.^[27] It is not clear where in the Oddworld continuity the game will fit.
• The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot. Originally intended to be the next game following Stranger's Wrath. Announced in April 2005, Fangus Klot was cancelled by Oddworld Inhabitants founders Lorne Lanning and Sherry McKenna over deal disagreements with publishers Majesco Entertainment. In the May 9, 2011 FAQ, an Oddworld Inhabitants representative confirmed Fangus Klot is in future plans.^[27]
• Oddworld: Squeek's Oddysee. Expected third game in the original pentalogy following the first two entries Abe's Oddysee and Munch's Oddysee. In the May 9, 2011 FAQ, an Oddworld Inhabitants representative confirmed Squeek’s Oddysee is on the cards after The Hand of Odd, Abe HD, The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot and Sligstorm are released.^[27]
• Oddworld: Munch's Exoddus. Expected to be a bonus game based on Munch's Oddysee outside of the original pentalogy, in the same way that Abe's Exoddus was to Abe's Oddysee. It would have featured Munch traveling 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 canceled or halted.
• Oddworld: Slave Circus. In an AMA on Reddit, Lorne Lanning discussed a possible future "gladiator" type Oddworld title, in which the player could purchase and battle slaves. "I have been fixated on a game called "oddworld Slave Circus". It is seriously whack. You start the game by buying a slave. Think Gladiators on Oddworld. Have done a tremendous amount of work on this and have never mentioned it. But it is in the coffer and there may be some light for it down the road. But has some other contingencies depending on it. Requires new level of social integration into console gaming. It's insane. Hopefully not so insane it won't come to life."
• Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath 2. On January 17, 2013, on the Oddworld website, the Oddworld team asked which game fans would like to see after completion on "Abe's Oddysee New 'n' Tasty". Among the options was "Stranger's Wrath 2".
• Stranger Arena. A competitive multiplayer game using gameplay mechanics from Stranger's Wrath.^[28]

OddBoxx

In 2009, the director of Oddworld, Lorne Lanning, announced that they planned to make an Oddworld digital download package for PC. This package contains Abe's Oddysee, Abe's Exoddus, Munch's Oddysee and Stranger's Wrath. Oddworld Inhabitants unveiled their re-designed website on November 4, 2010, also declaring that the Oddboxx was still in development.^[29] On December 6, they announced that the Oddboxx would be released for the 2010 holiday season.^[30] The European and U.S. prices were revealed on December 14.^[31] On 17 December, Oddworld Inhabitants announced Oddboxx release date as December 20, with a 25% discount offer running until 9AM (PST) the following morning.^[32] On December 20, 2010, the Oddboxx was released on Steam.^[33] Achievements have been added to the two 3D games – Munch's Oddysee received 30, and Stranger's Wrath gained 20.

On April 29, 2011, JAW announced at GameCity Nights that the Oddboxx would be coming to the PlayStation Network (with other platforms to be announced). Stranger's Wrath HD was released on PlayStation 3 on December 27, 2011, and Munch's Oddysee HD in December 2012. Stranger's Wrath has 37 Trophies and Munch's Oddysee has 45 Trophies. Every Oddworld title is now available on the PSN, making the PS3 and Vita the only console to offer the entire Oddboxx other than the PC. These remakes are currently cancelled for Xbox 360.

Characters

Abe is the strongly developed central character of the Oddworld series.^[34] He can also use GameSpeak, a way of communicating with other characters in the game.^[12] Along with Spyro the Dragon and Crash Bandicoot, Abe was one of the unofficial mascots of the PlayStation.^[35] Computer and Video Games described Abe as "a new platform hero" and a "brilliant character."^[36] Lorne Lanning, Oddworld's creator, has stated that its "characters are driven in a way that is fired by larger [moral] issues."^[8] The appearance of the Glukkon species was based on that of the villainous Teacher character from 1982 film Pink Floyd—The Wall.

Reception

The Oddworld games have received more than 100 industry awards.^[37] Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee received more than 24 awards and three nominations from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences over 1997 and 1998.^[38] Oddworld also was nominated for a Grammy with the release of Abe's Exoddus: the Movie (a short film combined with cutscenes from Exoddus). In 2010, Game Informer included it on the list of ten gaming franchises that should be revived, specifically counting for the return of Abe.^[39]

As of March 18, 2014, The digital releases of Abe's Oddysee and Abe's Exoddus have sold one million units. The digital releases of all games combined have sold two million units. The franchise as a whole has sold seven million copies.^[40]

See also

• 1997 in video gaming

References

External links

• Official website
• Oddworld series at MobyGames
• "Oddworld". TV Tropes. 
• Unofficial fan forums