#oddworld fan species

[phantomtoff]

I don't know, I just like drawing these two.

[toffsidebar]

I Love them. *shakes the vigorously in a cocktail shaker*

[spoocys-glade-of-dreams]

Upon the encouragement of one of my friends. I have decided to revive an old muse I used to have on a now deleted roleplay blog.

-Art commissioned from @cakeinpants -

This little guy is named Tekkno. He was a fan species I created for the Oddworld fandom that one of my besties convinced me to convert into a fandomless muse, or a character I could freely insert into the Rayman universe without strictly binding him into that fandom alone.

He's a type of limbless lizard, and that tail is part of his actual body. The legs and arms are part of a special suit he wears. The suit is powered by magic which allows him full use of the limbs without having to be completely fastened into the device. He can freely slide in and out when he needs to.

His species live within The Desert of the Knaaren, and are primarily underground dwellers that burrow beneath the scorching sands. His kind are capable of using their voice as attacks. They can harness echolocation and can screech so loud that they can burst one's ear drums. Tekkno is a pacifist and will only use his voice for echolocation purposes or purely to defend himself without having to do lethal damage. He stuns and flees.

Tekkno had big dreams of exploring the worlds and trying new foods, so he broke the norm and ventured out of his home land. A wandering merchant by trade. He peddles ingredients, snacks, and cooked meals from around the world at his stall in the local marketplace in the glade. His stall accepts currency in the form of food, bottle caps for his collection, and shiny objects. This has earned him the nickname of Dragon amongst the marketplace community.

Around new people, he's very anxious and prone to stuttering. When he makes friends, he's not anxious anymore and a lot more outgoing. He's a very kind, polite, and caring person who loves making new friends and learning all about them. He is a big foodie, omnivorous and a scavenger. Sometimes you can find him raiding the dumpsters or trash cans, or he'll just go digging for worms to eat.

He also likes to exchange recipes with people! The hot meals he sells at his stall were recipes he learned on his travels that he cooked all by himself! He believes good food should be shared with the world! If you give him ingredients to work with, he will improvise and whip together a tasty treat for you to enjoy!

He is oblivious to how a lot of things work around the glade. He's not versed in technology and everything fascinates him. He can also be very gullible sometimes. He doesn't know much about the other species outside of his own either.

Tekkno has the voice claim of Alex Hirsch's King Clawthorne, who was also the inspiration for the character in general.

[vykker]

Hiyo! Great to see more Oddworld fans out there in the wild! 😜

My question is do you believe in that theory that Vykkers and Interns are somehow closely related or even the same species? Theirs so many odditys (no pun intended :P) about how interns look with six fingers and strange legs and how the two species share the same belly and head shape!

Hi there! So when people mention this idea, I think they're getting it from this one piece of early concept art- but if it also appears somewhere else please correct me:

At this stage in development, I think they were playing with a lot of different ideas. I think the Vykkers were always the primary antagonists but they knew it couldn't just be them working in the 'Labs, and without a preexisting species making sense as their assistants, they came up with the Interns. I bet the idea of Interns being unformed Vykkers was just one idea of many. For why they look the same, I think it might be for visual unity. They definitely share similar "creepy" features. Maybe the devs wanted both species to feel creepy in the same way?

It also says at the bottom of the art "we may be able to manipulate the vykker model into an intern" so they could have just meant it in a practical game design sense? Anyway I wish I knew...

[go-go-devil]

Looking back, it's honestly insane what ended up happening with Stranger's Wrath.

So it's the early 2000's. Munch's Oddysee comes out as an Xbox exclusive (betraying the many Playstation fans who didn't anticipate the system jump the series would take) and while it's not a bad game by any means it IS noticeably clunkier and less mechanically complex than the two games before it. Oddworld Inhabitants certainly has some more work to do when it comes to getting the most out of making fully-3D games, but reception to Munch was still positive enough and fans were eager to see how those mechanics would be fine-tuned in the next game.

Then, after a four-year wait, the game we got wasn't Munch's Exoddus. Instead it was a 3D platformer/beat 'em up/first-person shooter chimera of a game that had no possession mechanic, no gamespeak, NONE of the well-established characters/species from the previous games, and who's whole vibe was essentially a parody of spaghetti westerns.

And despite ALL of that, it is easily one of the best Xbox games ever made AND one of the best games in the entire Oddworld series, no questions asked!

...Only most gamers at the time didn't even know about this because Oddworld Inhabitants made the worst decision of all time by partnering with EA, who then proceeded to BARELY advertise the game. Thus its sales tanked so much the studio had to close its doors and not release another game until the Abe's Oddysee remake nine years later o_0

[mrdrhenwardhykle]

I know this was a UBER long time ago but I honestly wanna hear your ideas for a Playstation all stars sequal ideas. People don't give the game enough credit...

👀

Okay

tbh I really do think that it gets a little overwhelming sometimes with people's fan rosters, either it's way too many freaking characters compared to the more composed and manageable cast of the original, or it takes out too many of the original characters and just leaves most of the roster to modern Playstation.

The psasbr in my head would be more story driven, likely showing team interactions between characters, multiple cutscenes predating the aftermath of said chosen character getting the power and meeting their rival, and cutscenes and missions that resolve the conflict.

Maybe the use of Nanotech in battles (which is constantly seen and used in the original to power up the levels) is explained via usual infomercial Ratchet and Clank style, explaining that there might be aftereffects to various different species including violent outbursts and anger issues.

Every cutscene follows a different POV of the same story. Eventually two or more characters meet up, and gain a buddy system. Maybe multiplayer would be highly encouraged. With the main cast from the original, I think they would stick with eachother, as they might have already resolved issues amongst themselves.

Maybe difficulty is amped up and encourages merged level ups.

There would be npc bosses in story mode, alongside other enemy characters, and rivals.

idk much about rivals, I had a few in my head but they're a bit silly

Anyways, as for new characters here's the necessities: Jammer Lammy, Vib Ribbon, Abe from Oddworld, Cryptosporidium, Crash Bandicoot, Oddsock, Toggle, Swoop, Rivet and Kit (if not Ratchet and Clank skins), Razputin Aquato, and Spyro

Honorable mentions: Newton Pud, Nefarious, Jebediah the Preacher, Vendra Prog, Sophie Kane, Charlie Kane, Mr.Grimm (Maybe actual skeleton Grimm idk), John Doe, Neo Cortex, Captain Quark, Shadow the Hedgehog but mostly based from that fake leak, Earthworm Jim, Ray man, Clank just by his lonesome, Jersey Devil, any indie based character that got transferred over to Playstation like Wilson Higgensberry, Six, Cuphead, whatever- but any of these can be supports or background characters

Also I really think Dirk the Daring would be good in a crossover game, but my main reason for him being in it is that DL has PS versions and him and Sir Daniel would have a really good rivalry and dynamic that you probably wouldn't get with other characters paired with Dan

Also also with that Space Ace, and we can get some Quark/Earthworm Jim/Ace fights/rivals/teams

Also when characters get Ko'd by other characters, you can hear specific taunts/mocking

That's all I can think of rn, but yeah :3

Thanks for the ask!

[endergoomi]

holding a mic up to you. tell me about your grossest, slimiest little blorbo (physically or personality wise). pleas

Ohohohoho, my guy i have two of those, and one of them happens to be my favorite character of all time

1- the one, the only, quite literally cuz he may or may not be the last of his species:

John Stranger i use this image every single time but do you know how hard it is to find screenshots of him in the wild? The Oddworld fandom is a critically endangered species dawg you can put all of us in a plane and there will be plenty of space available still

The Oddworld games already have a lot of gross and slimy elements on them so pretty much any character from the franchise would work, but well Stranger's my favorite so i'll yap about him, you did this to yourself.

Well starting by the facts this mf 100% hasn't taken a bath in years (and that's because Sekto stole all the fucking water so is not really his fault...) so he probably smells like a wet dog and broken dreams, he spits at every given opportunity, specifically everytime you defeat a boss, and iirc there's concept art of him killing someone with his breath so uhhh his breath could probably be considered mustard gas at this point.

And also this mf is like, a jerk, he'll insult everyone even if they're on his side (tho he softens a lot if they're on his side obvs), and you know for sure he's throwing hands all the time.

But enough about the gross facts cuz this dude right here is what made me realize "wait a minute, i'm trans", cuz the entire game and his character arc could easily be seen as a trans allegory, with him feeling like a freak and that there is fundamentally something wrong with him and he gotta hide it and "fix it" or he could get killed, and him finally accepting that part of him as something he should be proud of by the end of the game is just AUGDJSGD, i don't want to go into spoilers cuz i really feel the games' story is better experienced by yourself cuz my god.

Stranger is a very profound and complex character and trust me i could be talking about that for HOURS, he's my favorite character OAT for a reason, he resonates with me in a very deep level and well, he just means a lot to me. I may not draw him as much as other characters like yk, Stryker, lmao, but that doesn't mean i love him any less, i owe him a lot, and he will forever be my goat.

And the second character, and i promise to god i don't know why i grew so attatched with them cuz ????????

2- Jerma The Guy From Scorn ™️

I do not know why i started liking this mf so much, they're like a bug i put in a jar and start shaking (As if they haven't gone through enough...) I think is mostly because i fell in love with the game's art direction, yk taking inspiration from John Xenomorph himself (H.R. Giger) and his art.

The entire game is fucking disgusting, with all the rotting flesh and blood and [AHEM] other liquids of dubious origin... Not to mention the scenary with a good chunk of funny le sex imagery and good heavens the sound design. This game is obscene and disturbing and i FUCKING LOVE IT.

This game makes you feel things, mainly disgust, fear and "good god there is something under my skin", and THAT is what makes it art, it's capacity to shake you to your very core, to make you uncomfortable, to sometimes stop and think about what the fuck did yoy just watch, this game evokes those feelings flawlessly, it makes you feel vulnerable, trapped IS JUST SO GOOD, this is probs because i'm not the biggest horror fan but i don't think there's another game line Scorn, or that at least makes you feel like this game makes you feel.

And i guess that's why i like Scorn guy so much, is not much of the character themself but the game as a whole, sometimes is as if you can feel what they're feeling, and is BAD and that's what makes it GOOD

Anyway i'm yapping too much, but in short, i like Stranger and Scorn Guy very much, i'm so sorry for subjecting you to my autism, anon

[brassclaws-of-oddworld]

Why Don't You Do Right

Like some other males do?~~

Get outta here

Get me some moolah too~~

[brassclaws-of-oddworld]

((GORGEOUS! Absolutely wonderful job on this, peppini! Thank you so much 🥺😭🤌👏👏👏))

Finished Commission of Kyung!

[phantomtoff]

Originally wanted to draw a pinup, but it slowly morphed into magazine parody.

[toffsidebar]

Their ship name would be Dripsia

[cakeinpants]

Oddworld cats?

Dang itt I accidentally deleted that ask, but it was from  @bloodyfangedtiger​ , and they asked if there could be a feline Oddworld race. Soo...

I’ve always admired Oddworld’s character designs. They’re all so unique and creative! Designing something interesting enough to call it an Oddworld species is a big challenge. And the “feline” part makes it even harder. But I’ve always wanted to try something like this and descided to take on this task!

After a couple days of brainstorming I’ve come up with this hairless angry cat(?) thing. I definitely had fun with it x)

At first it was supposed to be only one or two sketches but then I kinda overdid it, so there’s more sketches and lore below.

The only thing I haven’t come up with yet is a name for them so I’m open to suggestions x)

(ALSO there actually is an unreleased oddworld game where there was supposed to be a feline race I think, it’s called “the brutal ballad of fangus klot”)

Very aggressive tribal species that occupy a small territory in forests of Mudos. Wild and untamed, they live a lifestyle of gatherers and hunters and fiercely protect their land, attacking any intruders without negotiation. 

They're very good hunters. Fast and agile, with retractable poisonous claws. The poison isn’t lethal, but it weakens their prey so it can’t fight back or escape.

Instead of hands they use their tails to manipulate objects.

They have good eyesight and hearing, and especially sence of smell, which they use for communicating with each other by emitting different smells from special  glands.

They're viviparous, but have queens like mudokons and others.

Because of their refusal to cooperate with industrialists, they've been almost completely wiped out. There's only few tribes left, and they are currently on the verge of extinction.

________

And that’s all I have for now. I don’t know if I’ll ever actually use them but that was a fun experiment!

[brassclaws-of-oddworld]

((Okay, I've got some gorls! Three are fan species, but still Oddworld none the less. And then there's one Vykker.))

If loving Oddworld Girl OCs is a crime, then give me the death penalty. But for my last meal...... feed me Oddworld Girl OCs

[bartoonist]

Oddworld’s Lapis Lazuli: This is my Oddworld Fan Character/Gem OC that I originally created as a nameless Lapis Lazuli variant and one time love interest for Abe the Mudokon about 7 or 8 years ago where I drew that Yellow and Blue Lapis Lazuli and Abraham Lure a.k.a Abe the Mudokon (since I actually learned of his actual full name in the opening credits of Oddworld: Soulstorm) used to have that touching hands moment based on that touching hands scene from that Disney’s Tarzan movie that I took a simple inspiration from that one time long ago too of course, and since most of the main gems share the same names as their variants do since they received nicknames from Steven Universe himself these days like how most variants of the Main Pokémon and Digimon receive nicknames of their own monster tamers/fan players in their video game sourced media franchises already of course, I thought maybe its time I started giving this Oddworld Fan Character/Lapis Lazuli OC a nickname of their own (she/them since Gems in the Steven Universe franchise are an alien race of Genderless beings who mostly refer to each themselves as she/her and sometimes as they/them but never on screen on the Steven Universe TV series except for the Nonbinary Human character: Shep from Steven Universe Future whom Sadie referred to on screen as a they/them with the on screen-words: Oh they’re great etc etc), an epithetic nickname which is Oddworld’s Lapis Lazuli only she’ll/they’ll (whichever pronoun you folks wanna refer to my muscular, feminine, and androgynously feminine Genderless Gem OC as of course) have an Oddworld+Gem OC backstory of their own that refers to OLL as a lost, forgotten, and lucky defect survivor of Oddworld’s Beta Kindergarden since this Lapis Lazuli Variant Fan Character is blue and yellow like how those blue Lapis Lazuli gemstones also happen to have yellow flecks and stripes around them in real life of course, especially when as of these point on: I’ll draw an occasional series of Abe x Oddworld’s Lapis Lazuli fan art drawings/illustrations as a fanfic couple on occasions these days since part of me still loves to envision a beautiful new beginning of what it would be like if Abe the Mudokon got to find a beautiful love interest for once in his life whether it be an interspecies love story of or a same species love story, since I like to think that Abe deserves a chance at finding a hopeful, beautiful, heavenly, and romantic happiness in his life where he could leave behind that horrific life of cannibals hunting preys and miserable war against those upper class racially classist Glukkons who’ve wanted nothing more to make their Mudokon slaves into livestock for their cannibalistic consumers for so many years now, plus I’ve got a special Oddworld fan art piece that I’ll be posting to both Instagram and here on Tumblr later on since Twitter and Tumblr aren’t on Instagram’s sharing app list anymore lately except for Facebook, even I don’t actually use Twitter or Facebook as I don’t really care for those two social networks at all, plus I really do miss cross posting my Instagram posts to here on Tumblr and I hope that after having sent my App Store review to the Instagram developers that they’ll reconsider bringing back the option to cross post my Instagram posts to Tumblr here if they’ve read my App Store review one of Instagram’s missing features already that is? Well I hope you folks like my Oddworld Fan Character/Gem OC sketch of Oddworld’s Lapis Lazuli already of course.

[deadly-n-dapper]

Okay so, I'm really into Oddworld. And when Soulstorm came out I was like YESSSSSS! It's probably the first time I started engaging in the fandom before it was already like a year old. And I like creating fan content, so I started with a fanfic! Cuz I do that too. Only I wanted to create an OC that would create an interesting dynamic with Abe, so I came up with Razzle.

Razzle is a member of a fictional species I put way too much effort into designing. This is only her first general design, I had a lot of trouble trying to create a creature that was interesting but also fit with Oddworlds whole aesthetic. I tried to make her long and gangly looking, and I took some inspiration from the Fuzzles of Western Mudos in her design! But while I did take inspiration from how fuzzles look, she is actually more of a spider!

This ended up as more of a general idea of what Razzle would have looked like without any details characteristic to her specifically. In the end she turned out looking a little different, this was more a more detailed pass of her concept art. I think I did kinda alright considering. I wanted her to look strange, and maybe a little creepy.

[zachsgamejournal]

PLAYING: Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee

It's taken me some time to start the game. I'm enjoying it without being super impressed.

I love Oddworld Abe's Oddysee on PlayStation 1. Its' perfect in every possible way. Even load times. How? because the load screen tells the player to get over it. Anyway, knowing that the series was intended to be a Star Wars-esque universe of unique stories and characters, playing Abe's Oddysee really pumps one up for that vision (New 'n' Tasty, not so much). Munch's Oddysee, so far, fails to carry us forward on that promise.

The original Abe's Oddysee made a claim that each game would feature a unique protagonist. But the success of the game led to a request for a direct sequel with a short turn around time. Enter Abe's Exodus. The game expands on the familiar formula with good feature updates but also breaks the promise of a unique story/experience. I kinda enjoyed it, from what I remembered, but in the same ways the themes, characters, and gameplay was reused--so was the humor. Instead of being a succinctly perfect experience, it was an overlong encore. It's been decades since I've played it, so my memory could be way off.

Anyway, Munch's Oddysee seemed like an opportunity to put us on track. Originally the game was advertised for PS2. I have recently learned that PS2 "tech demo" was a pre-rendered visualization of what the game could be. It presented itself as a tech demo showing off features, when it was actually a publicity stunt to secure funding. Either way, I was excited by the visualizations promise: a fully 3D game with new ways to play. I was less excited by the return of Mudokons. Don't get me wrong, I love Abe and his people--but I had hoped we were moving beyond that, as promised.

The game half-way delivers on that promise in that you switch between Abe and Munch. This potentially allows us to explore new ways to use familiar Mudokon gameplay mechanics in a 3D space while also trying to branch out. We'll see how well that succeeds.

I'm also going into this game with some baggage. Oddworld Inhabitants betrayed their PS2 fan base to make their game an Xbox exclusive. The assumption at the time was they got paid-off:

Given the original vision of Oddworld, I could see where you'd want the extra cash to provide exceptional storytelling and production value. But it also means that this game deserves extra scrutiny. Personally, I think abandoning the most successful home game console in history (and the established fan base) set Oddworld on a path of ambiguity and failure that has seen the franchise struggle to meet its promise and potential. And as I play it now, I'll be considering:

Could this have been possible on PS2?

Does the Xbox provide anything the PS2 couldn't?

Did Microsoft's cash lead to a well produced product?

My hypothesis is 1) Yes, 2) not really, 3) No.

The opening scenes are very reminiscent of Abe's Oddysee. That's good wink to the fans, but once again chains this game to a more original experience. Familiarity is comfortable, but it's also a little unexciting. Kind of like how many of the new Star Wars films/shows try to maintain that 80's aesthetic. It's instantly familiar and recognizable, but also boring. Episode 1 did a great job changing the design to feel different based on the new species and planets featured, but also recognizing that this was a different decade and era--things are not going to look the same. It's really sad that no other branch of Star Wars has been able to outgrow this narrow view of Star Wars design.

Anyway, same for Munch's Oddysee. It looks like 3D Abe's Oddysee. The fact that it features Abe and Mudokons means that's probably how it needs to be, but fails to deliver on the promise of fresh experiences.

Now the opening story (yeah, we're still at the beginning), the story follows the environmental themes of the original: good. But the pacing is horrible. I'm not sure what happened because Abe's Oddysee was near perfect. The little cut scenes were well timed, the visuals were engaging, and Abe told a good story...that rhymed. Every shot in Munch's Oddysee overstays its welcome. Once Munch gets trapped, screen direction tells us that he's looking at an approaching light overhead--but the edit shows that this light is actually far away. Someone didn't take film courses before being in charge of editing.

Next, we cut to Abe hearing about Munch's plight. the creature telling the story is a great, new thing, weird and wonderful in an Oddworld-way. But the fact that we switch to Abe here once again removes us from this being Munch's story. It's once again the Abe-show and failure to deliver on the original's promise. Next, the creature falls asleep and many Mudokons moan as they walk off. Once again the shot overstays its welcome and there's no significant story beats or clever humor that makes the stay worth it. It likes comedic punch. It's like All That during the final seasons--no ideas and just wearing silly clothes as though that "counts" for comedy. I think the problem is the game is trying to make you laugh while Abe's Oddysee was trying to tell a story. AO could have lacked all humor and been a great story still. It wasn't the humor that made that experience. Instead, it was the great story and production value that made the humor work. It reminds me of Edgar Wright films. Those movie's best comedic moments come from telling a story, and not bending over backwards to create ridiculous situations.

So now we start playing as Abe. First of all--fuck the movement. Abe moves at a brisk pace. There's also a run button. But if you're moving down hill, Abe picks up a LOT of speed. This could kinda make sense from a physics perspective, but 99.99999% of all 3D platforms do not change your character speed while moving downhill (or not significantly). So there was a real struggle to get used to the sudden speed changes. Next--the jumping is awkward. Abe leaps pretty high into the air, but gravity is such that he doesn't get much hang-time. Most 3D platforms are a tiny bit more floaty--which allows the player land their jumps more accurately. It gives you time to think about your next move after you land. So far, it's not been a huge issue, but I don't love it.

The game also introduces collectibles: Spooceshrubs. They're green fungus looking things that grow on the surface. Except they don't look natural at all They look like designer put them in very specific places. This is disruptive for a couple of reasons: 1.) it looks totally unnatural and so reminds us that this is a game with rules and currencies. 2.) it adds a tedious layer to the experience not present in the previous game. Truly, why is this time of currency necessary? I sit because you couldn't think of interesting things to give the player to do, so you forced a basic, decades old collection mechanic on them? Collection like this (Mario's coins, Banjo's Notes, Crash's Wumpa Fruit, and Spyro's gems) are all about moving the player around the environment: to challenge you to explore. Abe didn't collect coins, though, he collected Mudokons. A mechanic that's very much at play already. So there's no need for this.

A matter of fact, the better collection mechanic is shown in the game. Abe has to enlist the help of Mudokons to open barriers. He needs three mudokons to chant a gate open, Mudokons to fight off enemies, and Mudokon to activate electrical currents. Exploring the environment to find Mudokons is sufficient to challenge the player to explore, and collecting "enough" mudokons to open gates is enough currency. If a mudokon dies, you can resurrect them by paying spooceshrubs--but why put the player through that? It's a waste.

Now let's touch on graphics and level design...

The graphics and level design appeared to be tied together in mutual self-destruction. Like Jack and Rose both trying to bet on the piece of wood after the Titanic sank, but because neither will sacrifice themselves for the other, they both struggle to get out of the water and die. See, this is where the BS around focusing on Xbox starts to infuriate me...

Being that this Oddworld Inhabitants first fully 3D game, I'm not surprised that they didn't knock it out of the park--but I am very disappointed. Firstly, there's fog. FOG!!!

The purpose of fog is to hide pop-in. PlayStation 1 fans are very familiar. It was also present on N64, but less so. And even games without fog would still have character/object pop-in (Banjo Kazooie). The move to PS2 was meant to be a move beyond the limitations for PS1. Not every game could achieve that (Dynasty Warriors), but there was a concerted effort from the best studios at the time. The reason I hold MO accountable to the fog issue is because so many great 3D adventure games on PS2 avoided fog. Grand Theft Auto 3 for example. Here was a giant open world with three islands. You could stand on one island and look all they way across to the other. This islands are pretty big too! While there was vehicle and character pop-in, there wasn't much in the way of environmental pop-in--which helped the world feel large. Also, Jak & Daxter featured a semi-open world--and they were able to show off environments that were very far away. They did it through some clever placement of walls and mountains and reduced detail, but they avoided fog for levels as big as or bigger than MO. So I'm having a hard time accepting that fog was necessary. It just shows a lack of technical and graphical fine tuning that takes a major hit on the production value of the game and makes me question what going to Xbox exclusive actually provided on a technical level.

Maybe it wasn't the performance of the P2, but performance of the development.

That's kinda harsh--but also kinda true. I'm sure the team was doing their best, but this was simply new territory and they were not prepared. In a sense, they set themselves up for failure. Look at Naughty Dog's Crash Bandicoot. For the time, that was a great looking game (and the design still holds up). But the programmers had to pull out every trick in the book, and invent some of their own, to get this very simple game to look as good as it did. That's production value. That's saying, "Our game looking, playing, and feeling good on the surface is key to making it great". Crash Bandicoot is also fun. All the prettiness would have been meaningless if it wasn't fun. But there's a balance, and they walked it perfectly. And you saw through the franchise how they grew in both gameplay and graphics--always balancing fun and production value.

Munch's Oddysee is more focused on fun (I think). The team just couldn't deliver on graphics (whether it was time, money, or talent--I don't know). So to be the next step in the Oddworld franchise and basically presenting a weak tech demo as a finished project--it's quite disappointing. This is almost like going from Starship Troopers 1 to Starship Troopers. Now that's kinda not fair, because jumping from 2D to 3D brought unlimited challenges--but not being prepared to mitigate those challenges and present one of the best looking games of that console era meant letting down the spirit of the franchise.

And I feel confident the team could have done better. I watched some raw-ps2 playthroughs of Jak & Daxter and Just Cause 1. JC1 is a huge, open world game. It doesn't look beautiful, but the draw distance on the environments is massive. You can see for miles. I think the game opens with a sky-dive and you can faintly see all the islands of this huge world from hundreds of feet up. That means fog shouldn't have been necessary. While Jak & Daxter may not attempt the gameplay depth of MO, it does have great animations and design. The cliff walls are not flat surfaces, but bumpy blocks that take up dozens of polygons per squar meter. Whlie Oddworld features very rough, unnatural walls acting as obviously constraints to guide the player. There was an attempt to make the ground walls not so flat by stretching a few vertices into odd angles. But unfortunately it also stretched the pixels, which once again hurts the production value.

Really, the team just needed to redesign areas to hide the draw distance and other limitations. Naughty Dog is great about using the environment to hide draw distance limitations and it makes the game feel more impressive--even if it's a little more claustrophobic. Another issue while playing as Abe, we seemed to be up in some mountains. And instead of showing us a distant valley, kind of like Halo, they put ugly clouds/mist just below the cliffs. It's not only obviously hiding limitations, but it's ugly.

Gameplay wise--this area was ok. It's a training area, so hardly challenging. You collect enough Mudokons to chant barriers out of your way. Basically finding a key to unlock a door--if the key were broken into 8 pieces and each was able to talk.

After the Abe Training I did the Munch training. This started with a really bad video explaining how Munch was equipped with sonar so he could fetch captured critters for the badguys. The seen was irreverent way over stayed its welcome. Once again, the developers were trying to be funny instead of just telling a story. So it was cringy and a waste of time.

But once I started playing as Munch, I felt the graphic designs had improved. The team is better at making rusty, industrial interiors than organic outdoors. This is unfortunate. I think taking lessons from Jak & Daxter would have helped. Like the wooden structures in Jak feel like they're made up of individual logs of various size and shape. It's simple detail that took a lot of time to do, but makes the game more engaging and immersive. While Munch's Oddysee has a flat rectangle with log-texture painted onto it. So when you look at it, you think: "That want me to see this as a wooden ramp". But you don't buy it as a ramp--you just accept it. The Jak games do a much better job here.

Alright--that was a lot. I probably only played an hour or two, but I've spent more time writing this. There was some things I wanted to say that I don't hope to repeat. So far, I just don't think Oddworld Inhabitants were up to the task they set for themselves. They likely either needed more money/support, or to focus on a smaller experience. Fully breaking from Abe and Mudokons might have helped--since the designs wouldn't be compared, even subconsciously, to the great work in Abe's Oddysee.