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Oddworld

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Oddworld is a comprehensive fictional universe presented in videogame form, created by game developers Oddworld Inhabitants (OWI) under the direction of Lorne Lanning. The setting plays host to a tale of a dystopian world, wherein the peaceful, natural world is in danger of being consumed by the industrial ambition of sadistic corporations. Oddworld, as a planet, is measured as ten times the size of Earth, a fraction of which has been featured in the games. The main continent of interest is Mudos, on which all the stories and struggles have so far taken place.

Games in the series

The developers have stated that the Oddworld series will be a quintology, and that Abe's Exoddus, Stranger's Wrath, and the Oddworld Adventures games were bonus titles not counting toward the total of five. There are also a few titles that were hinted at in interviews and press releases, but were never developed.

Released titles

Unreleased titles

Gamespeak

In the Oddworld games, the Gamespeak feature allows the player to communicate with the various in-game characters. An example of a Gamespeak command is "Stay", which instructs a nearby character to stay there. Rescuing Mudokons, Fuzzles, and opening certain doors are all achieved through Gamespeak. Enemies mind-controlled by Abe can also use Gamespeak, as one can use Glukkons to order subservient Sligs around, or use Sligs to call their Slog pets to heel.

Certain Gamespeak commands aren't much more than burps or farts, which serve mainly to provoke comical reactions from nearby characters.

The Gamespeak feature was modified in Stranger's Wrath, with a single "talk" button causing the Stranger to say something appropriate to the situation. For instance, when the Stranger needs to cash in a bounty on an Outlaw, pressing the "talk" button will cause him to say, "Best be gettin' to the bounty store." This context-sensitive Gamespeak also worked for questioning the Clakker and Grubb townsfolk.

Cancelled realtime strategy game

Hand of Odd was rumored to be the fifth Oddworld game. It was to be a realtime strategy game and playable online. Originally announced in 1999, Hand of Odd was cancelled when Oddworld Inhabitants shut down in April 2005 to pursue the creation of motion pictures.

Abandoned Fangus project

An April 2005 issue of Game Informer revealed a character named Fangus, a buff-looking character who serves as a type of shepherd on Oddworld, watching over a flock of particularly demonic-looking sheep. While OWI did not confirm the game (many suspected it as an April Fool's joke), the article briefly outlined the plot: Fangus is a shepherd who dutifully wards off predators, until one day, invaders arrive. Fangus is then forced to rise to the occasion, assuming the role of savior of all Oddworldian nations. Meanwhile, rabies slowly begin to turn him mad, and he must make haste in thwarting the invaders' plans before his mind is completely lost. A Mature rating (by the ESRB) was expected due to dark tones and themes throughout the game, and Majesco was expected to publish the game for the Xbox.

Feature film plans

Oddworld's plans to create their first feature film has been confirmed by Oddworld production designer, Raymond Swanland. There has not been anything revealed concerning the plot or characters, as of June 2006.

It should be noted that, originally, the Oddworld quintology was planned to be five movies, rather than five games. Lorne Lanning has expressed to the public that he intends to make the quintology into movies as originally planned. While it would be obvious to assume that the first Oddworld movie will be based on Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, the first game of the Oddworld series, there have been no announcements as to what the content of the film may be. As early as June 11, 2006, a new home page was seen on [Oddworld Inhabitants's official website], depicting the Oddworld Inhabitants logo on a film reel, reinforcing beliefs that the series will appear in some form as a motion-picture, although no official word has been yet given.

The possibility of future Oddworld games too relies on any Oddworld films; Lorne Lanning has expressed in interviews that if any games were created, they would be made to be released coinciding with the movie release so it could ride the media wave. No future game has yet been confirmed.

Creatures of Oddworld

Native races

Mudokons
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Mudokons

Industrial races

It is most likely that Sekto captured Gloktigi specimens from the wild and Cybernetically Augmented them to make them far more effective at their role as guards.

Oddworld geography

Every game in the series so far has taken place on the continent of Mudos.

Locations in Abe and Munch games

Locations in Stranger's Wrath

Trivia

External links