Abe HD Concepts/Ideas Revealed

HOMINIX · #1 10-03-2016, 07:10 AM

Just Add Water posted an un-blurred version of that Abe HD whiteboard picture they shared back in 2011.

- SligStorm DLC
- Extra Temples and Wildlife DLC
- Co-op multiplayer DLC
- Lanning wanted to dial back the gore

These guys had ambition...

Connell · #2 10-03-2016, 07:22 AM

lol can't believe that was 5 years ago what have I done with my life.

Also, frikkin' MUNCH levels was an idea toyed with. Crazy. Just saw they replied to someone on Twitter saying co-op DLC was "never going to happen" and they were just toying with ideas.

Varrok · #3 10-03-2016, 07:40 AM

I wish they released New N Tasty Director's Cut Edition using those ideas.

I mean, I'd really like to see NnT with evil bats, wrong color natives and good graphics.

Vlam · #4 10-03-2016, 09:16 AM

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Just Add Water posted an un-blurred version of that Abe HD whiteboard picture they shared back in 2011.

- SligStorm DLC
- Extra Temples and Wildlife DLC
- Co-op multiplayer DLC
- Lanning wanted to dial back the gore

These guys had ambition...

Nice fanfiction.

***Xavier*** · #5 10-03-2016, 09:43 AM

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Nice fanfiction.

Nice trolling

Nicky Ali · #6 10-03-2016, 10:32 AM

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- Lanning wanted to dial back the gore

This is really interesting and I wonder why; especially considering what I've been saying in the Soulstorm thread. My best guess is that it was to make the game more appealing to a wider audience. I'd really like to know why this was the case.

**JayDee** · #7 10-03-2016, 12:13 PM

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This is really interesting and I wonder why; especially considering what I've been saying in the Soulstorm thread. My best guess is that it was to make the game more appealing to a wider audience. I'd really like to know why this was the case.

Probably because at the pre-NnT point they couldn't really afford to limit their audience, whereas now Soulstorm is looking to be "much darker" since it's less of a risk.

UnderTheSun · #8 10-03-2016, 12:47 PM

"Bats are evil"

Sounds about right.

(Also, does anyone here know what a "Chattel" or "Scarpien" is? Chattel is also a word for personal property, which could be significant.)

FennecFyre · #9 10-03-2016, 04:39 PM

Aw, look at all that cool stuff we didn't get.

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(Also, does anyone here know what a "Chattel" or "Scarpien" is? Chattel is also a word for personal property, which could be significant.)

I was wondering the same thing--I think it'd be awesome if we get to see more Oddworld fauna at some point. This is just wild speculation, but since scarpien sounds like a combination of "scorpion" and "scarf", maybe it's some venomous arthropod with a great big mouth. Chattel is a bit more confusing, since as you said it's a word that denotes property. Could be a kind of domestic bovine. Oddworld's version of cattle?

I also think it's kind of cool that they considered adding in physical variation among the NPCs. Mudokons may be drones, but they're not clones. Even most of the glukkons have different face shapes and skin colors.

Manco · #10 10-04-2016, 02:53 AM

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- Lanning wanted to dial back the gore

To be fair, the board says “Lanning says no gratuity”; you could interpret that in different ways. There wasn’t really that much gratuitous gore in the original AO, excepting the exploding bodies caused by explosions, and NnT matched the level of gore in the original pretty well.

Vlam · #11 10-04-2016, 03:20 PM

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Nice trolling

I'm not, unfortunately. There's a huge gap between those ideas and the final product. Even The Shrink didn't make it into the final game.

Gunnr · #12 10-04-2016, 03:43 PM

It looks like Meechs,skeeters and those other creatures were supposed to show up in a flashback or something. Would have liked to see those ingame, hmn.

Shrykull43 · #13 10-05-2016, 07:40 AM

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To be fair, the board says “Lanning says no gratuity”; you could interpret that in different ways. There wasn’t really that much gratuitous gore in the original AO, excepting the exploding bodies caused by explosions, and NnT matched the level of gore in the original pretty well.

I agree that NnT had the same amount of gore but it was nowhere near as intense. In AO there was lots o' dark red blood and chunks of flesh/skin/limbs flying everywhere, whereas NnT just had some red fleshy lookin' balls and some splatter. Also imo the death sounds in AO were way more intense.

UnderTheSun · #14 10-05-2016, 01:19 PM

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I agree that NnT had the same amount of gore but it was nowhere near as intense. In AO there was lots o' dark red blood and chunks of flesh/skin/limbs flying everywhere, whereas NnT just had some red fleshy lookin' balls and some splatter. Also imo the death sounds in AO were way more intense.

I thought the AO gibs looked more like pre-rendered clay chunks pulled from the original models and painted red to signify flesh, rather than convincing organs. They're incredibly dry-looking, too; from what I see, apart from what is painted onto the models, there is zero blood. As convincing and intense as I assume they felt back in the day, they haven't aged so well (especially since the parts flying everywhere are obviously in frames).

When characters where cut, ground, and mashed in NnT, the reverse is true; you see the model explode into a spray of blood, but the organs simply fly off in every direction. Given how fast the gibs are, they just sort of... happen. What should be a grim remnant of something that was alive just a second ago vanishes into thin air like one of Abe's gas clouds (and probably smells the same).

No clue how to combine these, though. I guess have the gore "linger?" Heck, that whiteboard includes Mudokon slaves walking over to Abe's location when he dies to clean up the mess. Could have the same happen, with the Mud making a tired sigh or grumble (the desensitized "I'm used to this but I still hate it" kind).

OWI_Alex · #15 10-05-2016, 10:54 PM

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Heck, that whiteboard includes Mudokon slaves walking over to Abe's location when he dies to clean up the mess.

This happens in NnT.

Nicky Ali · #16 10-06-2016, 02:11 AM

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This happens in NnT.

I actually didn't know that! I really like nice little touches like this.

***Xavier*** · #17 10-06-2016, 03:01 AM

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I'm not, unfortunately. There's a huge gap between those ideas and the final product. Even The Shrink didn't make it into the final game.

It's a brainstorm board, of course it's filled with stuff that didn't end up in the final product.

That's kind of how brainstorm works: you get a lot of ideas, note them down, prioritize and see what's actually feasible.
I'm doing product management at work and that's how we do it all the time.

It's just fun to have insights in JAW/OWI's development process.

Vlam · #18 10-06-2016, 08:59 AM

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It's a brainstorm board, of course it's filled with stuff that didn't end up in the final product.

That's kind of how brainstorm works: you get a lot of ideas, note them down, prioritize and see what's actually feasible.
I'm doing product management at work and that's how we do it all the time.

It's just fun to have insights in JAW/OWI's development process.

Yes, but, at the end of the day, what really matters is the final result (good intentions or not): New 'n' Tasty.

***Xavier*** · #19 10-06-2016, 11:25 PM

So what's your point?

Are you going to piss on everything that JAW will every do or say because you didn't like New 'n' Tasty?

Vlam · #20 10-07-2016, 12:51 AM

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So what's your point?

Are you going to piss on everything that JAW will every do or say because you didn't like New 'n' Tasty?

No, again, I was just saying (if I'm allowed to say) that there's a huge gap between those ideas and the final product.