Lorne Lanning interview on waypoint

[Xavier]

Discussing the Enduring Appeal of Abe with Oddworld Creator Lorne Lanning:
https://waypoint.vice.com/en_us/arti...-lorne-lanning

Nice interview with some thoughts on why Abe still resonates with people today.

Also something new about this flammable brew:

But Brew is sticky, and highly flammable. A long time ago, we designed mechanics for liquid fire, like napalm, but with the ability to splash surfaces and coat things, and then ignite it. We've got that going now. And what falls out of that is actually extreme comedy.

[Varrok]

Napalm is so... funny?

[AvengingGibbons]

Yes but only in the same way the flying body parts of exploded sligs/mudokons hit the screen

[Vlam]

This part is also interesting:

We polled the audience: What do you want to see next? And they replied with, "Do Abe's Exoddus!" I groaned, but then I looked at that: Exoddus was a game that we only had nine months on, a game I was never expecting to make.

[Scrabaniac]

I want to see Sligs melt in their pants. That would be comedy.

[Varrok]

Would it still be funny if you replaced the oddworld characters with actual war victims?

You're horrible people.

[Havoc]

Brew = drinkable napalm. Already game of the year 2017.

[Scrabaniac]

Is it not really different from the idea that the idea Slaves in Oddworld are familiar with issues in real life? Which would make any fan of Oddworld horrible people.

[Silver angel]

I hope game won't become very black comedy, where we pour everyone with Soulstorm and then burned them alive. It will be too sadistic, even for Oddworld. O.o

[FennecFyre]

I hope game won't become very black comedy, where we pour everyone with Soulstorm and then burned them alive. It will be too sadistic, even for Oddworld. O.o

Seconded. Oddworld can get darkly humorous, but it's never REALLY dark, and I hope Soulstorm keeps to that.

The interview was a great read, I can definitely agree that Abe is so endearing because, as a downtrodden worker, he's so easy to empathize with.

[Samtastic]

I really am looking forward to the release of Soulstorm. Can't wait to see some first footage of the game. I'm glad that Soulstorm is going to be how Exoddus should have done because now that OWI are indies they can do what they want with the IP.

[Vlam]

Apart from the flammable brew, what new features are you expecting?

[Samtastic]

Apart from the flammable brew, what new features are you expecting?

Well I'm hoping that there will be some areas there from Exoddus but like Matt said there will be different to how they've been before.

[Slog Bait]

I hope game won't become very black comedy, where we pour everyone with Soulstorm and then burned them alive. It will be too sadistic, even for Oddworld. O.o

Seconded. Oddworld can get darkly humorous, but it's never REALLY dark, and I hope Soulstorm keeps to that.

Idk guys, Oddworld can get uncomfortably dark sometimes, and somehow all the current gruesome ways of dying can evoke laughs. Napalming things with a spiritual bone and tear cocktail doesn't feel any less dark or gritty than tricking things into a burping meat grinder, sligs calling for their mommy when they're scared and know they're about to die, hearing something yell for help or scream when they fall into an endless void to their death, accidentally causing a group suicide, or getting mauled by wild animals repeatedly.

[Silver angel]

Idk guys, Oddworld can get uncomfortably dark sometimes, and somehow all the current gruesome ways of dying can evoke laughs. Napalming things with a spiritual bone and tear cocktail doesn't feel any less dark or gritty than tricking things into a burping meat grinder, sligs calling for their mommy when they're scared and know they're about to die, hearing something yell for help or scream when they fall into an endless void to their death, accidentally causing a group suicide, or getting mauled by wild animals repeatedly.

You are right, but I mostly meant that even being dark and sometimes creepy, Oddworld doesn't aim to escalate the violence in order to entertain the player, as many modern games do. When you have to commit violence, game makes you feel so gilty and psychologically uncomfortable, as if punishing for what you done, though it's mechanics and there no other way. In other words, the more kills you make, the more disgusting person you feel yourself. It as anti-propaganda of violence. Because of player dies innoncent souls, animals, guards who wants to live too and have no choice, bad ending may happen and so on.
Oddworld is mostly psychologically dark I think, and have many themes of morality.

[Vlam]

In other words, the more kills you make, the more disgusting person you feel yourself. It as anti-propaganda of violence. Because of player dies innoncent souls, animals, guards who wants to live too and have no choice, bad ending may happen and so on.

I must disagree: your "karma" is only linked to the Mudokons/Fuzzles saved. It doesn't matter if you kill the other creatures (Sligs, Fleeches, Scrabs, Paramites, etc).

[Gunnr]

Idk guys, Oddworld can get uncomfortably dark sometimes, and somehow all the current gruesome ways of dying can evoke laughs. ...

1)"...But it definitely still has that Oddworld humor, it's honestly more hilarious than it ever was."

I think it'll be okay I certainly can't wait to see how they deliver and keep that balance

2)"We have to get the game out in 2017. I suffer every time I provide a specific date, because people will take that as gospel, that it will be out then—when what we mean is we'd like to have it out by then. But, we feel it has to be in 2017, and so I'm on this night and day, until it delivers, and that's just how it is."

Hm, seems there ARE visis to owf, Certainly knows us well and def explains the disapearance of the arg. And I am fine w/ this

I really adore the dedication of owi


Thanks for the post vlam It also seems that brew may have more uses

[OWI_Alex]

You are right, but I mostly meant that even being dark and sometimes creepy, Oddworld doesn't aim to escalate the violence in order to entertain the player, as many modern games do. When you have to commit violence, game makes you feel so gilty and psychologically uncomfortable, as if punishing for what you done, though it's mechanics and there no other way. In other words, the more kills you make, the more disgusting person you feel yourself. It as anti-propaganda of violence. Because of player dies innoncent souls, animals, guards who wants to live too and have no choice, bad ending may happen and so on.
Oddworld is mostly psychologically dark I think, and have many themes of morality.

No specifics, obviously, but we're very keen on the quarma system this time around, and it'll spread a little wider than what Oddworld fans have seen before.

[Varrok]

You are right, but I mostly meant that even being dark and sometimes creepy, Oddworld doesn't aim to escalate the violence in order to entertain the player, as many modern games do. When you have to commit violence, game makes you feel so gilty and psychologically uncomfortable, as if punishing for what you done, though it's mechanics and there no other way. In other words, the more kills you make, the more disgusting person you feel yourself. It as anti-propaganda of violence. Because of player dies innoncent souls, animals, guards who wants to live too and have no choice, bad ending may happen and so on.
Oddworld is mostly psychologically dark I think, and have many themes of morality.

That is not neccessarily how I felt playing the original games. Though the games do punish you for killing mudokons, killing other species was a fun activity, especially sligs. It felt satisfying to blow the bastards to pieces. Even Abe laughed.

Even. Abe. Laughed.

[Sybil Ant]

Did anyone ever wonder why Abe's laugh changed in AO from the constrained "eedeedee" to that unbridled guffaw half way through the game?

[Scrabaniac]

Maybe he wasn't feeling so innocent upon his return to RF

[Vlam]

No specifics, obviously, but we're very keen on the quarma system this time around, and it'll spread a little wider than what Oddworld fans have seen before.

Will there be more than 2 "endings" in SoulStorm?

[Varrok]

Did anyone ever wonder why Abe's laugh changed in AO from the constrained "eedeedee" to that unbridled guffaw half way through the game?

Because he slowly became more and more corrupted.

At least that's how I like to explain this.

[Silver angel]

That is not neccessarily how I felt playing the original games. Though the games do punish you for killing mudokons, killing other species was a fun activity, especially sligs. It felt satisfying to blow the bastards to pieces. Even Abe laughed.

Even. Abe. Laughed.

And I can understand him - suddenly get the full power over those who tormented you all your life. But still, he's not that character who kills everyone to the right and left for his own pleasure and profit. And this is good.

[FennecFyre]

True. You couldn't really expect Abe (or any mudokon) to be a paragon of virtue right off the bat. Thinking realistically, imagine how warped your sense of morality would become if you were born and raised as a factory slave. No education, no parental guidance, very little (if any) camaraderie from your fellows. Things like altruism and empathy would be pretty foreign concepts. The same goes for the sligs--they're so ignorant and cruel because they're conditioned to be that way, and anyone who tries to be otherwise is culled.

[Vlam]

Abe is trying to save his own life. He also frees the enslaved Mudokons who are threatened. The instinct of self-conservation is shared by the species of Oddworld.

[JayDee]

When Abe gets hit by a chant suppresor and loses all his held items I want every single bottle of brew to ignite and engulf our hero so we can get some nice Vietnam style screenshots.

[Vlam]

When Abe gets hit by a chant suppresor and loses all his held items I want every single bottle of brew to ignite and engulf our hero so we can get some nice Vietnam style screenshots.

That's a good idea, to be honest.

[Scrabaniac]

It would make sense, too. I don't know how grenades never immediately exploded from an electrical charge.

[Sybil Ant]

Would a frag grenade actually explode if you ran an electrical current through it? Google won't help me. I'd have assumed not, because the grenade casing would insulate the explosive within from the heat of the electricity. The current or AMPs or whatever the right terms is, can't be high enough because they don't kill Abeybaby.

/science