I think AiN's concern was that while it's easy enough to get to grips with repetitive GameSpeak in a foreign language, varied ones will be more difficult to understand. Which suggests translations should be in order at some point, or even subtitles. I don't think we've ever seen subtitled GameSpeak.

Nah, subtitled GameSpeak just doesn't sound like a good idea.

If it's optional and helps non-English speakers and the hard of hearing understand what the characters are saying, what's the problem? Closed captioning works in many games...

Or a simple English mode if translations aren't available. Might also be called classic.

In fact I can't even understand some Abe's, Munch's and mudokons' words in Munch's Oddysee. I hope multilingual versions of New 'n' Tasty will be released.

I agree with a lot of the points made on both sides, I like the simplicity and nostalgia of the old gamespeak, but do like variations too. That said, I still think any variations should be contextual. The native Mudokons in the Monsaic Lines, and those in Scrabania/Paramonia asking for passwords clearly do not know who Abe is, so a reply of 'Hey there Abe!' (as seen in the E3 trailer) seems off to me.

If we're going for realism/immersion, it'd be great to hear emotional variations too in different scenarios, like Abe talking quieter or whispering when Sligs are around (or in stockyard escape, for fear of being discovered), or responding with trepidation when native Muds have their slingshots pointed straight at him.

Contextual variations would also address concerns of the length of the phrase interfering with gameplay, as Abe would naturally speak in a hurry in tense/timed situations.

Hi everyone, my apologies for the super-late response. Been pretty busy lately as I'm sure you can imagine! I have been reading your comments though, and it has influenced the discussion while we've been designing GameSpeak.

In a nutshell, it looks like we're going with a kind of hybrid system involving the old 'classic' lines and some new variations. We decided that the old exchange of "Hello"-"Hello"-"Follow me"-"OK" was so iconic and memorable that it would be silly to get rid of it. You see it quoted all over YouTube videos and comment threads. It's what people remember about the game.

The simplicity of this system is also important in helping players to understand the mechanics of GameSpeak. This has some crossover into foreign language issues too, as some of you have already mentioned.

The new system we're working on will use that same exchange with the same words, but with audible variation so it's not exactly the same every single time.

Once you've spoken to a Mudokon one or two times you might start to get other variations thrown into the mix, like "Hi" or "Hey there" instead of "Hello". We're taking great care to keep the rhythm and quick pacing of the original so variants won't drag out the dialogue.

On top of that, we're trying to keep them simple and hopefully still familiar to non-English speaking players.

I think this gives a nice balance of nostalgia and freshness.

We're trying to sneak tidbits of backstory into the dialogue and scenery here and there, where we can. Overall, I'd say it's still primarily focused on the themes and content of the original, but the wider universe is definitely informing the choices we make. And anywhere we can make the original fit more in line with later revelations, we're trying to do that too.

I totally agree. For me personally, gameplay is king. But gameplay also has to work in harmony with narrative and aesthetic, so we're trying to find a nice balance. I think the new system retains the mechanical clarity of the original but also expands the aesthetic richness.

I'm interested to hear why you think that. Do you just mean you'd prefer full audio localisation?

We've already revised that dialogue. :)


ALSO! We're looking for fans to volunteer their voices for the Mudokons! See here for details: http://www.oddworld.com/2013/07/who-...-be-a-mudokon/

Thanks for the reply, sounds great so far! Very excited to try out for the Mudokon voices too :D

CrowbarSka, your reply gives me the impression the game is in good hands.

I have noting against subtitles, in fact I prefer enjoying my entertainment media in original version with subtitles instead of audio localisation. On the other hand I'm not fond of GameSpeak subtitles because, as we already agreed, it is a gameplay mechanism and I'm afraid it will be in the way and distracting during tense moments.

But you are welcome to prove me wrong.

Thanks! :D

I see what you mean. I'd like to think players would subconsciously tune out subtitles for familiar, repeated phrases, but that may not be the case. So perhaps separate subtitle options for standard dialogue and GameSpeak might be a nice way to do it. I'll see what we can do!