SeaRex, you do understand that it is gameplay that will decide the fate of this game, right? Why is it that everyone goes nuts when something looks like it shares characteristics of real creatures. I don't want everything to be an alien, then again, wasn't Abe just a wrinkly blue human. I mean, you are being way too critical of one piece of totally kick-ass artwork, which looks nothing like the last character. There is no way this is even an early concept for that game, because the character was always to be based on Clint Eastwood's "man with no name" character. And the reason this will be another action game is because they will be using the OSW engine. So, what's wrong with action? You make it sound like a bad thing. If they can pump this out in a year, you should be a little more hopeful that this is real.

Fangus would make 2 Oddworld action games, not 6. I think you're overreacting a wee bit. And Fangus is totally not unispired. It has some real-life animal characteristics, but come to think of it, Munch was the only one who didn't. And he yeilded the worst game. So chill.

Christ, people. Yeah, I really think OWI is going to make six games featuring a lion creature.

S-A-R-C-A-S-M.

The only reason I was "overreacting" was because the first part of my post was intended to be for Xavier; I was responding to his remark towards me. So chill, as Kimon so pointlessly put it, pay attention to the second part of my post... you know... the part that's actually serious.

And for the record, I have absolutely NO problem with another OW action game or with Fangus having animal features, but I STILL think that the concept art of Fangus looks like Stranger. Muscles, claws, leather straps, "hat" thing, cat features. My opinion still stands.

You would think that I flat out said the next game would suck or something. Well, as a matter of fact, I'm looking forward to this Fangus game, especially if it's going to be as subliminally controversial as I'm imagining it will be. I just don't want OWI to have two similar characters in two subsequent game and then have nothing connecting their relation. If you'll scroll up a bit...
Are we a bit more clear now? I certainly hope so. Anyway, no offense to anyone, really...
Sarcastic humor is dead. At least mine is.

Munch was froggish, no?

What? How is 'so chill' sarcasm? Whatever.

Anyway, I knew you weren't being serious, I was saying that your exaggeration was absurd. Anyway, sorry if I was being an ass, I was just pissed that you called Fangus uninspired figuring that besides from his musclyness he's not much like Stranger (in my opinion).

And sligster, you could say Munch was based off a frog, but it was pretty much just his amphibious skin (and maybe the hoppy leg). What I meant was his composition didn't really have similarities with anything in the real world. Huge, odd-shaped head, big ol' eyes, a little potbelly, two arms and one leg is NOT the makeup you'd see on an everyday Earth creature. :)

Wowza! I ride on a bus for 30 some hours to Montana, and look what happens! Yeah, staying with Grandpa and Grandmummy for a month or so while my Dad tries to stop from being an insane person.

Anyway, I'm just excited that I could possibly have another Oddworld game in a year. We know Oddworld can work well after the engine is allready established...AE took 9 months to make, no?

Sherry McKenna was firm about Oddworld not having a shooter(Polygon mag)...even though that's what Stranger was. Sure...he shot nifty bugs and critters, but still a shooter. And look now...It looks like this Fangus guy has straight up GUNS! This move is good though. I think Oddworld knows Stranger is doing well, and doesn't want the gamer to forget about it. That's why this game is being released in a year...as rumor has it. Yeah, me baseing all this from rumor. :D

I sure do hope this isn't rumour, because I've been waiting for darker material from OWI...and with an M rating we're sure to get that.

Fangus looks great. And posters who say he looks NOTHING like Stranger are... Let's just say that would be like saying Hellen Hunt and Jodie Foster don't look similiar.

-oddguy

sorry to be a nueisance but is this game confirmed?

NO (ten characters)

-oddguy

doesnt anyone remember this? my point is, people believed that, and this sounds nothing like oddworld. im sure its a lie.

But that was absolutely correct. You're using that thread as if that was a rumour that was later disproved as false. Actually, it was perfectly correct.
And rightly so! It was truth - almost.

Yeah, the link to that thread is in my sig with a caption that says 'How foolish we all were.' That turned out to be true. The article was talking about the beginning stages for the development of Stranger.

And did you notice something funny about the second post in that thread? Xavier didn't know it was about stranger, right? but thought it was STRANGE :p. Funny coincidence, or was it ment to be strange, and Xavier just picked the right word for it? :)

This may be a bit off topic... and it probably been posted before...

:s

I'll admit there are some small similarites, but nothing that would make a person mistake the two for the same character. The hands, the skin color, and maybe the face (although hidden in shadow) could be compared, but the body shape and clothing are completely diferent. Once again, I think the two species could be related much like glukkuns and octigis.

no no, nope. there was no monkey man with a psychic connection to his boat, in which you transported goods down rivers. the only thing that was correct was that he had a boat, and not a psychic one either.

You are an idiot...That was one of the original concepts for Stranger...Just because the final product didn't look like that, doesn't mean that the magazine article was wrong...They only posted the info that they had, which was just an early idea for Stranger...

No? So, tell me, who is Stranger huh? He have a Gorilla hands.

Ok everybody! Stop this OFF-Topic! okay?

Gonna tell you this once.
STOP BELITTLING PEOPLE ON THIS FORUM. We already have a few people here who do, we don't need someone else acting that way. For your own sake, stop acting like a jerk. Please, I'm asking you nicely. And these guys'll tell you, I don't do that often.

On another note: I really like the idea for Fangus. I just wish they'd change the design. People, he looks like an anthro cougar! They can make a buff male mammalian character without resorting to anthropomorphism. True, Stranger was sort of a four-way anthro, but he at least looked alien. This guy looks like something you'd see in a DeviantART gallery (no offense to the DevArtists here). I know OWI can do better than this.
I know I'm being a hypocrit, what with Actra looking so much like an Anthro bat, but I'm not Oddworld Inhabitents. I've seen things from them that...blew my mind. And this...again, I like Fangus, just not his current design.

OWI, I'm begging you. PLEASE. Don't let Fangus become an anthro. Use that OWI mojo you have in such large amounts over there, and I know that Fangus can become something astounding.

I was joking...I only said that because I knew you would read it and get on my case about it...You have a talent for that...


What's wrong with him being an anthro?...He looks pretty kickass to me, I don't know why everyone is complaining...

Sure you were. :rolleyes: You expect me to believe that?
Wait, don't answer. That's a rhetorical question.
And the only talent I bring to this forum is my art. That and my sparkling wit. I don't enjoy redirecting people.

Look, just stop, okay? You haven't been around long enough to gain jerk rights.

Think about it. Do cougars live on Oddworld? Sure, they have bats and bees, but a cougar with a twelve-foot pec span? That's taking the whole "familiar animals that look slightly different" angle a bit too far.
What I'm saying is that Oddworld has a knack for making things look out of the ordinary, and this design for Fangus looks way too...familiar. People will recognise that he's influenced by a cat, and call him "that cougar dude from Oddworld."
See, this is why I miss Farzad. He would have given a whole new look to Fangus.

Steven Olds could kick Farzad's ass...

Farzad is by far the BEST FRIGGIN ARTIST OWI has ever had. So don't make fun of him, cuz he kicks ass.

Oh, and Aquacid, despite his harshness, tentacle_orgy is right on this one. It was an early concept of Stranger.

Eh, despite all the arguing going on here that's happening for no reason, I'd like to state my opinions.

Fangus looks like a kickass creature. But I would really prefer it if Oddworld went back to the scrawny heroes like Abe and Munch, rather than the stronger guys like Stranger. However... I liked the darker Oddworld games better than the current bunch [except SW, that's definitely my favourite of all 4.] so maybe this one will really float my boat.

As for the sheep... Maybe they follow him around. Could be like the Fuzzles in Munch's Oddysee. That'd be cool... Seeing rabid sheep rip the Industrials to pieces. Awesome.

When I first heard of this game it sounded so awesome, the darkness and all, but the picture of fangus didn't quite get me the usual "wow-ie" feeling that new OW pics do.

I don't know would it be so nice to have sheep following him around too much... if they would be like fuzzles with Munch, it would be too MO-ish.

But I do hope OWI will do a MO bonus game after Fangus's and all, Munch is one of my favourite characters and it's a shame for so good character to have so dull game.. not that I didn't enjoy MO.

This is pretty exciting news, a game in the works already? They must of had the idea for Fangus for awhile for news to come out about so quickly. The game sounds interesting but how much of the information provided is actual hard evidence the magazine company has or is it just a rumour?

Just thought I'd add that people on the forums give more credit (of creature designs) than he actually did... Oh well.

Munch had elements of a catfish, a rabbit, a frog and a dolphin all rolled into one. It's the most compound creature OWI have ever come up with, but that doesn't in any way make him contrived. He was, in my personal own opinion, one of the last great character designs. MO may have brought us Vykkers and Interns, but we were also lumped with Fuzzles and Meeps. OSW had Stranger, and while he had a good design, it was nothing to celebrate.

I woke up this morning and spotted a Glukkon on a poster. I thought, “What the hell is that?” That's the honest truth. I look at a Clakker or a Grubb and I think, “Oh look, a fat chicken,” or, “Woah, didn't we all draw creatures like that when we were six?” Now we get, as Dipstikk puts it so aptly, an anthro cougar, and the problem with that, tentacle_orgy, is that Oddworld is already populated with fantastic, original, alien designs that use new shapes, new body structures and amazing attention to realism to produce a menagerie of practically believable, very understandable creatures that remain distinctly Oddworld. Fangus is a lion-Hulk. His flock are demonic sheep.

Firstly, no one was making fun our of him. Secondly, Steven Olds designed Mudokons, Glukkons, Scrabs and Paramites. Your opinion is your own, but anyone not bowing before Mr Olds deserves … I dunno: a pinch, maybe.

Apart from that, Dipstikk is quite right - everyone can stop getting rat-arsed at each other right now, or I'll go ape-shit. :)

Sorry, about that Max. I really like Steven Olds, he's a great designer and I like his work a lot. It's just that I think Farzad brought life to characters that he drew, which the others couldn't seem to do. I really loved that in his art.

As for the Munch design, what I was talking about is that when you look at him you, wouldn't think, "Oh, look, it's a catfish-rabbit-dolphin-frog hybrid. Isn't that nice." He's the only one that you can say looks totally alien, at least in my opinion.

P.S. Sorry for any flaming I've done on this thread, emotions were high.

Hmmm, what about Vykkers? What creatures do you see in them? Or Interns, for that matter? They both look quite alien to me, especially the former.

That's true, I was just thinking about the main characters.

Vykkers and Interns are indeed alien, as are Scrabs and especially Paramites. I was excluding an entire aspect of Oddworld, sorry if that was confusing.

I'm a bit dismayed at how quick you folks are to lose your faith in the Inhabitants. You see one CONCEPT drawing, mind you, and all flip out about how Oddworld has abandoned its legacy of great characters. Are three great protagonists not enough to prove to you that their heroes always have the goods? While my heart didn't leap into my throat upon seeing Fangus, I have confidence in Lorne and crew to make any creature a compelling character with a story to tell. Plus, Oddworld always likes to make their heroes unexpected and unlikely, and at this point where they've all been scrawny, what's more unexpected than a big brute?

I think that the key point in the Fangus article is that he's racing against the madness of rabies. Given that he's a shepherd, I don't think that Fangus starts out as some unholy badass. If he did, he'd have been a soldier or a bounty hunter, not a shepherd. With that kind of quiet, rural job, I think it makes sense that he's a big gentle guy, muscular because of a hard life, and that the story shows the psychological horror of the disease stripping away his niceness and making him commit violence that horrifies even himself. That's just one theory, but there are a host of plot-lines that can make this big lion guy a sympathetic character, and I'm sure Oddworld has written a doozie.

Also, don't instantly assume that that drawing is the final version of the character, nor that it even shows him entirely. I mean, you couldn't tell the Stranger's true nature from the early drawings of him. Plus, do you really think Oddworld would choose so simple a design route as a big panther-man? Give them some credit. This Fangus guy, if he's the real deal, is going to be a good character, or they wouldn't be making a game about him. These people made Abe's Oddysee, they made Stranger's Wrath, they can make anything.

But it's the things he shepherding, some little frail creature, wouldn't become a shepherd to look after those things. He may not be violent, but they would need someone fearless, or strong enough to look after those things.

I'm a bit razzled by this one I'm affraid. I'm not saying I don't like the looks of it, because I do. The concept of herding animals about to do your bidding sounds very unique, unique enough to be Oddworld. An expantion of sorts on Munch's Fuzzles would probably be a good way of looking at the potential. Even the Fangus design is great, an off-shot from OI's usual, but who's to say they can't do different and still Odd?

But what really gets me is this, why haven't any of the major game sites picked up on this yet? I'd expect IGN to be on it quick, quicker in fact then Game Informer, at the very least X-Box Magazine should have had something to say on it. The fact that it's unannounced news everywhere but an April issue of GI just has me all doubtful. I wouldn't mind seeing what OI plans to do with it if it is in fact their plan, but until someone else covers it, or next month's GI comes in I'm really sceptical about it's reality.

Well, I guess we all have our own opinions, but I think Stranger is one of the very best designs OWI has created. I mean, I like alien creatures as much as the next, but I really couldn't give a rat's ass about the fate of a vykker or intern. You can't really relate to them. I'm a huge Clint Eastwood fan, so I may be more intrigued then others may be.

I understand that we have seen chickens before in our world, but they deserve a little credit, for putting a whole lot of character into those guys. Once again, they are more memorable, personality wise then say a paramite.

I think OWI doesn't want to be seen as a company that only creates weired aliens. They may need to open up to a bigger audience if they want to fufill their vision.

And just in my opinion, I think Fangus (real or not), looks pretty sweet. We need to give them a chance, it's not like we know any better, it's just a different view.

Confirmation by IGN:

IGN.com

Tell you guys what, I'll email OWI's marketing coordinator and get firsthand confirmation from the company itself if the game is real or not.

Where did IGN get there information from? It sounds like they pieced it together from everything else we've already heard.

Alcar...

Cyber-Slig: "But it's the things he shepherding, some little frail creature, wouldn't become a shepherd to look after those things. He may not be violent, but they would need someone fearless, or strong enough to look after those things."

I had always assumed that the sheep began as normal herd creatures, and that their vicious state is due to the same rabies that afflicts Fangus. If he is actually herding some kind of naturally monstrous flock, that would make his Hulk-esque phsyique make even more sense. It takes a big guy to rangle them hell-sheep!

Man, I hope it's true. Although it does seem to be a piecemeal of everything we've already seen, it looks official, and IGN is generally a trustworthy source.

Why don't Oddworld stick with the characters they've got?