I support Ferill's views on the character design in Oddworld, or rather of what we've seen of it, and I'm sure people know it. The salamanders/newts, the toad-blob and of course the infamous 'Hickens'. I have to say when I saw those chicken hillbillies for the first time on the Forums, I felt my insides do a double take, that's how shocked I was at the dreadfulness of their design. They look more suited to Crash Bandicoot, and there is no way I can see them existing alongside Mudokons, Sligs and Glukkons. What's worse than their un-Oddworld appearance is their clichéd, generic appearance, looking pretty much like chickens would if they were given more humanoid proportions, with a couple of slight Mudokon-esque references as a hint to our favourite bird-descended characters. While we're here, I might as well moan about the 'Pork and beans' reference. As far as I know, pigs aren't actually a species on Oddworld, so the chances of having a 'fine meal' involving their cooked flesh seems about as likely as there being a popular US beverage available from vending machines built of wood and cloth. I hope beyond all reason that it was a throw-away line that will most definitely
not make the game.
Then, of course, came the screenshots from the X-Factor video, including the god-aweful salamanders. Truely, they make the chickens seem reasonable and Oddworldian by comparison. These tribal hula-dancers, I imagine, were scribbled by six-year olds, then converted into 3D models. What are they, tubes with legs and a bulbous head? With skirts and bikinis? Oh, and long, thick eyelashes. Woo, the first females Oddworld have shown, and they pretty much identified as so by... well, things
I used to give my female drawings when
I was six years old.
Then I got round to downloading the X-Factor video from the Internet. I got to see the horrible Hickens and their red-neck bashing attempt at humour. I witnessed the salamanders wriggling around fires, screaming into the sky like the four-legged tubes they were. And then there was the blob. The toad-blob, doing some kind of martial art moves. What can I say, it's a blob with legs, a wide toad-like mouth and some patches and hairs on its back. I really find it hard to imagine this thing has come from the same people who produced Scrabs, Glukkons and Vykkers, and then I remember no it hasn't, the design artists working for OW4 haven't worked on any Oddworld games in the past, Raymond Swanland aside.
Now, I'm not about to go into long rambling discussions about Oddworld Inhabitants being consumed by greed, or having constant supervision by Microsoft, or anything like that. I've heard rumours and theories, though. I'm also not going to go on about other designs, such as the swing doors, or the Crop Shop, which might very well have been shipped to Oddworld directly from Earth by spaceship for all their originality shows. Neither am I going to go on about how Oddworld Inhabitants have become largely separated from the fans and their ideas, churning out insulting Dear Alfs and shitty Daily Deceptions Online. I will say that I've over reacted with this post.
You needn't bother telling me that, I can see that myself, but I can't be bothered to go back and sort it all out. However, these are how I feel about things. BUT, I'm also going to stress the point that I'm not jumping on OW4's back, blindly stabbing at it or even completely dismissing the characters - so many of you jumped on
my back last time I aired these views, and wrongfully so. I'll iterate it once more: It's only the character design we've seen so far that I'm upset about. I know the designs may have changed. I'm not claiming that the characters' lives, personalities and stories are going to be rubbish, I'm not at all insinuating that I don't like the overall look of Oddworld 4.
And a final note on the subject for now: I know Alf reads the Forums, and I know he knows my views, or at least the gist of them. I want him to know that I'm not 'crazy' as he so lovingly puts it, and I'm not 'bashing' you, whatever it seems. At least, that's not my intent. See, I'm genuinely concerned about what I've been seeing, with regards to what I've rambled on about above. It's criticism spawned by love, not the need to criticise.
And Chris, sorry the tape isn't working for you. I did try to copy it, but the quality was comparable to that of a Wimpy burger when placed alongside a Ritz steak meal. Hence, you've got what I've been watching.