[kjjcarpenter]

I'm going to throw this into the mix and hopefully generate some worthwhile discussion. Is there a market for a release of Oddworld novels?

As an avid reader and writer (currently in the agent liaison stage of publishing), I am probably somewhat biased when I consider the possibilities of experiencing Oddworld in a literary form, but I think the opportunity would be a worthwhile investment for JAW and Oddworld Inhabitants. New 'n' Tasty will likely be the only video game I embrace this year, besides a few quick rounds of Harmony of Despair with my fiancé, but I think it is a testament to the tantalising thematic and aesthetic elements of this fictional universe that it is still able to lure a core percentage of my time, when my focus has primarily shifted to a cumbersome literary existence.

We all know Lorne originally devised the Quintology as a series of movies, which inevitably became our beloved video games. The raw origin of the story is obvious, as the characters, environments and the narrative itself are all rich and believable components not a unanimous presence in the video game industry at the time. Oddworld was an intelligent pioneer, which effectively amalgamated movies and video games into a single stream, and because of this near-cumbersome mythology, I believe the franchise lends itself to be expanded in the literary world. Not only would it enriched our experience with Oddworld, it would be a cost effective product (in consideration) to deliver to the ever-patient fan base who are forever hungry for more kudos from kudos.

Video game related novels that tie-in to an established universe are prevalent among the industry, and successful franchises such as Halo and Warcraft have created entirely new narrative strings, which exist independently as their own unique stories, but act to flesh out certain characters, locations and story threads. Of course, the process of penning Oddworld stories would rely on the acceptability of the fandom, but as I have stated, the series has already established a mythology worthy of literary expansion.

So I'm going to pass the forum baton over to your good folks. What do you think? Is there a market for Oddworld stories? Would you read them? What sub-stories would you like to see tackled in a literary form? Let me know!


[I apologise for the rough paragraphs. I had a much longer reply typed, and then the forum logged me out, so I tried to pump this out from my mind's eyes as quick as I could. I think I got most of the points.]