The Wizard of Odd

[Dequibenzo]

Okay, I really don't think that this is how it'll really happen, but it's a cool idea nontheless
Remember, in the first in-game cinematic for AO, when Abe falls into one of the rupture farm barrels and conks his head on a pipe? He falls down out of view for a little bit there. It's a funny little sequence, and the game moves on.
However, what if it's much more important than just a slapstick bit? What if, after destroying Rupture farms, Soulstorm Brew, Vykker's labs, and countless other opressor's strongholds along with your fellow quartet of odd heros, after meeting them all, and playing through ten or more different games, mastering gamespeak and posession and all the other twists that are bound to pop up, and freeing all of Oddworld from the tyranny of corporate goons, bringin peace to all races of the globe...
You wake up.
And it turns out that it was all just a dream from when you conked your head in that barrel, and all you really did was ride to the end of the assembly line, where a robotic arm picked up that particular barrel because it wouldn't close properly, and set it aside in a warehouse. Then Abe would shrug it off, give up on his little escape attempt, and go back to mopping floors. No tattoos, no moons, no nothing for the oblivious little mudokon. And then it ends.
I think that that would be the all-time most original ending for any video game, ever. It would annoy the crap out of all of us, but it would sure as heck be novel.

[Lampion]

a film called "Brazil", by Terry Gillian, ends just like that. (SPOILERS) There is this guy, who is trying to escape from the opressor society system. Half way in the movie, he is arrested and severely tortured, but suddenly he was in the middle of a miraculous escape attempt. He manages to get out of there, beat up the bad guy, saves the the beautiful lady, and they run away togheter to a beautiful land... until the torturers realise that this guy, still sitting in his torturing chair, stares with a blank look in his face, with his mind completely lost... and the movie ends.

[Dequibenzo]

Funny you should mention Brazil, I'm a huge Terry Gilliam fan. It's my second favorite work of his, right after 12 Monkeys, which basically everything takes a back seat to in my book. Whatever that means. Yeah, alot like Brazil, good call.
"How are the twins?"
"It's triplets now"
"Oh, congratulations"
The part where he figures out that his desk is being shared with the guy in the next room, that's classic. Oh, and of course, where it all starts because of the fly landing in the typewriting machine, that's hilarious. Jeez, need to watch that movie again, it's been a while.
But, what do you think? Does it fit with the usual Oddworld take on things? It's basically the most depressing and dire ending I could come up with, great for illuminating the fuetility of existance when the system is so much bigger than yourself, or something. I don't know, it's almost 2:AM, and I'm on a buzz from all this Gabbit juice still. Eegah.

By the by, it says there that you're from Brazil, Lampion. Is that your homage to the film, or are you actually in Brazil, and this is just a really weird coincidence?

[Lampion]

I like his films a lot, too, and... Yes, I'm really from Brazil. I've always wondered why Terry Gilliam named his movie after my country. Do you have any clue?

My favorite scene(s) are the strugle between the winged hero and the powerful big grabbing hands. The man who dissolves in a tornado of memos is also very cool. I watched this movie several years ago, but many of its images are still fresh in my mind.

[Wil]

I wouldn't call it original. I can't actually recall a computer game ending that way, but in terms of originality. It's the sort of ending teachers go on and on about avoiding at all costs in SATs.

And besides, Abe hitting his head is just a reoccuring gag - there's that occassion, when he falls down the cliff and smashes his skull, when he's hit on the head by the butt of a shotgun, the fall into Necrum Mines, and that time when he was stuck on the Guardian.

[Danny]

The Wizard of Odd

No fair! No fair! I copyrighted that title months back! You now have to pay me 50% royalities if you want me to continue allowing you to use it as the title for this topic...

[Melvin:squeeking paramite]

Hmm... Interesting, I like that ending quite a bit... Very bleak! I can't believe I didn't even think of Brazil when I read it... I love Terry Gilliam...

And, Lampion, the movie was named after a song called "Brazil." If you listen throughout the whole thing, I believe the song comes on... I may be wrong, I haven't seen it in a while. I'm pretty sure I'm correct, though... (Favorite Gilliam films of mine: Brazil, 12 monkeys, Fisher King and of course his work on Monty Python... I've seen all of his films, though... Oops, going off topic!)

[The Shrink]

Yeah I've thought of that ending too and what an annoying ending it would be!!

[Dequibenzo]

Okay, I'm getting really off topic now, but the story goes that Gilliam's entire idea for Brazil came from a dream he had about a guy, on the beach, listening to the song "Brazil". All of it, just from that. I guess he's just that kind of guy.
Any of you guys seen Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas? Good flick, definately some of his best work, I think.

[moy85]

i think that ending is great it will mean that the game could carry on to see if abe will actually go ahead or not

[MojoMan220]

That ending would never happen... unless Lorne Lanning goes crazy and ties up the rest of his staff in a drunken rage.

[Dequibenzo]

Of course it probably won't happen, but I just thought it was a neat idea, what it would've been like if Burton and Giger had done Oddworld. Eww, that's an even weirder notion.