Oddworld Essay

[Sapphire]

I am doing an essay for my video game academics class about Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee/Exoddus, and the the ability of these games to draw in a relatively large female fanbase, despite the lack of characteristics one might normally associate with games that women tend to enjoy (such as cute or attractive characters, non-violent). I have my own ideas, but I would like to hear from anybody, especially girls, as to how they got into the game, and why they like it. Also, stating some other games that you like would make for a really great comparison and help me discuss my point more. I realize this would be a small sample, because obviously you all are fans and not just "casual" gamers to have joined here, but I would love to hear about your experiences.

Also, if anybody knows where I can find any definite numbers (like sales of games to female vs male consumers, etc) that would be incredibly helpful.

[odd chick]

Well, I honestly don't know where to start. There are many reasons as to why I got into the Oddworld series. I, for one, am a female gamer-I love to play games, so I know quite a bit about them, and I can honestly say that there was something fresh and new about Oddworld that caught my eye once I began to play it for the first time. For one thing, the series is very story-driven. Back in 1997 (Or any time, really.), I had never played a game about a meat-packing slave that had everyone after him and was trying to free his people all at the same time-that whole idea was something new to me because the gaming industry is based on first person shooters (with or without a story), for the most part. Many Americans are hooked on this genre, (especially the male gamers.) Also, the characters, while not cute or even attractive physically, are very attractive when it comes to their personalities-these characters actually appeal to me because of their personalities and to me, they are very realistic and not the typical run-of-the-mill hero saves the universe/evil villain trying to take over the universe. They are believable. They are brought out as individuals with feelings and interests- not just characters, but people. I believe this is one of the major reasons why this series has such a large female fanbase. Take the old school video games such as Super Mario Brothers, for instance. While this classic series, I must admit, is very addictive, exciting and fun to play, it barely has a story or plot, and the characters seem to lack emotion and personality (In the old school games, I don't play the new school Mario games much, so I can't judge those.). Oddworld, on the other hand, brought something new with everything-from the characters to the fresh, stealth/platformer gameplay. This series is truly a work of art. As for sales numbers, I don't exactly know about those-I can never seem to find what they are, so I'm terribly sorry that I can't give you any info on that. I hope I have helped in some way, though.

[Leto]

I remember this topic coming up at the female gamers talk at Fuse 2004.

The main points that female gamers put across were:

+ The protagonist isn't openly male. (My only objection: "What about the necrum mines bit?")

+ The game gave you a sense of reason to complete it (To save the mudokons).

+ It wasn't just senseless violence. Its violence was justified in a realistic manner.


I'll try to find the write-up I did somewhere on a back up disk...

[Gretin]

Well, I honestly don't know where to start. There are many reasons as to why I got into the Oddworld series. I, for one, am a female gamer-I love to play games, so I know quite a bit about them, and I can honestly say that there was something fresh and new about Oddworld that caught my eye. For one thing, the series is very story-driven. Back in 1997, I had never played a game about a meat-packing slave that had everyone after him and was trying to free his people all at the same time-that whole idea was something new to me because the gaming industry is based on first person shooters (with or without a story), for the most part. Many Americans are hooked on this genre, (especially the male gamers.) Also, the characters, while not cute or even attractive physically, are very attractive when it comes to their personalities-these characters actually appeal to me because of their personalities and to me, they are very realistic and not the typical run-of-the-mill hero saves the universe/evil villain trying to take over the universe. They are brought out as individuals with feelings and interests- not just characters, but people. I believe this is one of the major reasons why this series has such a large female fanbase. Take the old school video games such as Super Mario Brothers, for instance. While this classic game, I must admit, is very exciting and fun to play, it barely has a story or plot, and the characters seem to lack emotion (In the old school games, I don't play the new school Mario games much, so I can't judge those.). Oddworld, on the other hand, brought something new with everything-from the characters to the fresh, stealth/platformer gameplay. This series is truely a work of art. As for sales numbers, I don't exactly know about those-I can never seem to find what they are, so I'm terribly sorry that I can't give you any info on that. I hope I have helped in some way, though.

Although I'm male, obviously, I must say I agree completely with what you just said. I myself am not really a fan of first-person shooters, with or without storyline, but I don't really play any games that don't have a good storyline.

Anyways, seeing as you said you'd like to hear from anybody how they got into the game, I first found out about it when my brother got the demo of Abe's Oddysee.
To start with, just hearing the name, for some reason I thought it was some little kids' game, perhaps the "Abe" bit sounded sort of like "ABC" or something. I don't know, that was a long time ago. Was I wrong or what? After actually seeing the game, I started playing the demo, and basically it was my favorite game until we bought the full version. Then, of course, the full version was my favorite, until Abe's Exoddus came out. So, I've pretty much been a fan since I first played that demo...

[Sapphire]

Thank you so much for responses! Anything and everything is helpful. Super Munch, that's exactly what I'm looking for, so if you do find that writeup, I would love to see it.

As for myself, I found out about Abe's Oddysee in early '98, when I was browsing the video store for a game to rent. I was rather depressed, because at that time there wasn't much out for the Playstation that I was interested in; it was all shooters, or fighting games, or sports games that didn't interest me. I actually didn't find the box, my stepdad did, and my first reaction was, "what the heck is this ugly little thing on the cover?" I thought Abe was a villain... shows how my mind was structured at the time. When I read about it though, I became interested it and decided grudgingly to take it home with me to try. The instant I heard Abe's voice, something just clicked... I became moved by his character, his uniqueness, and his sad plot. Thus began my obsession with Oddworld.

That game taught me something very important; a hero doesn't have to be handsome/beautiful, strong, courageous or even particularly smart to want to spend a lot of time with them.

[mudling]

i am male, but i like games that have great characters, and great story lines. games i can think and imagine about. but then i also like punching everyone in site every now again (in video games), i din't know why, i guess half of me wants adventure and puzzle, and the other half likes action.
maybe i have some female peresenalities, but i tend to buy games with awsome graphics, a great storyline, and coll and cute characters. but i tend to only play on with games that have mild vilence, but never cruel, or i start feeling depressed.
come to think of it, i am a bit wierd, but i hope my opinion on games help anyway.
i aslo tend to like childish games, or used to, i don't know why.