I definately became a fan when I first got into playing Abe's Oddysee soon after it came out and was brought by my brother.
I remember getting a sticker in a PS magazine with a picture of an injured Abe on, saying that Munch's Oddysee was coming soon. I loved that sticker, and sparked so many drawings of what Munch could possibly look like from myself.
All my designs look more like a mudokon than a gabbit
such is life with no other information.
I never even contemplated using the internet for finding info on Oddworld for ages, and when I did, I didn't join the forums for a very long time, preferring to simply read threads.