Oddworld at E3 2014

[Scrabaniac]

I also love the continuing alarm effect in the first area too. Hopefully they will continuously fix/update things as we play, maybe dlc. Not sure what it could be, maybe different modes of play or cheats or online ghost time trials idk...

[JennyGenesis]

Supposed to interview Lorne at E3 but GameSpot messed up their scheduling.

At least gamespot got the title of the game correct this year.

[Pirfsich]

At least gamespot got the title of the game correct this year.

Haha, yeah^^
I think Lorne told Cam something after the interview...

[DrewCameron]

Okay after a few days of chewing over all the vids, Im goign to do my last whining here and be done with it.

So long as they tighten the animation system massively, I'm basically totally on board for this remake. All the artistic changes are clearly well founded. Great!

What is not a matter of opinion or nit picking is the animation though, so here I'll say it for the last time and be done with it.

When a characters feet are on the ground - the feet shouldnt float around - when they skid to a stop, they should skid to the stop, not slightly forward so the character then jumps back a few in game cms / snaps to grid. Sloppy. When Abe climbs ledges, his hands shouldnt float around on the ledge top as he hangs and climbs. When abe climbs the ledge, he shouldnt finish his "climbing" animation then suddenly 'skip down' a few cms because the animations dont exactly finish / start in the same position.

The list goes on. If the character animations are fixed, this is AAA stuff in the making. If not, its a buggy, sloppy mess and it will derail future confidence in JAW.

Other than that, great work . Im so pumped!

[Pirfsich]

Don't forget it's NOT AAA, it's an indie production. A good one.

[DrewCameron]

I concur; it's all very impressive and it has a great atmosphere of both its own design and original inspiration. I concede that if I wasnt convinced before I definitely am now!

I've said my piece on the animation and hope it is heard.

The character animation in the cutscene made me really feel for Abe! Between the two scrabs. I understand they got the guy from MO/SW to do the cut scenes ; he has a real good eye for Abe's movements in my opinion.

[Scrabaniac]

I think that everything they have done is fantastic. No you're not going to get back 100% of the original sounds.. They were high quality (mostly) royalty free sound bytes back in the 90s which might not be high quality today. They have managed to give every environment 100% more depth, and i think that the environment is equally as important as the gameplay. I can assure you that everything they have programmed into this game, none of us could do that (to that standard at least) give them credit for everything they have done to reintroduce this classic, nostalgic masterpiece. Every game has it's flaws, i can assure you even the AAA games you play people find glitches and bugs. This can be verified if you search game bugs on youtube.

The main issue is in fact that we are so used to playing the original, having every single screen possibly mapped into our brains that we freak out when a single thing is changed. We aren't in the 90's anymore, technology is evolving and hence so is gaming. Look at the Super Mario Series.. Recently on Wii U, 3D World was created. They have perfected using the classic side scrolling materials and adapting them into a 3D environment. JAW have done exactly that with Abe's Oddysee. Think of the Original Oddysee as the very first Mario game.. Now look at the NEW Super Mario Bros. Series.. They have kept the original concepts and gameplay and made it into a 2.5D game, just like JAW have done with Abe. A lot of people didn't like the New mario games because 'they were too fast' and 'there were too many new powerups to get used to' etc etc.. We all got used to it in the end, its just a shock factor that it's new. Once you all play New 'n' Tasty, you will all be overwhelmed by the new glorious 3D environments and new interactions the game has to offer and you will not think about all the teeeny flaws such as one of Abe's fingers looking out of place when he hoists a ledge..
Enjoy the game for the story it tells, because at the end of the day, people are fussing FAR too much over minor flaws when the original had MANY glitches and bugs which a lot of us use to our advantage nowadays (e.g Ledge Trick). Sorry for the long read, Peace out

[Holy Sock]

The list goes on. If the character animations are fixed, this is AAA stuff in the making. If not, its a buggy, sloppy mess and it will derail future confidence in JAW.

Other than that, great work . Im so pumped!

I've never seen such a dramatic switch in an opinion.

[DrewCameron]

Watch the feet, jumping and sliding all over the place because the animation is not calibrated. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7g-mxhLkQA&t=8m8s.

One of a thousand sketchy animation issues that leap out as you watch these- otherwise absolutely stellar- gameplay videos.

JAW, I love what you've done and look forward to seeing these kind of issues addressed on launch day.

[Jordan]

The list goes on. If the character animations are fixed, this is AAA stuff in the making. If not, its a buggy, sloppy mess and it will derail future confidence in JAW.

You do have to remember Just Add Water is an indie developer and don't have many employees. It wouldn't be fair to expect perfect AAA quality from such a small team. From what we've seen, the team has very competent texture artists and modellers. Perhaps they do not have as many animators at this point in time?

Yes the animations need work but that can be completely justified.

[DrewCameron]

I don't expect perfection , I just expect hands not to go through platforms of pre-defined and predictable height/relation to the character animation. I expect character animations to join and feet to stay on the ground when they should.

All of this can be done in 35 days+. Easy. Thats 280 working hours for even one animator; even at 10 hours per canned animation they could fix every problem I've spotted. Fix them, not redo them.

Good luck tidying the animations JAW and even if you don't I still look forward to the game.

[Holy Sock]

Watch the feet, jumping and sliding all over the place because the animation is not calibrated. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7g-mxhLkQA&t=8m8s.

One of a thousand sketchy animation issues that leap out as you watch these- otherwise absolutely stellar- gameplay videos.

JAW, I love what you've done and look forward to seeing these kind of issues addressed on launch day.

I was just saying that you went straight from saying that not fixing these animations means the game is "ts a buggy, sloppy mess and it will derail future confidence in JAW."

And then you said:

"Other than that, great work . Im so pumped!"

[STM]

Okay this is the last I'm going to say about it.


Okay this is the last I'm going to say about it.


Okay this is the last I'm going to say about it.


Okay this is the last I'm going to say about it.

[DrewCameron]

I chose the words correctly - apart from the animations, I am excited!

I think what was highlighted was the importance I place on the character animation.

Good luck, JAW!

[V_O_T]

We need to not keep stating the things that have already been spotted and said. It is a big thing these animations, but you need to remember that the build we just saw was a functionality build for E3 floor demo purposes.

Re watch the videos and find the things you wouldn't normally look at and see if they are ok. Essentially, bug test it from what you've seen (if that's possible)

We are in good hands, they are litterally adding the final leaf of basil to the dish now to give it finesse.

The cgi still freaks me out. It's incredibly well animated. I get they are an indie company, but this IS a masterpiece in terms of how they have listened to us, involved us, developed for us and have come a long way.

[AlexFili]

Agreed the team has done a brilliant job, the cutscenes look like something from a AAA game. Heck if it was polished a little more you could sell it as a CGI feature. I would imagine at least a few major patches fixing bugs and maybe adding a few things. For the sequel's name I would definitely go with Twice The Flavour.

[OWI_Alex]

You guys...

[Xavier]

I just came back from vacation and found some time to watch most of the gameplay videos and interviews. (Thank you so much Holy Sock). I'll put them up on TOGG asap when I find some time.

The game looks absolutely amazing! I agree there could be a thing or two that could be tweaked but I don't see anything that would ruin the game for me.

I can't wait for this game, and the way things are looking I'm going to buy it at least three times:
PS3 - Because I can't wait
PC - Because I want to be able to mod/play with the files
Xbox One - Because that's where I prefer to play my games

[Holy Sock]

It's good to intersperse the overwhelming nitpicking with some positive comments!

(Thank you so much Holy Sock).

No problem.

[V_O_T]

Exactly as Holy Sock put it.

But for real, JAW and OI have always seemed top quality to me. Like, Valve grade quality. Deep down they want to do their best for video games and story telling. I see more devs and indie devs doing it just for the profits now days.

This isn't a fan boy crush compliment. Its pretty much truth, just based on what they have said and done.

[OANST]

But for real, JAW and OI have always seemed top quality to me. Like, Valve grade quality.

You're high on drugs.

[Varrok]

They sure release games on time like Valve does

[Holy Sock]

Lorne did a 12 second pitch with others at E3.



EDIT: You can also see a couple of seconds from the opening cutscene.

[Dynamithix]

Well that was the shittiest pitch ever.

[Varrok]

Yup, but he had little time to think about it, so we'll forgive him.

Right, OWF? Will we?

[Holy Sock]

I know I'm buying it!

[Crashpunk]

Okay. Even I admit 'Valve grade quality' is a bit much. But I do agree the animation in the cut scenes are very, very impressive for an indie studio.

[Holy Sock]

Also, I don't think that was the shittiest 12 second pitch by a long shot. A twisted Soylent Green inspired game would pique my interest.

[Pirfsich]

+1 for Lorne's "f*ck"-counter. F*ck-ching!

[STM]

I'll never understand why Valve is venerated as the gaming company. I can tell you this much, I'm looking forward to NnT more than any Half Life 3 bollocks.