Creature Relations In Oddworld

[Slog Bait]

I'm sure this has been discussed before in some way or another, but after a brief chat with Vlam and the conversations that took place in HansuOddie's art thread, I figured it'd be a good topic to bring up again proper.

I don't have all the facts in order, and it's never been something I personally researched but have had pointed out to me before when posting fan art of "odd creature behaviour" and reading what other people have posted about it.

What's blatantly clear is there is a seperation between the "industrial" creatures and the "native" creatures on this planet. They seem to be very clear cut and segregated for us in the manner the games and the story are being presented to us (sans SW, which seems to be a lot of grey area for an Oddworld game). As a result, the likelihood of us ever seeing a mudokon and a slig getting along on-screen is next to none, for a glukkon to be an environmental activist with a pet paramite would be unheard of (or at least immediately culled and covered up), and so on and so forth.

Now, within the seperate categories of "industrial" and "native", we have a lot of interactions to consider as well. While playing through MO, it's pretty clear the mudokons have no interest nor respect for Munch, while the fuzzles clearly aren't fond of Abe in the slightest when you try to interact with them. Then, among the "industrial" types, there's an absurd amount of classism. I know someone had mentioned something about a slog and slig fanart I drew where the slig isn't beating the crap out of a slog because I guess sligs never show slogs any sort of affection or vice versa in-universe cant remember the specific comment or who posted it but hey shout out to u if it was u. Stranger's pretty much in his own category.

NOW, WHAT WE ARE HERE TO DISCUSS: What exactly do we know about interspecies relations in Oddworld? Which species get on well naturally or have a pact with one another, which species are at odds with whom, and who seems to be smack dab in the middle/a neutral party? How do you think species that we haven't seen interact would interact when placed in the same environment? Etc etc

[Vykker Lady]

According to an old Ask Alf there was a slig at Rupture Farms that was nice to him and Abe...

"Once there was a slig named Wildum who was kind of a nice guy to me and Abe. He didn't beat us, and he'd even let us have a drink, if we brought him one, too. The other sligs found out, and they beat him to death with his own arms. It was horrible."
http://oddworldlibrary.net/archives/...earalf11.shtml

So there's that. Also I forget how to make fancy quote boxes oops.

[Nate]

My understanding is that Industrial vs Native is a cultural difference rather than a species one. There are industrialised Muds who live in big cities, work jobs, and don't know or care about the environment. There are muds that are within the Khanzumer class.

It's theoretically possible that there are Native Glukkons and Sligs. My gut feeling is that the Glukkons as a species turned Industrial so many generations ago that the whole species is embedded in that culture, while Sligs only turned out that way because Queen Skillya specifically (as only one of several Slig queens) decided to sell off her children for profit. I wouldn't be suprised to see a Slig squelching around in a swamp one day, although I suspect they'd still be unpleasant characters.

[FennecFyre]

To my knowledge, Sligs became industrialized because of a deal they struck with the Glukkons way back when--the ability to walk in exchange for servitude. As for their demeanor, the Crig interviews in Dear Alf suggest that pre-pants Sligs were more than a little bit pissed at having to crawl when every other species walked, but I remember reading somewhere else that Sligs are naturally sweet and caring until it's literally beaten out of them in childhood (probably by Skillya's orders).

Same with the Gluks. Supposedly, Glukkons were an occult-based native species that got along reasonably well with Mudokons until the appearance of the Mudokon Moon, which led the Muds to declare themselves the superior species, which pissed off the Glukkons and drove them to live indoors and nearly destroy themselves and the planet in an industrial revolution.

[Manco]

I’ll be the one to point out that Steef and Grubbs seem to have had some kind of protection pact in Western Mudos, at least until Sekto went and shot all the Steef.

[Fatherbrain30]

There are industrialised Muds who live in big cities, work jobs, and don't know or care about the environment. There are muds that are within the Khanzumer class.

I would really like to see this one day.

I also always had a dream that a glukkon would "go native" and return to the old ways. Starting a spiritual revolution.

[Xorlidyr]

Lulu was the pioneer of fabulous spirituality.

[Vlam]

Same with the Gluks. Supposedly, Glukkons were an occult-based native species that got along reasonably well with Mudokons until the appearance of the Mudokon Moon, which led the Muds to declare themselves the superior species, which pissed off the Glukkons and drove them to live indoors and nearly destroy themselves and the planet in an industrial revolution.

The Glukkons were a spiritual race thousands of years ago. Their religion studied the occult and black arts, but they lived in peace with the Mudokons until the appearance of the Mudokon pawprint moon.

http://oddworldlibrary.net/toe/Glukkons

I wonder what is exactly the source of this ("they lived in peace").

[JayDee]

Whilst researching as much Oddworld lore as I could whilst writing the story for Kip I decided to ask Lorne over facebook about Oddworld deities, and that lead to my own theories on what happened during The Schism to cause such disarray between the Mudokons and Glukkons. But besides being from Lorne himself it's nothing that has really been confirmed so it's open to interpretation and I keep my lips stitched.

[UnderTheSun]

Some Alfentic (I'm so sorry) info gleaned from Dear Alf regarding relations between Glukkons, Vykkers, and their respective security forces:

They’re perfectly suited to their respective masters. Glukkons know that guns, pants and smokes are all it takes to make a Slig loyal for life, and Interns love having access to needles and drugs. They don’t think highly of each other. Show me two demographics that do.

-http://www.oddworld.com/2012/02/dear-alf-february-2012/

Of those combinations, the only ones that really interact are Glukkons and Vykkers, and even then only because they have to. Glukkons and Vykkers are separate industrial families with their own interests. Sometimes that means cooperating, sometimes that means competing. Oftentimes it means using Shrinks as less disturbing business negotiators. Sligs and Interns also come from separate security firms and probably wouldn’t get along for no more reason than that.

-http://www.oddworld.com/2011/10/dear-alf-october-2011-volume-2/


In terms of intraspecific interaction in the Natives, I heard somewhere that there exists some tension between native-born and freed Mudokons. This is most likely due to opposing mindsets of "24 hour break time" and respect for nature and tradition.

The Soulstorm webpage says Abe is "ravaged, desperate and hopelessly unprepared - with three hundred hungry mouths to lead across a brutal landscape of nasty surprises." I can't help but interpret this literally (as in, an actual "exoddus"), which makes me worry that either the two parts of society came to a head, or there just weren't enough resources in the Monsaic Lines to go around.