Previous threads:
I thought for this edition of “Odd Piece of the Week” I’d bring the topic back to basics and highlight one of Oddworld’s many and varied inhabitants: Chroniclers.
Sometimes employed as slippery solicitors, other times as elusive accounts, chroniclers are a race of thin, yellow-skinned humanoids, boasting four arms and elongated tendrils dangling from their face. Although originally depicted in concept art as monopedal—like our hapless Munch—they were purportedly redesigned as bipedal, which I think matches their personal and reserved aesthetic far better. They are highly intelligent,
according to our tea-loving Alf, and even more of a brown-nose than our beloved Uncle Aslik. With an uncanny ability to expose any loophole, not a single family among Oddworld’s elite goes without one of these trusty civil servants. They also make great middle-managers!
Curiously, despite their seemingly elevated status as vital, white-collar cogs in the great machine of Oddworld, chroniclers appear content smoking regular, run-of-the-mill cigarettes, much akin to glukkons of lower rank. Perhaps they don’t need to hide behind a facade. Maybe they just love the taste of raw tobacco without the pretentious, overbearing trunk of a cigar sticking out of their face! What do you think?
Did you know that at least one chronicler was slated to appear in
Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee? While little is known about their role in the second game of the aborted Quintology, it is suspected a chronicler would have taken on the role of a lawyer—excuse me,
lawyar—in Molluck’s Trial against Lady Margaret. Alas, this appearance, along with the Trial itself, was abandoned from the final game due to time constraints.
There is tangential, unconfirmed evidence to suggest that chroniclers are actually a distant relative of the glukkons, evidenced by their squid-like heads and gangly figures. This is further supported by the infamous sketch from Steven Olds, relating the chroniclers to a species that has its roots in glukkon antiquity:
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‘[Chroniclers are a] more evolved relative [of] the Oldgar.
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What do you think about chroniclers? Do you think they look sleek and professional, or do they possess the same dark, dirty, dastardly intentions as the rest of their industrial counterparts? Would you hire a chronicler for your elite family, and if so, what would its name be?
I'd call mine Vlam, for all the reasons you know and love.
Odd Piece of the Week: Chroniclers
