Oddworld Questions & Answers IX -

FennecFyre · #**271** 03-19-2016, 09:06 AM

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I wonder what exactly inspired the creation of paramites and scrabs? I can probably take a guess at their names obviously, I was thinking more real life influences for their behaviors and design.

The scrabs like to duke it out and kill each other when they are in close proximity. So, I assume they are all males fighting for alpha status?

If that's the case, I wonder where the females are. I get they're nesting within the temples, but as far as I know, we never actually get to see any.

Plus, I wonder how the creation process went when making their designs. I always kinda liked how the mandibles on the Paramites look like fingers.

If I recall, I think one of the Dear Alf entries explained this a bit. Female Scrabs live in large herds, like the one we see in MO, with a dominant alpha female, whereas males are solitary and territorial, sorta like elephants. The ones we see in the temple are extra-aggressive because of the lack of space, so territory fights happen far more often and go much further (perhaps another reflection on real-life endangered species?).

I think Paramites, on the other hand, live in large colonies and have a broodqueen.

***Wil*** · #**272** 03-19-2016, 09:09 AM

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Okay, the reason I wanted to post here in the first place: I was reading that the Magog Cartel are pretty low down in the peking order in terms of corporate prestige; they're the McDonalds of Oddworld; creating low quality, low price products for the Khanzumerz and most people wouldn't so much as sniff at their products. As far as being crooks go, they're small time.

I'm interested to know that if this massive evil collective is really pretty minor, do we know anything about who the fuck any of the bigger, badder guys are?

It's not that they're small-time in the corporate world. They are massive, and across all the constituent families they make products and services for the financial elite and the regular masses alike. It's just that the highest-ranking members we've seen have only been in charge of single facilities or small slices of fledgling empires. They don't care about the damage they do to cultures and nature in their quest for personal wealth and recognition.

But they do answer to their investors, both within and beyond the Magog Cartel. Oktigi are a big financial family or families, but so far we've only seen Sekto, who's still at the low level of industry management. As a group they're not part of the Cartel, but individuals can be members. A high-ranking investor doesn't just damage the world as a byproduct of their operations; they deliberately engineer damage to the world that will serve their power-seeking interests. But that's harder to fight against because they're not public-facing like corporations and CEOs. They keep themselves far away from public scrutiny, operating through disposable corporate-level pawns.

Then there's the creepy fuckers a level above them. They don't just keep their business secrets, they're keeping their very existence known only to the elites. Then there are their masters. I don't know if that's even the top.

Nepsotic · #**273** 03-19-2016, 09:13 AM

I've always assumed everything the Cartel does is legal. What do we know about the government of Oddworld? What crazy fuckers are saying this is OK?

FennecFyre · #**274** 03-19-2016, 09:15 AM

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It's not that they're small-time in the corporate world. They are massive, and across all the constituent families they make products and services for the financial elite and the regular masses alike. It's just that the highest-ranking members we've seen have only been in charge of single facilities or small slices of fledgling empires. They don't care about the damage they do to cultures and nature in their quest for personal wealth and recognition.

But they do answer to their investors, both within and beyond the Magog Cartel. Oktigi are a big financial family or families, but so far we've only seen Sekto, who's still at the low level of industry management. As a group they're not part of the Cartel, but individuals can be members. A high-ranking investor doesn't just damage the world as a byproduct of their operations; they deliberately engineer damage to the world that will serve their power-seeking interests. But that's harder to fight against because they're not public-facing like corporations and CEOs. They keep themselves far away from public scrutiny, operating through disposable corporate-level pawns.

Then there's the creepy fuckers a level above them. They don't just keep their business secrets, they're keeping their very existence known only to the elites. Then there are their masters. I don't know if that's even the top.

So what you're saying is that Abe, Munch, Stranger, and any other rebels we might eventually meet are screwed six ways to Sunday.

Also, all these scary investor guys live underground where it's sweltering and hellish, right? Now I can't help but picture a Balrog in a business suit.

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I've always assumed everything the Cartel does is legal. What do we know about the government of Oddworld? What crazy fuckers are saying this is OK?

Does Oddworld even have an official government? I thought it was just a capitalistic free-for-all.

STM · #**275** 03-19-2016, 04:09 PM

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It's not that they're small-time in the corporate world. They are massive, and across all the constituent families they make products and services for the financial elite and the regular masses alike. It's just that the highest-ranking members we've seen have only been in charge of single facilities or small slices of fledgling empires. They don't care about the damage they do to cultures and nature in their quest for personal wealth and recognition.

But they do answer to their investors, both within and beyond the Magog Cartel. Oktigi are a big financial family or families, but so far we've only seen Sekto, who's still at the low level of industry management. As a group they're not part of the Cartel, but individuals can be members. A high-ranking investor doesn't just damage the world as a byproduct of their operations; they deliberately engineer damage to the world that will serve their power-seeking interests. But that's harder to fight against because they're not public-facing like corporations and CEOs. They keep themselves far away from public scrutiny, operating through disposable corporate-level pawns.

Then there's the creepy fuckers a level above them. They don't just keep their business secrets, they're keeping their very existence known only to the elites. Then there are their masters. I don't know if that's even the top.

:

Wil, circa 2002:
Working in close association with the Chroniclers, the Glukkons are a very low grade family. While other corporations on Oddworld may choose to develop high-quality delicacies and elegant transport, the Cartel would rather serve up fattening fast foods and supply dirty mechanical equipment. I imagine that only the lower-class Khanzumerz, if such a thing exists, would dare be seen purchasing goods from the Magog Cartel. However, this doesn't stop their products from being very popular, even if the companies behind them aren't.

*drops mic*

Also that is actually very interesting <3

Oddworld companies and communities seem to be species based/ clan based, so I'm guessing there isn't really a big amount of intermingling between species when there doesn't have to be? More than that though, I know glukkons are a superspecies, and gloktigi are part of that superspecies, however they fact that they appear to be less evolved, parasitic even, surely means that they would be lower down the rungs of business? How come then, that they are apparently answerable to by glukkons within the Magog Cartel? How did they become part of this management-financing role?

e: does any of that actually make sense?

Manco · #**276** 03-19-2016, 04:11 PM

Low-grade and small-time are two different things. McDonald’s is low-grade but they rake in cash.

STM · #**277** 03-19-2016, 04:18 PM

I said low on the peking order as well, but from that I saw the implication that perhaps they were small-scale compared to other, larger cartels/families. Evidently (according to Wil) that's not the case.

FennecFyre · #**278** 03-19-2016, 04:22 PM

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More than that though, I know glukkons are a superspecies, and gloktigi are part of that superspecies, however they fact that they appear to be less evolved, parasitic even

I could be wrong, but I thought that the taxonomic family Gluks belonged to was Octigi, which the Oktigi are also a part of, and that Gloktigi were Glukkon-Oktigi hybrids.

I honestly love how detailed Oddworld's lore is though, it's so much fun to look for little bits of info the games don't cover.

STM · #**279** 03-19-2016, 04:28 PM

That's it yeah, octigi. Man my extended lore knowledge is rusty. I thought gloktigi were pre-existing, but augmented with technology/magic, by other members of the superspecies?

FennecFyre · #**280** 03-19-2016, 04:29 PM

They could very well be, it's never confirmed just where they come from aside from one Dear Alf snippet. What makes me curious is that they don't even seem sentient, or at least aren't able to talk. What's up with that?

E: Oh, and when they're first introduced in SW, I swear I remember Sekto referring to one as his "pet" which is creepy on so many levels unless gloktigi only have animal-tier intelligence.

Manco · #**281** 03-19-2016, 05:01 PM

My understanding is that Glukkons, Oktigi and Gloktigi are all from the Octigi family of species, with Gloktigi being of animalistic intelligence and Glukkons/Oktigi being sentient.

Sekto keeping Gloktigi as pets could be compared to a human keeping monkeys as pets, and some of the Gloktigi seen in SW were cybernetically enhanced by Sekto. Interestingly though, some of the concept art seems to show them wearing some kind of suit-like clothing, although this might just be decoration (in the same way a jerk might dress their pet monkey in a costume).

The only reference I can find of Gloktigi being Glukkon/Oktigi hybrids is an uncited footnote on the Oddworld wiki, so take that with a grain of salt until someone else can back it up with a reference.

FennecFyre · #**282** 03-19-2016, 05:04 PM

Yeah, I sort of thought Sekto's gloktigi might essentially function as guard dogs. Big, ugly guard dogs that go SKREEEEE and spit goop.

STM · #**283** 03-19-2016, 05:23 PM

Lorne did say that the reason they can teleport is due to occultism too. So maybe Sekto knows a little of the dark arts.

FennecFyre · #**284** 03-19-2016, 05:27 PM

An evil octopus dude with magic?

Sekto is Cthulhu's cousin confirmed.

Manco · #**285** 03-19-2016, 06:11 PM

Was that ever given as an explanation explicitly for Gloktigi teleportation though? I know Lorne has said the Glukkons practised occultism at one point in their history (before shunning religion and turning to technology), but I don’t recall ever hearing that being applied for the Gloktigi specifically.

***Wil*** · #**286** 03-19-2016, 06:49 PM

Glukkons and Oktigi are closely related, but Oktigi are not a superspecies. Biologically, Gloktigi are a hybrid of the two, deliberately created as elite guards. They're intelligent, but so egotistical that they never speak to other species, and so violent that they often can't control their demonic frenzy. All the same they are highly trained and loyal to the death.

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Nathan: (from Leonardo Munzlinger) In Stranger, how do the Gloktigi disappear and reappear; is it technology or mystical?

Lorne: That would be occultism. [...] The Gloktigi have supernatural origins, more like genies in the classical Arabian sense. Concocted and controlled, like summoning demons. They’re sort of genetics mixed with occultism.

http://oddworldlibrary.net/blog/nath...lanning-again/

FennecFyre · #**287** 03-19-2016, 07:28 PM

Innnnteresting. How long has this Gloktigi-engineering/summoning project been going on, who started it, and would a starving glok be likely to be more vicious and mindless than a well-fed one?

-casually taking notes for her fancomic-

Nepsotic · #**288** 03-19-2016, 07:44 PM

I'd like to know more about this:

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Nathan: Sometimes when you play Abe’s Oddysee and you get to the end, it will actually say that you’ve saved more than 99 Mudokons. Are there more than 99 in the game, or is that a bug?

Lorne: That’s a great question, because that was something we were debating a lot at the end; how could this anomaly occur? We were having this debate – and I don’t remember specifically what the outcome was – which was that some people said “No, if I’m told this is the number, I don’t want to be lied to”, while others said “Yeah, but how do we know that the people who went the extra mile and even saved ones they weren’t supposed to and didn’t even know they existed – they’re the really special ones”. There was debate over that and they snuck some in, in really hard to find places. I’m not sure, it might have been two? Or a few?

Do we actually know if this is true or where they are? I don't remember this ever being resolved.

***Nate*** · #**289** 03-19-2016, 08:31 PM

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Do we actually know if this is true or where they are? I don't remember this ever being resolved.

Never resolved. I mean, I was talking to Lorne and was confused at the time. Shoulda followed up on it.

kjjcarpenter · #**290** 03-19-2016, 11:13 PM

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Sekto keeping Gloktigi as pets could be compared to a human keeping monkeys as pets, and some of the Gloktigi seen in SW were cybernetically enhanced by Sekto.

The only reference I can find of Gloktigi being Glukkon/Oktigi hybrids is an uncited footnote on the Oddworld wiki, so take that with a grain of salt until someone else can back it up with a reference.

My fiancé always thought the Gloktigi were Sekto's children, going off the whole hybrid explanation.

Manco · #**291** 03-20-2016, 01:38 AM

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Do we actually know if this is true or where they are? I don't remember this ever being resolved.

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Never resolved. I mean, I was talking to Lorne and was confused at the time. Shoulda followed up on it.

I thought this was resolved as being a bug in the game, where visiting the secret areas in the temples would reset the Mudokons working there and allowing you to rescue them multiple times?

Vlam · #**292** 03-20-2016, 03:54 AM

Wil, in NnT, who are the "two new sort-of-characters"?

scorptatious · #**293** 03-20-2016, 08:09 AM

Speaking of Sekto, I wonder, is he the one actually talking, or is he talking through the Old Steef he's controlling the entire game?

***Wil*** · #**294** 03-20-2016, 08:11 AM

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My fiancé always thought the Gloktigi were Sekto's children, going off the whole hybrid explanation.

Sekto is almost certainly not high up enough in Oktigi ranks to father Gloktigi.

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Wil, in NnT, who are the "two new sort-of-characters"?

NFI

Vlam · #**295** 03-20-2016, 08:17 AM

So it was a joke? Is OWI_Alex responsible for it?

***Wil*** · #**296** 03-20-2016, 08:48 AM

No, I just don't know the answer. Also, why would Alex be responsible for what Matt Glanville said?

Vlam · #**297** 03-20-2016, 08:58 AM

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No, I just don't know the answer. Also, why would Alex be responsible for what Matt Glanville said?

Well, you do know everything there is to know about Oddworld...

kjjcarpenter · #**298** 03-20-2016, 10:26 AM

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Sekto is almost certainly not high up enough in Oktigi ranks to father Gloktigi.

Interesting. Although now I have to explain to my fiancé that her theory was wrong, so I kind of wish I hadn't offered it on a platter.

Vlam · #**299** 03-20-2016, 10:34 AM

Who has gave birth to those Gloktigi?

***Wil*** · #**300** 03-20-2016, 11:35 AM

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Well, you do know everything there is to know about Oddworld...

And now I've proved that wrong, mwahaha.

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Interesting. Although now I have to explain to my fiancé that her theory was wrong, so I kind of wish I hadn't offered it on a platter.

Maybe he's the one fitting them with cybernetics. That way you could view him as their creator. Iunno, just trying to compromise. :P

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Who has gave birth to those Gloktigi?

Gluk queens.

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I thought this was resolved as being a bug in the game, where visiting the secret areas in the temples would reset the Mudokons working there and allowing you to rescue them multiple times?

Something like that is definitely possible in Exoddus, but I think the Oddysee issue is just a bug in the counter. There are walkthroughs that number the rescuable Muds, and there are definitely only 99.