EGX presentation impressions

[STM]

I'm pretty happy with sitting back and seeing what Lorne comes up with. We never got to see or hear anything about Squeek, Nod and so on and so on, so as far as I'm concerned, it's not big loss if he doesn't pick those stories back up. Ultimately, if what Lorne is doing is truer to his original vision for what Oddworld is meant to be, that's probably a good thing.

[SkullFire58]

I do agree that it's probably better to focus on Abe for the main Oddworld games, but I do hope we will still eventually get a couple spin-off games showing off the other stories. It is Oddworld after all, there's still so much more in this universe we don't know or haven't seen.

[OWI_Alex]

So um
are there any long-term plans at all for Munch, Squeek etc

I think it's pretty clear that right now we're focused on Abe's story. There's lots to tell.

[JayDee]

I think it's pretty clear that right now we're focused on Abe's story. There's lots to tell.

Is there lots you could tell us?

[SlashClaw]

I think it's pretty clear that right now we're focused on Abe's story. There's lots to tell.

so are things like Gabbits and fuzzles extinct in this new timeline?

[kjjcarpenter]

so are things like Gabbits and fuzzles extinct in this new timeline?

Probably not.

[Auriel]

so are things like Gabbits and fuzzles extinct in this new timeline?

pretty sure SW is still a part of the continuity seeing as the HD version was just released fairly recently
though honestly i'm just confused at this point as to what is and isnt canon

[kjjcarpenter]

pretty sure SW is still a part of the continuity seeing as the HD version was just released fairly recently
though honestly i'm just confused at this point as to what is and isnt canon

The RuptureFarms Annual Board Meeting in New 'n' Tasty alludes to Stranger's Wrath, citing the introduction of big game hunting—an obvious euphemism for Sekto's serial slaughter of the steef—as a catalyst for the drop in sale figures of Scrab Cakes in the Mongo region. It's safe to assume Stranger's Wrath slips into the new timeline without too much wriggle room.

[STM]

I'm pretty sure AO/NnT is happening simultaneous to SW, so I'd have thought Steef was already the last of his kind by the time the boardroom meeting was held.

[SkullFire58]

Weren't there Steef horns on the gold emblem for one of the new guilds from the concept art they showed at EGX?

[Xavier]

Yes indeed:

https://youtu.be/L3zdCg4tbOc at 25:40

(can't seem to link to right timestamp on mobile)

[kjjcarpenter]

I'm pretty sure AO/NnT is happening simultaneous to SW, so I'd have thought Steef was already the last of his kind by the time the boardroom meeting was held.

Yeah, that was my interpretation too.

I just checked the New 'n' Tasty opening again, and while Molluck's obtuse form is obscuring some of the text, it clearly states that sales have dropped due to "privatisation and game [hunting]". So Sekto had established himself there sometime in the past year before Abe's Oddysee.

If we go by Stranger's Wrath HD, however, Mudokon Pops have already gone into production, though this could be easily be handwaved: Perhaps the Mongo Valley was subject to a RuptureFarms product trial period.

[Xavier]

Plot twist: Stranger's Wrath is actually the first part of the new Quintology.

[Auriel]

I know it's probably too much to hope for, but it would be pretty cool if somewhere down the line (very far down the line, obviously) we could get a quintology of quintologies, ie once Abe's story is wrapped up we could move on to Munch's with Abe still making appearances as a secondary character.
aaa I just really wanna play an MO with true underwater gameplay ><

[Havoc]

Yeah, that was my interpretation too.

I just checked the New 'n' Tasty opening again, and while Molluck's obtuse form is obscuring some of the text, it clearly states that sales have dropped due to "privatisation and game [hunting]". So Sekto had established himself there sometime in the past year before Abe's Oddysee.

If we go by Stranger's Wrath HD, however, Mudokon Pops have already gone into production, though this could be easily be handwaved: Perhaps the Mongo Valley was subject to a RuptureFarms product trial period.

Taking MO into account, we know that RuptureFarms 1029 wasn't the only meat factory, just the biggest. It's pretty feasible that other factories took over the idea and ran with it anyway. Abe also alludes to it when he says "You know what's in a Mudokon pop?" IS, not 'was supposed to be'. What IS in a Mudokon Pop.

[SlashClaw]

Taking MO into account, we know that RuptureFarms 1029 wasn't the only meat factory, just the biggest. It's pretty feasible that other factories took over the idea and ran with it anyway. Abe also alludes to it when he says "You know what's in a Mudokon pop?" IS, not 'was supposed to be'. What IS in a Mudokon Pop.

Well Mudokon Pops do appear in AE on a sign which actually raises a bigger question how under wraps where Mudokon Pops if they had fully made advertising in what i assume is weeks from the start of AO and have them in mass production for shipping to Mongo Valley hell where the RuptureFarms board the last people to hear about it?

[Oddio]

Well Mudokon Pops do appear in AE on a sign which actually raises a bigger question how under wraps where Mudokon Pops if they had fully made advertising in what i assume is weeks from the start of AO and have them in mass production for shipping to Mongo Valley hell where the RuptureFarms board the last people to hear about it?

SW hd retconned SW. what if soulstorm retconned SW hd as well?? Maybe stranger isn't even born mate. Oh and the mongo valley might not even exist anymore...

[Havoc]

Well Mudokon Pops do appear in AE on a sign which actually raises a bigger question how under wraps where Mudokon Pops if they had fully made advertising in what i assume is weeks from the start of AO and have them in mass production for shipping to Mongo Valley hell where the RuptureFarms board the last people to hear about it?

For all we know it had been months in planning and the production started the night Abe escaped. So far we've seen the story told mostly from Abe's point of view (something I really hope Soulstorm changes).

Also, the entirety of Abe's Oddysee + Exoddus appears to take place in a span of just 4 to 5 days. He escapes at night, breaks back in the following night, is rescued (I assume) later that same night. Leaves for Necrum that same morning or the following morning at the latest. Arrives there 'by dinner' at dusk. Escapes the mines early morning, arrives at the Brewery by dusk and escapes that same night.

There's certainly not weeks between all those events.

However, the most likely explanation for all of this is probably that the Mudokon Pops in SW are just easter eggs and weren't meant to be canon at all. There's plenty of plot holes in the series if you start looking carefully. This is one of those things one shouldn't look at too seriously.

[Oddio]

However, the most likely explanation for all of this is probably that the Mudokon Pops in SW are just easter eggs and weren't meant to be canon at all.

so you can choose what is canon or not?? interesting

[Nepsotic]

Actually yeah, you pretty much can.

[Xavier]

The Mudokon Pops barrels in the SW game don't mean much. Those could have been proof of concept samples produced before the board reveal. You don't do a reveal of this magnitude without a bit of R&D beforehand.

Also Sekto has been big game hunting for an extended period. Probably before the events in Oddysee/NnT and after them as well. That's why it's on the board in the board meeting.

Those elements don't really allow us to determine which game comes first in the timeline.

[Nate]

So um
are there any long-term plans at all for Munch, Squeek etc

My interpretation is that Lorne is telling the larger story of Mudos - which is about Native vs Industrial, and all the conflicts within each group - that he always wanted to tell, but now he's doing it only through Abe's eyes.

[Manco]

Also Sekto has been big game hunting for an extended period. Probably before the events in Oddysee/NnT and after them as well. That's why it's on the board in the board meeting.

Those elements don't really allow us to determine which game comes first in the timeline.

And to expand on this, the references to Mongo Valley hunting in NnT don’t necessarily mean SW is canon either – it likely still is, but there’s nothing explicitly confirming the events of SW are canon to the new timeline.

[Ratz]

My interpretation is that Lorne is telling the larger story of Mudos - which is about Native vs Industrial, and all the conflicts within each group - that he always wanted to tell, but now he's doing it only through Abe's eyes.

If OWI decides to focus exclusively on Abe for a new version of the quintology (which would be awesome) I hope they reveal what the original plans were for the other characters, like that interview about Squeek. It would assuage a lot of pent up curiosity!

[Michael]

I always used to think that Abe stumbled upon plans to kill off the entire mudokon workforce for Mudokon Pops. However, it appears to be a more subtle plan to avoid suspicion.

At EGX and I believe in some interviews before, Lorne talks about 'the retirement plan being a lie'. It's heavily implied that Mudokon Pops are made selectively of muds that are no longer useful as slave labour - those too old to work, injured, and the occasional whistleblower. Those who could disappear from the factory floor permanently with a decent alibi. I guess there's a fast enough turnaround of workers to facilitate this, with new eggs constantly being hatched and trained (though this itself is absent from both AO and NNT).

The retirement plan element wasn't referenced to my knowledge in AO. Though references can be found in NNT (signs reading 'Happy Early Retirement Wiloum, you deserve it!' etc. To me, this suggests Mudokon Pops have been in production for some time, right under the muds' noses. This could of course have been an internal prototype/product development stage, reinforced by the fact that the Gluk investors seem unaware of Mudokon Pops until Molluck's presentation. Something New and Tasty! is 'coming soon' after all.

Though, this doesn't fit with the timeline + poster seen in AE, as you guys have said. You wouldn't have the marketing machine prepped and ready to deploy posters of the finished product, on the same night you first pitch the idea to the board! Unless Molluck was that confident in his plan. I guess it's a moot point if discussing NNT/Soulstorm anyway, since the poster in AE is no longer canon.

While we're on Mudokon Pops, something about them has always confused me. The consumers on Oddworld are analogous to the real world, largely unaware of the atrocities being committed. Surely marketing Mudokon Pops to a population with a mudokon contingent would be a little too obvious? Or is Oddworld society so far gone they still don't realise or care?

[Vlam]

While we're on Mudokon Pops, something about them has always confused me. The consumers on Oddworld are analogous to the real world, largely unaware of the atrocities being committed. Surely marketing Mudokon Pops to a population with a mudokon contingent would be a little too obvious? Or is Oddworld society so far gone they still don't realise or care?

It has been explained by Lanning himself:

Nathan: The thing is, with that one I actually prefer the newer design, because it has that gloss of marketing, hiding the true horror of what the Glukkons were doing.

Lorne: I agree. I never liked the first one either. But that was just what came out from the artists and I was like “Uhhh… okay”. I mean, I try to give the artists some room and not change everything to my liking, but empower them to take ownership. Sometimes that means you like what they produce, sometimes you don’t, and sometimes it’s just not acceptable.

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

Though references can be found in NNT (signs reading 'Happy Early Retirement Wiloum, you deserve it!' etc.

Wildum was a Slig.

[Michael]

Wildum was a Slig.

Ah no way, that's interesting

I guess Mudokon Pops could be seen as being made for and marketed to mudokons then, in the same vein as dog treats are for dogs. Even have dogs on the packaging. Doesn't mean it's all made of dog (plot twist )

[CravenKnight]

yeah i've seen plenty of dogs buying dog treats. i got stuck behind a cocker spaniel in the cue at Tesco's the other day.

honestly i think we should have separate cues, one for dogs and one for humans. sick of hanging around forever while the alsatian in front buys two dozen cans of pedigree chum. SICK OF IT

[SlashClaw]

The Mudokon Pops barrels in the SW game don't mean much. Those could have been proof of concept samples produced before the board reveal. You don't do a reveal of this magnitude without a bit of R&D beforehand.

Also Sekto has been big game hunting for an extended period. Probably before the events in Oddysee/NnT and after them as well. That's why it's on the board in the board meeting.

Those elements don't really allow us to determine which game comes first in the timeline.

this just raise another question if this was a R&D run of the pops why did they have the Finished label on them if this is the original time line shouldn't everything before the board meeting have a Muds head on a stick for the packaging?

[CravenKnight]

i saw a dog head on a stick once. if that counts.