OW Game Editors

[Cloverfield]

Okay, well recently I have been moving into an extra room in my house [since I returned from the US, thus my lack of time online] and I came across a little piece of paper that must have fallen out of either my Abe's Oddysee or Abe's Exoddus box. I can't tell which one, as it doesn't have a game mentioned on it, only references to Oddworld Inhabitants and GT Interactive.

Anyways, most of it is a copyright/disclaimer, but on the back of the sheet it mentions that the software "may include an editor", which is speculative and could be standard licence agreement, except for the fact that it goes on to refer to if you make a level, that you have to put the words that it "is not made or supported by GT, OW, blah, etc".

Of course this never eventuated as we are aware, but imagine how cool it would have been to have an editor to make our own Abe's Exoddus or Abe's Oddysee levels. Imagine the endless possibilities, the puzzles you could make, the combining of different environments ... it would just overall be fun. All of us fans could swap levels ... we could be playing new twists to the game forever!

I wonder if this was something they had planned on adding and didn't have time. Maybe I should ask Alf about it.

But anyways, apart from commenting on this topic, feel free to add any ideas you might have if you were able to use an editor with one of the Oddworld games.

Abe Babe...

[erwinraaben55]

there was also something about it in this topic: http://www.oddworldforums.net/showthread.php?t=10096

[T-nex]

Well, i always thought that they should make an editor. I also imagined how fun it could be swaping levels and stuff. Do you think they will ever make one? just for fun?

[Xavier]

hmmm, we could maybe make some puzzles, but we also should make all the backgrounds and art for each screen, cause in the games each screen is different...

so the overal look would be crappy ok would need tons of work.

I can't believe that can exist

[T-nex]

Yes, but that is the funny part, that you put so much efort in making a good level, and then your more proud for it... And come on, it couldn't be that hard to upload a picture for each screen. And it would be even more funnier if you could put your own images in it...

[paramiteabe]

Oh it all exist Xavier in this day and age yes! The problem is the copyright issue and that my friends is a big problem in this field. I think its a great idea but it will never happen. Because copyright is such a huge deal in this business, an editor would be a serious copyright issue. I am talking about that if they were to allow some random person to edit his or her game, he or she can easily steal big from the company by simply useing the editor in the game to change it around and to make his or her own little game and make profit off of it. Anyone could steal millions even billions of dollars from the game and LL would lose out on his profit. Its a big issue and thats just something they prevent from happening. Its probabaly under the copyright laws which I am sure is a huge book somewhere in Washington DC.

All games do the same thing to prevent copyright infringement because people don't want all their work stolen. It may seem like an awesome idea which I think it would be intresting especially for Oddworld but you have to look at all the cornors here like, "Is it safe to assume that nobody in the whole world will use an editor to his or here own personal gain?" You got to be consistant with all cornors of posable scenerios here. Mainly what I am saying is you got to say "What if!" and if the bad out ways the good then its not worth to lose millions of dollars because of some kid in Tim Bok Too decided he or she wanted to make some profit off of a game he or she illigally made.

Paramiteabe...

[T-nex]

But there are lots of games that have an level editor...

[Esus]

Exactly. You're overreacting PA. They don't need to give you that much control. Hundreds of games allow modding and level editing. RTS' FPS', most notably (in my opinion) the battlefield series, where somebody edited the game, and turned it into a Modern Warfare game (rather than WW2), and apparently this mod caused more sales of the game than before it was done.

The Editor may be just like a Scenario Editor for a rts. You have tons of flexibility, but you can only play the levels on the actual game, with it's disk in.

[T-nex]

Exactly... Even morrowind has an editor. And in that one you can edit evrything, textures, add new mission, new creature and new items. And who says that everyone wants to make profit on AO and AE JUST becouse it's Oddworld.

I think that nthey would sell better if they made an editor, if it's not too late.

[oddguy]

I made a topic like this a while back.

http://www.oddworldforums.net/showthread.php?t=9351

Abe Babe's topic seems to be more popular than my old one.

-oddguy

[Havoc]

That would be so cool! And not even such a big dream neither. By the looks of it, the engine's for AO and AE (same engine BTW... for those... you know... who are stupid) are pretty simple designed. You have a background, a forground, you add the 'walking zone's', you add items like mine's. You add creuture's and devine their pattern. And voila! You have yourself a puzzle!

[buckminster]

Character interaction seems hard-coded so all you would have to do is place them in the world. World interaction would be somewhat scripted (this lever opens this gate, etc.), but simple to implement. The nearly impossible part would be to recreate backgrounds and foregrounds worthy of Oddworld.

[oddguy]

Couldn't you use the same backgrounds as they have...just add different walking zones to it? I dunno...I've never been able to edit AO/AE. I popped the disc in my comp once, but I didn't know what to do.

-oddguy

[Mac the Janitor]

I actually made a Munch's Oddysee 2D engine. It looks exactly like AO, plays great, and is way fun. I did a week's worth of searching the forums for things that people were dissapointed with in MO and things they wanted in it, and implanted all of it into my game. It was awesome - athough I never finished it. I may get around to that eventually.

[oddguy]

Ooooo! I wanna play!

-oddguy

[Esus]

I started making a 2d Oddworld game once... the main character was a fuzzle, and he didn't have any teeth

[Killa_47]

y the no teeth? lol sounds good

[WiLL the Wander]

Man, do you have this 2d games? Send it! Play it! Oddworld for everyone!

[Mac the Janitor]

Man, do you have this 2d games? Send it! Play it! Oddworld for everyone!

I would, as I am fairly proud of it, but it is too rough and nowhere near finished. Maybe eventually though.

[Cloverfield]

Oooh ... that sounds awesome Mac!!! Hopefully you can share it one day.

As for the editor ... if it happened, I think that you would probably be given "parts" that you can alter and add. Much like how you can add features and units to the map in a RTS such as the editor included in StarCraft.

So to make it basic, you would probably be given a grid [that is the limitation of your area you can design]. Then say a selection of fixed parts [floor, rocks, fixed doors, background], movable parts [drills, opening doors, levers, meatsack, bombs], characters to put on the screen [Mudokons, Sligs, Slogs] and finally a portal. You would probably need to aim to create your own puzzle to lead the Mudokons to the portal.

I think it would have been challenging and fun to create your own levels. A pity it didn't happen. I could also see a lot of people trying to create impossible puzzles just so they could be evil and cause death to the Muds.

Abe Babe...

[drakan90]

Cool! I could make interactive bits for fanfics...
*Goes misty eyes and stares into space, imagining*

[Oddish]

Don't forget about how long the the creaures walk, or waht there doing (sleeping) I'll put a lot of Scrabs, a big scrab fight.

I used to think that Hand of Odd would be like Myth of Mology (Aology, fology, dology, i forgot! ),and lets say to have an area like Spoochshrub ( in MO PS2) and decide where you put Windmill, rainmaker, AR & T, towers.ect). Same with industrals.Then you have muds doing stuff.

[Killa_47]

Don't forget about how long the the creaures walk, or waht there doing (sleeping) I'll put a lot of Scrabs, a big scrab fight.

Put 5 scrabs in one area lol all split by gates then one switch opens all gates...it's a roman times arena!

[WiLL the Wander]

Hmmm... The main files in cab format... I remember 1 years before I can open this files... in other games...