What happened between OWI and JAW ?

K100 · #1 01-11-2016, 05:54 AM

I don't understand, I thought J.A.W and OWI had plans to work together for a long time. They talked about doing the Exoddus remake, Stranger 2, Fangus, Squeek... But after NnT, it seems Stewart didn't want to talk about Oddworld anymore. And now, this:

"Not long after New ‘n’ Tasty shipped on PS4 in late July 2014 it became clear we would not be working with Oddworld Inhabitants on any future full scale projects again, as such we had to find new work and fast. Yes we still had some of the other Platforms for New ‘n’ Tasty to do, PS3, Xbox One, PC, Mac and Linux, but that would only use a small part of the team."

http://www.jawltd.com/2015/12/what-a-year-2015-was/

So, anyone know what happened ?

Manco · #2 01-11-2016, 06:01 AM

Well I guess the prospect of more Oddworld games anytime soon is fucked, then. Can’t wait for the Exoddus remake in 2027.

Havoc · #3 01-11-2016, 06:31 AM

Damn, that was unexpected. OWI still seems enthusiastic about Exoddus HD being made though so not sure if that's completely blown out of the water at this point. It does make you wonder what happened between JAW and OWI, though somehow I have a feeling it has to do with Lorne not liking how they did something...

Alf Shall Rise · #4 01-11-2016, 06:59 AM

Well that really blows. I guess it's good that OWI is still trying to stay positive about future projects, but this is a pretty big roadblock for them.

Vlam · #5 01-11-2016, 07:15 AM

Havoc,

:

Damn, that was unexpected.

I don't agree. It was an open secret when Alex said "Twice the flavor isn't announced" a couple of months ago.

:

[...] though somehow I have a feeling it has to do with Lorne not liking how they did something...

Would you say it has to do with Lanning's ego (and not just Sony, Microsoft, JAW or EA) ?

Jordan · #6 01-11-2016, 07:41 AM

Damn...

Manco · #7 01-11-2016, 08:14 AM

:

It does make you wonder what happened between JAW and OWI, though somehow I have a feeling it has to do with Lorne not liking how they did something...

What’s not to like? They made a game that reviewed well and sold well, they did exactly what OWI asked them to.

I honestly get the feeling that this was a decision on JAW’s part somewhere. Stewart mentioned on Twitter a while back that he was working on other projects, and since then JAW have been involved in several ports and such. I wonder if they just wanted to work on other things instead of becoming “that Oddworld studio”?

@HolySock @oldmario I moved onto non-Oddworld projects at the end of July here at @jawltd, don't worry, it's all good
— Stewart Gilray (@stewartgilray) August 27, 2014

I guess this also explains why other companies have been working on the Munch’s Oddysee Mac/iOS/Android/Linux ports. Apparently the NnT Vita port is also not being worked on by JAW but someone else.

Vlam · #8 01-11-2016, 08:17 AM

:

I honestly get the feeling that this was a decision on JAW’s part somewhere

Like Sony, EA, Microsoft, etc ?

Manco · #9 01-11-2016, 08:30 AM

The only one of those three that OWI burned bridges with was EA, who gave Stranger’s Wrath zero marketing and then tried to buy the Oddworld franchise out.

Havoc · #10 01-11-2016, 09:57 AM

:

Havoc,

I don't agree. It was an open secret when Alex said "Twice the flavor isn't announced" a couple of months ago.

Would you say it has to do with Lanning's ego (and not just Sony, Microsoft, JAW or EA) ?

No, because both Microsoft and EA have had a significant negative influence on the games they were publishing. The only blame that falls to Lorne is choosing EA as a publisher to begin with, that was just downright idiotic given their track record even back then.

Vlam · #11 01-11-2016, 10:54 AM

Okay, but to be fair with EA : I remember that Stranger did get some advertising (and was also critically acclaimed).

STM · #12 01-11-2016, 10:57 AM

Critically acclaimed no thanks to EA of course.

***Nate*** · #13 01-11-2016, 10:51 PM

:

I guess this also explains why other companies have been working on the Munch’s Oddysee Mac/iOS/Android/Linux ports. Apparently the NnT Vita port is also not being worked on by JAW but someone else.

To the best of my recall, JAW only worked on the Stranger HD port, and even then I don't think they did all the platforms. All the other ports were outsourced from the beginning.

Manco · #14 01-12-2016, 04:15 AM

:

To the best of my recall, JAW only worked on the Stranger HD port, and even then I don't think they did all the platforms. All the other ports were outsourced from the beginning.

They did the original Stranger PC port as well as the PS3 port and the HD update for the PC, plus the PS3 port for Munch and a couple of PC updates (plus the abandoned HD update). They haven’t been involved in any of the mobile ports, but I don’t know if that includes the SW Mac port.

They also did all the ports for NnT besides Vita, so someone else working on that is especially unusual.

K100 · #15 01-12-2016, 05:47 AM

They only did the art for Munch on PS3.

Michael · #16 01-12-2016, 01:07 PM

Well that's disappointing, JAW did a great job with New n' Tasty. Perhaps OWI intends to create projects internally again, as opposed to outsourcing?

Still waiting to hear back regarding the Raymond Swanland signed poster I'm supposed to be receiving for the 'Name Abe HD' competition way back when. They said it'd be a way off, and I kinda just assumed they were waiting 'til all the ports were done. Wonder what's happening with that if they're no longer involved?

***Nate*** · #17 01-12-2016, 11:07 PM

:

They did the original Stranger PC port as well as the PS3 port and the HD update for the PC, plus the PS3 port for Munch and a couple of PC updates (plus the abandoned HD update). They haven’t been involved in any of the mobile ports, but I don’t know if that includes the SW Mac port.

They also did all the ports for NnT besides Vita, so someone else working on that is especially unusual.

I think that for most of the ones you listed, JAW managed it but the actual grunt work was done by outsourced companies.

FrustratedAssassin · #18 01-13-2016, 01:28 AM

So the best case scenario right now is OWI does Exoddus themselves. But I'm kinda scared they'll outsource it to some weird company that will fuck it up.

Varrok · #19 01-13-2016, 01:32 AM

You don't have to worry.

They'll fuck it up themselves.

FrustratedAssassin · #20 01-13-2016, 01:35 AM

You're forgetting one thing. I loved NnT.

Varrok · #21 01-13-2016, 01:43 AM

Poor you

STM · #22 01-13-2016, 01:58 AM

I heard Lorne did a drawing of a steef but Stew wouldn't put it on the fridge and Lorne cried oooooooh.

Phylum · #23 01-13-2016, 03:56 AM

What does OWI doing ExoddusHD themselves even mean? They'd have to hire an entire team of people who have probably never worked on an Oddworld game before. Why not just outsource it to a good dev team rather than hiring one?

Varrok · #24 01-13-2016, 04:20 AM

Lorne doesn't trust good dev teams. And big corporations.

Havoc · #25 01-13-2016, 04:27 AM

If NnT brought in enough money to re-open the studio then I can see the logic there. More control over everything and not having to split the profits. NnT made over 1.6 million in gross revenue on Steam alone, but that's before Valve's share and whatever cut JAW got from that. Minus development costs, so who knows what's left for OWI themselves.

I'd be interested to see numbers from other platforms but, despite the great reviews, I don't think NnT sold as well as OWI and JAW would have liked.

Varrok · #26 01-13-2016, 04:28 AM

I think Valve's share is not that big considering how Steam tends to boost sales on PC

Holy Sock · #27 01-13-2016, 08:19 AM

I loved being quoted! Maybe the working relationship was very difficult? Perhaps Stewart had a sort of falling out? Perhaps the people within JAW didn't want to work with OWI again? Perhaps OWI wasn't entirely happy with JAW's approach to development?

Maybe Steawrt's conservative vibe clashed with Lorne? Who knows!

Vlam · #28 01-13-2016, 09:29 AM

"Conservative vibe" ? In what ?

Holy Sock · #29 01-13-2016, 09:40 AM

Just from a few interviews and podcasts some of his views seemed to have a conservative slant - or at least I'm going from memory. He was very much against the Yes campaign during the Scottish referendum. Perhaps everyone's a conservative when compared to Lorne but I just got that impression. I'm not using "conservative" as a pejorative by the way - Stew seems like a very friendly bloke.

Manco · #30 01-13-2016, 09:42 AM

Valve's share is 30% if I remember correctly, so minus that and then split the rest between JAW and OWI.

I'd be interested to see the team OWI would hire if they were reopening a dedicated studio, but I don't think that'd be realistic with their profit from NnT right now unless they hired like, two guys or something.

I doubt we'll hear more about the split from either party any time soon, from the sounds of it this happened a while back and we're only just hearing about it now. Both groups are probably too professional to kiss and tell if anything sour did go down.