Oddworld is back (to making games, that is..)

[BigJKO]

Read it.

So, the hot thing in the industry is movies/games. Is this fad going to die or be popular?

Oddworld back making games, though.

[elmuerte]

interesting

[Oath]

I hope it turns out well. Still haven't actually played Stranger's Wrath, but I like the other Oddworld things. I remember watching the demo of Abe's Oddesey (was that the first title?) when I got my original Playstation and being really astounded for some reason. I think it was the setting that just grabbed me straight away.

Please make Stranger's Wrath backwards compatible, Microsoft.

[loonyboi]

  BigJKO said:

So, the hot thing in the industry is movies/games. Is this fad going to die or be popular?

I think it's a little different for Oddworld, since the founders came out of the movie industry in the first place.

I'm always interested in what Oddworld's up to, but Munch left a bad taste in my mouth. (Enough so that I never picked up Stranger).

Hopefully this puts them back on track as a studio.

[vimes]

If I understand it well, there's a deal for the movie and not for the game. And it's unclear if the game is under development... I doubt it given the current limited ressources in terms of Computer Science people at Oddworld inhabitants.

[BigJKO]

Well, he does say that publishers have actually seen the game, which sounds a lot like there's a game, at least prototype, done.

[miffy495]

Wait, I'm confused now. Is this Citizen Seige thing supposed to be the third canonical entry in the Quintilogy? If so, hells yeah! If not, I'm still confused.

[thorn]

Congrats on producing a thread that finally prompted me to register for the idleforums. As an oddworld nut (and a mod at the official oddworld forums), I'll clarify a few details.

  loonyboi said:

I think it's a little different for Oddworld, since the founders came out of the movie industry in the first place.

Close. Lorne and Sherry came from an animation background making themepark rides.

  loonyboi said:

Munch left a bad taste in my mouth. (Enough so that I never picked up Stranger).

Fair enough. You'd be hard pressed to even find a fan of Oddworld that really liked Munch. Stranger was great though.

In terms of movie vs game, this is a deal for the movie only. OWI are now a IP-producing company only. They're in discussions with third party developers to put the game together using their designs. I suspect that when he said that publishers had seen 'the game' he meant the designs and plans rather than any prototype.

[vimes]

  BigJKO said:

Well, he does say that publishers have actually seen the game, which sounds a lot like there's a game, at least prototype, done.

I guess you're right, I only read the Gamasutra news and it wasn't really clear on that point but Eurogamer is.

[Marek]

  thorn said:

I suspect that when he said that publishers had seen 'the game' he meant the designs and plans rather than any prototype.

Yeah that makes more sense. (Welcome to the forums btw.)

[thorn]

Thanks.

For what it's worth, I just asked my friend Max (who was at the keynote and interviewed Lorne afterwards) what his take on the issue was and he agreed that the game wasn't in production yet.

[drummand]

More detailed info on the project in an interview on Gamespot.

Not going to be in the Oddworld universe. Sadly, seems this story will take place on Earth in the nearish future.

[Marek]

Could this be in any way related to that politically charged game Lanning wanted to make before the studio shut down? I recall something like that.

Edit: erm yes after actually reading GameSpot's description, it appears to be just that.

[nsps]

  thorn said:

In terms of movie vs game, this is a deal for the movie only. OWI are now a IP-producing company only.

Now, How much the movie does the IP they've produced make up? The screenplay? Character designs? At what point do they hand it over to the movie producers? How much creative control does one have if all they do is create IP?

I realize that asking this many questions on a forum might look like an attack, but I assure you, I'm just curious.

[Nachimir]

It seems Citizen Siege is going to be a very political project.

I was at the keynote too, and Lanning spent a good deal of it talking about his personal politics and making games into a socially relevant, mature form of media. I snagged a crappy shot of the logo too.

[thorn]

  nsps said:

Now, How much the movie does the IP they've produced make up? The screenplay? Character designs? At what point do they hand it over to the movie producers? How much creative control does one have if all they do is create IP?

I realize that asking this many questions on a forum might look like an attack, but I assure you, I'm just curious.

As far as I can tell, Lorne has written the script and OWI are doing the production design. Given the quality of the FMVs in the Oddworld games, they're probably going to have a part in storyboarding as well.

I've read articles that differ over whether Lorne or John Williams will be the director.