Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee
Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee is a multi-award winning[1] side-scrolling platform video game developed by Oddworld Inhabitants and published by GT Interactive. It was released in 1997 for the PlayStation video game console and Microsoft Windows in North America, Australia and Europe. The game was released under the title Abe a GoGo in Japan for the PlayStation by publisher SoftBank, with a Windows OS version following in 2001.[2] Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee was the first game in the planned five part Oddworld Quintology, which includes Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus and Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee.[3]
The game centers on the titular Abe, a Mudokon slave working at the RuptureFarms meat processing factory on Oddworld. When he discovers that he and his friends face death at the hands of their desperate master, he decides to escape and aid as many enslaved Mudokons as he can along the way. The player assumes the role of Abe, and must escape from the factory before embarking on a perilous quest to restore his once noble people.
Abe's Oddysee was widely acclaimed for having innovative gameplay, good graphics[4] and engaging cut-scenes; however, its steep learning curve and system of saving only at checkpoints received criticism.[5][6]
Gameplay
Abe's Oddysee is a two-dimensional side-scrolling platform game. The game is split into screens; when the player moves into the edge of the screen, the environment is replaced. Most screens include various puzzles which must be solved through the use of Abe's unique abilities: GameSpeak, possession, activation or deactivation of mines or levers, and rocks, grenades or meat chunks which can be picked up and used in a variety of situations.[3] Normal abilities include creeping, walking, running, rolling, hoisting, jumping, and crouching, all of which have specific application and make up a necessary arsenal of moves.
The game features no user interface or heads-up display. Information is conveyed to the player in a number of ways; through instructive screens which can be activated by the player character, through scrolling messages in the background, or through groups of fireflies which can arrange themselves to produce words should the player character chant near them. No characters in the game have hit points; instead, being attacked (such as being shot or mauled) causes instant death. However, the player has unlimited lives, and upon death will re-spawn at the beginning of the level.[7]
While the focus of the gameplay is surmounting screens, there is a secondary focus on rescuing enslaved Mudokons. GameSpeak is a pivotal ability in this respect; at the press of a button, the player character will utter short phrases which can be used to control allied non-player characters - to pull extra levers, to follow the player character, to attack enemy characters in the current screen, or simply to "wait".[8]
Possession is the player character's ability to take control of Sligs in the same screen by chanting. Possessing Sligs is a necessity in certain situations, usually to kill other enemy Sligs in the nearby screens or to give commands to nearby Slogs. However, when possessing a Slig, the player character remains immobile and vulnerable to attack. Upon abandoning control of a possessed Slig, the victim will burst to pieces.[9]
Slave Mudokons are rescued through "Bird Portals". If the player character chants when in the same screen as a Bird Portal, and other Mudokons are nearby, the portal will activate and Mudokons will run through it, disappearing. Rescuing Mudokons is not crucial to playing the game; however, rescuing at least fifty is necessary to get the "good ending", and many secret areas revolve around rescuing one or two Mudokons in particularly complex situations.[10]
The purpose-created game engine and artificial intelligence for Abe's Oddysee is called A.L.I.V.E. (Aware Lifeforms In a Virtual Environment), and has been acclaimed for its realistic encounters and intelligent enemies.[9][11]
Allies, enemies and wildlife
Allies in the game include Mudokons, humanoid species encountered either as rescuable slaves who willingly follow any GameSpeak-given order, or free native Mudokons who give aid to the player. Native Mudokons are armed with slingshots, and will kill the player character without hesitation; to appease and gain the aid of one of these natives, the player must mimic various whistles the native makes through GameSpeak combinations. At certain points in the game, the player can transform into the Shrykull, a supernatural demigod. Upon transforming into the Shrykull, all explosive devices on the screen are detonated with the character reverting to the Mudokon form immediately after. Another creature is the "Elum", a bipedal mule-like creature upon which the player character can ride for increased speed and longer jumps. When the player has dismounted, the Elum will follow GameSpeak-given commands unless distracted by dripping honey; in such a scenario, the Elum will ignore everything except coming under attack by bees, in which case the Elum will abandon the honey and flee to a safer area. The Elum can be summoned with a special bell at certain points in the game.[12]
Enemies in the game primarily consist of Sligs, semi-robotic creatures armed with machine guns. Sligs can be possessed by the player character, who can then control the Slig and utilize its weapon. Sligs cannot see in dark shadows, which prove to create natural hiding places. Often accompanying Sligs are Slogs. Slogs are bipedal dog-like creatures which, as with the Sligs, chase and attack the player character on sight. Slogs can be commanded only by Sligs, and can be ordered to attack and kill any other life form. When encountered alone, Slogs can be distracted with chunks of meat.[12]
Glukkons also feature as antagonists, though purely in pre-rendered cut-scenes as malevolent business men, under whom the Sligs and Mudokon slaves are subservient.[13]
Animals and wildlife consist of the Scrabs, carnivorous predators who primarily live in the desert regions.[14] Scrabs attack and chase any other life form upon sight, including other Scrabs. Should they engage another Scrab, a short fight ensues in which one is killed; and Paramites, pack hunters which primarily live in the forest regions and utilize webbing for climbing heights.[15] When encountered individually, Paramites will flee, though if cornered they will lash out and attack. When confronted in number, the player character ceases to threaten them and they will immediately chase and attempt to attack. Paramites can be distracted with chunks of meat.
Synopsis
Characters
Abe's Oddysee includes only three named characters, though there are scores of anonymous slaves and guards. The protagonist of the game is Abe, a Mudokon slave worker born into captivity and ignorant of his people's rich history and culture. Abe is often described as a "klutz", due to his clumsy and simple nature.[16] Mid-point through his adventure, Abe is joined by the Elum, a stubborn, yet loyal mule creature. The pair were originally envisioned as beginning Abe's Oddysee together, living off the land and being thrust into an industrialized factory slave environment. The developers came to the conclusion that the story was stronger should Abe come from a factory existence and later reveal one of self-sustenance, and as such the concept was changed.[17] A guiding leader figure enters the story in BigFace the Shaman, the pre-eminent Shaman of the Mudokon people, who wears a large wooden mask from which his name is derived.[18] BigFace is a character whose spiritual power and knowledge remains a mystery; he saves Abe from death and sets him on a quest to rescue his brothers and face the trials of the Monsaic Lines,[19] before acting in a more traditional leader role to the eventual dozens of freed slaves.
The primary antagonist of the game is the ruthless chief executive officer of RuptureFarms, Molluck the Glukkon. Reportedly attractive by Glukkon standards, Molluck is completely obsessed with success, doing anything within his power and cunning to achieve evermore wealth.[3] Despite this, Molluck's business empire is failing due to declining wildlife populations; desperate, Molluck decides to use his Mudokon slave population in his food products to offset the quickly declining profits.[20]
Story
Abe's Oddysee begins with the titular protagonist as a prisoner in RuptureFarms1029, from which point he narrates his story. He and many other Mudokons are slaves to Molluck the Glukkon who owns RuptureFarms1029, the biggest meat processing plant on Oddworld.[21] Abe is a contented Floorwaxer First Class and many time Employee of the Month.[3]
RuptureFarms is undergoing difficulties: the ingredients of their three major products are quickly running out, with the Meeches already extinct.[22] While working late one night, Abe chances upon the Board Room, where the various Glukkons are discussing their dilemma. After reviewing the situation, Molluck announces his plan to use the Mudokon slaves as new meat products, frightening Abe into a resolution of escaping from the factory.[20]
Abe proceeds to elude the authories and escape from RuptureFarms proper; immediately out, Abe sees a large moon in sky, with its face in the shape of a Mudokon handprint, signifying the Mudokons as the "chosen people".[23][24] Abe suddenly falls down a cliff, hitting his head; as he lies on the ground, BigFace appears before him in a vision.[25]
BigFace sends Abe towards his quest: to rescue his enslaved brethren and "restore the lost land". However, he cannot accomplish this feat without first completing the spiritual trials of the Monsaic Lines and Mudokon temples. Abe journeys into the Monsaic Lines, from where he travels to the forests of Paramonia and the deserts of Scrabania. In each land, Abe completes the tests of the respective temple; after each one, BigFace gives Abe hand scars, one representing the Paramites and one representing the Scrabs.[26]
Once Abe has both scars, he can become the Shrykull, a mystical and all-powerful demigod creature.[3] The Shrykull stands outside life as a dualistic god, of creation and destruction, and of fear and love.[27] With this divine power, Abe returns to RuptureFarms, rescues his Mudokon brethren and comes close to shutting it down entirely.
However, Abe is surprised, captured and bound so he cannot chant to invoke the Shrykull. It is at this point that he first appears in captivity.[28] As Molluck enters the prison cell and prepares to kill the captive, BigFace is holding a meeting with native modukons at the Monsaic Sanctum. They resolve to save Abe, and so chant together and invoke a powerful lightning bolt upon Molluck's head. With Molluck incapacitated, BigFace teleports to Abe, frees him, and teleports him out to a cheering crowd.[29] Molluck reputedly survives, and hides out in the Oddworld underworld plotting a comeback. However, should Abe have failed to rescue at least fifty Mudokons throughout the game, the end differs - the few freed Mudokon slaves refuse to give aid to the protagonist, and Molluck is given free rein to release him into a meat grinder, where Abe is instantly killed.[30]
Development
Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee began production in January 1995 under the working title of SoulStorm. After GT Interactive acquired publishing rights on September 12, 1996, they changed the title to Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee.[31] The game had a private showing at E3 '96, but it was not until E3 '97 that journalists took note of the game and it was generally well received.[32] The version of the game shown at E3 '97 was remarkably similar to the release version, and Abe's Oddysee had a reportedly smooth development cycle with few late changes.[31]
The game saw its first release on the PlayStation and Windows OS on September 19, 1997, on a day dubbed as "Odd Friday" by the developer and publisher;[33] over 500,000 units were originally released worldwide.[34] The Japanese version followed in October.
Reception
| Publication | Score | Comment |
|---|---|---|
looks and sounds bloody brilliant" | ||
enjoyable game" | ||
strategy-filled gameplay" | ||
puzzle elements perfectly" | ||
| Compilations of multiple reviews | ||
Upon its release in 1997, Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee received mostly positive reviews. Edge described the game as "a tight 2D platformer that's packed with great innovative touches and some great character design".[35] GameSpot gave the PlayStation version 8.4 out of 10 and praised the game as "the ideal platformer, balancing its action and puzzle elements perfectly to make the game intelligent, engaging, and, best yet, fun".[11] Animation World Magazine applauded multiple aspects of the game, saying it "features some of the best graphics and animation we've ever seen" and commenting on the "sophisticated gameplay".[36] The graphics struck many reviewers as being excellent, as while the game is a 2D side-scroller, all elements were rendered in 3D programs. PC Zone remarked that "the developers have created an outstanding visual environment for Abe to leap around in",[5] while GamePro described the graphics as "eye-popping".[4]
The game's audio was often singled out for praise. GameSpot gave the music a score of nine out of ten.[11]
Most criticism toward the game was directed at the save system. Edge said that "Oddworld demands a certain level of commitment to progress",[35] while Science Fiction Weekly claimed the game's "innovative game play makes for a steep learning curve. This initial difficulty in figuring out how to play is aggravated by a save feature that often forces players to redo difficult sections."[37] PC Zone stated that "progress does seem to rely on trial and error, which involves much replaying of levels and gnashing of teeth. All this can be frustrating at times, especially when Abe is plonked right back at the start of a level when he dies". The game's follow-up, Abe's Exoddus, notably implemented a suspend save feature which did not require the reaching of checkpoints.
Despite this criticism, the game won many awards, including the Nobel Prize from PC Computing Magazine in December 1997, E3 Showstopper '97 from GamePro in August 1997 and the award for Best Director from the World Animation Festival in 1997.[1][38]
Alternative versions
Japanese version
For the release in Japan, the title of Abe's Oddysee was changed to Abe a GoGo by the publisher SoftBank. Other changes included the art for the Mudokon Pops! packaging, which originally consisted of a Mudokon head speared on a stick. Due to undisclosed current events in Japan, the design was changed to a more ambiguous, "happier" image.[39] The design for the protagonist Abe and other Mudokons was also significantly altered. Certain Japanese pressure groups were offended by the Mudokons having four fingers, due to a historic Japanese subclass of meat packers who were looked down upon in society. Four fingers, or showing four fingers to another person, came to insinuate the other was a member of the subclass, because it had become symbolic of the meat packers who frequently had work-related accidents. Oddworld Inhabitants had to alter the design of Mudokons to having only three fingers, or else face legal battles and large fines.[40][41]
Oddworld Inhabitants made the altered designs a permanent feature; subsequent versions of Abe's Oddysee released outside Japan included both the changed packaging and changed Mudokon hand. Future games and media also recognise these changes as canon.
Guardian Angel FMV
In PlayStation versions of the game outside Japan, upon "perfect" completion of the game—completion with all possible Mudokon slaves saved—an extra full motion video (FMV) named "Guardian Angel" is unlocked. The Guardian Angel video depicts a captured Abe being harassed by "The Shrink", a mechanical creature with a sophisticated artificial intelligence.[42] The FMV is notable for its exclusivity to the PlayStation version of the game, and its introduction of a new character to the Oddworld mythos. The character was reputedly part of an early advertising campaign, which included television commercials, but was eventually abandoned.[43]
Game Boy version
The Game Boy port was released as Oddworld Adventures; it was developed by Saffire Corporation and published by GT Interactive in 1998. The game is a significantly cut-down version of Abe's Oddysee, with only a few similar levels and an condensed plot (Abe starts out as a native Mudokon, so the opening levels in Rupturefarms are absent from this version).[44]
References
- ^ a b "Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee Awards". Oddworld Inhabitants. Retrieved September 17.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|work=|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Oddworld Fact Sheet". Oddworld Inhabitants. Retrieved September 17.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|work=|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d e Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee game manual
- ^ a b Airhendrix (November 24, 2000). "Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee review at GamePro". GamePro. Retrieved September 17.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ a b Mallinson, Paul (2001). "PC Zone Magazine Review". computerandvideogames. Retrieved September 22.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|work=|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Jordan, Thomas (1997). "The Adrenaline Vault Review". The Adrenaline Vault. Retrieved September 17.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|work=|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Hudak, Chris (1997). "Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee preview at Gamespot". GameSpot. Retrieved September 18.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee review at IGN". IGN. September 22, 1997. Retrieved September 17.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ a b Lankton, Shawn (January 18, 1998). "Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee review at Go Inside". Retrieved September 17.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Amazon.com's Official Strategy Guide". Amazon.com.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|accessyear=(help) - ^ a b c Fielder, Joe (1997). "Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee review at Gamespot". Gamespot. Retrieved September 18.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|work=|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) Cite error: The named reference "reviews1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ a b "The IGN Guide and Walkthrough for Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee". IGN. February 18, 2004. Retrieved September 17.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Ballistic Publishing, The Art of Oddworld: The First Ten Years 1994–2004, pages 61–62
- ^ Ballistic Publishing, The Art of Oddworld: The First Ten Years 1994–2004, pages 85
- ^ Ballistic Publishing, The Art of Oddworld: The First Ten Years 1994–2004, pages 79
- ^ Ballistic Publishing, The Art of Oddworld: The First Ten Years 1994–2004, page 33
- ^ Ballistic Publishing, The Art of Oddworld: The First Ten Years 1994–2004, page 46
- ^ Ballistic Publishing, The Art of Oddworld: The First Ten Years 1994–2004, page 96
- ^ Abe: [BigFace] said our land was changing, wasn't balanced as best. / He told me my fate was to rescue the rest. / For Paramites and Scrabs had been sacred once, / But that was before RuptureFarms turned them into lunch. / And they lived in jungles, that's where they still nest. / Facing these creatures, that was my test.
- ^ a b Abe: The Glukkons were scared, 'cause profits were grim, / Paramites and Scrabs were turning up thin. / But Molluck was cool—he had a plan, / A new source of meat was already at hand. / Finding New and Tasty would not be a fuss, / This new kind of meat—it was us! / I had to escape, I had to be free, but there was no escaping my destiny.
- ^ Abe: This is RuptureFarms... They say it's the biggest meat processing plant on Oddworld.
- ^ Ballistic Publishing, The Art of Oddworld: The First Ten Years 1994–2004, pages 56–59
- ^ Abe: A large moon was before me / And it's face was my paw.
- ^ "Oddworld Plot Overview". Oddworld Inhabitants. Retrieved September 17.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|work=|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Abe: Then I fell and smashed my head / Then a BigFace appeared and said I was dead.
- ^ Ballistic Publishing, The Art of Oddworld: The First Ten Years 1994–2004, page 95
- ^ Ballistic Publishing, The Art of Oddworld: The First Ten Years 1994–2004, page 71
- ^ Abe: Well, I'd rescued all the Mudokons. But who's gonna rescue me? / Cause here I am face to face with Molluck the Glukkon.
- ^ Abe's Oddysee The Good Ending FMV movie
- ^ Ballistic Publishing, The Art of Oddworld: The First Ten Years 1994–2004, page 97
- ^ a b Ballistic Publishing, The Art of Oddworld: The First Ten Years 1994–2004, page 99
- ^ "Coming Soon Magazine's E3 Atlanta '97 Report". Coming Soon Magazine. 1997. Retrieved September 18.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|work=|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "GT Interactive Begins Countdown to Odd Friday, September 19". Coming Soon Magazine. 1997. Retrieved September 18.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|work=|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "'Odd Friday' Is Here!". 1997. Retrieved September 18.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ a b Edge April 1998, page 102
- ^ AWM Staff (1997). "Animation World Magazine Review". Animation World Magazine. Retrieved September 18.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|work=|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Engler, Craig E. "Science Fiction Weekly Review". Science Fiction Weekly. Retrieved September 17.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|work=|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Ballistic Publishing, The Art of Oddworld: The First Ten Years 1994–2004, page 98
- ^ Ballistic Publishing, The Art of Oddworld: The First Ten Years 1994–2004, page 58
- ^ "Oddworld FAQ". Oddworld Inhabitants. Retrieved September 18.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|work=|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Ballistic Publishing, The Art of Oddworld: The First Ten Years 1994–2004, page 45
- ^ Ballistic Publishing, The Art of Oddworld: The First Ten Years 1994–2004, page 49
- ^ "Ask Alf 04". Oddworld Inhabitants. Retrieved September 18.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|work=|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Hernandez, Tara. "Oddworld Adventures". All Game Guide. Retrieved October 29.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|work=|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help)
