I'm a decent way into my final year of university now and it's time I have to start properly considering where I want to be when I graduate. During a visit home I found a bunch of old documents I made almost a decade ago. Back then all I wanted was to grow up to make games, with not really a clue how. There were a few studios and games that gave me such a strong dream as a young one. During this time of job applications and portfolio tweaking, I thought it might be prudent to go over these studios and games that got me where I am now, and see if it will help with wherever I go in the future.
I'll loosely follow the chronology of my experiences in gaming and start this series with one the earliest and most impactful game series I have ever played: The Oddworld Series.
This guy, Abe, forever my hero
Back as a young kid I wasn't too impressed by video games, or at least the ones I saw. Most were sports games and simulation games that my father played. By the time we had a PlayStation 1 in our house I still had to be sold on the idea. Demolition Derby was interesting enough with the incredible 3D graphics and detailed collision damage but it was Demo One, the first demo disc for PlayStation, that truly got me hooked on the system.
I miss the days of demo discs.
A child back then could have been entertained for hours on end with that demo disc. The playable games and tech demos were fantastic examples of what's possible with the technology of that era. The manta ray and t-rex demos were neat but it was one game demo that really hit me; Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee.
The game is a 2D platformer, and it’s not the gameplay that really seals it as an important part of my childhood. The atmosphere and environment blew me away. A large part of the developer team originally worked in the film industry. It should be no surprise that the experience of the developer team worked incredibly well in adding to the feel of the game. Abe's Oddysee has an art direction that even the remake New ‘N’ Tasty couldn't beat with the immaculate backgrounds of an industrial complex that was actually frightening to me. The style was gripped just enough in reality with the very cold and sinister tone of Rupture Farms, the biggest meat processing plant on Oddworld.
The cold unforgiving vista of industry in Oddworld
The demo featured enough for me to want more. It's a game I never finished on PlayStation because I just sucked at playing anything but racing games as a kid. I didn't like dying. In fact, since the deaths in Abe's Oddysee can be so unapologetically gory it made me scared of dying in games. What scared me absolutely fascinated me though as I was absolutely hooked on the atmosphere of Oddworld. What amount of the game I did manage to play I just loved and would play again and again.
This video in particular really drove the idea of frequent deaths home
I'll always have a place in my heart for Abe's Oddysee but it was the sequel, Abe's Exoddus, that made me want to make games. I appreciated more than just the backgrounds and incredible FMVs, I appreciated the improved gameplay and level design, not to mention hugely increased scope. I wanted more and it gave me more. What was even better for me is Abe’s Exoddus had an invincibility cheat code which allowed me to explore the game environments without needing to beat every challenge.
I designed my own industrial creatures of Oddworld and levels all on paper. I pretended to be in my own Oddworld story with friends in school during playtime. I can't describe how I felt back apart from having limitless enthusiasm to create but no knowledge of how to create. It was an unfortunate circumstance that was left unchanged for too long. At the very least I knew what I wanted to do with my life before ending primary education. A feat I owe completely to everyone at Oddworld Inhabitants.
My dream people (sorry for bad picture)
After Abe’s Exoddus I wondered what would happen to my beloved series. In my first stages of fanboyism I thought PlayStation would be the perfect platform for me forever.
And then I find out this company called Microsoft will be making a console called an Xbox and it's part of this thing called a generation. Oh how I learning so much about how commerce works!
A game originally intended for the PS2, Oddworld Munch’s Oddysee was a whole new kind of experience for me. 3D graphics but not that bad at all. Super detailed textures. Gorgeous sounds and environments. But I didn’t care too much about the fidelity of the graphics yet. I wanted to save Munch and his pals! I had the strategy guide this time to save me from the terror of dying in a video game and I read through it so many times for the tips and the art that the thing tore to pieces. It’s the small things in the world that make me believe in it more.
Such a vast catalogue of interesting creatures.
Munch’s Oddysee didn’t have me as incredibly invested as the first two in the series but it is still a very much loved title all the same. It was the sole reason for me getting an Xbox and that in itself gives it credit for shaping almost a decade of what I’d be playing in the future. This was my first game of the series I managed without help or cheating, and I managed to get the good ending as well. I felt incredibly accomplished.
One of the happiest endings in video games
After Munch’s Oddysee, Oddworld Inhabitants seemed to have a troubled time. It would be almost 4 years until the next game, Stranger’s Wrath. By then, I had fell in love with many more games and became more of a gamer than I will ever be. I enjoyed the game, but it didn’t have all the things I loved from the previous games. The environment, while beautiful, did not have the same intimidating atmosphere the previous titles had. This game perhaps had the best story and gameplay with some pretty smart first person shooter mechanics. With everything though, it did not scratch that itch my first experiences with Oddworld did.
After this moment led a sad time for Oddworld. There were plenty of ideas, but none must have made it past concept stages. I remember articles about an Oddworld RTS called Hand of Odd and one game hosting a whole new character for a game called Oddworld: Squeek's Oddysee. None of these ideas came into fruition and I was stuck checking Oddworld.com for years seeing the same content for a very long time.
A sight I saw too many times
And then, in 2012, I hear of a talk by the man (lead of Oddworld Inhabitants) Lorne Lanning himself. I had to be there. I had to watch. I believe there was talk of some remake already but I had been used to talk with nothing to show. When a video of New ‘N’ Tasty (then called Abe HD) was revealed I was filled with happiness. The series I loved so much was coming back to life. What was even better to hear is that a British developer, Just Add Water, would be making the product for this.
Way in the back was an overhyped individual
I believe no game can hold up to my experience with Abe’s Oddysee so I was not surprised when New ‘N’ Tasty, a remake of Oddysee, didn’t really have the same effect to me. My hype with each news piece of Oddworld hasn’t really been the same since but as a dearly loved series I do keep up with it. The mobile ports of Munch’s Oddworld and Stranger’s Wrath work fantastically on my iPad.
My biggest dream ever used to be being part of the Oddworld Inhabitants team. If I ever managed to achieve that dream I would give everything to tell my childhood self that it’s possible with time, just to see his reaction.
I would really value any feedback, particularly rooms for improvement on my writing. I'd like to do this more and would be really happy to find ways to improve.
My heroes of childhood into teenage-hood
My next entry will be about Halo.
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