Chronicler: Difference between revisions

From Oddworld Library
(Created page with "'''Chroniclers''' on Oddworld are an industrialized race of accountants and lawyers.<ref name="Souljah"/><ref name="Book"/> They have not yet been seen in any canonical Oddwo...")
 
No edit summary
Line 1: Line 1:
'''Chroniclers''' on [[Oddworld]] are an industrialized race of accountants and lawyers.<ref name="Souljah"/><ref name="Book"/> They have not yet been seen in any canonical Oddworld publication, although their existence has been confirmed by [[Oddworld Inhabitants]].
'''Chroniclers''' are an industrial [[List of Oddworld species|Oddworld race]], individuals of whom typically occupy financial and legal professions, such as accountants and lawyers.<ref name="reference1"/><ref name="reference2"/> They have not yet appeared in any published Oddworld fictional material, though they have been named and described by official sources.


== Appearance ==
== Appearance ==
Our knowledge of Chroniclers’ appearance comes mostly from the colour painting described below. In this image, the Chronicler is a tall and thin yellow-skinned characters with four arms, one leg, and a long, stoic face, with two small tentacles either side of its mouth. Its thin frame is a result of never getting much exercise, while its extra pair of arms evolved to make Chroniclers more efficient at office work.<ref name="Book"/> It has been confirmed that despite this image appearing to depict Chroniclers as having a single leg, they do have two.<ref name="MattLee"/>
The most complete appearance of a Chronicler comes from [[Silvio Aebischer]]’s 1999 colour painting, which depicts a tall and thin, yellow-skinned character with four arms, one leg, and a long, stoic face. It has two small tentacles dangling either side of its mouth, which don’t appear to be prehensile. Its two eyes are deep red in colour. It is dressed entirely in black and red: a stovepipe hat with a red hat band and open crown (through which the Chronicler’s head protrudes), a red, forked cape which also forms a necktie, black boots with red laces and sock suspenders, and a tight, black skirt. The Chronicler smokes a cigarette and carries a two-handled stark metal briefcase and a tall staff that is thought by fans to function as an abacus.<ref name="AbacusSpeculation"/>


Its two eyes are deep red in colour. It is dressed entirely in black and red: a stovepipe hat with a red hat band and open crown (through which its head protrudes), a red all-in-one forked cape and necktie, black boots with red laces and sock suspenders, and a black skirt. The Chronicler smokes a cigarette and carries a two-handled stark metal briefcase and a tall staff that is thought by fans to function as an abacus.<ref name="Abacus"/>
However, as Chroniclers have never appeared in any in-universe material, their eventual appearance may differ. For instance, despite Aebischer’s painting showing a one-legged creature, Oddworld Inhabitants have mentioned to fans that they have two legs.<ref name="OneOrTwoLegs"/>


== Production ==
== Production ==
A Chronicler concept sketch by Steven Olds, dated 1994—the year Oddworld Inhabitants was founded, and three years before the release of ''[[Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee]]''—was included in an early ''[[Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee]]'' press kit released in November 1999, which was acquired from Oddworld Inhabitants by souljah_73 of the Exoddus Club.<ref name="Souljah2"/> Unfortunately, this image was lost in March 2002, when Yahoo! Clubs, still in the process of merging with eGroups.com, became Yahoo! Groups, and the Exoddus Club’s photo gallery was deleted.<ref name="Yahoo"/> The Steven Olds concept sketch was later published in ''The Art of Oddworld Inhabitants'',<ref name="Sketch"/> although a computer file version has yet to be recovered. The sketch describes the creature as a ‘more evolved relative to the Oldger’ (‘Oldger’ being an early name for [[Glukkons]])<ref name="Oldger"/>, and shows it with a more angular face and a tall crest atop its head.
An early Chronicler design was sketched by [[Steven Olds]] in 1994, three years before the release of <cite>Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee</cite>. This design features a more angular face than Aebischer’s portrayal, and a tall crest atop its head. Olds’ sketch describes the creature as a ‘more evolved relative to the Oldger’, ‘Oldger’ being an early name for what became a [[Glukkon]].<ref name="Oldger"/>


The colour painting of a Chronicler by Silvio Aebischer was published by IGN in a preview of ''Munch’s Oddysee'' in March 2000.<ref name="IGN"/>. By this time, fans were fully expecting Chroniclers to appear in ''Munch’s Oddysee'' and were somewhat shocked when the final game did not include the character. ''The Art of Oddworld Inhabitants'' confirms that a Chronicler was intended to play a major role as a lawyer in ''Munch’s Oddysee'',<ref name="Book"/> probably as part of the storyline following the capture and trial of [[Molluck]] by Lady Margaret.
There is no indication they were intended to appear prior to <cite>Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee</cite>, in which one was planned to appear in a major role as a lawyer.<ref name="reference2/> For this appearance, a colour painting based on Olds’ design was created by Silvio Aebsicher. However, Chroniclers were removed from the design of <cite>Munch’s Oddysee</cite> before the game’s release. Chroncilers have not subsequently appeared in the Oddworld universe.


== References ==
Due to the involved and iterative design approach used by [[Oddworld Inhabitants]], it is likely there are more designs for the Chronicler than have been made public.
<references>
<ref name="Souljah">souljah_73 (30 December 1999). ‘Re: That big tall thing’. The Exoddus Club. Yahoo! Groups.</ref>


<ref name="Book">Johnson, Cathy & Daniel Wade (14 September 2004). ‘Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee’, p. 230. ''The Art of Oddworld Inhabitants: The First Ten Years 1994–2004''. Mylor: Ballistic Publishing.</ref>
== Promotion ==
Steven Olds’ 1994 sketch was included in an early <cite>Munch’s Oddysee</cite> press kit released in November 1999, which was acquired from Oddworld Inhabitants by [[souljah_73]] of the [[Exoddus Club]], who uploaded it to the private group’s image gallery.<ref name="OldsSketchExoddusClub"/> This image was lost in March 2002 when Yahoo! Clubs, in the process of merging with eGroups.com, became Yahoo! Groups, and the images in the Exoddus Club’s image gallery were all deleted.<ref name="ExoddusImagesDeleted"/> This sketch was later published in <cite>The Art of Oddworld Inhabitants</cite>.<ref name="Inspiration"/>


<ref name="MattLee">Lee, Matt (2 July 2007). [http://www.oddworldforums.net/showthread.php?p=311170#post311170 Email to Zerox]. Post 503 in ‘Oddworld Questions & Answers VI’. Oddworld Discussion. Oddworld Forums.</ref>
Silvio Aebischer’s 1999 painting was published by IGN in a preview of <cite>Munch’s Oddysee</cite> in March 2000.<ref name="IGNPreview"/>. By this time, fans were fully expecting Chroniclers to appear in <cite>Munch’s Oddysee</cite>, and were disappointed when the final game did not include the character. <cite>The Art of Oddworld Inhabitants</cite> confirmed that a Chronicler was intended to have a major role as a lawyer,<ref name="reference2"/> possibly as part of the storyline following the capture and trial of [[Molluck]] by [[Lady Margaret]].


<ref name="Abacus">Members of the Oddworld Forums (14–15 December 2001). [http://www.oddworldforums.net/showthread.php?p=440#post440 Posts 4–11] in ‘To Max’. Oddworld Discussion. Oddworld Forums.</ref>
== References ==
 
<references>
<ref name="Souljah2">souljah_73 (10 November 1999). ‘Re: That Munch Pic...’. The Exoddus Club. Yahoo! Groups.</ref>
<ref name="reference1">'''souljah_73 (30 December 1999)'''. ‘Re: That big tall thing’. The Exoddus Club. Yahoo! Groups.</ref>
 
<ref name="reference2">'''Johnson, Cathy & Wade, Daniel (14 September 2004)'''. ‘Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee’. <cite>The Art of Oddworld Inhabitants: The First Ten Years 1994–2004</span>, First Hardcover Edition. Mylor: Ballistic Publishing. p. 230. ISBN 1-921002-02-6.</ref>
<ref name="Yahoo">billy_squeek (2 March 2002). ‘Re: Looks keen.’ The Exoddus Club. Yahoo! Groups.</ref>
<ref name="OneOrTwoLegs">'''Lee, Matt (2 July 2007)'''. Email to Zerox. Post 503 in ‘[http://www.oddworldforums.net/showthread.php?p=311170#post311170 Oddworld Questions &amp; Answers VI]’. Oddworld Discussion. Oddworld Forums.</ref>
 
<ref name="AbacusSpeculation">'''Danny; Oddsville; De Coster, Xavier; Bunce-Edwards, Wil; Eibu (14–15 December 2001)'''. Posts 4–11 in ‘[http://www.oddworldforums.net/showthread.php?p=440#post440 To Max]. Oddworld Discussion. Oddworld Forums.</ref>
<ref name="Sketch">Olds, Steven (1996). ‘More evolved relative to the Oldger’ concept sketch. In Johnson, Cathy & Daniel Wade (14 September 2004). ‘Inspiration’, p. 27. ''The Art of Oddworld Inhabitants: The First Ten Years 1994–2004''. Mylor: Ballistic Publishing.</ref>
<ref name="OldsSketchExoddusClub">'''souljah_73 (10 November 1999)'''. ‘Re: That Munch Pic&hellip;’. The Exoddus Club. Yahoo! Groups.</ref>
 
<ref name="ExoddusImagesDeleted">'''Bunce-Edwards, Wil (2 March 2002)'''. ‘Re: Looks keen.’ The Exoddus Club. Yahoo! Groups.</ref>
<ref name="Oldger">Johnson, Cathy & Daniel Wade (14 September 2004). ‘Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee’, p. 62 ''The Art of Oddworld Inhabitants: The First Ten Years 1994–2004''. Mylor: Ballistic Publishing.</ref>
<ref name="Inspiration">'''Johnson, Cathy &amp; Wade, Daniel (14 September 2004)'''. ‘Inspiration’. <cite>The Art of Oddworld Inhabitants: The First Ten Years 1994–2004</cite>, First Hardcover Edition. Mylor: Ballistic Publishing. p. 27. ISBN 1-921002-02-6.</ref>
 
<ref name="Oldger">'''Johnson, Cathy & Wade, Daniel (14 September 2004)'''. ‘Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee’. <cite>The Art of Oddworld Inhabitants: The First Ten Years 1994–2004</cite>, First Hardcover Edition. Mylor: Ballistic Publishing. p. 62. ISBN 1-921002-02-6.</ref>
<ref name="IGN">Lopez, Vincent (1 March 2000). ‘[http://pc.ign.com/articles/134/134213p1.html ''Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee'']’ preview. IGN.</ref>
<ref name="IGNPreview">'''Lopez, Vincent (01 March 2000)'''. ‘[http://pc.ign.com/articles/134/134213p1.html Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee’ preview. IGN.</ref>
</references>
</references>
[[Category:Oddworld industrial races]]

Revision as of 01:31, 11 July 2019

Chroniclers are an industrial Oddworld race, individuals of whom typically occupy financial and legal professions, such as accountants and lawyers.[1][2] They have not yet appeared in any published Oddworld fictional material, though they have been named and described by official sources.

Appearance

The most complete appearance of a Chronicler comes from Silvio Aebischer’s 1999 colour painting, which depicts a tall and thin, yellow-skinned character with four arms, one leg, and a long, stoic face. It has two small tentacles dangling either side of its mouth, which don’t appear to be prehensile. Its two eyes are deep red in colour. It is dressed entirely in black and red: a stovepipe hat with a red hat band and open crown (through which the Chronicler’s head protrudes), a red, forked cape which also forms a necktie, black boots with red laces and sock suspenders, and a tight, black skirt. The Chronicler smokes a cigarette and carries a two-handled stark metal briefcase and a tall staff that is thought by fans to function as an abacus.[3]

However, as Chroniclers have never appeared in any in-universe material, their eventual appearance may differ. For instance, despite Aebischer’s painting showing a one-legged creature, Oddworld Inhabitants have mentioned to fans that they have two legs.[4]

Production

An early Chronicler design was sketched by Steven Olds in 1994, three years before the release of Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee. This design features a more angular face than Aebischer’s portrayal, and a tall crest atop its head. Olds’ sketch describes the creature as a ‘more evolved relative to the Oldger’, ‘Oldger’ being an early name for what became a Glukkon.[5]

There is no indication they were intended to appear prior to Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee, in which one was planned to appear in a major role as a lawyer.[2] For this appearance, a colour painting based on Olds’ design was created by Silvio Aebsicher. However, Chroniclers were removed from the design of Munch’s Oddysee before the game’s release. Chroncilers have not subsequently appeared in the Oddworld universe.

Due to the involved and iterative design approach used by Oddworld Inhabitants, it is likely there are more designs for the Chronicler than have been made public.

Promotion

Steven Olds’ 1994 sketch was included in an early Munch’s Oddysee press kit released in November 1999, which was acquired from Oddworld Inhabitants by souljah_73 of the Exoddus Club, who uploaded it to the private group’s image gallery.[6] This image was lost in March 2002 when Yahoo! Clubs, in the process of merging with eGroups.com, became Yahoo! Groups, and the images in the Exoddus Club’s image gallery were all deleted.[7] This sketch was later published in The Art of Oddworld Inhabitants.[8]

Silvio Aebischer’s 1999 painting was published by IGN in a preview of Munch’s Oddysee in March 2000.[9]. By this time, fans were fully expecting Chroniclers to appear in Munch’s Oddysee, and were disappointed when the final game did not include the character. The Art of Oddworld Inhabitants confirmed that a Chronicler was intended to have a major role as a lawyer,[2] possibly as part of the storyline following the capture and trial of Molluck by Lady Margaret.

References

  1. souljah_73 (30 December 1999). ‘Re: That big tall thing’. The Exoddus Club. Yahoo! Groups.
  2. a b c Johnson, Cathy & Wade, Daniel (14 September 2004). ‘Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee’. The Art of Oddworld Inhabitants: The First Ten Years 1994–2004, First Hardcover Edition. Mylor: Ballistic Publishing. p. 230. ISBN 1-921002-02-6.
  3. Danny; Oddsville; De Coster, Xavier; Bunce-Edwards, Wil; Eibu (14–15 December 2001). Posts 4–11 in ‘To Max’. Oddworld Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  4. Lee, Matt (2 July 2007). Email to Zerox. Post 503 in ‘Oddworld Questions & Answers VI’. Oddworld Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  5. Johnson, Cathy & Wade, Daniel (14 September 2004). ‘Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee’. The Art of Oddworld Inhabitants: The First Ten Years 1994–2004, First Hardcover Edition. Mylor: Ballistic Publishing. p. 62. ISBN 1-921002-02-6.
  6. souljah_73 (10 November 1999). ‘Re: That Munch Pic…’. The Exoddus Club. Yahoo! Groups.
  7. Bunce-Edwards, Wil (2 March 2002). ‘Re: Looks keen.’ The Exoddus Club. Yahoo! Groups.
  8. Johnson, Cathy & Wade, Daniel (14 September 2004). ‘Inspiration’. The Art of Oddworld Inhabitants: The First Ten Years 1994–2004, First Hardcover Edition. Mylor: Ballistic Publishing. p. 27. ISBN 1-921002-02-6.
  9. Lopez, Vincent (01 March 2000). ‘[http://pc.ign.com/articles/134/134213p1.html Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee’ preview. IGN.