Maxis co‐founder working on new Oddworld game
Speaking at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, the co‐founder of video game developer Maxis, Jeff Braun, has revealed that he is involved in the production of a new Oddworld game. No details were given on any setting or story, nor did the report on Braun’s address by stuent newspaper The Cord Weekly make certain that Maxis itself was involved, but a slow production schedule is said to mean it will be years before the game ships.
Apparently, the game will feature ‘a revolutionary new 3‐D animation system allowing videogame players to experience a cinematic quality on a “1 to 1 scale” to that of computer‐generated motion pictures.’ This means that the game will be built out of the same digital backlot used to create any films relating to the game. This is the production model Lorne has been describing in interviews since it was announced he was shutting down Oddworld Inhabitants’ internal game development studio in favour of outsourcing programming and animation to other companies.
‘The rendering tools are getting so good now for 3D animation that you can literally create a linear animation and create a video game using the exact same objects. The tools are finally getting to the level where we can come out with a show and we can come up with a game,’ Braun says about this method, adding that players of the game would be ‘literally on the set.’ Braun hints that this new Oddworld project will be released episodically.
This should not be seen as news that Oddworld Inhabitants has stopped working towards releasing the Citizen Siege games and feature film. Lorne has stated that there are currently four projects he is working on.
Sources: The Cord Weekly