Oddworld: The Hand of Odd

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Oddworld: The Hand of Odd is an upcoming Oddworld videogame due for release in 2012.[1] It will be developed by Just Add Water, who is considering iPad, Android tablets, Facebook, PC and Mac as platforms,[2] although JAW claims they never mentioned Facebook.[3]

Production first began at Oddworld Inhabitants as early as 1998, and the game was announced at E3 1999 but was quietly shelved as focus shifted to Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee. The revival of the title was announced by Stewart Gilray at GameCityNights in April 2011, with production estimated to resume in July or August.

Production

Production on Hand of Odd began alongside Munch’s Oddysee[4]:11 in late 1998[4]:1 with the plan of using the A.L.I.V.E. 2 engine to power both games. Thus, Hand of Odd would take the world simulation of Munch’s Oddysee (including character lifecycles and social interaction) and add support for multiplayer.[5]:1, 18. A four-inch thick design document containing concept art, gameplay mechanics and sample code was put together in 1998, described by Stewart Gilray as the most intese design document he’d seen in 22 years in the videogame industry.[6]

Oddworld: The Hand of Odd was announced at E3 in May 1999,[7][8] with news quickly being posted on the Oddworld Inhabitants website[9] and Next-Generation Online.[10] Its release was expected to be six to nine months after that of Munch,[4]:11 which was then hoped to launch simultaneously with the PlayStation 2 in the US and Europe.[5]:19

By the end of 2000, when Oddworld Inhabitants were being very outspoken about their issues with the PlayStation 2, Lorne Lanning had decided that, because a solid infrastructure for online console gaming had yet to emerge, Hand of Odd would remain in pre-production while the studio focused on Munch’s Oddysee and its immediate sequel, Oddworld: Munch’s Exoddus.[11]:9

References

  1. ↑ Gilray, Stewart (28 April 2011). Interview by Glenn Percival, Joel Sherfinski and Josh Langford. ‘The End Is… Odd?’. Episode 213 of PSNation Podcast. PSNation Podcast.
  2. ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (29 April 2011). ‘JAW revives Oddworld: Hand of Odd’. Eurogamer.
  3. ↑ Just Add Water (29 April 2011). ‘@w_e_sayers no, we did not mention Facebook.’. Twitter.
  4. ↑ a b c Lanning, Lorne (1 October 1999). ‘An Interview With Oddworld Inhabitants’ by Ivan Trembow. Master Gamer.
  5. ↑ a b Lannning, Lorne (25 October 1999). ‘Twenty Q’s with Munch’s Oddysee Producer’. GameFan. Archived by the Wayback Machine (25 April 2000).
  6. ↑ Gilray, Stewart (28 April 2011). Presentation. GameCityNights Season 2, Episode 4. Nottingham, UK.
  7. ↑ Oddworld Inhabitants (13 May 1999). Pamphlet distributed at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 1999. Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, California.
  8. ↑ Electronic Entertainment Expo (12 May 1999). E3 1999 Directory. Scan by Marino (2 July 1999). Giant Bomb.
  9. ↑ Oddworld Inhabitants (May 1999?). ‘Hand of Odd’. Oddworld Inhabitants website. Archived by the Wayback Machine (5 March 2000) and Oddworld Scriptures (17 August 2008).
  10. ↑ Next-Generation Online (14 May 1999). ‘Oddworld Inhabitants Talks PlayStation 2’. Next-Generation Online. Imagine Publishing: Brisbane, California. Archived by the Wayback Machine (13 November 1999).
  11. ↑ Lanning, Lorne (11 October 2000). ‘Interview With Oddworld Inhabitants’ by Ivan Trembow. Master Gamer.
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