Friday, April 28, 2017

What makes Oddworld tick - [Polygon]



(from Polygon by Richard Moss - April 24th, 2017)

One of the minds behind the Oddworld universe shares his storytelling philosophies and inspirations as he works on the Abe's Exoddus reimagining Soulstorm.

"...Lanning believes that the best stories are rooted in allegory. "It adds depth that resonates with us [and] gives us a stronger connection to it," he says. "And I think maybe partially makes us feel not as lonely in the world." Not only that, he sees allegorical storytelling as a tool to help us to understand the world. That is Oddworld's purpose; Abe's Odyssey and its successors were made to inspire, to enlighten, "to peel off some of the layers of this world of bullshit that we're saturated in."

Now, as he revisits the original material, Lanning has plenty of frustration with the failings of politics and big-money business. "I think never has the modern world been more disillusioned with its matrix as today," he says. "They see all types of corruption and hijinks around them and the average person just feels that they can't do anything about it. Which is a bad place for us all to be. So for me I feel like I really don't have a choice [on whether to create games with deeper meaning]..."

Via Polygon