History Trivia / Oddworld

* TalkingToHimself: around 80% of all of the characters are voiced by Lorne Lanning, the co-founder of Oddworld Inhabitants.

* NamesTheSame: ''Soulstorm'' was previously used as the name of a ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' expansion.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: [[WhatCouldHaveBeen/Oddworld Has it's own page]]

* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** ''General:''
*** The production company originally thought they were being pitched a movie series.
*** The Oddworld series was originally going to be 5 games long, each one focusing on a new main character. This changed after Oddworld Inhabitants decided to make a second game focusing on Abe before moving on to the next character.
*** The post for DebutQueue and AlwaysChaoticEvil imply that either Abe's Exoddus and the cancelled fifth game were meant to be about Squeek and Nod, or that Sligstorm was meant to close the franchise.
*** Meeches were originally going to have been an enemy in the first game, with an early FMV of Abe getting chased by them. However, due to time constraints and low disc space, they were omitted and written as extinct.
*** Abe was being developed as a DLC character for ''VideoGame/PlayStationAllStarsBattleRoyale'' alongside [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfDragoon Dart]], but both were scrapped when the game's development was shut down, though fans (unsuccessfully) campaigned to have both be released.
** ''Abe's Oddysee:''
*** The WorkingTitle for ''Abe's Oddysee'' was Soulstorm. While said title didn't stick, it was used for the brew that the Glukkons make in ''Exoddus'', and, in an example of things coming full-circle, became the name for the latter game's remake.
*** There was going to have been an FMV explaining the origin of the Mudokon Moon. A meteor shower would have struck the moon, leaving a crater in the shape of a Mudokon pawn.
*** Abe was originally going to have been a Native Mudokon watching society grow industrial. Elum was also apparently going to play a bigger role as Abe's pet.
*** There was originally an unused bad ending involving a timer that would release a poisonous gas until you get to the Boardroom and pull the lever to stop it. This can only be found in the demo disk beta.
*** A version for the Sega Saturn was planned at one point, but never materialized.
** ''Abe's Exoddus:''
*** ''Abe's Exoddus'' was originally going to be a darker, deeper and more sinister story, but due to time constraints forcing the team to make the game in nine months, Lorne Lanning wasn't able to alter his script in any meaningful way. Part of the reason why ''Oddworld: Soulstorm'' was developed is to tell the story as Lanning originally intended.
*** Or so Lanning claims. He claims the current Abe-focused direction of the Oddworld Quintology was always his intention, even though he had been discussing ''Munch's Oddysee'' and ''Squeek's Oddysee'' before ''Abe's Oddysee'' was even released.
** ''Munch's Oddysee:''
*** [[ExecutiveMeddling Microsoft originally wanted Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee to be named "Abe and Munch's Fun Adventures" so the game might appeal to a family friendly audience.]] This obviously was shot down.
*** Munch's Oddysee was going to be a MUCH bigger game, but limited time and not advanced enough technology prevented it from being so. This isn't even getting into the games put on hold while ''Soulstorm'' is in development, such as [=SligStorm=] and Hand of Odd.
*** In early concept art Munch was going to be in a wheel chare throughout the whole game due to getting his foot caught in a bear trap in the game's intro but the idea was scrapped when the development team wanted him to have the ability to swim to set him apart from Abe. The wheel chare was used in the game as a power-up for Munch instead.
*** Alf's Rehab and Tea from ''Abe's Exoddus'' was originally supposed to make an appearance, but it was eventually cut.
*** There were three unused vending machines in ''Munch's Oddysee:'' Klimb (which did appear in a demo, giving the player the ability to walk up walls), Super Zap (which, as the name suggested, would have given Munch a stronger Zap), and Hurl (which would have presumably would have given the player a stronger throw).
*** One early idea for Munch was to have him transform into a large Hulk-like creature every time Abe slapped him.
*** ''Munch's Oddysee'' contains an AbortedArc that would have been significant to the overall story of Oddworld. Abe would embarked on a quest to rescue Queen Sam, his mother and the Queen of the Mudokon species, who would have been kept at Vyykers Labs. There was supposed to be a cutscene of Munch meeting Queen Sam prior to his escape from Vykkers Labs. There would have also been a subplot of Molluck being held on trial by the Glukkon Queen, Lady Margaret, (who would have presumably served as the BigBad and GreaterScopeVillain of ''Munch's Oddysee'').
*** Instead, the focus is on Abe rescuing Mudokon eggs laid by Queen Sam. Queen Sam appears as a cartoon caricature on the crates that the eggs are contained in.
*** Lady Margaret is mentioned in the newspaper cutscenes of ''Munch's Oddysee'', where they describe a MeaningfulBackgroundEvent in which she has acquired lung cancer due to constant smoking, requiring Munch's lungs for survival. She is mentioned in the bad ending, where she is heard speaking on the phone with the Vykkers Humprey and Irwin, who have captured Munch and are preparing to extract his lungs from his body. If you think that's bad, horrifying early concept art for the bad ending reveals that Munch would have literally been surgically attached lung-to-lung with Lady Margaret if she had appeared in the game. A even [[FateWorseThanDeath worse ending them the final games bad ending]].
*** Speaking of the bad ending the original bad ending would have been much worse by having the Glukkons destroy the Gabbit and Mudokon moons completely wiping out the Gabbit's legacy and to an extent the Mudokons legacy as well.

** The publishers wanted to give abe a gun but Lorne Lanning was arguing with the developers to avoid that from happening until he came up with a workaround by letting abe use sligs as guns. This is one of the reasons why Abe has a possession ability.

*** There was originally an unused bad ending involving a timer that would release a poisonest gas until you get to the Boardroom and pull the lever to stop it. This can only be found in the demo disk beta.

* NamesTheSame: ''Soulstorm'' was previously used as the name of a ''DawnOfWar'' expansion.

*** Also the original bad ending would have been much worse by also having the Glukkons destroy the Gabbit and Mudokon moons completely wiping out the Gabbit's legacy and to an extent the Mudokons legacy as well.

*** Lady Margaret is mentioned in the newspaper cutscenes of ''Munch's Oddysee'', where they describe a MeaningfulBackgroundEvent in which she has acquired lung cancer due to constant smoking, requiring Munch's lungs for survival. She is mentioned in the bad ending, where she is heard speaking on the phone with the Vykkers Humprey and Irwin, who have captured Munch and are preparing to extract his lungs from his body. If you think that's bad, horrifying early concept art for the bad ending reveals that Munch would have literally been surgically attached lung-to-lung with Lady Margaret if she had appeared in the game.

*** In early concept art Munch was going to be in a wheel chare throughout the whole game due to getting his foot caught in a bear trap at the beginning of the game but the idea was scrapped when the development team wanted him to have the ability to swim to set him apart from Abe. The wheel chare was used in the game as a power-up for Munch instead.

*** In early concept art Munch was going to be in a wheel chare throughout the whole game due to getting his foot caught in a bear trap at the beginning of the game but the idea was scrapped when the development team wanted him to have the ability to swim to set him apart from Abe. The wheel chare was \used in the game as a power-up instead.

*** There was originally an unused bad ending involving a timer that would release a poisonest gas until you get to the Boardroom and pull the lever. This can only be found in the demo disk beta.

*** ''SligStorm''. It would have followed the story of an albino Slig who was born in a complex it must escape. On 9 May 2011, an Oddworld Inhabitants representative released a list of FAQ answers in relation to future games, confirming Sligstorm will be worked on.

* DevelopmentHell: The planned remake for ''Abe's Exoddus'', ''Soulstorm'', was announced close to the release of ''New 'n' Tasty''. That was back in 2014. However, when the latter ended up being released to incredibly mixed reception, talk of ''Soulstorm'' practically vanished, presumably so that Just Add Water could address the myriad complaints fans had with ''New 'n' Tasty'', and has since had its release date pushed back multiple times. Despite scant updates on its progress and the UsefulNotes/Covid19Pandemic complicating things further, it was released in Spring 2021 as announced.

*** Abe was being developed as a DLC character for ''VideoGame/PlayStationAllStarsBattleRoyale'' alongside [[VideoGame/The LegendOfDragoon Dart]], but both were scrapped when the game's development was shut down, though fans (unsuccessfully) campaigned to have both be released.

*** Or so Lanning claims. He claims the Oddworld Quintology was always intended to be focused on Abe, even though he had been discussing ''Munch's Oddysee' and ''Squeek's Oddysee'' before ''Abe's Oddysee'' was even released.

*** Or so Lanning claims. He claims the Oddworld Quintology was always intended to be focused on Abe, even though he had been discussing ''Munch's Oddysee' and ''Squeek's Oddysee'' before ''Abe's Oddysee'' was even released.

*** Or so Lanning claims. He claims the Oddworld Quintology was always intended to be focused on Abe, even though he had been discussing ''Munch's Oddysee' and ''Squeek's Oddysee'' before ''Abe's Oddysee'' was even released.

*** Or so Lanning claims. He claims the Oddworld Quintology was always intended to be focused on Abe, even though he had been discussing ''Munch's Oddysee' and ''Squeek's Oddysee' before ''Abe's Oddysee'' was even released.

*** Or so Lanning claims. He claims the Oddworld Quintology was always intended to be focused on Abe, even though he had been discussing ''Munch's Oddysee' and ''Squeek's Oddysee' before ''Abe's Oddysee'' was even released.

*** Instead, the focus is on Abe rescuing Mudokon eggs laid by Queen Sam. Queen Sam appears as a cartoon caricature on the crates that the eggs are contained in.
*** Lady Margaret is mentioned in the newspaper cutscenes of ''Munch's Oddysee'', where they describe a MeaningfulBackgroundEvent in which she has acquired lung cancer due to constant smoking, requiring Munch's lungs for survival. She is mentioned in the bad ending, where she is heard speaking on the phone with the Vykkers Humprey and Irwin, who have captured Munch and are preparing to extract his lungs from his body. If you think that's bad, in one horrifying early concept art for the bad ending, Munch would have literally been surgically attached lung-to-lung with Lady Margaret.

*** Or so Lanning claims. He claims the Oddworld Quintology was always intended to be focused on Abe, even though he had been discussing ''Munch's Oddysee' and ''Squeek's Oddysee' before ''Abe's Oddysee'' was even released.

*** Instead, the focus is on Abe rescuing Mudokon eggs laid by Queen Sam. Queen Sam appears as a cartoon caricature on the crates that the eggs are contained in.
*** Lady Margaret is mentioned in the newspaper cutscenes of ''Munch's Oddysee'', where they describe a MeaningfulBackgroundEvent in which she has acquired lung cancer due to o constant smoking, requiring Munch's lungs. She is mentioned in the bad ending, where she is heard speaking on the phone with the Vykkers Humprey and Irwin, who have captured Munch and are preparing to extract his lungs from his body. If you think that's bad, in one horrifying early concept art for the bad ending, Munch would have literally been surgically attached lung-to-lung with Lady Margaret.

*** [[ExecutiveMeddling Microsoft originally wanted Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee to be named "Abe and Munch's Fun Adventures" to appeal to a family friendly audience.]] This obviously was shot down.

*** As mentioned in AbortedArc, ''Munch's Oddysee'' would have had Abe reuniting with his mother, Queen Sam, who would have been kept at Vyykers Labs. There would have also been a subplot of Molluck being held on trial for letting Rupture Farms fall.

* DevelopmentHell: The planned remake for ''Abe's Exoddus'', ''Soulstorm'', was announced close to the release of ''New 'n' Tasty''. That was back in 2014. However, when the latter ended up being released to incredibly mixed reception, talk of ''Soulstorm'' practically vanished, presumably so that Just Add Water could address the myriad complaints fans had with ''New 'n' Tasty'', and has since had its release date pushed back multiple times. As of this writing, it's scheduled for release in Spring 2021; however, with news of progress being scant at best and the UsefulNotes/Covid19Pandemic complicating things further, most fans are fully expecting yet another delay.