History WhatCouldHaveBeen / Oddworld

[[caption-width-right:350:A fan mock-up for a scrapped Oddworld game]]

* 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, [[https://i.redd.it/r5djcxl9zyy61.jpg 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, an even [[FateWorseThanDeath worse ending them the final games bad ending]].

!!Munch's Oddysee

!!Oddworld Stranger's Wrath

[[caption-width-right:350:An early design of Abe.]]

** Ironically there were actual plans for an Oddworld movie from the late 90's [[https://oddwords.hu/movie/index.html as seen here]].

* 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.

[[caption-width-right:350:Early designs of both the Sligs and Glukkons.]]

* 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.

[[caption-width-right:350:This is an early concept sketch for a scrapped Mudokon zombie.]]
* ''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.
* There were other kinds of mudokons that you would have saved such as Zombie mudokons, Half dead mudokons that you would have sent to their resting place to save and [[https://www.reddit.com/r/oddworld/comments/t902z6/super_slaves_are_monster_muds_pumped_with_vykkers/ Super Slave mudokons]], Super Buff mudokons with knives that would have killed abe on sight but how you save them was unknown. These were scrapped to make the game easier, [[NintendoHard Or at least as easier then the game could bee]].
* 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.

[[caption-width-right:350:An early design of Munch.]]

* 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.

* 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, [[https://i.redd.it/r5djcxl9zyy61.jpg 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.

[[caption-width-right:350:Early designs of Stranger.]]

* There were some unused creatures for ammo. There was going to be a porcupine, which may have been a prototype for the upgraded Thud Slugs. There was also going to be a seed that grew into a plant monster that ensnares Outlaws. The Zapflies we're originally going to have been caterpillars.
* There were plans for a sequel and spiritual sequels with similar gameplay to this game but scrapped when Oddworld Inhabitants was disbanded at the time.

[[caption-width-right:350:This is a fan mock-up for a scrapped Oddworld game.]]
* ''Oddworld: The Hand of Odd'': was planned to be a Real-Time Strategy online game planned to be released after Munch's Oddysee.
* ''Slig Storm'': a game centering around an albino slig who was born in a complex it must escape to avoid infanticide.
* ''The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot'': A planned third-person shooter with similar gameplay to Strangers Wrath with an even darker plot compared to the other previous games involving a Klot being imprisoned by catlike creatures that build factories to make and sell drugs and was forced Klot to fight in gladiator battles for the entertainment of others when he gets rabies from one of the creatures he was battling. Originally intended to be the next game following Stranger's Wrath.
* ''Oddworld: Squeek's Oddysee'' Expected third game in the original pentalogy following the first two entries Abe's Oddysee and Munch's Oddysee.

* ''Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath 2'': A possible sequel to Oddworld Strangers Wrath.

* There were other kinds of mudokons that you would have saved such as Zombie mudokons, Half dead mudokons that you would have sent to their resting place to save and [[https://www.reddit.com/r/oddworld/comments/t902z6/super_slaves_are_monster_muds_pumped_with_vykkers/ Super Slave mudokons]], Super Buff mudokons with knives that would have killed abe on sight but how you save them was unknown. These were scrapped to make the game easier, [[NintendoHard Or as easier the game could bee]].

* There were other kinds of mudokons that you would have saved such as Zombie mudokons that you would have sent to their resting place to save and Super Slave mudokons that would have killed abe on sight but how you save them was unknown. These were scrapped to make the game easier, [[NintendoHard Or as easier the game could bee]].

* 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]].

[[caption-width-right:350:A early design of Abe.]]

* ''Stranger Arena'': A competitive multi-player game using gameplay mechanics from Stranger's Wrath.

[[caption-width-right:350:This is an early design of Abe.]]

* There were plans for a sequel and spiritual sequels with similar gameplay to this game but scrapped when Oddworld Inhabatince was disbanded at the time.

* ''The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot'': A planned third-person shooter with similar to Strangers Wrath with an even darker plot compared to the other previous games, Originally intended to be the next game following Stranger's Wrath.

[[caption-width-right:350:This is an early designe of Abe.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Early designs of both the Sligs and Gluckens.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:This is an early concept sketch for a scrapped Mudokons zombie.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:An early designe of Munch.]]

!!Oddworld Strangers Wrath

[[caption-width-right:350:Early designes of Strangers.]]

* ''Oddworld: The Hand of Odd'' was planned to be an Real-Time Strategy online game
* ''Slig Storm'' centering around an albino slig austrosized for odd coloring

!Abe's Oddysee

!Abe's Exoddus

!Munch's Oddysee

!Oddworld Strangers Wrath

!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.

!!Oddworld Strangers Wrath

!!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 Exoddus:''