A Brief History
Oddworld is undoubtedly a big planet. So far, the games of Oddworld have only taken place on one continent: Mudos. This continent contains several sentient species. Over time, some areas of Mudos have become more densely populated. Conflicts started over property, hunting grounds, and other resources. To survive, many Mudos species became more militaristic. These were the Glukkons, Vykkers, Chroniclers, Interns and Sligs (and some other species that haven't been introduced yet).
The aggressive species
The Glukkons and Sligs came from the swamps. The Glukkons descended from octopus-like creatures while Sligs descended from a slug-like species. The Vykkers come from species that once lived in trees; they still have a tendency to try to live in the air. TheInterns are a subservient race to the Vykkers. They are a bit dimwitted but make good assistants.
Mudos tips over
In the more developed areas, the aggressive cultures came to a stalemate with other militaristic neighbors. As areas became still even more crowded, the only option was to explore. The aggressive philosophy was "survival of the fittest" while the peaceful one was "survival of the most cooperative." Predictably, the aggressive cultures tromped all over the more peaceful cultures, like the Mudokons. You can see which philosophy won. The balance was tipped, badly.
Consequences and fallout
The death of the peaceful cultures of Mudos has had many side effects. As they've become more dependant on utility services, destruction has been widespread. There has been a loss of spoken history through tribal storytellers. We've seen alienation and the enslavement of native cultures, deforestation, overpopulation, pollution, mass extinction, and genocide. The aggressive species have created ill-conceived religions that righteously empowered the most aggressive. And there has been an overall drive to survive and justify itself no matter what the cost to others, even at the expense of their own future generations.
The peaceful species
Meanwhile, those species that lived in more docile locations and evolved with less competition for food, shelter, etc., had never developed militaristic thinking. They are having a very hard time understanding aggression or wholesale development in the first place. This hasn't been particularly great for them—they proved to be a bit behind the times when it came to protecting themselves. As we've seen throughout the Oddworld games, the business interests of the aggressive species has consumed the lands and lifestyles of the less-savvy native cultures.
Fighting back
Those peaceful species that tried to fight the encroaching powers were inevitably destroyed. Their cultures were wiped out and their history inaccurately written by their conquerors. (Usually it was a false history in which they were portrayed as superstitious simpletons and "savages"). Those who didn't fight were recruited into the work forces of industry and quickly converted from self-sustaining, eco-compatible cultures into economically based consumers.
Country and city Mudokons
However, there are areas where the struggle continues between the aggressive and peaceful species. This is where you come in: you play characters from the peaceful societies that are struggling to keep their way of life and their people alive. You've got some daunting opponents to deal with, so cooperation is a good tactic to stick by.
Within the lesser developed geographic areas (where the games have been thus far), the Mudokons have for the most part been fully assimilated into the industrial work force. They're used as cheap labor. The Mudokons in the more heavily populated areas (we haven't seen them in the games yet) are full blown consumers that live and share a variety of careers and modernized lifestyles.
We've followed Abe through his Oddysee and Exoddus in escaping Rupture Farms and rescuing his people. Now Abe has returned to help Munch, whose species has been all but destroyed by the greedy, aggressive species. You play both Abe and Munch (cooperation at its best) as they work their way through Glukkon, Slig, and Vykker strongholds to find the last can of Gabbiar and restore Munch's species. After that… well, we shall soon see!
Mudokon resistance
The Mudokon resistance movement we've seen so far was formed by escaped laborers, one of whom was a very important medicine man to the Mudokons. As the Mudokons have been assimilated into the industrial culture they are now more educated in the ways of their oppressors and electronic communications. They have witnessed first-hand how the big media arms of the rich species were drastically misinforming the rest of the civilization. So they have formed "The Free Mud Party" in efforts to free their people, and others, from oppression and ignorance. It will be exciting to see how the resistance progresses as time goes on, don't you think?
Power-ups to the people!
