Another World (video game)

Another World (published in the USA as Out of this World) is an action-adventure video game, developed by Eric Chahi and released in 1991. Though not as famous as some other games, it was groundbreaking, achieving cult status, and introducing a new, somewhat cinematic style and feeling for computer games. The game was originally developed on an Amiga 500 for the Amiga, Atari ST and DOS platforms and later ported to many other systems, such as the Mega-CD, 3DO and Windows.

Storyline

The protagonist of the game is Lester Knight Chaykin; a young, brilliant, athletic, red haired physicist. Chaykin is transported to a barren alien planet after lightning strikes his particle accelerator during an experiment in his high-tech underground laboratory.

After evading some dangerous encounters, Lester is enslaved by a race of humanoid extraterrestrials and taken to a subterranean mine/prison system.

Lester, along with a captive alien, subsequently escape, and must continue to evade capture whilst travelling through dangerous environments, battling wild extraterrestrial creatures and solving numerous puzzles to survive natural hazards.

The game's ending is ambiguous. Lester is severely wounded by an alien guard but manages to save his alien friend before expiring. His friend picks up Lester and the two escape on a giant pterodactyl-type creature, flying off to the horizon. According to Chahi, this ending was the best he could give since there is no way for Lester to return to Earth.fact

The game's graphics, sound, use of cutscenes and in-game events were unprecedented for their time. The story of the game unfolds completely without dialog or text, but through audiovisual cues. The characters communicate through their facial features, gestures and actions.

Technical aspects

The game took two years to develop (hence the tagline "It took six days to create the Earth. Another World took two years") beginning in 1989 and completing it in 1991. Unusually, the game was developed almost entirely by Eric Chahi. Chahi designed, programmed, and did the artwork for the entire game (sound effects were done by Jean-Francois Freitas).

According to Chahihttp://www.anotherworld.fr/anotherworld_uk/page_realisation.htm, he used an Amiga 500 with 1 megabyte of RAM and a 20 megabyte hard disk, a videocamera, a genlock and a video tape recorder to create animations with rotoscoping. A tape recorder was used to record sound effects. The software used was Deluxe Paint, a paint program for the Amiga platform, Devpac Assembler to program the game engine and trace polygons and finally GFA Basic to create the game itself by connecting the many scenes and presenting them in a logical sequence.

For the motion capture he needed to make his protagonist's movements seem more natural and fluid, Eric Chahi used his little brother as a model by having him to run and jump about in their garden. He recorded it and used the energetic movements for rotoscoping.

The game is the first to use 2D polygons for all of its graphics, creating a distinctive visual style. It also took advantage of the computer hardware at that time (notably 286s) to display full-screen animation, to add a 'cinematic' appearance to the game.

The polygon engine was realized on an Amiga during the porting of Dragon's Lair to that platform, and perfected on an Atari ST to verify it could be implemented universally (initially, just on the Motorola 68000 CPU family) and still maintain its fluidity and realism. Chahi ported the entire engine in just one week of coding, and was satisfied only when the computer was able to show 12 polygons at almost 50 frames per second. fact

Theme

The rich atmosphere of Another World stems largely from its extensive use of symbolism, a side of the game that probably couldn't have been so well executed if it hadn't been for its special production circumstances: by personally producing both story, graphics, animation, package illustrations and of course program code, Chahi enjoyed total creative control over the resulting game, like any author of a true work of art. Gaining this freedom, was in fact a main motivation for Chahi starting his work on Another Worldhttp://www.anotherworld.fr/anotherworld_uk/page_genese.htm.

In the introducing cutscene of the game, the protagonist is shown in a dark, futuristic setting. The buildings around him seem abandoned and in decay. Lester is standing next to his Ferrari in a space notably void of other people. In fact, drafts that Chahi has published after the game was released, show a guard post at the entry to this area, which didn't make it into the final graphicshttp://www.anotherworld.fr/anotherworld_uk/page_illustration.htm. We can interpret this setting as a society where social institutions (symbolized by the buildings) are deteriorating and where capitalism (symbolized by the Ferrari) and individualism (symbolized by Lester's loneliness and the lack of the guard, who represented security provided by others) prevail. The dark and blue tones of the graphics hint looming danger.

Lester descends into his lab by elevator. The elevator door opens, showing Lester standing in the electronically lit elevator in the dark basement; Lester resembles a messianic figure. Lester's lab is filled with advanced computer equipment linked to a particle accelerator. The computer greets Lester as he enters, indicating a level of intelligence beyond present day computers. The computer screen also shows a model of Lester's DNA. Lester is meddling not only with the fabric of the human body (the DNA model) and mind (the intelligent computer), but also with the universe itself (the particle accelerator); Lester is aspiring to become God, as reflected in the synthesized march rhytms (symbolizing progress) and choir voices (symbolizing spirituality) of the scene's musical score. Lester opens a soda prior to executing his particle experiment, apparently relaxed and unaware of the danger. Outside the lab, however, the skies begin rumbling with thunder (symbolizing divine anger) and lightning strikes, causing the particle accelerator to malfunction and teleport Lester into an alien world.

The primitive alien world that Lester is cast into stands in stark contrast to the advanced society he was ripped out of. In the first scenes of the game, Lester finds himself in a desolate, far-stretching scenery filled with formations of rock (symbolizing a return to prehistoric existence), in contrast to the technologically sophisticated setting he left behind. The ground is shaking, the wildlife is hostile and a savage creature is seen stalking Lester from a distance. The environment is unstable and filled with danger, in contrast to the security of the hermetically sealed, locked-off lab with the greeting computer in the opening scene (the lab had the qualities of a home). In divine punishment, Lester has been alienated to the nature that he controlled in the opening scene. The lack of written text or spoken dialogue in the alien world, underlines this point.

Ingeniously, Chahi has left out traditional metagame interface elements like score counters and energy gauges, which could have guided the player. The ammunition level of Lester's laser gun is shown by the intensity of a small blinking indicator on it, but it is not explained anywhere; it's up to the player to discover its significance. Similarly, in several situations in the game, the brief description of the keyboard interface in the game's manual offers no obvious way out. The player must hit the buttons that intuitively "makes sense" to recover, much like Lester must trust his instincts to survive. The player is as alienated to the game as Lester is to his new surroundings, creating an unusually strong identification between player and protagonist.

Just as Lester is attacked by the stalking beast (symbolizing savage nature), he is saved by shots from two natives of the alien world (symbolizing civilization) but subsequently seized and brought into imprisonment. Contrary to his home world, the alien society is collectivist (the inspiration is clearly Ancient Rome). In the prison, alien slaves are seen mining in the background while others are locked in small, dark cells alongs its long corridors (symbolizing deprivation of personal freedom on account of the collectivist regime). From a tower in the prison, Lester gazes through a barred window upon the enormous alien city. The magnificence of the individual, shown in Lester's messianic appearance in the opening scene, has been inverted and shifted to the community. The bars blocking Lester's view symbolize the imprisonment of the individual by the community.

Lester manage to make friends with an alien inmate and escape captivity together with him. On the run from the authorities, the two work together to ascend through the city. Their movement begins at the lowest social level, in the prison with slaves and prisoners, past the crowds of proletarians cheering at the arena, crashing through the windows to a room of bathing women of the upper class and culminating in the chambers of the emperor. Lester must learn friendship to escape the authorities and free the alien society.

After killing the emperor, Lester apparently dies physically from his wounds but his name lives on as the representative of liberation in the alien society; this is illustrated by how his alien friend (symbolizing the enslaved alien society) picks up Lester's body and mounts a big bird (itself a symbol of freedom) which fly them into the heavens (now bright and calm, symbolizing divine order); on the musical side the progressive, but also funeral, march rhythms have gone silent while the spiritual choir voices remain. The dualism between Lester's death and afterlife is mirrored in how the player is unable to establish whether Lester is merely rendered unconscious or actually dies.

Curiously, Another World was released the same year as the Soviet Union collapsed, ending many decades of Cold War between capitalist and individualist West and the communist and collectivist East. Much of the advanced technology depicted in Lester's lab in the opening scene of the game, is a direct result of the Cold War.

Releases

Originally released for the Amiga in 1991. This is the only version in which Lester yells as he swings on the vine in the first area.
Released in 1991 for DOS. This version is almost identical to the Amiga original. The Game Boy Advance and 32 bit Windows ports are based on this version.
Released on the Super Nintendo in 1992. This version includes incidental music not featured in other versions.
Released in 1994 for the Sega Mega-CD with its sequel Heart of the Alien. This version features an enhanced digital soundtrack (composed by Jean-Francois Freitas), slightly improved graphics and new voices for the aliens.
In 1995, a 16 bit Windows port was released. This version includes MIDI reditions of the intro and ending themes.
On April 14th 2006, a 32 bit Windows remake of Another World, with high-resolution support, redrawn background graphics and anti-aliased sprites, was released as a tribute to the original game on the Another World website. The port is shareware; to unlock the full version, a special key must be bought from here for €7 (approximately £5 sterling).
Amiga Forever emulation pack, in its 2006 Plus Edition and Premium Edition contains a special build of Another World by Eric Chahi just for Amiga Forever.

Sequels

It is a common misconception that Another World spawned a number of sequels. Eric Chahi has previously stated that he wishes the game to have no sequel as he wants the ending to the original to remain ambiguous so that fans could make their own conclusion to the franchise.

Another World spawned a non-canon sequel in 1994, entitled Heart of the Alien, which was only released for the Sega Mega-CD. The game was very similar in visual style, but much less successful than Another World. The player takes control of the alien who befriends the protagonist in the original game and the backstory to the game is more elaborated on. It is commonly mistaken for a midquel, probably because of the presence of (monochromatic) flashbacks in the game's introduction, which show the events of the first game from the alien's point of view.

Heart of the Alien is not considered canon. Eric Chahi had nothing to do with the development of this game, beyond suggesting Lester's death, and he has since regretted that decision stating that he did not like it because it made a definite conclusion to the story, and Chahi had deliberately left the original open-ended. See Chahi's interview here

It is worth noting that the programmers of Heart of the Alien did not use the revolutionary 2D polygon style pioneered by Chahi, instead opting to use standard sprites, which were quicker and easier to implement. The resulting reduction in the number of 'tween' frames made the game's visuals less unique, and not as stunning as the original.

The 1992 game Flashback, or the 1995 game Fade to Black (both also from Delphine), were often mistaken for sequels because of similar gameplay and graphics. However these games have nothing to do with Another World, except said similarity in graphics or gameplay, and had completely different stories. Both games were also made without the involvement of Chahi.

Eric Chahi returned to the concept after leaving Delphine. In 1998 he and his new company Amazing Studio made Heart of Darkness, which is in many ways very similar in spirit to Another World, although it too has a different storyline.

Eric Chahi disappeared from the game industry for some years, but may have recently regained interest in making games. He attended the Game Developer's Conference in 2005 (see here), perhaps indicative of his renewed interest. Despite criticizing the games industry for no longer supporting much creativity, Eric Chahi says he is "still very excited" to start working on an entirely new game.

Trivia

The game is rated as the #1 DOS game of all time on MobyGames.

The game was released in the United States under the title Out of this World to avoid confusion with the popular, and totally unrelated, soap opera called Another World. Another World, however, is the game's original title. Ironically, a science fiction sitcom called Out of This World aired at the same time of the game's US release.

The game was conceived, written, programmed, drawn, and rendered by one individual - Eric Chahi. Chahi was meticulous with detail, and even drew the artwork on the game's box.

The game is often credited as having sparked off the survival horror genre in video games, seeing as Lester has to face off inhuman opponents and attempt not only to escape, but just to survive.

There is a cutscene in the second area which many people miss, because it is not required to see it to finish the game: In the prison, when you and your alien companion reach the elevator, take the elevator up instead of down. You'll arrive at a room; look out the window by walking to the right.

The Parisian company which produced and distributed Another World, Delphine Software has since gone into receivership. Another World remains their most recognised game.

The game was released as freeware for play on the Game Boy Advance on April 28, 2005 via a game engine recreation by FoxySofts.

It has also been released as freeware for play on the GP32 on May 31, 2005 and the Dreamcast on December 31, 2005, via a game engine recreation by Gregory Montoir (cyx) entitled raw (Rewritten engine for Another World)

The (1997) Amiga game OnEscapee, while not directly connected to either Another World or Flashback, features practically identical gameplay and graphics but with an independent story. OnEscapee won "Game of the year 1997 - Amiga Flame", "Game of the year 1997 - Amiga Max" and "1997 CU Superstar - CU Amiga".

There is an infamous internet rumour regarding gaining a grenade launcher. The player is to do an odd set of button combinations and presumedly beat the game in one sitting.

Notes

External links

Official Another World homepage, by the author

Another World Collectors Edition - 2006 remake by original creator Eric Chahi
Eric Chahi at MobyGames
Another World GBA at FoxySofts
raw (Rewritten engine for Another World)
Another World Visual Walkthrough
(Out of this World)

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