Out of This World

1001 Video Games

Another World appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

3DO version

The 3DO version of Out of This World is quite different from the other versions in terms of graphics and sound. The polygon backgrounds have been replaced by hand-drawn versions, the quality of which varies from stunning to amateurish. Music is played quite consistently throughout the game. It somewhat resembles a film score, and is similar to the music in the Sega CD sequel Heart of the Alien. The sound effects seem to be the same, however. Oddly enough, after the game is completed and the credits roll, the intro sequence from Heart of the Alien is played, with the same hand-drawn art style as the rest of the game. The gameplay has not changed at all. There is also a hidden mini-game by entering the password BRGR.

Advertisement

Due to its visuals, the game featured in a UK TV advert for the Amiga. The advert also featured a UK hit song called Sunshine on a Rainy Day by Zoe.

Apple IIgs release

Out of this World was one of the last commercially released games for the Apple IIgs. The port was written by Bill Heineman, who also was responsible for the SNES version (both the IIgs and the SNES share the same main processor). If the screen size was reduced, the game ran extremely smoothly on a stock unaccelerated IIgs.

Cutscenes

Out of this World was the first game to have cinematic cutscenes seen in many games today.

Development

When he needed a model for the rotoscoping in this game, Eric Chahi got his brother to run around in the back garden of their house!

DOS version

Released first on the Amiga and Atari ST, many players complained that Out Of This World was too easy. Because of this, the PC version includes two extra levels and has slightly increased difficulty in other parts of the game.

Dreamcast release

In Dec 2005 Out of this World was ported to the Dreamcast,with permission from Eric Chahi. Eric Chahi also allowed the Dreamcast port to include the datafiles. You can download the port here.

Ending

Some original storyboards, drawn up during the game's initial development, reveal an unmade ending in which Lester Chaykin survives and becomes a leader of the alien world. The storyboards can be viewed on the game's official site (http://www.anotherworld.fr/anotherworld_uk)

(Click on Another World from the side menu, then select Illustration from the top.There is a sketch with minimal detail at the bottom of the page that could represent the unmade cutscene.It seems to be Lester sitting at a throne, wearing a robe(?) and holding a sword.)

Flashback

Flashback is technically a sequel to Out Of This World. But since the storyline is completely different, it is not proper to call it a sequel.

Game Boy Advance release

In 2005, a free Game Boy Advance port of Out of this World was released by FoxySofts in the form of a downloadable rom, with the blessing of the game's original creator Eric Chahi. The port is a near flawless recreation of the original. It can be downloaded from: http://www.foxysofts.com/index.php?l=content/gba/anworld.inc

Graphics

It is important to note that Out Of This World is a technical achievement. All graphics in the game are filled vector images (2D polygons). This has been used before to save disk space with early adventure games (like King's Quest), but never before in an action game. Also, all music and sound effects are mixed in realtime to provide multichannel music and sound on modest sound hardware. All this on a 286!

ICO

In an issue of Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, Japanese game designer Fumito Ueda cited this as an influence for ICO.

Intro erorrs

During the intro, watch Lester's hand as he's using the keypad. It moves forward too much, thus revealing...there is no arm attached to it! Also, at the very beginning of the intro, Lester goes up an elevator. Later on, a lightning hits a metal surface on the ground floor, but Lester is sitting right behind it. How is that possible?

Jaguar version

The Jaguar port contains an optional enhanced graphics mode (referred to as 15th anniversary mode), but everything else is identical to the original version, unlike the changes for the 15th anniversary version of the game,

References to the game

This game has a reference in Eiffel 65's song, My Console.

Release history

Out of This World was rereleased in 1995 on CD with a Windows binary in addition to the original DOS binary.

SNES version

The SNES version features a theme song -- the first time you hear it is in the very beginning of the game, when the black beast starts chasing you. There was also some tinkering with the background images of the last level (involving naked women viewed from the back) and all blood was removed.

Windows release

On April 14th, 2006 Out of this World has been re-released by it's developer Eric Chahi (who got back the rights to the game) in a completely remastered edition for Windows XP which supports resolutions of up to 1280x800. You can purchase it online and read about the making of the game (both the original version and the remake) at www.anotherworld.fr

Awards

• Amiga Joker
  • Issue 02/1993 – #2 Best Genre Mix of 1992 (Readers' Vote)
• FLUX
  • Issue #4 - #73 in the "Top 100 Video Games of All-Time" list
• Electronic Gaming Monthly
  • February 1993 (issue #43) - Game of the Month (Genesis version)
  • 1993 Buyer's Guide - Most Innovative Game of the Year
• ST Format
  • January 1993 (issue #42) - #32 in '50 finest Atari ST games of all time' list

Information also contributed by Big John WV, Brian Hirt, Caim Douglas, Darksaviour69, Gil Megidish, leon101, hydra9, Jiguryo, Mark Ennis, Martin Smith, Matt Dabrowski, Zack Green and Zovni