History VideoGame / AnotherWorld

* FreakLabAccident
* FriendshipMoment

* LeapOfFaith

* RayGun

* {{Rotoscoping}}
* SceneryPorn

* WordOfGod: Eric Chahi did not have anything to do with the sequel Heart of the Alien other than allowing it to be made. In the guide book for the first game, Chahi has his own ideas of what happened to Lester and Buddy after the game's end that contradict the sequel. [[spoiler:Namely, Lester does not die, but instead eventually becomes the leader of Buddy's people and spends the rest of his life in the other dimension.]]

* YouAllMeetInACell

A version of the game optimized for both [[UsefulNotes/IOSGames iPhone and iPad]] is available [[https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/another-world-20th-anniversary/id460076328?mt=8 here,]] along with a version for the [[AndroidGames Android OS]] [[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dotemu.anotherworld&hl=en obtainable here.]]

''Another World'' is a CinematicPlatformGame developed by Eric Chahi for Creator/{{Delphine Software|International}}. The title of the game was changed to ''Out of This World'' when it was released in America by [[Creator/InterplayEntertainment Interplay Productions,]] to avoid confusion with the popular Creator/{{NBC}} SoapOpera, ''Series/AnotherWorld.'' [[note]] Coincidentally, a syndicated FantasticComedy titled ''Series/OutOfThisWorld'' started airing the same time the game was released. [[/note]] In UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}, the game is known as ''Outer World.''

* MarketBasedTitle: Retitled ''Out of This World'' in North America to avoid confusion with the unrelated soap opera ''Series/AnotherWorld.'' Ironically, there was a sitcom called ''Series/OutOfThisWorld'' that premiered around the same time as the game. So when released in UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}, it is simply called ''Outer World.''

** To put in perspective: The 20th Anniversary versions has an achievement for dying 100 times. Even on the easiest difficulty level, most players can expect to see it ''long'' before beating the game. However, these versions have checkpoints show up much more commonly, plus (like the original) you have unlimited lives. You die a ''lot,'' but rarely lose much progress when you do. And if you DO get to a point of no return (which is rare), the game will make sure that you ''won't'' get a check point then.

A version of the game optimized for both [[IOSGames iPhone and iPad]] is available [[https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/another-world-20th-anniversary/id460076328?mt=8 here,]] along with a version for the [[AndroidGames Android OS]] [[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dotemu.anotherworld&hl=en obtainable here.]]

* OpeningScroll: The Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo and 3DO versions had this. Strangely, it is from a diary entry from Lester himself, during the game proper. It also provides hints for the gameplay mechanics.

* SpiritualSuccessor: ''VideoGame/{{Flashback}},'' which shares the graphics that ''Another World'' has, though it has nothing to do with ''Eric Chahi.''

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/AnotherWorld_960.jpg]]

''Another World'' is a CinematicPlatformGame developed by ''Eric Chahi'' for Creator/{{Delphine Software|International}}. The title of the game was changed to ''Out of This World'' when it was released in America by [[Creator/InterplayEntertainment Interplay Productions,]] to avoid confusion with the popular Creator/{{NBC}} SoapOpera, ''Series/AnotherWorld.'' [[note]] Coincidentally, a syndicated FantasticComedy titled ''Series/OutOfThisWorld'' started airing the same time the game was released. [[/note]] In UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}, the game is known as ''Outer World.''

* OneHitPointWonder: Lester is as vulnerable as a newborn on this hostile world. Anything from aliens shooting lasers, rocks falling, even leeches, will kill him instantly on contact. To be fair, most of the things that kill Lester in the game would most likely instantly kill a real human as well.

** Subverted with the glass bubble guard kill. If you mess that up, it IS possible to beat that guard fair and square, with very precise positioning and timing of your shields and charged shots. It is VERY difficult though, and was clearly intended to be impossible.

* AWinnerIsYou: The game ends with [[spoiler: Lester and Buddy flying off on a dragon. After the credits a message appears: "Go Back to Another Earth."]]

The official PC version of the game can be bought from [[http://www.gog.com/game/another_world_20th_anniversary_edition Good Old Games]][[labelnote:note]]Anyone who purchased the 15th anniversary edition gets a free upgrade to the 20th anniversary edition as the main installation file on Website/{{GOG|DotCom}}, with the 15th anniversary installation being an extra)[[/labelnote]], and from [[http://store.steampowered.com/app/233550/ Steam,]] complete with achievements! The 20th anniversary edition is also available on the Nintendo [=eShop=] for the [[Nintendo3DS 3DS]]. It is also available as digital download for Playstation 3, Playstation 4, X-Box One, and Wii U.

** Well, yeah. In the one scene where he's still on Earth there's no one for Lester to talk to, and nobody would understand him the rest of the time.

* BloodiAndGorier: Heart of the Alien, even including death scenes involving impalement, exploding, corroded liquids and gases, and even an electrifying scene that can char a hapless victim

** Followed by the 20th Anniversary version, which contains both the original and remastered visuals, two new difficulty levels, and depending on your version, comes with an achievement system and has a touch control option.

The official PC version of the game can be bought from [[http://www.gog.com/game/another_world_20th_anniversary_edition Good Old Games]] (by the way, anyone who purchased the 15th anniversary edition gets a free upgrade to the 20th anniversary edition as the main installation file on Website/{{GOG|DotCom}}, with the 15th anniversary installation being an extra), and from [[http://store.steampowered.com/app/233550/ Steam,]] complete with achievements! The 20th anniversary edition is also available on the Nintendo [=eShop=] for the [[Nintendo3DS 3DS]].

->''Mycaruba''

* OneHitPointWonder: Lester is as vulnerable as a newborn on this hostile world. Anything from aliens shooting lasers, rocks falling, even leeches, will kill him instantly on contact.

* RedHeadedHero

The official PC version of the game can be bought from [[http://www.gog.com/game/another_world_20th_anniversary_edition Good Old Games]] (by the way, anyone who purchased the 15th anniversary edition gets a free upgrade to the 20th anniversary edition as the main installation file on Website/{{GOG|DotCom}}, with the 15th anniversary installation being an extra), and from [[http://store.steampowered.com/app/233550/ Steam,]] complete with achievements!

* OxygenMeter: Not explicitly shown as the game has no {{HUD}}, but as Lester spends time in the water, he releases more and more air bubbles. When the bubbles start getting out more frequently, you'd better be close to the surface.

* VideoGameSetpiece: '''Many''' of them, including:

* WalkThroughTheCamera: When Lester gets off the elevator in the beginning of the game.

--> Buddy the Alien

''Another World'' is a CinematicPlatformGame developed by Eric Chahi for Creator/{{Delphine Software|International}}. The title of the game was changed to ''Out of This World'' when it was released in America by [[Creator/InterplayEntertainment Interplay Productions]], to avoid confusion with the popular Creator/{{NBC}} SoapOpera, ''Series/AnotherWorld''. [[note]]Coincidentally, a syndicated FantasticComedy titled ''Series/OutOfThisWorld'' started airing the same time the game was released.[[/note]] In Japan, the game is known as ''Outer World''.

To say the game was innovative was an understatement. Chahi himself wrote a polygon routine that would allow the graphics to be composed of vector outlines -- which would take up less space than normal sprite graphics. Like Jordan Mechner did with ''Franchise/PrinceOfPersia,'' Chahi also used video recordings of his own brother to create {{rotoscop|ing}}ed animations for the project. The result was an epic, cinematic masterpiece which told a story without the use of dialogue, voicework or screen text, and with cutscenes that led from one part of the story to the next. Controlling the player character was done via two buttons, with the player character performing a wide variety of different tasks depending on his location, speed, and movement.

The story itself concerns a hapless, adventurous and athletic young physicist named Lester Knight Chaykin, whose particle accelerator experiment [[LightningCanDoAnything gets zapped by lightning]] one evening, sending him to a hostile alien world. There, Lester gets captured by an advanced race of huge warlike humanoids, who send him to an underground prison colony. With the help of a fellow prisoner, who becomes his "Buddy," Lester breaks out. He then spends the rest of the game trying to evade recapture and death at the hands of...well... pretty much [[EverythingTryingToKillYou everything on the planet]].

This game is notable, not only for its dramatic storytelling and early survival-horror roots, but also for being one of the most NintendoHard games to come down the pike since ''VideoGame/{{Battletoads}}''. The slightest misstep meant death in any number of horribly unspeakable ways. The console versions of the game -- such as the [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] port -- were made more difficult than the [[UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer MS-DOS]] / UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh versions (which ''themselves'' were more difficult than the original UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}} version), reportedly to give players "more value for their money". (Although it may give some players a strong desire to throw their keyboard/joypad at their TV.)

A sequel, ''Heart of the Alien'', which switched the roles of Lester and his alien "Buddy", was released in 1994 exclusively for the [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Sega CD.]] This sequel was developed by Interplay without Chahi's involvement, though the original game's composer Jean-François Freitas contributed a CD-quality soundtrack.

Chahi eventually created a hi-def port of ''Another World'' for Windows XP with higher resolutions and better graphics. This version is known as the ''Collector's Edition'' and is well worth owning according to some, a blatant money grab according to others (because the first two levels, which are free, are markedly more "updated" than the later levels players must pay for). Mobile ports of this exist (see below).

The official PC version of the game can be bought from [[http://www.gog.com/game/another_world_20th_anniversary_edition Good Old Games]] (by the way, anyone who purchased the 15th anniversary edition gets a free upgrade to the 20th anniversary edition as the main installation file on GOG, with the 15th anniversary installation being an extra), and from [[http://store.steampowered.com/app/233550/ Steam]], complete with achievements!

A version of the game optimized for both [[iOSGames iPhone and iPad]] is available [[https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/another-world-20th-anniversary/id460076328?mt=8 here]], along with a version for the [[AndroidGames Android OS]] [[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dotemu.anotherworld&hl=en obtainable here]].

These versions, and the 20th anniversary edition of the PC version, features added difficulty levels (both easier and harder), both the original and remastered graphics (that you can change at any time in-game), an achievement system, and for the mobile versions: a new touch control option on top of the option to use the standard Pad-style controls. The GOG version, while lacking an achievement system, makes up for it with the inclusion of the full manual, making of Another World, development diary, HD wallpapers, technical handbook, the install file for the 15th anniversary edition, and the sound track from the Sega CD version of the game.

!!This game contains examples of:

* AdaptationExpansion: The PC-DOS port (along with all the subsequent ports) added an entire stage between the scene where Buddy rescues Lester from a long dead-end corridor, but before they enter the gladiator arena. The 3DO version also adds an extended ending which serves as a teaser to ''Heart of the Alien'' (which strangely was never released for the 3DO).
* AmericanKirbyIsHardcore: Both the SNES and [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Genesis]] versions place [[http://pics.mobygames.com/images/covers/large/1166567070-00.jpg extra]] [[http://pics.mobygames.com/images/covers/large/1157509583-00.jpg emphasis]] on the Beast.
* BadassBookworm: Lester
* {{Bowdlerise}}d: Alien blood and nudity were edited out of the North American SNES version (Chahi cynically defined "nudity" as the censors complaining about "three pixels of too much butt-crack" on a female alien, which were simply required to be shortened rather than removing the actual "nude").
* CardboardPrison: Lester and Buddy's ceiling-suspended cage.

* CutscenePowerToTheMax: In these games any mistake is usually immediately fatal. Yet in the cutscenes in the "Heart of the Alien" prologue Buddy takes some insane falls and just gets right back up and dusts himself off.

* DownerEnding: In ''Heart of the Alien'', [[spoiler: Lester is fragged by an electric field and dies. [[BittersweetEnding On the flip side,]] Buddy avenges his death, sets his tribe free, and gives Lester a proper burial (or as proper as they interpret it)]].
* EasterEgg: In the 15th and 20th anniversary editions, if you pick up the gun in stage 2 and go to the far left and wait, a UFO will come in to beam off Lester.
* EmbeddedPrecursor: ''Heart of the Alien'', subtitled ''Out of This World Parts I and II'', includes the first game with a remixed soundtrack.

* EnergyBall: Charging the pistol can make two kinds of these: smaller ones for creating Force shields and the bigger ones for discharging a very powerful blast.

** More emphasized in the sequel where [[spoiler: 'Buddy' gets beaten down by an hostile alien. Lester responds by attempting to fight him himself, despite not being nearly as strong. [[TheHeroDies Unfortunately, this worked against him.]] Though 'Buddy' [[{{Revenge}} makes sure his sacrifice was not in vain.]] ]]
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When Lester discovers the city by looking through a window, he can see a silhouette on one of the buildings. Turns out it's [[spoiler: the dragon he uses to escape the city]].

* GameplayAndStorySegregation: For Heart of the Alien, the flash backs in the intro show Buddy's whip can be used to vaporize enemies with a smack or even just a touch. In the game, even when you get the whip charged, whipping does '''nothing''' to the enemies and is only useful for platforming. It ''suddenly'' works on a particular enemy in the last stage though.

* [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Grey Skinned Space Babes]]: Near the conclusion of the game, Lester and Buddy crash-land into a swimming pool populated by [[HartmanHips distinctly female]] aliens. (See Bowdlerization, above.)

* HaveANiceDeath: Heart of the Alien includes cut-scenes, most of which depict the many ways Buddy got killed.
** The 20th anniversary editions of Another World has an achievement system (save for the GOG version). One achievement is called "Free Fall", which is granted immediately after Lester falls from a great height at a certain level. The timing is pretty funny.
* [[spoiler: TheHeroDies]]: In Heart of the Alien, [[spoiler: Lester attempts to fight off a hostile alien after he [[CurbStompBattle pummeled his friend to the ground.]] This did not go well for him...]]

* [[spoiler: HeroicSacrifice]]: In ''Heart of the Alien'', Lester [[spoiler: rescues his buddy from an ambush and attempts to fight off the hostile alien. He gets electrocuted by an electric field in the process.]]
* InjuredPlayerCharacterStage: Near the end of the game, Lester ends up on the wrong side of a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, and can only crawl slowly for the remainder of the scene. It is left ambiguous if he ever gets better.
* {{Homage}}: When fully-charged, Lester's gun bears more than a slight resemblance to a [[Manga/DragonBall Kamehameha]]... Incidentally, at the time of development, Chahi was busy reading ''DBZ'' mangas during coding breaks.

* TheManyDeathsOfYou

* MasterOfUnlocking: Buddy is apparently quite good at lock picking, as he jimmies the doors open during the level two prison break using...nothing, apparently? This might go a long way toward explaining why he's in prison in the first place.
* MarketBasedTitle: Retitled ''Out of This World'' in North America to avoid confusion with the unrelated soap opera ''Another World''. Ironically, there was a sitcom called ''Out of This World'' that premiered around the same time as the game. So when released in Japan, it is simply called Outer World.

* NintendoHard
** To put in perspective: the 20th Anniversary versions has an Achievement for dying 100 times. Even on the easiest difficulty level, most players can expect to see it ''long'' before beating the game. However, these versions have checkpoints show up much more commonly, plus (like the original) you have unlimited lives. You die a ''lot'', but rarely lose much progress when you do. And if you DO get to a point of no return (which is rare), the game will make sure that you ''won't'' get a check point then.

* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: In the finale, Lester [[spoiler: loses his gun and is pummeled senseless by a red-eyed alien. Buddy comes to the rescue, and the two grapple while Lester painfully crawls across the screen and activate the laser, fragging the doppelganger]].

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Lester can't talk to any of the aliens and as such doesn't even know his alien buddy's name. As such, he's commonly referred to simply as [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Buddy]].
* OurDragonsAreDifferent: [[spoiler:In the ending cinematic]].

* RedEyesTakeWarning: The [[BringMyBrownPants Beast]].

* SequelHook: The [=3DO=] version has an extended ending where Buddy transports Lester and has a flash back about his tribe being invaded by a foreign tribe (apparently the same ones they were escaping from). Strangely, the sequel was made exclusive to the Sega CD instead of the [=3DO=].
* ShootTheShaggyDog: The game's ambiguous ending can be interpreted this way, although storyboards for a non-produced ending depict the character surviving and becoming a leader in the alien world.
** The sequel [[spoiler: has Lester survive, only to be KilledOffForReal in a HeroicSacrifice halfway through the game. In case you deny any of that, he gets cremated in the ending]].

* SpiritualSuccessor: ''VideoGame/{{Flashback}}'', which shares the graphics that Another World has, though it has nothing to do with Eric Chahi.
** ''VideoGame/HeartOfDarkness'', sharing the core gameplay and was Eric's last game before ''VideoGame/FromDust''.

** The cremation coffin [[spoiler: as Lester's corpse demonstrates]].
* TakeMyHand: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]. In the game's final sequence, [[spoiler: Buddy rescues Lester from a plunge off of a ledge. Then smashes Lester against the wall, crippling him! Turns out, that's not Buddy!]] Damn aliens, YouAllLookFamiliar!
* TrappedInAnotherWorld: The title. Depending on where you lived in the 90s, it could also be Trapped In Out Of This World, or Trapped in an Outer World.

* UpdatedRerelease: First as a port to [=DOS/Mac=] from Amiga which added a new level, then the 3DO version has a different art style (besides the character models), and of course the 15th Anniversary edition which is based on the PC version and has more detailed backgrounds and runs in high-res.

* UnwinnableByDesign: Forget to shoot out the pit wall before flooding the caves? You're fucked. Fail to [[GuideDangIt shoot the lamp chain blocking Buddy in the crawlspace]]? You're also fucked. If Buddy dies, you're also screwed, among other possible situations. Fortunately, you only obtain a new password if you completed all the requirements of a stage correctly. For example, if you miss blowing a hole at a certain place that is supposed to be filled up with river water so you will swim, and die later on, [[AntiFrustrationFeature the password will not change until you complete ALL the requirements.]] All the 15th and 20th anniversary editions of the game also doubles the check points and has a level select feature, so it has gotten easier to know if you messed up somewhere.

** The specific places in the game where your ally does something to rescue you;
** Special actions that you can perform at one specific place only, such as [[spoiler:swinging the cage to make it fall]], [[spoiler:the GroinAttack you use on an enemy at one point]], and [[spoiler:pulling the lever at the end of the game]];
** Special environmental features that show up only once each, such as [[spoiler:the floor that grenades can destroy]], [[spoiler:the bat that the tentacle monster will eat]], [[spoiler:the vine that you can swing from]], [[spoiler:the glass globe that you must drop on an enemy]], and [[spoiler:the aforementioned lamp chain]].

* WhatNowEnding: [[spoiler: Lester and Buddy escape, but Lester is badly hurt and it's not clear what awaits them beyond the city or if Lester will ever get home. Worse, some interpreted the ending to mean that Lester had actually died mere yards from freedom, although WordOfGod and the eventual sequel countermand this]].
* AWinnerIsYou: The game ends with [[spoiler:Lester and Buddy flying off on a dragon. After the credits a message appears: "Go Back To Another Earth".]]

To say the game was innovative was an understatement. Chahi himself wrote a polygon routine that would allow the graphics to be composed of vector outlines -- which would take up less space than normal sprite graphics. Like Jordan Mechner did with ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia'', Chahi also used video recordings of his own brother to create {{rotoscop|ing}}ed animations for the project. The result was an epic, cinematic masterpiece which told a story without the use of dialogue, voicework or screen text, and with cutscenes that led from one part of the story to the next. Controlling the player character was done via two buttons, with the player character performing a wide variety of different tasks depending on his location, speed, and movement.

This game is notable, not only for its dramatic storytelling and early survival-horror roots, but also for being one of the most NintendoHard games to come down the pike since ''VideoGame/{{Battletoads}}''. The slightest misstep meant death in any number of horribly unspeakable ways. The console versions of the game -- such as the UsefulNotes/{{SNES}} port -- were made more difficult than the [[UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer MS-DOS]]/{{Macintosh}} versions (which ''themselves'' were more difficult than the original UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}} version), reportedly to give players "more value for their money". (Although it may give some players a strong desire to throw their keyboard/joypad at their TV.)

A sequel, ''Heart of the Alien'', which switched the roles of Lester and his alien "Buddy", was released in 1994 exclusively for the UsefulNotes/SegaCD. This sequel was developed by Interplay without Chahi's involvement, though the original game's composer Jean-François Freitas contributed a CD-quality soundtrack.

By the way, [[http://www.foxysofts.com/?l=content/gba/anworld.inc here's]] an official freeware UsefulNotes/{{GBA}} port (also playable on emulators, of course). There is another one based on the UsefulNotes/ThreeDO version, requiring the 3DO game itself in order to play.

A version of the game optimized for both [[IOSGames iPhone and iPad]] is available [[https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/another-world-20th-anniversary/id460076328?mt=8 here]], along with a version for the [[AndroidGames Android OS]] [[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dotemu.anotherworld&hl=en obtainable here]].

* OneHitPointWonder

* DownerEnding: In ''Heart of the Alien'', [[spoiler: Lester is fragged by an electric field and dies. On the flip side, Buddy avenges his death, sets his tribe free, and gives Lester a proper burial (or as proper as they interpret it)]].

* InjuredPlayerCharacterStage: Near the end of the game, Lester end up on the wrong side of a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, and can only crawl slowly for the remainder of the scene. It is left ambiguous if he ever gets better.

This game is notable, not only for its dramatic storytelling and early survival-horror roots, but also for being one of the most NintendoHard games to come down the pike since ''VideoGame/{{Battletoads}}''. The slightest misstep meant death in any number of horribly unspeakable ways. The console versions of the game -- such as the UsefulNotes/{{SNES}} port -- were made more difficult than the [[IBMPersonalComputer MS-DOS]]/{{Macintosh}} versions (which ''themselves'' were more difficult than the original UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}} version), reportedly to give players "more value for their money". (Although it may give some players a strong desire to throw their keyboard/joypad at their TV.)