Oddworld creator working on "more traumatic" material

Oddworld Inhabitants boss Lorne Lanning has something pretty "traumatic" in the works, apparently.

In a discussion with CVG about one of Grand Theft Auto 5's most confronting scenes, Lanning let slip some details of what he's working on next.

"I'm working on some stuff, at a design level, that is going to be more traumatic," he said. "I'm not sure I'm going to able to make it.

"I'm designing stuff and I'm like, wow, this might be really intense, at a basic core level. I'm really trying to think it through. But part of me wants it. That intensity.

"I'm trying to find a balance between charm and intensity. In that intensity, in the way a particular character works, it might be a shocker for some. It might not be something they're expecting. I'm not sure I can make it, I'm not sure I can finance it. I don't think it's going to make worse people - and if I did I wouldn't make it.

"Remember the line about Mortal Kombat? We thought the world was going to end because you were pulling out spines. But it was great fun."

Although Lanning hasn't said what the new project its, he has confirmed that Oddworld Inhabitants is aiming to work back up to developing new triple-A titles. CVG speculates that this talk of trauma may point to The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot, a shooter which was cancelled in 2005 when the company bowed out of games development.

If you're interested in the cancelled project, GameInformer did a rather nice interview feature on it in 2010.