Rayman Origins

[ikke471]

i did read all the spoilers but.. i'm going to quit reading em now.... if i can handle it...

[spiraldoor]

I noticed something cool: [If you look closely at the wall behind the Magician as he pulls the lever, you can see a poster with ‘Mister D’ written on it. This is the first direct reference to Mr Dark we’ve seen in the game. There are also a couple of images depicting Mr Dark in silhouette, a large hat symbol emblazoned on the front of his desk, an actual hat on the shelf to the left and some steampunk blueprints on the wall to the right. The blueprints seem to show Yellow Lums being fed into a machine which is generating electricity to turn gears – now we know exactly what the Magician was doing with that giant test tube. (I’m surprised nobody commented on the creepiness of that test tube until now – it seems obvious in hindsight.) It’s ingenious the way they packed a significant plot point into a tiny corner of one background that’s seen only for a moment.]

Well it's not a hairstyle, because as you can clearly see Rayman has skin over his "hair," as it blends right into his head - they seem like a sort of membrane. I doubt he could completely redesign his hair as such. the transition from 2-3 was acceptable since it's just a character redesign, but from Origins, then 1 and 2 in between, THEN 3, it just seems kind of odd.

That stuff on top of Rayman’s head is hair, not some kind of grotesque fleshy membrane. I don’t care if it appears to blend into his skin in R3 – it’s purely a stylistic effect.

Okay I looked, temptation was too much for me.

Are you guys absolutely SURE this is official? Because....this is bad. I don't care what anybody says, yes it's cool, I will probably be able to get epic fics out of it, but....to Milly, this is a BAD IDEA. SO VERY BAAAADDDDD

[Not to mention if Luckster plays this game she's probably going to cry. xD]

[That’s what makes it so brilliant. It’s the most powerful and childhood-shattering twist I’ve ever seen in a game. Just re-watch the R1 intro with the knowledge that the Magician is really Mr Dark in mind – it becomes excellently creepy. But you do have a point about Luckster.]

Since the snoring cutscene was confirmed as the intro, I just can't see this game as a prequel at all, I mean, it can totally be without any problem a "Rayman 4". There's nothing that stops this game from being a sequel, or just an alternative "Rayman 1" to make it fit with the different concept given in rayman 2. I don't know why did ubiart decide to scrap the "Long ago...the primordial forest" part. This game is just called "origins" for two reasons: Michel Ancel and to avoid the continuity with the rabbids, it's no longer explaining how rayman was born... or how he met globox, nothing! :S I mean, this game looks funny as hell, but it totally lost it's main purpose... unless ubiart's still hidding something that we'ven't seen that might explain some "origins"..

That’s an interesting idea, but it seems pretty unlikely. The twist might work better with Origins as a sequel, and so would Rayman’s first meetings with Murfy and the Grand Minimus (although we have an official alternative explanation for that one). The game’s title certainly points towards it being a prequel, along with the changes in the Land of the Livid Dead, and the early descriptions – that Rayman and Globox were more into handing out slaps than saving the world, and that we would see how they matured to become the heroes we know today. This is pretty conclusive, and is the main reason why I can’t buy into your theory.

[I can’t believe none of us have noticed this yet, but the Mr Dark/Magician revelation comes at the end of the steampunk world, which we know is followed by the Land of the Livid Dead. I hope the real ending is marked by a suitably epic confrontation.]

[Mr. Dark Thingamajig]

I noticed something cool: If you look closely at the wall behind the Magician as he pulls the lever, you can see a poster with ‘Mister D’ written on it. This is the first direct reference to Mr Dark we’ve seen in the game. There are also a couple of images depicting Mr Dark in silhouette, a large hat symbol emblazoned on the front of his desk, an actual hat on the shelf to the left and some steampunk blueprints on the wall to the right. The blueprints seem to show Yellow Lums being fed into a machine which is generating electricity to turn gears – now we know exactly what the Magician was doing with that giant test tube. (I’m surprised nobody commented on the creepiness of that test tube until now – it seems obvious in hindsight.) It’s ingenious the way they packed a significant plot point into a tiny corner of one background that’s seen only for a moment.

you're right [Mr. Dark is the magician, the magician is Mr. Dark, i love the magician, so Mr. Dark now more and he doesn't have hair]

[Rulez]

Way to show spoilers there.
Save us, mods!

[sergiomonty]

Yeah, I have to admit it, spiraldoor, you're completely right, BUT... (I just wonder... if that's really happening to the lums caught in test tubes, and the magician ends up as a bad guy... how can I complete the game at 100% if rayman knows all of this and keeps collecting the lums for the evil magician? doesn't that make him a bad guy if he keeps doing that after the ending? because he already knows what's going to happen to the lums, I don't know, I would kinda feel bad for that... Unless the magician becomes good at the end and promises to really take care of the lums or something like that D:)

[spiraldoor]

We still don’t know how it will play out. [Maybe the characters didn’t notice the blueprints, or maybe the Magician won’t collect Lums any more after the Moody Clouds revelation. I’m partial to a ‘Jekyll & Hyde’ scenario – it may be that Mr Dark has a genuinely good side. We see bosses and enemies holidaying with Rayman and his friends in the R1 credits, even though they had done evil things.] We can worry about errors like this when we’re sure they actually exist.

Edit: I also noticed that the area where Rayman is created by Betilla is still in the game, complete with stone circle. It can be see in the first part of the Paris Games Week presentation. It’s some sort of time-trial bonus level, French name Grottes qui ballottent (Caves that dangle?).

Edit 2: The videos from the presentation reveal some more level names. One of the two environments in the Sea of Serendipity is called Ocean des songes (Sea of dreams). The Land of the Livid Dead appears to be on the same island as the Snoring Tree, which makes sense in the context of the intro, and tells us how we’re ultimately going to access the place.

[Mr. Dark Thingamajig]

BTW are you this Hunch:

[sergiomonty]

haha, it's funny how both spiraldoor and me talk about spoilers like it's normal, unwittingly trying to tempt haruka and the non-spoiler crew to read what's going on. Well, I'll only say something to you, guys: this is maybe the first time spiraldoor and me have a completely calm and polite conversation

[Haruka]

Ha. Ha. Ha. Go ahead and laugh after me.

That's ok, don't you guys think I won't comment the stuff after ! Just be ready when I start to get my hands on the game: there will be many invisible posts written by me.

[spiraldoor]

[Suddenly this image is very sinister.]

[Or is it?]

[Rulez]

[Suddenly this image is very sinister.]

[Or is it?]

[Oh gee! You're right; that's indeed creepy if it's true]

[Mr. Dark Thingamajig]

[Suddenly this image is very sinister.]

[Or is it?]

[Mr. Dark is celebrating with enemies, just like in the spoiler video]
and another thing: [The Magician Loves Betilla and Mr. Dark too]

[Nannerb3]

[The fact that the Magician is Mr. Dark is very confusing.]

[sergiomonty]

Ha. Ha. Ha. Go ahead and laugh after me.

That's ok, don't you guys think I won't comment the stuff after ! Just be ready when I start to get my hands on the game: there will be many invisible posts written by me.

Oh sh*t... ._. well... then...I'm not reading you!!.....I'll try

[Rulez]

BTW are you this Hunch: image

Obviously not, because:
1. this guy's wearing a staff shirt
2. he doesn't look like Hunchy (here's Hunchy: download/file.php?id=1328&mode=view)
3. he's missing the sexy facial hair

[spiraldoor]

[Oh gee! You're right; that's indeed creepy if it's true]

[If you think that’s creepy, watch this:]

[Rulez]

[Oh gee! You're right; that's indeed creepy if it's true]

[If you think that’s creepy, watch this:]

[I can't unsee this. This is too much. Now, when I get back to playing Rayman 1 (as you know, I barely finished Bongo Hills and am in Blue Mountains), I'll be looking weirdly at the Magician's hat wanting Tings. I mean... what can that evil person DO with little fairies in bubbles? Is Mr. Dark Danone with his obsession of Tings? Oh my.]

[Hunchman801]

As Rulez said, that's obviously not me on the picture.

Spiral, you can check RayWiki for the names of the different levels and words, even though most of them are only in French. Also, Moody Clouds is apparently not just a level, but the world above Mystic Peak actually.

[Rizz]

[Couldn't it be that Mr dark is just dressed as the magician, to mislead the characters (after all, all he has to do is put a star on his hat)]

[Nannerb3]

[Couldn't it be that Mr dark is just dressed as the magician, to mislead the characters (after all, all he has to do is put a star on his hat)]

[You have a point there, that would make more sense.]