Gaming The System: Chahi-fied: Eric Chahi in the spotlight

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Being ripped to shreds isn't the most concerning thing in Another World, but still pretty concerning.

Remember From Dust? The quirky little sandbox game that promised big on delivering revolution to the genre of god games, by letting you be a god with the game’s fancy real-time procedural generation engine.

Whether the game did indeed deliver on its lofty promises is up for debate (with a healthy dose of DRM-screwup and botched PC release controversy on part by publisher Ubisoft, as always). One interesting point the game carried with it was its mark as the return of game designer Eric Chahi.

While his name may not quite be as big as John Carmack or Gabe Newell, Chahi’s role in the industry has been highly influential, that influence achieved with two remarkable games – Another World (otherwise known as Out of this World to North Americans) and Heart of Darkness

Out of this World was a side scroller unlike anything else seen in 1991. It gave the player the feeling of playing an animated film, rather than a typical side scroller, with player actions advancing plot rather than simply finishing levels for points.

The plot is simple; a young scientist is accidentally transported to another dimension, where he must survive the trials of hostile wildlife, dangerous paths and a sinister ruling alien race.

Playing Out of this World in 2014 still feels remarkably fresh; the game has the intuition and feel of a modern out-of-the-box indie game with its rotoscope, animated style reminiscent of the first Prince of Persia.

There is a lack of HUD or any sort of gameplay user interface. Interactive cutscenes that feel cohesive within the game rather than “bordered” as a movie event, and a trial-and-error style of gameplay that requires the player to fully interact with the world’s logic, Out of this World can be frustrating, but ultimately will suck you into its sci-fi setting with ease.

The game has since been ported to modern Windows PCs, and even mobile platforms (although it’s still best played on a larger screen), so it’s imperative you play this highly influential platformer in some form.

Lesser-known but still quite important was his second lead-designed game from 1998, Heart of Darkness, for the PS1 and PC.

Building upon the rich, fluid animation style of Out of this World with a more cartoony look, Heart of Darkness follows a young boy looking for his dog in a hostile jungle packed with dangerous, venomous creatures, and a volcano cult leader.

Probably the most memorable aspect of the game, largely thanks to its detailed animation, were the gruesome deaths the 10-year-old protagonist, Andy, could potentially encounter. Although bloodless to earn an “E” ESRB rating, watching a kid getting violently mauled by shadowy beasts can be quite horrifying, but serves out the purpose of adding a sense of dangerous consequence for slacking.

With the release of Heart of Darkness, Chahi quit the industry to travel the world and explore hobbies (no, really!) until his fateful return in 2006 to begin development on From Dust. What’s next for this oddball French designer?