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Oni: Difference between revisions
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:'' | :''See [[Credits]] for a complete list of the names behind Oni as well as links to interviews with key members of the Oni team, and see [[Rights]] for the list of companies involved with Oni's development and distribution.'' | ||
'''Oni''' was developed by [[Bungie West]], a division of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bungie_Studios Bungie Studios], and released in January 2001 | |||
'''Oni''' was developed by [[Bungie West]], a division of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bungie_Studios Bungie Studios], and released in January 2001 for Windows, Mac OS, and PlayStation 2. | |||
=Development= | =Development= | ||
The concept for | Work on Oni began in 1997 when Bungie decided to found a second studio, "Bungie West". The concept for their first project was devised by Brent Pease, whose primary influence was [[wikipedia:Mamoru Oshii|Mamoru Oshii]]'s animé film [[wikipedia:Ghost in the Shell (film)|Ghost in the Shell]]<sup>1</sup> (adapted from [[wikipedia:Masamune Shirow|Masamune Shirow]]'s [[wikipedia:Ghost_in_the_Shell_(manga)|manga series]]). The name "Oni" (originally intended only as a codename during development) is evidence of the connection; Pease considered its meaning to be "Ghost"<sup>2</sup>. | ||
The designs for [[Konoko]] and Commander [[Griffin]] can be seen to resemble the characters of [[wikipedia:Motoko Kusanagi|Motoko Kusanagi]] and [[wikipedia:Daisuke Aramaki|Daisuke Aramaki]]. Early development even presented Konoko as a [[cyborg]], which, together with the tech-crime-fighting setting amounted to near-plagiarism of GITS. In August of 1999, Hardy LeBel was brought in to revamp the story<sup>3</sup>. The final version of Oni abandons the cyborg heroine and instead introduces original concepts such as [[Daodan]] and [[SLD]]s. | |||
=Hype= | =Hype= | ||
The earliest online hype was deeply rooted in the existing Bungie community, notably Marathon fans<sup>4</sup>. As the Oni project gained popularity, a dedicated online community emerged in the form of [[Oni Central]] and its [http://oni.bungie.org/community/forum/index.php forum]. | The earliest online hype was deeply rooted in the existing Bungie community, notably Marathon fans<sup>4</sup>. As the Oni project gained popularity, a dedicated online community emerged in the form of [[Oni Central]] and its [http://oni.bungie.org/community/forum/index.php forum]. | ||
Interviews conducted with the staff of Bungie West promised various ambitious features | Interviews conducted with the staff of Bungie West promised various ambitious features such as smart AI, sophisticated melee combat, realistic level architecture, moveable furniture, battles with a large mech (the "Iron Demon") and multiplayer abilities. | ||
Trailers and screenshots were analyzed eagerly for evidence of Oni's ground-breaking features. Two trailers were made for Oni early in its development (the links lead to pages analyzing the footage): | Trailers and screenshots were analyzed eagerly for evidence of Oni's ground-breaking features. Two trailers were made for Oni early in its development (the links lead to pages analyzing the footage): | ||
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=Release= | =Release= | ||
After a few months of beta testing, Oni was released much later than originally expected -- on January 26, 2001 in Europe, and January 28th in the U.S. The PS2 version, ported by Rockstar, came out on January 29th in the U.S., and March 9th in Europe. | After a few months of beta testing, Oni was released much later than originally expected -- on January 26, 2001 in Europe, and January 28th in the U.S. The PS2 version, ported by Rockstar, came out on January 29th in the U.S., and March 9th in Europe. Oni was translated into other languages, including Russian (by [http://www.buka.com/ Buka]), German (see the section on "beta 5" in [[Mac betas]]), and Japanese | ||
<!--insert other languages here! We really ought to know what languages the game was translated into! --Iritscen--> | |||
. These localizations were critical to building Oni's fan base, which today is largely based outside of nominally English-speaking countries. | |||
Oni's storyline is fairly straightforward, although it has been called "understated". Because the story takes place over about a week and a half in the game's timeline, there is little room to develop the characters or setting, although large amounts of additional information are to be found in consoles scattered throughout the levels. (The [[Chapters]] page links to plot summaries by level, and the [[Quotes/Consoles|Console Quotes]] page lists all the text from the game's consoles.) | Oni's storyline is fairly straightforward, although it has been called "understated". Because the story takes place over about a week and a half in the game's timeline, there is little room to develop the characters or setting, although large amounts of additional information are to be found in consoles scattered throughout the levels. (The [[Chapters]] page links to plot summaries by level, and the [[Quotes/Consoles|Console Quotes]] page lists all the text from the game's consoles.) | ||
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=Post-release= | =Post-release= | ||
When Bungie was bought by Microsoft in 2000 (though not merging offices until 2001), they sold [[Myth]] and Oni's IP and publishing rights to [http://www.take2games.com/ Take-Two Interactive]. At first, Take-Two intended to make an Oni 2 (for PS2), but the game was [http://web.archive.org/web/20071031004452/http://sttnw.blogspot.com/2007/10/18-canceled-games-you-never-knew.html canceled] at an early stage of development, possibly because Oni itself did not meet T2's expected sales quotas. | ''Oni and the makers of Oni went their separate ways. First we look at the company post-release, then we come back to the game.''<br> | ||
'''Bungie'''<br> | |||
When Bungie was bought by Microsoft in 2000 (though not merging offices until 2001), they sold [[Myth]]'s and Oni's IP and publishing rights to [http://www.take2games.com/ Take-Two Interactive]. At first, Take-Two intended to make an Oni 2 (for PS2), but the game was [http://web.archive.org/web/20071031004452/http://sttnw.blogspot.com/2007/10/18-canceled-games-you-never-knew.html canceled] at an early stage of development, possibly because Oni itself did not meet T2's expected sales quotas. | |||
The acquisition of Bungie by Microsoft also coincided with the dissolution of Bungie West as Bungie moved their main office to Redmond, Washington. Some Oni developers moved to Bungie's new office and worked on the Halo series, while others ended up at independent game studios, such as [http://www.giantbite.com/ Giant Bite] (co-founded by Chu & Evans) and [http://www.tyrantstudios.com/ Tyrant Studios] (founded by LeBel). | |||
In October of 2007, Bungie separated from Microsoft and moved from Redmond to the nearby city of Kirkland. | |||
'''Oni'''<br> | |||
While Bungie merged into Microsoft, and Take Two was assuming command of the Oni IP, Mac users were in a delicate position: transitioning to Mac OS X. Having been in development years before OS X released, the original build of the Oni application was a Carbon app, meaning it was written primarily for Mac OS 9 with only basic OS X compatibility. Unfortunately the Carbon build was not without issues when running in OS X. Then, at the end of 2001, Omni Group [http://www.omnigroup.com/mailman/archive/omni-press/2001/000008.html released] a Cocoa (native OS X) port of the game which they had produced for free. However, Apple would later switch to Intel processors, moving away from the PowerPC chip that Oni was written for. This and other elements of the OS and hardware have changed over the years, making the Omni port unable to run on modern Macs without more and more fan-devised patches. Recently, Feral (the Mac version's distributor outside of the U.S.) has expressed an intention to put out an Intel-native build of Oni, possibly in 2009. | |||
Meanwhile, on the Windows side, Oni has also shown its age, but it continues to run in the latest OS, Windows Vista, provided the player uses the Daodan patch. | |||
Finally, since Oni's release, the fan community has been working on [[:Category:Modding projects|mods]] and writing [[:Category:Gameplay tools|gameplay]] and [[:Category:Modding tools|modding tools]] for the game. | |||
=The future of the property= | =The future of the property= | ||
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::(laughs) Oni isn't currently one of those projects we're looking at, but one should never say never.<br> We'd be happy to work with the individuals who made Oni. | ::(laughs) Oni isn't currently one of those projects we're looking at, but one should never say never.<br> We'd be happy to work with the individuals who made Oni. | ||
One thing is certain: the current Bungie staff has little in common with the Bungie West that produced Oni (there are eight members<sup>5</sup> still working at Bungie | One thing is certain: the current Bungie staff has little in common with the Bungie West that produced Oni (there are eight members<sup>5</sup> still working at Bungie as of January 2009). There is probably little sentimental or monetary incentive for Bungie to produce a sequel. | ||
However, there are [[Oni2|fan projects]] which may or may not become unofficial "Oni 2"s. | However, there are [[Oni2|fan projects]] which may or may not become unofficial "Oni 2"s. | ||
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<sup>1</sup>Pease discusses his role as Oni's creator and GitS' influence on the game [http://oni.bungie.org/special/part1/brent.html here]. | <sup>1</sup>Pease discusses his role as Oni's creator and GitS' influence on the game [http://oni.bungie.org/special/part1/brent.html here]. | ||
<sup>2</sup> | <sup>2</sup>The meaning of "oni" is usually given by those familiar with Japanese myths as either "demon" or "ogre". See the [[Oni (demon)]] page for an exploration of the word and possible connections to the game's content. Pease explains the origin of the name [http://oni.bungie.org/special/part1/brent.html here], and seems to still think the word means "ghost"; however, Hardy, his eventual replacement, indicates [http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=19851 here] and [http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=18292 here] that he understood "oni" to mean "demon" and had re-written the story with that in mind. | ||
<sup>3</sup>The time of Hardy's entry into the Oni project is mentioned in [http://web.archive.org/web/20010727151534/www.insidemacgames.com/features/00/lebel/ this interview], which contains other interesting tidbits such as some words from him about the cancellation of multiplayer. | <sup>3</sup>The time of Hardy's entry into the Oni project is mentioned in [http://web.archive.org/web/20010727151534/www.insidemacgames.com/features/00/lebel/ this interview], which contains other interesting tidbits such as some words from him about the cancellation of multiplayer. | ||
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<sup>4</sup>[http://marathon.bungie.org/story/newmay-june98.html Oni discussion] on the Marathon Story Page. Bungie fans first started talking about the newly-announced Oni (and the E3 1998 trailer) back in May-June 1998, unaware that it would not release for another two and a half years. | <sup>4</sup>[http://marathon.bungie.org/story/newmay-june98.html Oni discussion] on the Marathon Story Page. Bungie fans first started talking about the newly-announced Oni (and the E3 1998 trailer) back in May-June 1998, unaware that it would not release for another two and a half years. | ||
<sup>5</sup>The eight employees from | <sup>5</sup>The eight employees from Oni's credits that still work at Bungie are Butcher, Dunn, Wu, the McLees, O'Donnell, Sinclair, and Staten. | ||