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Revision as of 20:43, 11 July 2011

125 bytes added ,  11 July 2011
moving footnote to actual footnotes
(+massive history dump; let's finally start putting all the facts together here for posterity)
(moving footnote to actual footnotes)
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At E3 1999, Oni received the Game Critics Award for "Best Action/Adventure Game", even though the game was still in pre-beta stage at that point.
At E3 1999, Oni received the Game Critics Award for "Best Action/Adventure Game", even though the game was still in pre-beta stage at that point.


Ultimately, the game would look somewhat different from what was seen in the trailers. Characters were altered in appearance, and levels were redesigned and re-textured. The [[pre-beta content|Pre-Beta Content]] article provides many before-after comparisons.
Ultimately, the game would look somewhat different from what was seen in the trailers. Characters were altered in appearance, and levels were redesigned and re-textured. The [[Pre-beta content|Pre-Beta Content]] article provides many before-after comparisons.


Due to the delays in Oni's development, Bungie suspended the advertising of the game for a time, so as not to spend the budget before the game was even released. In the meantime, the game under development at Bungie's HQ in Chicago, which was previously known only by its code name "Blam", came to be known as Halo and slowly drew attention away from the oft-delayed Oni as images and trailers for it began to appear.
Due to the delays in Oni's development, Bungie suspended the advertising of the game for a time, so as not to expend their budget before the game was even released. In the meantime, the game under development at Bungie's HQ in Chicago, which was previously known only by its code name "Blam", came to be known as Halo and slowly drew attention away from the oft-delayed Oni as images and trailers for it began to appear.


As Oni finally neared completion, Bungie resumed their advertising, now partnered with Take Two, who were in the process of taking over the Oni [[wikipedia:Intellectual_property|IP]] as Bungie prepared to join Microsoft. Promotional artwork was produced by [[Lorraine|Lorraine Reyes McLees]] and a 4-volume [[Dark_Horse_comics|comic]] was produced under T2's supervision and published by Dark Horse. T2's PR efforts, however, seem to have been focused mainly on the PS2 version of the game.
As Oni finally neared completion, Bungie resumed their advertising, now partnered with Take Two, who were in the process of taking over the Oni [[wikipedia:Intellectual_property|IP]] as Bungie prepared to join Microsoft (see "Post-release" section below). Promotional artwork was produced by [[Lorraine|Lorraine Reyes McLees]] and a 4-volume [[Dark_Horse_comics|comic]] was produced under T2's supervision and published by Dark Horse. T2's PR efforts, however, seem to have been focused mainly on the PS2 version of the game.


==Release==
==Release==
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Professional critics tended to dislike the ambitious melee element, complaining of counter-intuitive or unresponsive controls (if they found the game too hard), or the easily accessible basic combos (if they found the game too easy). Some reviewers were unimpressed by environment graphics that were not as rich as other games of the time (the simple look of Oni was partly due to the attempt to mimic animé backgrounds, and partly a result of the game mostly taking place in offices and other man-made, realistic structures).
Professional critics tended to dislike the ambitious melee element, complaining of counter-intuitive or unresponsive controls (if they found the game too hard), or the easily accessible basic combos (if they found the game too easy). Some reviewers were unimpressed by environment graphics that were not as rich as other games of the time (the simple look of Oni was partly due to the attempt to mimic animé backgrounds, and partly a result of the game mostly taking place in offices and other man-made, realistic structures).


Upon Oni's release, many felt cheated because the game did not deliver on all of its promises (a [http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/10/01/1651219&tid=211 not uncommon issue] in game development). The most notable shortcoming was the absence of LAN [[multiplayer]], which had been demoed at hands-on booths at Macworld Expos in mid-1999 and early 2000.  In May of 2000, it was announced that multiplayer was being removed from the game due to concerns over latency issues.
Upon Oni's release, many felt cheated because the game did not deliver on all of its promises (a [http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/10/01/1651219&tid=211 not uncommon issue] in game development). The most notable shortcoming was the absence of LAN multiplayer, which had been demoed at hands-on booths at Macworld Expos in mid-1999 and early 2000.  In May of 2000, it was announced that multiplayer was being removed from the game due to concerns over latency issues (see the [[Multiplayer]] article for details).


Some previously-hyped features were missing, such as smart gunfire dodging and alarm behavior on the part of the AI. On the Oni Central Forum, Design Lead [[Credits|Hardy LeBel]] blamed this on Oni's original AI programmer, saying "She made a lot of boastful claims about what the AI would end up being able to do that she couldn't deliver on". Interestingly, some hidden AI abilities have been found in Oni's engine, either disabled, slightly buggy, or not utilized by the game's mission scripts.
Some previously-hyped features were missing, such as smart gunfire dodging and alarm behavior on the part of the AI. On the Oni Central Forum, Design Lead [[Credits|Hardy LeBel]] blamed this on Oni's original AI programmer, saying "She made a lot of boastful claims about what the AI would end up being able to do that she couldn't deliver on". Interestingly, some hidden AI abilities have been found in Oni's engine, either disabled, slightly buggy, or not utilized by the game's mission scripts.
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It is believed that Bungie began suffering from a shortage of cash around 1998 when the Myth II uninstaller bug was discovered and cost them around $1 million to correct. This might have been difficult to absorb for a studio not accustomed to a disciplined release schedule. The next game to release after Myth II was to be Oni in 1999, but as Oni's release date began to slide more and more, it became clear that Bungie had underestimated the time required to finish the game by more than usual. In the meantime, Bungie was bankrolling two studios instead of one. Thus, the decision was made in 1999 to partner with Take Two Interactive; Bungie traded 19.9% of their stock to T2 in exchange for (1) payments of $4 million now and $1 million the next year, (2) the North America publishing [[rights]] to Oni, Myth, and two additional future titles for the PC, and (3) publishing rights for a PlayStation 2 port of Oni (and possibly other console versions of anticipated games).
It is believed that Bungie began suffering from a shortage of cash around 1998 when the Myth II uninstaller bug was discovered and cost them around $1 million to correct. This might have been difficult to absorb for a studio not accustomed to a disciplined release schedule. The next game to release after Myth II was to be Oni in 1999, but as Oni's release date began to slide more and more, it became clear that Bungie had underestimated the time required to finish the game by more than usual. In the meantime, Bungie was bankrolling two studios instead of one. Thus, the decision was made in 1999 to partner with Take Two Interactive; Bungie traded 19.9% of their stock to T2 in exchange for (1) payments of $4 million now and $1 million the next year, (2) the North America publishing [[rights]] to Oni, Myth, and two additional future titles for the PC, and (3) publishing rights for a PlayStation 2 port of Oni (and possibly other console versions of anticipated games).


This deal didn't seem to change much for Bungie, but considerably more shocking news was revealed on June 19, 2000, when Bungie announced its acquisition by Microsoft. It turned out that Bungie's monetary woes had not been solved by T2's influx of cash, and so MacSoft founder Peter Tamte had been hired to call around to different companies on Bungie's behalf, looking for a buyer. Bungie worked out the following deal with T2 in order to be free to join Microsoft: T2 sold its 19.9% stake of Bungie to MS for its original purchase price of $5 million; T2 then traded its publishing rights for Halo back to Bungie for (1) $4 million in cash, (2) a license to use the Halo engine to make two future titles, and (3) for full "right, title and interest" to the Myth franchise and Oni. T2 valued the IP acquisition of Oni at $2.8 million, and the Myth IP and Halo engine license at $1.5 million each.<sup>6</sup>
This deal didn't seem to change much for Bungie, but considerably more shocking news was revealed on June 19, 2000, when Bungie announced its acquisition by Microsoft. It turned out that Bungie's monetary woes had not been solved by T2's influx of cash, and so MacSoft founder Peter Tamte had been hired to call around to different companies on Bungie's behalf, looking for a buyer. Bungie worked out the following deal with T2 in order to be free to join Microsoft: T2 sold its 19.9% stake of Bungie to MS for its original purchase price of $5 million; T2 then traded its publishing rights for Halo back to Bungie for (1) $4 million in cash, (2) a license to use the Halo engine to make two future titles, and (3) for full "right, title and interest" to the Myth franchise and Oni. T2 valued the IP acquisition of Oni at $2.8 million, and the Myth IP and Halo engine license at $1.5 million each.<sup>6,7</sup>
 
The sale of Bungie to Microsoft has an interesting historical footnote: according to Ed Fries, the VP of game publishing at Microsoft, Steve Jobs angrily called Steve Ballmer immediately after the Bungie acquisition was announced; according to sources within Bungie, Apple themselves had been close to offering to buy Bungie at the time. In order to appease Apple (a business partner of Microsoft), a new company was formed to port Windows games to the Mac, named Destineer, and headed up by none other than Peter Tamte. Destineer would go on to port Halo to the Mac in 2003.


The acquisition of Bungie by Microsoft also meant the dissolution of Bungie West as Bungie moved their employees to Redmond, Washington. Some Oni developers stayed with Bungie and went on to work on the Halo series, while others ended up at independent game studios, such as Giant Bite (co-founded by Chu & Evans) and Tyrant Studios (founded by LeBel).
The acquisition of Bungie by Microsoft also meant the dissolution of Bungie West as Bungie moved their employees to Redmond, Washington. Some Oni developers stayed with Bungie and went on to work on the Halo series, while others ended up at independent game studios, such as Giant Bite (co-founded by Chu & Evans) and Tyrant Studios (founded by LeBel).
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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 seven members<sup>7</sup> still working at Bungie as of March 2011). There is probably little sentimental or monetary incentive for Bungie to produce a sequel.  Furthermore, it was announced in May 2010 that Bungie was developing a new IP, to be published by Activision under a ten-year contract.
One thing is certain: the current Bungie staff has little in common with the Bungie West that produced Oni (there are seven members<sup>8</sup> still working at Bungie as of March 2011). There is probably little sentimental or monetary incentive for Bungie to produce a sequel.  Furthermore, it was announced in May 2010 that Bungie was developing a new IP, to be published by Activision under a ten-year contract.


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>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>"200,000 units" figure taken from Dean Takahashi's book "Opening the Xbox", which also provided some of the details for the Apple story given in this section.
<sup>5</sup>"200,000 units" figure taken from Dean Takahashi's book "Opening the Xbox", which also provided some of the details for the Apple story given below.
 
<sup>6</sup>Dollar amounts and details taken directly from T2's public SEC filings.


<sup>6</sup>Dollar amounts and details taken directly from T2's public 10-K filing.
<sup>7</sup>The sale of Bungie to Microsoft has an interesting historical footnote: according to Ed Fries, the VP of game publishing at Microsoft, Steve Jobs angrily called Steve Ballmer immediately after the Bungie acquisition was announced; sources within Bungie state that Apple themselves had been close to offering to buy Bungie at the time. In order to appease Apple (a business partner of Microsoft) over the loss of a major Mac game developer, a new company was formed to port Windows games to the Mac, named Destineer, and headed up by none other than Peter Tamte. Destineer would go on to port Halo to the Mac in 2003.


<sup>7</sup>The employees in Oni's credits that still work at Bungie are Butcher, Dunn, the McLees, O'Donnell, Staten and Wu. Only Butcher and Wu actually worked at Bungie West.
<sup>8</sup>The employees in Oni's credits that still work at Bungie are Butcher, Dunn, the McLees, O'Donnell, Staten and Wu. Only Butcher and Wu actually worked at Bungie West.


[[Category:Oni history]]
[[Category:Oni history]]
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