Oni2:A Storyline/PostSummary2: Difference between revisions

| Introduces notion of META, a "technological mega-consortium run by the Syndicate++ state. It makes everything from weapons to vehicles to droids/SLDs/mechas/cyborgs(/Daodans?)". It's essentially the source of all technological innovation in the world. Questions how guido's notion of Konoko's motivation in blowing up the ACCs jives with the outro movie. Konoko had faith in the Daodan, almost blindly, thinking that it could be given to all the people. Perhaps this was additionally due to mental alienation caused by her Daodan Chrysalis. Agrees that giving everyone Chrysalises would practically lead to Armageddon, with Mutant Muros all over the place. Although perhaps that conflict is part of the "grand design", but that kind of climax couldn't happen until about halfway through Oni ''3''. But his explanation of Konoko's decision is that she wasn't "herself". Having to deal with that realization is what would lead to her trance and amnesia, as it wouldn't be possible to kill oneself as a Daodan host. But his version of the story does have this point in common with guido's, that she "dies" after Oni 1. The will of her human mind to remain human disrupts the Daodan's evolution and they both collapse into inactivity. The story of Oni 2 would be both Konoko regaining her mind, and the Daodan regaining its "mind", its programming to evolve its host. Whichever regains its strength first will win. If both regain strength and come into conflict again, the cycle will repeat (perhaps in Oni 3!). The solution might be learning to communicate with this "other mind". The other characters returning from Oni 1 might be able to help. Muro is an example of what happens when one gives in to the Daodan and loses one's own mind. But because Mai and Mukade are still resisting mentally, they can't achieve Imago. Agrees that we don't want to introduce a totally new villain with no connection to Oni 1's story. Wants to bring back Shinatama, who backed herself up (perhaps only partially) before being physically destroyed. Likes owldreamer's concept of Hikari being a resurrected Shinatama. But Shinatama 2 doesn't necessarily help Mai a lot, because at first she's scared of her, and also she doesn't know all the answers herself, pertaining to the Daodan and Mai's fate. Kerr did not survive Oni 1, but he could have left recordings with valuable information, perhaps anticipating some events in Oni 2 a la Hari Seldon [who predicts the future using mathematics in Asimov's "Foundation" novels]. Shinatama 2 might discover these recordings and selectively share them with Mai over time. Barabas could return, but in a non-notable role where he's hardly even recognizable -- just something for players of Oni 1 to catch. Repeats his doubts about the Hasegawa story: it was on a CD dropped by Mukade; he did all that research in just months [as mentioned in the summary of post #18, Hasegawa had up to 3 years]; and years later, at the time of Oni, there still isn't a "pending environmental crisis" [ [[Quotes/Consoles#BioCrisis|actually...]] ]. Thinks that Hasegawa was being tampered with in order to start the project and make such quick advancement (and this tampering may also involve Jamie's death); later on, he must have realized he was being influenced. He eventually implanted a Chrysalis in himself, before or after Muro, either to be able to understand what Muro would face, or to be able to watch over him if he doubted Muro's goodness, or to investigate the Daodan's mission himself. He knew to expect a battle of wills and was able to stay human, perhaps even achieving communication with his Chrysalis. Doesn't accept that Hasegawa and Kerr simply thought of the Daodan as a great cure for polluted air; they must have understood the deeper, darker implications. Perhaps Imagoes do consume themselves and Muro would have died soon after fighting Mai anyway. That would make the ones who resist full Imago, like Mai and Mukade, the strong ones. As long as they hold on to their humanity, they continue to get some of the benefits of the Daodan, but will remain vulnerable, unlike an Imago. That might be the only possibility for stability in a Daodan host. Perhaps the "grand design" behind the Daodan is actually to select these stronger-willed people, in order to face some danger or challenge. Only those "survivors" will be able to communicate with the beings guiding the Daodan; although that might be the subject of Oni 3.

| Is less interested in Bungie's "context" and more in how the story itself makes us feel and how it's open to interpretation. Where did these ideas go astray from what Oni is about? Points out all the similarities between the themes in Oni 2 and Oni 1: a nameless heroine without a past; a struggle between two communities, one of which adopts her (perhaps for their own purposes); the heroine developing superhuman abilities while discovering her identity; an obscure community of enemies; the heroine's community rejecting her out of fear of her powers; an enemy mastermind who is somehow connected to the heroine; "marginal people" who can help the heroine find her identity. But we shouldn't idolize the original story too much; the motivations and settings are rather derivative and simplistic. Why shouldn't we aim higher? Thinks that a new player will be able to come into this story without a learning curve from not knowing Oni 1, and returning players will recognize the themes well enough (authoritarian gov't, Mai being used as a weapon, etc.) that they can connect to it. As for Big, has purposely held off on elaborating on that character so fans wouldn't complain about geyser shoe-horning his own creation into the story; focusing first on elaborating on characters such as Mukade. Hikari isn't geyser's character, but if guido finds her inspiring, then is happy to have her around. In any case, we've only come up with a handful of new characters so far, so before we reject them, we need to give them time to see how they will interact with the established cast. Also, Hikari can be involved in revealing information to Mai about who/what she is (although Hikari is also afraid of her, which adds an interesting dynamic). Will start working on summarizing the thread using the aforementioned keyword index. Will also summarize his personal ideas on the wiki; others are welcome to contribute their own material. Art gallery for Guido is in progress; why hasn't anyone commented on his own art yet? Agrees that Oni 2 should start with multiplayer and basic gameplay elements. This thread is for planning out the story stuff that comes much later in the process.

| Links to some pages on wiki for Oni 2 characters, and to his "interactive index" of key concepts from this thread [that would be the [[Oni2:Storyline]] page, which was mostly unfinished at the time].

| Agrees with Guido. Wiki makes a better place for a showcase than a "limited access" page on Oni Central. Points to Quotes page that he has created on wiki. Having read all the quotes anew, issues some quasi-retractions on the subjects of whether the increasing pollution was just in Hasegawa's imagination, whether Muro's plan was legitimate, and whether Mai's decision was logical. Questions whether Oni really takes place in 2032 since there are conflicting dates. Game mentions Freedom Riots of 2012 but manual says WCG wasn't formed until after January 2032 [is this necessarily a conflict?]. Reviews main ideas generated to date. Pandora and her optimism for the Daodan vs. Mai's skepticism. The alienation caused by the Daodan and whether there is a grand design behind it, and whether it can be communicated with. The Daodan process, and Meta's rule, try to make things perfect, but the message of Oni 2 will be wabi-sabi-esque: that our beauty and strength lie in our imperfection. Outlines interaction between Mai and Hikari, who is the embodiment of the resurrected Shinatama. "Hacker boy" who works for Hikari may become torn between a distant AI that gives him orders and his "enemy" Mai, who is still partially human. Perhaps Dr. Edward(s) is hacker boy's granddad. "Collective storytelling has its problems [but] having story elements, and especially points of view and interpretations contributed by many individuals is a definite plus". Pluralistic storytelling is "much closer" to how animé and good sci-fi tells stories, leaving some things for the audience to think about. A sophisticated game could even allow Mai to die, and have the player continue with another character such as Hikari or Pandora or Big. That may be over-ambitious for a video game, but maybe a gamebook is a better idea. Points to gamebook on another wiki which is about Oni and has Guido listed as artist: "What the hell is this?" [this was a [[wikipedia:D20 System|d20]] gamebook worked on by several people we don't know, plus Guido; it didn't seem to be active for very long, and then it was deleted by admins because Wikibooks is not for original material; [http://web.archive.org/web/20050807011518/http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Oni_d20 here's a peek] at what it looked like].

| Points out numerous flaws in a Mafia-like Syndicate; points to description of Syndicate as a worldwide paramilitary force, which requires strict organization. They are also faceless to the WCG, unlike Mafias with their dons and capos. Some internal conflict might be interesting, but it could take the form of enforcing the rules, "firing" people (literally!), and keeping lower-tier suppliers in line. Disagrees that Hasegawa was ever naive about the Daodan's abilities; he was working on a <u>global</u> cure from the start, not just a cure for what killed Jamie. He came up with a "seed" process which would then act in an uncontrolled manner. So H&K as well as the Syndicate should have known that it could have other applications, like super-soldiers, right from the start. Why would Hasegawa have ever expected the Syndicate to restrain themselves, if that was the case? That's why he suggests that Hasegawa planned it from the beginning, or at least that H&K were working carefully. The idea of messing with humanity's very genetic makeup was too important to simply let them work blindly, led by emotion.