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Oni: Difference between revisions
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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 [[wikipedia:cyborg|cyborg]], which, together with the tech-crime-fighting setting, resembled the world of ''Ghost in the Shell''. In August of 1999, Hardy LeBel was brought in as Design Lead, and revamped the story<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20010727151534/www.insidemacgames.com/features/00/lebel/ IMG interview with Hardy LeBel].</ref>. The final version of Oni abandons the cyborg heroine and instead introduces original concepts such as [[Daodan]] and [[SLD]]s. | 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 [[wikipedia:cyborg|cyborg]], which, together with the tech-crime-fighting setting, resembled the world of ''Ghost in the Shell''. In August of 1999, Hardy LeBel was brought in as Design Lead, and revamped the story<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20010727151534/www.insidemacgames.com/features/00/lebel/ IMG interview with Hardy LeBel].</ref>. The final version of Oni abandons the cyborg heroine and instead introduces original concepts such as [[Daodan]] and [[SLD]]s. | ||
Oni was originally expected to be released in the fourth quarter of 1999, but as that date approached, the release date was pushed back. This occurred repeatedly, until finally the rumored release date was as late as March 2001<ref>Discussions on OCF of: a [http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=2533 fall 1999] release date, a [http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=1129 summer 2000] release date, a [http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=4084 fall 2000] release date, and finally a [http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=4699 spring 2001] release date. These "release dates" were generally rumors, ephemeral dates used by online stores for pre-orders, or vague estimates by Bungie PR, not official statements. Nevertheless, it was clear that Oni was taking longer than planned to finish, which was a cause of some concern among Bungie fans.</ref>. Much of the uncertainty over Oni's status came from Bungie's well-known reluctance to disclose or adhere to fixed release dates. Some of the delay may have come from staff turnover and development issues; a Design Lead position was created in the summer of 1999 for newcomer Hardy LeBel, who immediately began rewriting the story. Pease left at the end of 1999 (with his Project Lead title being passed to Michael Evans) and Bungie West also lost one of their two level designers and replaced the AI programmer in the same six-month period between the summer and the end of 1999. | Oni was originally expected to be released in the fourth quarter of 1999, but as that date approached, the release date was pushed back. This occurred repeatedly, until finally the rumored release date was as late as March 2001<ref>Discussions on [[OCF]] of: a [http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=2533 fall 1999] release date, a [http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=1129 summer 2000] release date, a [http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=4084 fall 2000] release date, and finally a [http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=4699 spring 2001] release date. These "release dates" were generally rumors, ephemeral dates used by online stores for pre-orders, or vague estimates by Bungie PR, not official statements. Nevertheless, it was clear that Oni was taking longer than planned to finish, which was a cause of some concern among Bungie fans.</ref>. Much of the uncertainty over Oni's status came from Bungie's well-known reluctance to disclose or adhere to fixed release dates. Some of the delay may have come from staff turnover and development issues; a Design Lead position was created in the summer of 1999 for newcomer Hardy LeBel, who immediately began rewriting the story. Pease left at the end of 1999 (with his Project Lead title being passed to Michael Evans) and Bungie West also lost one of their two level designers and replaced the AI programmer in the same six-month period between the summer and the end of 1999. | ||
Possible additional factors were the introduction of a PS2 port to be released in tandem with Oni for Windows/Mac, part of a deal struck with Take-Two Interactive (T2) in August of 1999, and the acquisition of Bungie by Microsoft, which was announced in June of 2000. It is also possible that the acquisition of the Oni IP by Take Two in 2000 interfered with plans for a more timely release. The details of the MS/T2 situation are explained in the "Post-release" section below. | Possible additional factors were the introduction of a PS2 port to be released in tandem with Oni for Windows/Mac, part of a deal struck with Take-Two Interactive (T2) in August of 1999, and the acquisition of Bungie by Microsoft, which was announced in June of 2000. It is also possible that the acquisition of the Oni IP by Take Two in 2000 interfered with plans for a more timely release. The details of the MS/T2 situation are explained in the "Post-release" section below. | ||
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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. | ||
Due to the delays in Oni's development, Bungie suspended the advertising of the game for a time<ref>[http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=4570 OCF post by Matt Soell, "Re: Matt- could you address this?". | Due to the delays in Oni's development, Bungie suspended the advertising of the game for a time<ref>[http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=4570 OCF post by Matt Soell, "Re: Matt- could you address this?"].</ref>, 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 (see "Post-release" section below). Promotional artwork was produced by [[Lorraine|Lorraine Reyes McLees]] and a four-issue comic book 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 four-issue comic book 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. | ||
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==Release== | ==Release== | ||
After a short period of beta testing (starting just before September<ref>[http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=4556 OCF thread, "New news groups?"]</ref>), development of the Windows version was finished in November<ref>[http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=6377 OCF thread, "ONI gone GOLD"]</ref> and the Mac version in December 2000<ref>[http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=7653 OCF thread, "Re: It's coming... soon", which showed that the Mac version would not reach GM until the demo came out; | After a short period of beta testing (starting just before September<ref>[http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=4556 OCF thread, "New news groups?"].</ref>), development of the Windows version was finished in November<ref>[http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=6377 OCF thread, "ONI gone GOLD"].</ref> and the Mac version in December 2000<ref>[http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=7653 OCF thread, "Re: It's coming... soon"], which showed that the Mac version would not reach GM until the demo came out; [http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=8412 OCF thread, "MAC DEMO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"], marking the release of the demo.</ref>. Oni was finally released, much later than originally expected, at the end of January 2001<ref>[http://oni.bungie.org/newsarchives/2001/jan01.html Oni Central News Archive, Jan. 2001].</ref> (possibly Spring 2001 in Europe). Oni was translated into other languages, including Russian, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Chinese and Japanese<ref>[http://oni.bungie.org/community/forum/viewtopic.php?id=2102 OCF thread, "What language is your copy of Oni in?"].</ref>. 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. | 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. | ||
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Some of the game's content was cut as well. This included at least one entire level ([[BGI|BGI HQ]]), and the highly anticipated [[Iron Demon]], the large mech shown in-game in the 1999 trailer. Gaps in the numbering of the [[GameDataFolder|game files]] led fans to believe that at least five chapters were cut before release, but, besides the BGI HQ level that was cut from the story, this was simply due to content that was moved around or consolidated into other levels<ref name=HL-cuts />. | Some of the game's content was cut as well. This included at least one entire level ([[BGI|BGI HQ]]), and the highly anticipated [[Iron Demon]], the large mech shown in-game in the 1999 trailer. Gaps in the numbering of the [[GameDataFolder|game files]] led fans to believe that at least five chapters were cut before release, but, besides the BGI HQ level that was cut from the story, this was simply due to content that was moved around or consolidated into other levels<ref name=HL-cuts />. | ||
Finally, Bungie did not hold to their usual practice of releasing level-building tools for their games, since a professional and costly CAD program was used to produce Oni's levels<ref>[http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=2321 OCF post by Matt Soell, "Re: general questions...."]</ref>. As Oni's release neared, it was pointed out by Matt Soell, Bungie's PR person, that since Bungie no longer owned the game, they were unable to release whatever supplementary tools had been developed. Early statements about releasing the file formats were probably also impossible to follow through on once ownership had transferred to Take Two. This factor, coupled with the lack of multiplayer, meant that Oni's full potential was not obvious. | Finally, Bungie did not hold to their usual practice of releasing level-building tools for their games, since a professional and costly CAD program was used to produce Oni's levels<ref>[http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=2321 OCF post by Matt Soell, "Re: general questions...."].</ref>. As Oni's release neared, it was pointed out by Matt Soell, Bungie's PR person, that since Bungie no longer owned the game, they were unable to release whatever supplementary tools had been developed. Early statements about releasing the file formats were probably also impossible to follow through on once ownership had transferred to Take Two. This factor, coupled with the lack of multiplayer, meant that Oni's full potential was not obvious. | ||
Thus, it was left to the fans to create their own modding tools, after investigating the inner workings of the game on their own. | Thus, it was left to the fans to create their own modding tools, after investigating the inner workings of the game on their own. | ||