Oni: Difference between revisions

'''Oni''' was developed by [[Bungie West]], a satellite studio of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bungie Bungie], and released on January 29, 2001 for Windows, Macintosh, and PlayStation 2.

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 and Michael Evans, whose primary influence was the animé film [[wikipedia:Ghost in the Shell (film)|''Ghost in the Shell'']].<ref>Pease discusses his role as Oni's creator and GitS' influence on the game [http://oni.bungie.org/special/part1/brent.html here].</ref> Pease and Evans had been working at Apple on game-related technology, and so their first step was to begin work on the engine, gradually hiring employees to produce concept art and author content for the game. The name "Oni" was originally intended only as a code name during development; Pease intended it to be a reference to their inspiration, believing its meaning to be "Ghost".<ref>The meaning of "oni" is usually given by those familiar with Japanese myths as either "demon" or "ogre". Pease explains the origin of the code 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.</ref><ref>At one time during development, the name "Mnemonic Shadow" was considered. (http://marathon.bungie.org/story/newjan-feb01.html)</ref>

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 the [[Daodan Chrysalis]] and [[SLD]]s.

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 "Change of ownership" section below). Promotional artwork was produced by Lorraine Reyes as well as artists commissioned by Take-Two, and a four-issue comic book was produced under Take-Two's supervision and published by Dark Horse. Take-Two's PR efforts, however, seem to have been focused mainly on the PS2 version of the game.

Bungie had seemed to enjoy great success as an independent publisher ever since they released [[wikipedia:Pathways into Darkness|Pathways into Darkness]] in 1993. However, Bungie was initially a Macintosh developer, and even their domination of the Mac's small game industry meant limited success in real financial terms<ref>Dean Takahashi's book "Opening the Xbox" claims on [https://books.google.com/books?ei=A1mlT672KIG29QSbz-HyDQ&id=sJi2AAAAIAAJ&dq=Opening+the+xbox&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=Bungie page 238] that a Bungie game never sold more than 200,000 units, but that number may be based on a misunderstanding, because the Chicago Reader article [http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/monsters-in-a-box/Content?oid=901762 "Monsters in a Box"] talks about an ''initial shipment'' of Myth II numbering 200,000 units.</ref> (but eventually, Bungie began releasing games for Windows too, starting with Marathon 2). Bungie also took advantage of their indie status to avoid the strict deadlines which are normally enforced by video game publishers, refusing to release their games until they were totally satisfied with them.

At first, Take-Two seemed intent on investing in Oni as a franchise. Shortly after Oni's release, a simple game billed as an Oni prequel<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20020221045402/http://www.fgnonline.com/pc/news/17352.html Fastest Game News Online, "Oni Prequel Announced"].</ref> (developed by Quantum Sheep) was released for [[wikipedia:Wireless_Application_Protocol|WAP]]-enabled cell phones. More significantly, it was rumored<ref>[http://oni.bungie.org/newsarchives/2001/apr01.html Oni Central News Archives, Apr. 2001].</ref> that Take-Two had put Oni 2 into production; however, no sequel was ever officially announced. In 2016, an actual development build of the cancelled game was leaked.<ref>Documented by the game preservation YouTube channel PtoPOnline [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZItobLIJJMY here].</ref> Interviews with former employees of Angel Studios revealed that the game had been in development for about two years without a clear direction, and the troubled project was finally cancelled when Angel Studios was acquired by Rockstar in 2002.

Since Oni's release, the fan community has been working on [[wikipedia:Mod_(video_gaming)|mods]] and writing gameplay and modding tools for the game. Gradually, the modding abilities of the community have extended to encompass nearly every aspect of the game. The game applications for Windows and macOS are also maintained and improved through patches. Various fan projects have taken on the subject of an "Oni 2" storyline.