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Oni: Difference between revisions
moved paragraph about the failure to release the tools/data to the Future section, and moved all the details on the tools to a footnote
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Work on Oni began in 1997 when Bungie decided to found a second studio, Bungie West, with the initial employees being Brent Pease and Michael Evans. The concept for Bungie West's first project was devised by Pease, whose primary influence was the animé film ''[[Ghost in the Shell]]''.<!-- | Work on Oni began in 1997 when Bungie decided to found a second studio, Bungie West, with the initial employees being Brent Pease and Michael Evans. The concept for Bungie West's first project was devised by Pease, whose primary influence was the animé film ''[[Ghost in the Shell]]''.<!-- | ||
--><ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20010302193919/http://www.insidemacgames.com/previews/99/oni/oni2.shtml Inside Mac Games, "Sneak Preview: Oni", 1999].</ref><!-- | --><ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20010302193919/http://www.insidemacgames.com/previews/99/oni/oni2.shtml Inside Mac Games, "Sneak Preview: Oni", 1999].</ref><!-- | ||
--> It took one year of conversation with Alex Seropian before the project was greenlit.<ref name="OBO Brent interview"/> Pease and Evans had been programmers at Apple working on game-related technology, so their first step was to begin programming Oni's engine while gradually hiring employees to produce concept art and game content. "Oni" was meant to be a development code name that referenced the game's inspiration – Pease considered ''oni'''s meaning to be "ghost".<ref name="OBO Brent interview"/><!-- | --> It took one year of conversation with Alex Seropian before the project was greenlit.<!-- | ||
--><ref name="OBO Brent interview">[http://oni.bungie.org/special/part1/brent.html Bungie.org, "Interview with Brent Pease", 1999].</ref><!-- | |||
--> Pease and Evans had been programmers at Apple working on game-related technology, so their first step was to begin programming Oni's engine while gradually hiring employees to produce concept art and game content. "Oni" was meant to be a development code name that referenced the game's inspiration – Pease considered ''oni'''s meaning to be "ghost".<ref name="OBO Brent interview"/><!-- | |||
--><ref group=note><cite class="note">However Hardy LeBel, the writer of the story, indicated [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 written the final story with that in mind. The final story incorporates many elements of the mythical oni, as explored in {{SectionLink|Oni (myth)|Connections to the game}}.</cite></ref><!-- | --><ref group=note><cite class="note">However Hardy LeBel, the writer of the story, indicated [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 written the final story with that in mind. The final story incorporates many elements of the mythical oni, as explored in {{SectionLink|Oni (myth)|Connections to the game}}.</cite></ref><!-- | ||
--><ref group=note><cite class="note">At one time during development, the name "Mnemonic Shadow" was considered according to the [https://marathon.bungie.org/story/newjan-feb01.html Marathon Story Page].</cite></ref><!-- | --><ref group=note><cite class="note">At one time during development, the name "Mnemonic Shadow" was considered according to the [https://marathon.bungie.org/story/newjan-feb01.html Marathon Story Page].</cite></ref><!-- | ||
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==Reception== | ==Reception== | ||
[[Image:ManPlant12.jpg|thumb|250px| | [[Image:ManPlant12.jpg|thumb|250px|You can compare the lighting of the environment above to the [[:Image:Ch._2_dynamo_room.jpg|lighting it has now]].]] | ||
[[Image:Oni MP at MacWorld NY 1999 2.jpg|thumb|250px|The canceled multiplayer mode.]] | [[Image:Oni MP at MacWorld NY 1999 2.jpg|thumb|250px|The canceled multiplayer mode.]] | ||
The overall consensus of the critical reviews was that the game was good, but not great; Oni has a [https://www.metacritic.com/game/oni-2001/ metascore] of 73/100 from critics, but an 8.4/10 from the website's voters. | The overall consensus of the critical reviews was that the game was good, but not great; Oni has a [https://www.metacritic.com/game/oni-2001/ metascore] of 73/100 from critics, but an 8.4/10 from the website's voters. | ||
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Some of the game's content was cut as well. This included an entire planned 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 this was mainly due to content that was moved around or consolidated into fewer levels.<ref name="HL cuts" /> | Some of the game's content was cut as well. This included an entire planned 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 this was mainly due to content that was moved around or consolidated into fewer levels.<ref name="HL cuts" /> | ||
''Further reading:'' [[Pre-beta content]], [[Pre-beta features]], [[Reviews]], [[Multiplayer]]. | |||
==Buyout== | ==Buyout== | ||
{{Quotebox|title=Take-Two 10-K (1999)|width=365px|quote="In November 1999, we acquired 19.9% of the outstanding capital stock of Bungie Software Products Corporation for $5 million, of which $4 million was paid and $1 million is payable in May 2000. Bungie is a leading developer of software games for the PC platform."}} | {{Quotebox|title=Take-Two 10-K (1999)|width=365px|quote="In November 1999, we acquired 19.9% of the outstanding capital stock of Bungie Software Products Corporation for $5 million, of which $4 million was paid and $1 million is payable in May 2000. Bungie is a leading developer of software games for the PC platform."}} | ||
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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.<ref>[http://nikon.bungie.org/misc/trans/4players_hr_sk_interview.html 4players.de interviews Shane Kim and Harold Ryan, Oct. 5, 2007] (translated from [https://web.archive.org/web/20211031100011/https://www.4players.de/4players.php/dispbericht/Allgemein/Special/1846/5870/0/Microsoft.html original]).</ref> | ::(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.<ref>[http://nikon.bungie.org/misc/trans/4players_hr_sk_interview.html 4players.de interviews Shane Kim and Harold Ryan, Oct. 5, 2007] (translated from [https://web.archive.org/web/20211031100011/https://www.4players.de/4players.php/dispbericht/Allgemein/Special/1846/5870/0/Microsoft.html original]).</ref> | ||
One thing is certain: the current Bungie staff has little in common with the group that produced Oni (there is only one Oni developer still working at Bungie – Chris Butcher – as of October 2023). There is probably little sentimental or monetary incentive for | One thing is certain: the current Bungie staff has little in common with the group that produced Oni (there is only one Oni developer still working at Bungie – Chris Butcher – as of October 2023). There is probably little sentimental or monetary incentive for the studio to buy back the IP and produce a sequel. | ||
When Oni was released, Bungie did not hold to their usual practice of releasing level-building tools for their games, since professional and costly software was used to produce Oni's levels.<!-- | |||
--><ref group=note><cite class="note">3D Studio MAX ($3,495) and the Character Studio plugin ($1,500) for character modeling and animation, AutoCAD ($3,750) for use by the architects in modeling the levels, and Lightscape ($500) for calculating the radiosity lighting solutions. (sources on tools used: [http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=2805], [http://oni.bungie.org/special/part1/brent.html], [http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=5996], [http://web.archive.org/web/20010302193919/http://www.insidemacgames.com/previews/99/oni/oni2.shtml], [http://web.archive.org/web/20000817001446/http://www.insidemacgames.com/features/00/dunn/p2.shtml]) (sources on prices of tools: [https://web.archive.org/web/20100724143804/http://area.autodesk.com/maxturns20/history], [https://www.jerrypournelle.com/computing/january99.html], [https://archive.is/5QiXc], [https://www.shapr3d.com/history-of-cad/autodesk-and-autocad], [https://techmonitor.ai/technology/lightscape_upgrades_3d_graphics_visualization_tools])</ref><!-- | |||
--> There was a plan to release information on the game's file formats to aid modders in developing their own tools, and to also release the tool that Bungie West developed for importing data from the professional software they used,<!-- | |||
--><ref name="OBO Brent interview"/><!-- | |||
--> but by the time of Oni's release, ownership had transferred to Take-Two, so Bungie no longer held the rights to the code and tools.<!-- | |||
--><ref>[http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=5185 Oni Central Forum, "Re: Ok Matt, you knew we'd ask...", Oct. 5, 2000].</ref><!-- | |||
--> Thus, it was left to the fans to create modding tools after investigating the inner workings of the game on their own. | |||
Since Oni's release, the fan community has been working on | Since Oni's release, the fan community has been working on mods and writing gameplay and modding tools for the game. Gradually the modding abilities of the community have extended to 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. | ||
''Further reading:'' [[History of Oni modding]], [[Anniversary Edition]], [[:Category:Gameplay tools|Gameplay tools]], [[:Category: | ''Further reading:'' [[History of Oni modding]], [[Anniversary Edition]], [[:Category:Gameplay tools|Gameplay tools]], [[:Category:Modding tools|Modding tools]], [[:Category:Patches|Engine patches]], [[Oni 2|Oni 2 (fanon)]]. | ||
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