BGI: Difference between revisions

This level was intended as a confrontation with the shadowy BGI, which was later excised from the story as Oni's development ran out of time. Work-in-progress scripts for this level can be found in [[European Mac releases]] and the [[Oni (PlayStation 2)|PS2 port]]. The scripts contain two fragmentary cutscenes. The first describes Konoko setting a bomb and taking cover, and the resulting explosion. The other cutscene introduces the [[Iron Demon]] that would end up getting cut from the game.

That architecture looks a bit like the [[Regional State Building]] in {{C9}}, which incidentally is linked to the Iron Demon through [[:Image:Konoko runs from Iron Demon.jpg|this image]] of Konoko being chased by the Iron Demon and also [[:Image:1999 Trailer ID fight.jpg|this sequence]] from the [[Trailers#1999|1999 trailer]]. The building in that footage looks like Regional State, but maybe it was intended to be BGI? If so, many other pre-beta screenshots (or trailer snapshots) of the RSB architecture could in fact be glimpses of the BGI level.

The number of the level, 16, would place it after Konoko meets with Kerr in Science Prison and escapes from it, and before Konoko returns to the TCTF to confront Griffin – but that's only true if the current story was in place at the time. We know that content was shuffled around late in development – so late that Bungie West couldn't even contemplate renumbering the levels to match the new arrangement, and left gaps all over the place.

Of particular interest is that fact that Mountain Compound originally came much earlier in the level order (see {{SectionLink|Pre-beta content|Obsolete}}). If TCTF II and Compound hadn't been placed at level18 and level19 and nothing was ever produced for level17, ''the last level in the game would have been BGI at level16''. This leads us to an intriguing finding, which is that Alex Okita labeled the four "BGI" images in his art gallery as "[http://jongod.oni2.net/UnarchivedFiles/ONI%20ARCHIVE%201/aic/oni400.html Syndicate headquarters]". Was BGI originally synonymous with the Syndicate, or perhaps was revealed to be the organization that really runs it?

If so, this implies the fight with the Iron Demon to be a "final boss", and the script's mention of a "roof bomb" and massive explosions as a climactic destruction of the final level. Note the [[Oni/Early Story|Early Story]], which ended with Konoko bringing down a building on everyone's heads. Was the BGI level script leading to the planned ending where everyone but Konoko dies?