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Oni 2 (Angel Studios): Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Oni 2 - Title screen.jpg|right|300px]] | [[Image:Oni 2 - Title screen.jpg|right|300px]] | ||
[[Image:Oni 2 - Unused Select Level menu.jpg|right|300px]] | |||
'''Oni 2''' was a sequel to [[Oni]] which was in development from 2001-2002 before being cancelled. The game was being developed by Angel Studios for the PlayStation 2 under publisher Take-Two Interactive. Development stopped when Angel Studios was acquired by Rockstar and renamed [[wp:Rockstar San Diego|Rockstar San Diego]]. An ISO of a development build of the game (presumably one of the last builds) leaked in 2016 and was promptly documented by the game preservation YouTube channel PtoPOnline [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZItobLIJJMY here]. The name of the game seen on the main menu, '''Oni 2: Death & Taxes''', was likely a working title or a light-hearted placeholder; the game data internally uses the name '''Oni 2: Rebirth''', and this title can also be seen in an unused menu screen (right). | |||
'''Oni 2''' was a sequel to [[Oni]] which was in development from 2001-2002 before being cancelled. The game was being developed by Angel Studios for the PlayStation 2 under publisher Take-Two Interactive | :''Subpages:'' | ||
::[[/Running|Running]]: Instructions on how to run the game | |||
::[[/Levels|Levels]]: Information on and footage of each level in the game | |||
:''Also see:'' | |||
::[[:Category:Oni 2 (AS) game images]]: All game images on the wiki | |||
::[[OBD:Oni2AS]]: Technical documentation on the game | |||
==Development== | ==Development== | ||
[[Image:Oni 2 - Konoko profile.jpg|right|220px]] | [[Image:Oni 2 - Konoko profile.jpg|right|220px]] | ||
[[Image:Oni 2 - Konoko | [[Image:Oni 2 - Konoko three-quarters away combat.jpg|right|220px]] | ||
Shortly after Oni was released, it was [http://oni.bungie.org/newsarchives/2001/apr01.html rumored] that Take-Two had put Oni 2 into production; however, no sequel was ever officially announced. In 2007, the rumor of a cancelled sequel was bolstered by [http://www.lostlevels.org/wordpress/2007/11/07/such-things-that-never-was/ a leak] which asserted that Oni 2 had been under development by Angel Studios for the PS2. In 2016, the full story finally came out when an actual development build of the cancelled game was leaked, documented by PtoPOnline, and covered by [ | Shortly after Oni was released, it was [http://oni.bungie.org/newsarchives/2001/apr01.html rumored] that Take-Two had put Oni 2 into production; however, no sequel was ever officially announced. In 2007, the rumor of a cancelled sequel was bolstered by [http://www.lostlevels.org/wordpress/2007/11/07/such-things-that-never-was/ a leak] which asserted that Oni 2 had been under development by Angel Studios for the PS2. In 2016, the full story finally came out when an actual development build of the cancelled game was leaked, documented by PtoPOnline, and covered by [https://kotaku.com/bungie-s-cult-classic-oni-almost-had-a-sequel-1789693658 Kotaku]. | ||
At this time, interviews with former developers revealed that the game had started development at the beginning of 2001 or even late 2000, which might mean that its development overlapped with Oni's. Since the development build is dated Dec. 10, 2002, that means that the game was in development for as long as two years. After all that time, it was apparently not even close to completion. The project suffered from a lack of clear direction, and when Angel was acquired by Rockstar and renamed as Rockstar San Diego in 2002, Oni 2 was cancelled in favor of other projects. | At this time, interviews with former developers revealed that the game had started development at the beginning of 2001 or even late 2000, which might mean that its development overlapped with Oni's. Since the development build is dated Dec. 10, 2002, that means that the game was in development for as long as two years. After all that time, it was apparently not even close to completion. The project suffered from a lack of clear direction, and when Angel was acquired by Rockstar and renamed as Rockstar San Diego in 2002, Oni 2 was cancelled in favor of other projects. | ||
The game binary contains various strings which demonstrate that it ran on the Angel Game Engine (AGE), the in-house engine used by Angel Studios. Since Angel almost exclusively developed racing games at the time Oni 2 was started, it's difficult to understand why T2 assigned them a third-person brawler with a heavy focus on bipedal animation. It seems likely that Angel had to do a tremendous amount of coding to add support for this type of game to their engine. Interestingly, Angel was apparently bought by Rockstar for their engine, and AGE became RAGE, the [[ | The game binary contains various strings which demonstrate that it ran on the Angel Game Engine (AGE), the in-house engine used by Angel Studios. Since Angel almost exclusively developed racing games at the time Oni 2 was started, it's difficult to understand why T2 assigned them a third-person brawler with a heavy focus on bipedal animation. It seems likely that Angel had to do a tremendous amount of coding to add support for this type of game to their engine. Interestingly, Angel was apparently bought by Rockstar for their engine, and AGE became RAGE, the [[wp:Rockstar Advanced Game Engine|Rockstar Advanced Game Engine]], which Rockstar has used to power the Grand Theft Auto games from IV onward. | ||
A concept artist for Oni 2, Eric Lin, has done some original art in subsequent years that reflects his work on the game. Click [https://www.deviantart.com/hinxlinx/gallery?catpath=/&edit=0&q=oni here] to search his gallery for Oni-related art. | A concept artist for Oni 2, Eric Lin, has done some original art in subsequent years that reflects his work on the game. Click [https://www.deviantart.com/hinxlinx/gallery?catpath=/&edit=0&q=oni here] to search his gallery for Oni-related art. | ||
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==Story== | ==Story== | ||
[[Image:Oni 2 - WCG. | [[Image:Oni 2 - WCG.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The WCG is still around in the sequel.]] | ||
It doesn't seem that the Oni 2 project actually had any writing done for it yet, so any story-like elements in the build are probably placeholders. This is the likely explanation for the fact that Konoko is depicted as working for the TCTF, an organization that previously tried to kill her, not to mention that Mai is called "Konoko" again instead of her real name (though that may be because she is working for the TCTF). Konoko is briefed on missions by an artificial being named Amaya who looks more like a robot than an SLD. The organization of bad guys is simply called the Neo-Syndicate, also likely a placeholder. The setting of the game is a traditional cyberpunk atmosphere. We see all sorts of cyborgs, as well as scavengers living off collected junk. | It doesn't seem that the Oni 2 project actually had any writing done for it yet, so any story-like elements in the build are probably placeholders. This is the likely explanation for the fact that Konoko is depicted as working for the TCTF, an organization that previously tried to kill her, not to mention that Mai is called "Konoko" again instead of her real name (though that may be because she is working for the TCTF). Konoko is briefed on missions by an artificial being named Amaya who looks more like a robot than an SLD. The organization of bad guys is simply called the Neo-Syndicate, also likely a placeholder. The setting of the game is a traditional cyberpunk atmosphere. We see all sorts of cyborgs, as well as scavengers living off collected junk. | ||
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In the following tables, a '*' means a short pause. | In the following tables, a '*' means a short pause. | ||
△ is the strike (fast attack) button, and it produces various punches and kicks based upon your position in a combo sequence or the use of a directional modifier (that is, beginning to move in a certain direction right before attacking). ◯ is the heavy attack button, producing slower, presumably more powerful attacks. | △ is the strike (fast attack) button, and it produces various punches and kicks based upon your position in a combo sequence or the use of a directional modifier (that is, beginning to move in a certain direction right before attacking). ◯ is the heavy attack button, producing slower, presumably more powerful attacks. ◯ and △ attacks can be interleaved and still build a combo, e.g. △, ◯ performs the same second attack as ◯, ◯ does. | ||
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Note that grappling was a work-in-progress and can cause animation glitches after it ends. After holding a target for a while, he will break free, but this sometimes causes the game to hang. When you have someone in a hold, you can press △ one or two times to elbow him in the head, but a third △ will kick him away. So the elbow attacks are intended as an optional prelude to either releasing him with X, kicking him with △, throwing him with | Note that grappling was a work-in-progress and can cause animation glitches after it ends. After holding a target for a while, he will break free, but this sometimes causes the game to hang. When you have someone in a hold, you can press △ one or two times to elbow him in the head, but a third △ will kick him away. So the elbow attacks are intended as an optional prelude to either releasing him with X, kicking him with △, throwing him with ◯, or placing him in a painlock stance with ▢. When the victim is in a painlock, you can punch him in the head an unlimited number of times with △, but you can no longer throw him, only release him. | ||
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