Oni 2 (Angel Studios): Difference between revisions

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removed link that I can't check because the site seems to have deleted my account; it's not really needed since we have the direct download link here too
m (mentioning that there's also a menu which calls it Rebirth)
m (removed link that I can't check because the site seems to have deleted my account; it's not really needed since we have the direct download link here too)
 
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[[Image:Oni 2 - Title screen.jpg|right|300px]]
[[Image:Oni 2 - Title screen.jpg|right|300px]]
<div class="noexcerpt">
[[Image:Oni 2 - Unused Select Level menu.jpg|right|300px]]
:''For instructions on how to run the game, see [[/Running|HERE]].
'''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&nbsp;2:&nbsp;Death&nbsp;&&nbsp;Taxes''', was likely a working title or a light-hearted placeholder; the game data internally uses the name '''Oni&nbsp;2:&nbsp;Rebirth''', and this title can also be seen in an unused menu screen (right).
:''For information on each level in the game, as well as stills/video footage, see [[/Levels|HERE]].''
 
:''For technical documentation of the game, see [[OBD:Oni2AS|HERE]].''</div>
:''Subpages:''
'''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 before Angel was acquired by Rockstar and renamed [[wikipedia:Rockstar_San_Diego|Rockstar San Diego]]. An ISO of a late or final development build of the game 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&nbsp;2:&nbsp;Death&nbsp;&&nbsp;Taxes''', was likely a working title or a light-hearted placeholder; the game data internally uses the name '''Oni&nbsp;2:&nbsp;Rebirth''', and this title can also be seen in an unused menu screen.
::[[/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 figure.jpg|right|220px]]
[[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 [https://kotaku.com/bungie-s-cult-classic-oni-almost-had-a-sequel-1789693658 Kotaku].
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 [[wikipedia:Rockstar_Advanced_Game_Engine|Rockstar Advanced Game Engine]], which Rockstar has used to power the Grand Theft Auto games from IV onward.
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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==Download==
==Download==
The dev build was originally leaked on the EmuParadise forums [https://www.epforums.org/showthread.php?107807-BETA-Oni-2-Death-and-Taxes-(Prototype) HERE] (registration required), in a post stating that the ISO is uploaded [https://mega.nz/#!x9oHxaLZ!-bOo-wwdj1fh925DYv1Qc6ErDSRl2HEgtWC-i2FtxtY HERE].
The dev build was originally leaked on the EmuParadise forums in a post stating that the ISO is uploaded [https://mega.nz/#!x9oHxaLZ!-bOo-wwdj1fh925DYv1Qc6ErDSRl2HEgtWC-i2FtxtY HERE].


[[Category:Oni history]]
[[Category:Oni history]]