Data console

Control	Data	Alarm	WTF

Consoles are interactive entities (basically computer terminals) that can be used both by the player and by the AI.

Three types of consoles are used in Oni, known as "control", "data" and "alarm". All three have a unique appearance.

There is also a fourth console type, CONSconsole_small_wu_roof, which is never instantiated in Oni's levels.

Related topics

• Console gallery on Oni Stuff
• Console classes and instances thereof in the OBD database.
• A collection of quotes from the data consoles

Alarm consoles

The least common and easiest to identify, alarm consoles have a bright red frame and a flashing screen (even when the console is idle). Some enemies will rush to a nearby alarm console when they spot Konoko, summoning reinforcements if she cannot stop them in time. Konoko herself can also choose to activate these consoles, for example if she intends to loot the reinforcements for powerups and weapons, or simply because she wants to kick more Striker/BlackOps a$$.

AI behaviour in the original Oni is everything but flawless. The engine allows the AI to automatically go for the console nearest to them, and to fight back if they are threatened (preventing Konoko from tackling them, for instance). However, in the original logic all the alarm runs are explicitly scripted and the AI normally remain passive (and very vulnerable) until they've activated the alarm.

These consoles have no effect aside from summoning enemy units (who may come in from other sections of the level, unlocking doors on their way). In the Edition, though, triggered alarms could permanently lock some doors, forcing the player to take a different route, or affect the logic in more complicated ways than summoning extra enemies "then and there". However, Oni's savepoints can not store much in terms of custom information; to keep track of optional events, multiple savepoints are typically required, just as for physical non-linearity (alternate routes).

Data consoles

Data consoles are not necessary to complete the missions, but they provide useful background information on Oni, in the form of one or several pages of text: all this data has been transcribed HERE. Like the alarm consoles, they always look exactly the same in all of Oni: they have a distinctive shape and symbol.

Plotwise, these are often terminals left unattended, and Konoko merely accesses the currently open session, or the session that was in progress before the console was shut down. There are transcripts for consoles supposed to play back sound, e.g., THESE TWO. In some cases, it looks more like Konoko is doing her own research, browsing the intranet of a facility for documentation.

Data consoles remain active after use, allowing the player to read the text as much. Some data consoles trigger scripted events after they are read, e.g., THIS ONE, but unlike for the other two console types, those events have no effect on the mission (no extra enemies).

Control consoles

These consoles are an essential ingredient of Oni's missions. They unlock doors, remove hazards, activate other consoles, and more generally allow the mission to progress. When active, they typically display a unique symbol corresponding to the door/hazard/console they are supposed to unlock/remove/activate.

These symbols are one of the aspects of Oni's gameplay which diverge the most from "what it would really have looked like in real life" (other such aspects include powerups, melee flashes, etc): it is unlikely for a real-world door to have a dedicated terminal, with the door's symbol permanently displayed in full-screen. The plotwise idea is that the terminals are connected to a mainframe and are used to perform more or less routine operations (locking and unlocking doors, calibrating power lines, etc): Konoko either uses them as intended, or hacks them (more or less intuitively) in order to proceed. Thus the matching symbols on the consoles are part of a simplified gameplay, but "actually" Konoko hacks her way through the system on her own. The straightforward interactivity can be seen as a "cheap" portrayal of her intuition, and of how naturally hacking comes to her.

Most control consoles are needed to complete the missions (some merely make it easier, e.g., by disabling laser sensors in CHAPTER 13 . PHOENIX RISING and CHAPTER 09 . TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES ). In CHAPTER 14 . DAWN OF THE CHRYSALIS, the 4 control consoles connected to STURMADERUNG display text upon activation. The idea here is that Konoko at first tries to gather information on Muro's plan and to hack her way to the core; her intrusion is detected, and the Elite squad sent after her allows her to enter the silo. Thus the FIRST THREE CONSOLES could technically have been data consoles, if it wasn't for their collective effect on the mission's progress. The FINAL CONSOLE is remarkable for Konoko's input - this is the only moment when we actually see what her hacking is like.

Non-interactive consoles

Those are just dumb pieces of furniture, with boring gray screens, but they could/should be livened up a bit, e.g., with animated textures. Apart from the alarm console, Oni has two animated textures suitable as animated screens: the holographic readouts that can be seen around the Deadly Brain and in the Omega Vault, and the news broadcast seen in CHAPTER 10 . CAT AND MOUSE.