AE:BGI

This is for project-oriented rendering of BGI in the Anniversary Edition. For more detailed storywise elaborations, see BGI.

Role of BGI in Oni

The basic idea is that BGI, a "suspected Syndicate front", are a double- or triple-agent entity. As a worldwide industrial monopoly, they provides most of the technology in the WCG world (pretty much like DAIWA in Vexille). They also assist Muro's criminal organization when it comes to logistics and infrastructure; however, BGI are also a stronghold of the "old" Syndicate f.k.a. the Network, which Muro has neither beheaded nor dismembered during his rise to power. Thus BGI resent the alienation brought about by Muro, and secretly oppose the STURMANDERUNG project.

The WCG is aware of the ongoing militarization of Muro's Strikers. The TCTF are hardly able to maintain a credible image as peace-keepers in the media, let alone to actually thwart Muro's plans. In this situation, WCG officials have resorted to a pact with BGI, whereby BGI are free to develop paramilitary technology in order to face the threat represented by Muro. Griffin is unaware of that pact and proceeds with his own initiative: both the WCG and BGI view this as part of the problem and will attempt to disrupt the TCTF's Daodan project through legal pressure or sabotage.

BGI agents will monitor Konoko on her early missions and, when Griffin fails to contain the threat that she represents, will do their best to take her out of the equation. Since BGI's paramilitary is not supposed to exist, witnesses will be avoided (or eliminated) at all cost: massive use of phase cloaking (and perhaps self-destruction upon failure) will complement the deadly weapons and fighting techniques of the "anti-Daodan" squads. By confronting and possibly disrupting this new entity, Konoko will once again position herself as the only one who can defeat Muro.

Armored trooper

These are the guys supposed to deal not only with Muro's Strikers, but ultimately with (Mutant) Muro himself. Not bound by the WCG's regulations, they are physically enhanced by cyborgization and/or doping and thus can carry a full body armor similar to Barabas's or Mukade's.

Model

The best candidate so far is the Spartan design from Halo. The character wasn't designed by the same guys who worked on Oni, but the final model has features that remind both of Oni's TCTF SWAT and of Mukade. This double similarity makes all the more sense in the context of Oni2:Truth Number Zero (in which Mukade used to be part of BGI before Oni). Of the existing textures, the black variant is perhaps the least reminiscent of Halo and the most fitting in Oni's universe. Permanent phase cloaking and self-destruction would limit the sightings of the asset to situations of physical contact, contributing to the mystery surrounding the BGI entity and hopefully minimizing the legal issues.

The model we initially got busy with (HERE and HERE) was a promotional model distributed for free by LineFour (their only free character model). We rather naively assumed that this was an original (although somewhat unfinished) model by LineFour. Later, we found multiple instances of the same model on Turbosquid: HERE, HERE, and HERE, the latter being the actual rip and the others more or less accurate renditions of it.

The archive available from HERE is mirrored HERE: apart from the textures and the not-too-portable gmax model, it contains an OBJ. The OBJ had a few defects (disconnected triangles, duplicated triangles, missing triangles) which I fixed HERE and eventually HERE. It now needs to be decomposed into rigid body parts before it can be imported into Oni. The original texture is 512x512, so it also needs to be split to accommodate Oni's 256x256 limit. geyser

Weapons

Apart from weapons encountered in the original BGI uses its own unique arsenal. The few weapons gathered so far are:

• THIS (mother of all handguns)
• THIS (mother of all shotguns)
• THIS (flame thrower)
• THIS (bazooka)
• THIS (microwave)

Apart from the handgun, they all need to be textured and adapted as Oni weapons, with more or less custom projectiles.

There are other weapons around, from those modeled by Seventeen Seconds to THESE, but they're all somewhat boring.

Vehicles

A stealth dropship, ignored by the WCG's network of drones, comes readily to mind. The troopers could thus make suprise appearances at pretty much any point in Oni. The stealth aircraft could also consolidate the transition between CHAPTER 13 . PHOENIX RISING and CHAPTER 14 . DAWN OF THE CHRYSALIS. Existing assets include the Pelican (from Halo again) and THIS (apparently made from scratch, and not too hard to retexture). I have a preference for the NGE thing.

Animations

The ideal fighting scheme is Elite with a touch of Mutant Muro. More specifically, the more powerful combos will be backed up by discharges/explosions/etc generated by the armored suit. Jumping will also be dramatically enhanced by the armor.