Iron Demon
The Iron Demon is a mecha boss that was initially supposed to appear in Oni, making a notable appearance in the 1999 trailer, but was cut during development as Bungie West raced to finish the game. According to 3D animator Steve Abeyta, "It was scrapped because it would take too long to create a custom AI, and gameplay for it. We had to cut a lot of stuff to get [Oni] shipped, and cutting that one sucked. […] Such a large character created AI pathfinding problems as well as issues with object interaction. They're not impossible to overcome, but we didn't have the time to tackle it."
Official references
Promo screenshots
These are our best in-game looks at the original model:
| Japanese for "Iron Demon" would be... KANA-ONI? (building on the proverb ONI NI KANA-BÔ) geyser Or, more literally, TETSU-ONI (TETSU="iron")? Iritscen Or KÔKI (HAGANE-ONI, HAGANE="steel")? Demos kratos |
There's also this screenshot used in some print ads:
Trailer
In the 1999 trailer, the Iron Demon can be seen in two scenes: one brief shot in the Regional State Building and one extended walk sequence in the unreleased MP arena The Pit (slowed down for careful inspection):
Promo art
The clearest appearances of the Iron Demon in 2D form are:
- Craig Mullins' Iron Demon in Battle and to a lesser extent this painting
- Lorraine's Iron Demon portrait
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Game assets
The model for the Iron Demon was not included in the released game data like some other "cut" content was, and we don't have its animations either (though Abeyta recalled only making "a walk cycle, firing anims, and possibly turning anims"). The walking sounds for the Iron Demon were in fact included as SNDDid_leg_2.aif, SNDDid_leg_1.aif and SNDDid_leg_3.aif, as well as SNDDid_r_hit1.aif, SNDDid_r_hit2.aif, SNDDid_r_hit3.aif and SNDDid_r_hit4.aif (or are these latter sounds something else like the impact sounds for hits on the Iron Demon from heavy weaponry?).
Fan content
3D models
There have been three fan attempts to recreate the 3D model for the Iron Demon by inspecting the visual evidence we have from the pre-beta period:
- This model on TurboSquid by Ashley Davison
- This model by Seventeen Seconds, used in Konoko Payne by Pierre
- This model by bobbysoon, based on the above model. This one was used in multiple AE packages; see this one for a starting point.
Artwork
- Sketch by Guido Codecasa
- Drawing by geyser
