Oni article by Al Giovetti

 

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Oni

History

Bungie Software is a Chicago-based company that has developed and published immersive, addictive, award-winning electronic entertainment since 1991. For more information, surf to www.bungie.com.

Company Line

A SWIFT KICK IN THE TEETH FOR THIRD-PERSON ACTION Bungie¹s Oni marks the dawn of a new age in action

When Bungie Software set up a development studio in San Jose in 1997 the news fueled much speculation among our fans about new versions of our games "Myth: The Fallen Lords" or the classic "Marathon" series. Instead, the studio began work on a much more original and, in the Bungie tradition, revolutionary title. In 1999, Bungie¹s game "Oni" will hit the shelves and third-person action games will never be the same.

Oni is another Bungie game which will challenge players¹ conceptions of what¹s possible in a computer game.

Game Play

Oni marks the first seamless unification of martial arts and gunplay into a new action hybrid, "full contact action." When your gun runs out of ammo, drop it and take out your opponents with flying kicks and neck-snapping throws. If you knock an opponent¹s gun out of his hand, you can grab it and finish off a roomful of them in a blaze of fire. If the action gets too hairy, kill the lights, prime a concussion grenade and dive through a window while the room explodes above you. Action fans will not be disappointed.

Plot

Oni tells the story of Konoko, an elite cop and one-woman SWAT team whose approach to fighting crime is a devastating combination of rational calculation and fighting fury. She is also a woman divided and haunted by shadows in her past, by oni ("ghosts" or "demons" in Japanese). Perhaps the most stylish of Bungie¹s games so far, the game puts the player in a near-future anime world which can be imagined as a blend of "La Femme Nikita", "Ghost in the Shell" and "Fists of Fury." Konoko's attire, attitude and fighting skills evolve as her world becomes ever darker and more dangerous.

Graphics

Animation

Complex technologies bring this world to stunning life. Radiosity lighting paints the setting with natural light. Oni uses interpolation in its animations, which means that Konoko can sprint forward, tuck into a dive roll, and then pop up into a flying kick, all in one smooth, continuous movement, reacting instantaneously to the controls.

All of this takes place in a multi-elevation 3D urban jungle designed by architects for maximum realism and consistency. With art drawn by anime specialists and code written by some of the brightest talents in 3D graphics, Oni is being developed for Windows 95 and MacOS and is expected to ship in 1999.

Voice Actors

Music Score

Sound Effects

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