Rockstar and Bungie Software to revolutionise action genre for year 2000.
Take 2 Interactive Software's Rockstar Games set to unveil Oni for the PlayStation 2 at E3.
NEW YORK, NY – May 11, 2000 – Rockstar Games, Take Two Interactive Software, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:TTWO) high end video game publishing division, is pleased to announce it is developing Bungie Software's critically-acclaimed, ONI for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system. Rockstar is developing the title internally in conjunction with award-winning Bungie Software who are developing the title for release on PC and Mac formats. All formats of this highly anticipated game will be released simultaneously and will benefit from a high impact marketing campaign that effectively combines the budgetary and creative resources of both companies. To see ONI at this year’s E3, please go to the Take-Two Interactive booth at the L.A. Convention Center in the South Hall, Booth 400.
Oni 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 will undoubtedly challenge players’ conceptions of what is possible in a videogame.
Complex technologies bring Oni’s world to stunning life. Radiosity effects paint the setting with natural light. Oni uses interpolation in its character 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.
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). Oni seamlessly blends hand-to-hand martial arts combat and gunplay into a single, new third-person 3D 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 opponent’s 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 intense, kill the lights, prime a concussion grenade and dive through a window while the room explodes above you!
Bungie CEO Alexander Seropian said "Oni and the PlayStation 2 were made for each other. The remarkable speed and power of the PlayStation 2 is the perfect complement to the vast environments, cutting-edge technology and wide-ranging action of Oni. Oni's blend of martial arts and gunplay is unique, and its anime setting makes it perhaps the most stylish game we've done yet, so bringing it to console involves many challenges. Fortunately, Rockstar has it all. We're as impressed with their sense of style as we are with their talent for game design, and can't wait to see the result of our mutual effort to bring together this excellent game and excellent platform."
Sam Houser, president of Rockstar Games, added, "We are extremely excited to bring the groundbreaking action of Oni to the PlayStation 2 in conjunction with Bungie Software. The development teams at Bungie are some of the most respected in the industry and they have successfully challenged the accepted limits of traditional game development. They understand what it takes to make great games and we at Rockstar’s internal development teams have the talent and experience to maximize the PlayStation 2 development hardware. Oni will challenge and change the face of traditional action games on PlayStation 2.”
Oni 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 will undoubtedly challenge players’ conceptions of what is possible in a videogame.
Complex technologies bring Oni’s world to stunning life. Radiosity effects paint the setting with natural light. Oni uses interpolation in its character 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.
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). Oni seamlessly blends hand-to-hand martial arts combat and gunplay into a single, new third-person 3D 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 opponent’s 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 intense, kill the lights, prime a concussion grenade and dive through a window while the room explodes above you!
Bungie CEO Alexander Seropian said "Oni and the PlayStation 2 were made for each other. The remarkable speed and power of the PlayStation 2 is the perfect complement to the vast environments, cutting-edge technology and wide-ranging action of Oni. Oni's blend of martial arts and gunplay is unique, and its anime setting makes it perhaps the most stylish game we've done yet, so bringing it to console involves many challenges. Fortunately, Rockstar has it all. We're as impressed with their sense of style as we are with their talent for game design, and can't wait to see the result of our mutual effort to bring together this excellent game and excellent platform."
Sam Houser, president of Rockstar Games, added, "We are extremely excited to bring the groundbreaking action of Oni to the PlayStation 2 in conjunction with Bungie Software. The development teams at Bungie are some of the most respected in the industry and they have successfully challenged the accepted limits of traditional game development. They understand what it takes to make great games and we at Rockstar’s internal development teams have the talent and experience to maximize the PlayStation 2 development hardware. Oni will challenge and change the face of traditional action games on PlayStation 2.”