Iji
Encyclopedia
Iji is a freeware
videogame featuring platform
and shooting
elements, developed by Daniel Remar using Game Maker
(version 5.3a) over a period of four years. It was first released on , and five subsequent versions have fixed bugs
and added features, with the latest version (1.6) released on .
Set in a military complex in modern day Earth, the game follows Iji Kataiser, a young woman caught up in the invasion of the planet by the Tasen, an alien species. Awakening after an aerial bombardment, Iji finds herself enhanced with nanotechnology
and, learning of the Tasen and their invasion, resolves to convince the aliens' leader to retreat from the planet, guided by her brother Dan via the complex's loudspeaker system.
The game was generally well-received upon release, with reviews praising the replay value, the player's ability to guide Iji on different moral paths and that it was created by a single developer.
in 2D. Players control the titular character, Iji, an ordinary human woman who has been enhanced with nanotechnology
following the invasion of Earth by an alien species known as the Tasen. Iji must navigate a research station while being guided by her brother Dan, who communicates via the station's loudspeaker system, in order to convince the aliens' leader to retreat from the planet. Though the game's plot is linear, interactions with non-player characters change according to the player's actions, leading to one of multiple endings. The player's primary choice is between pursuing Iji's goal either as a pacifist or by engaging in violence against the alien threat.
Iji's nanotech energy field functions as a shield, and players begin the game armed with a shotgun
. Seven further weapons can be collected throughout the game; including a machine gun, rocket launcher and alien technology like the Shocksplinter weapon. Eight additional weapons can be unlocked by combining the standard firearms using a combining station, depending on her Crack ability. Blue nanofields that function as experience can be collected during play, when enough are collected Iji gains a level. Each level she gains allows the player to use an upgrade station to increase one of Iji's seven skills by one level. These skills include physical traits such as strength and health, as well as abilities such as close-quarters combat and computer cracking. Iji's jumping ability and armor can both be improved twice each during play if players can find their power-ups.
Along the path to Krotera, Iji questions how the rest of the world has not responded to the attack, but Dan refuses to answer her. She later climbs a ladder onto an outside balcony, discovering the presence of a whole fleet of Tasen spaceships, and realises the extent of the invasion, which Dan confirms as the entire planet. Further on, she discovers a scout team of a different alien species, the "Komato", who Dan explains is an "interplanetary peacekeeping force".
Iji eventually meets the Tasen Elite Krotera. She begs him to leave the planet, but he refuses, saying that the future of the Tasen race is at stake and that she knows nothing of either their race or the "damned Komato". She is unable to sway him, and the encounter ends with Krotera dead. Dan contacts her again, and she informs him of what Krotera said: that this was their last colony, and that they had possibly come to Earth to escape the Komato. He advises her to continue on to a Tasen communication area nearby, in order to send a distress call to the Komato.
After Iji finds a computer connected to the Tasen communicator, the perspective shifts from Iji into space outside of Earth, where a Komato fleet is gathered. Inside the control room of a spaceship is the leader of the Komato Imperial Army, General Tor; and Iosa "the Invincible", the greatest warrior of the Komato race and Tor's long-time love. Back on Earth, Dan expresses worry that the Komato forces have not yet landed, but is cut off by an explosion. Komato troops appear and begin engaging the Tasen with genocidal intent, inflicting heavy losses. Iji navigates through the chaos until she reaches the roof of the complex and meets the Komato Assassin Asha, who fights her. When she defeats him, he disappears using teleportation.
Iji manages to meet up with her brother Dan, who has managed to survive despite a gunshot wound. During the course of their conversation, Dan reveals to Iji that the Komato are planning to destroy the planet's surface in an attempt to annihilate the remaining Tasen once and for all, using a full-strength Alpha Strike much more powerful than the one the Tasen used. The only thing that's stopping them is the planetary shield generator that was installed by the Tasen. The Komato plan to destroy the shield generator with a powerful particle cannon called the Phantom Hammer. Dan urges Iji to enter the Komato spaceship and destroy the Phantom Hammer in order to buy them time before they manage to locate and talk to Tor, the Komato general.
. Inspired by the animations of Alien 3 and Another World
, he created a 3D model of the character Iji and started to build a basic platform game around it. Remar has stated that the name "Iji" has no special meaning, but that the character and name is a combination of his previous characters, and that he wanted the main characters' names to be "short and easily recognizable".
As of March 21, 2011 the alpha demo 1 for Iji is available for download as part of the 'Scrap pack 2' on Daniel Remar's site.
Freeware
Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...
videogame featuring platform
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
and shooting
Shooter game
Shooter games are a sub-genre of action game, which often test the player's speed and reaction time. It includes many subgenres that have the commonality of focusing "on the actions of the avatar using some sort of weapon. Usually this weapon is a gun, or some other long-range weapon". A common...
elements, developed by Daniel Remar using Game Maker
Game Maker
GameMaker is a Windows and Mac IDE originally developed by Mark Overmars in the Delphi programming language. It is currently developed and published by YoYo Games, a software company in which Overmars is involved...
(version 5.3a) over a period of four years. It was first released on , and five subsequent versions have fixed bugs
Software bug
A software bug is the common term used to describe an error, flaw, mistake, failure, or fault in a computer program or system that produces an incorrect or unexpected result, or causes it to behave in unintended ways. Most bugs arise from mistakes and errors made by people in either a program's...
and added features, with the latest version (1.6) released on .
Set in a military complex in modern day Earth, the game follows Iji Kataiser, a young woman caught up in the invasion of the planet by the Tasen, an alien species. Awakening after an aerial bombardment, Iji finds herself enhanced with nanotechnology
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
and, learning of the Tasen and their invasion, resolves to convince the aliens' leader to retreat from the planet, guided by her brother Dan via the complex's loudspeaker system.
The game was generally well-received upon release, with reviews praising the replay value, the player's ability to guide Iji on different moral paths and that it was created by a single developer.
Gameplay
Iji is described by Remar as System Shock 2System Shock 2
System Shock 2 is a 1999 first-person action role-playing video game, designed by Ken Levine for Microsoft Windows. The title is a sequel to the 1994 PC game System Shock, and was co-developed by Irrational Games and Looking Glass Studios...
in 2D. Players control the titular character, Iji, an ordinary human woman who has been enhanced with nanotechnology
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
following the invasion of Earth by an alien species known as the Tasen. Iji must navigate a research station while being guided by her brother Dan, who communicates via the station's loudspeaker system, in order to convince the aliens' leader to retreat from the planet. Though the game's plot is linear, interactions with non-player characters change according to the player's actions, leading to one of multiple endings. The player's primary choice is between pursuing Iji's goal either as a pacifist or by engaging in violence against the alien threat.
Iji's nanotech energy field functions as a shield, and players begin the game armed with a shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
. Seven further weapons can be collected throughout the game; including a machine gun, rocket launcher and alien technology like the Shocksplinter weapon. Eight additional weapons can be unlocked by combining the standard firearms using a combining station, depending on her Crack ability. Blue nanofields that function as experience can be collected during play, when enough are collected Iji gains a level. Each level she gains allows the player to use an upgrade station to increase one of Iji's seven skills by one level. These skills include physical traits such as strength and health, as well as abilities such as close-quarters combat and computer cracking. Iji's jumping ability and armor can both be improved twice each during play if players can find their power-ups.
Plot
The game begins inside the D. C. M. F. P. R. Research facility, where Iji and her little sister Mia are being shown around by her father. As she looks out of the window, Iji notices activity in the clouds, and moments later the sky is lit by beams of light. When the game resumes, six months later, Iji awakens to find that she has been modified by a team of researchers using alien nanotechnology, making her a cyborg soldier. Via a loudspeaker, her brother Dan explains that the area was struck by a space-to-ground weapon called an "Alpha Strike" wielded by aliens called "Tasen". This, combined with the ensuing ground invasion, killed nearly every human in the facility, including their father and sister. Dan advises Iji to try to convince the Tasen leaders, specifically a Tasen "Elite" known as Krotera, to leave.Along the path to Krotera, Iji questions how the rest of the world has not responded to the attack, but Dan refuses to answer her. She later climbs a ladder onto an outside balcony, discovering the presence of a whole fleet of Tasen spaceships, and realises the extent of the invasion, which Dan confirms as the entire planet. Further on, she discovers a scout team of a different alien species, the "Komato", who Dan explains is an "interplanetary peacekeeping force".
Iji eventually meets the Tasen Elite Krotera. She begs him to leave the planet, but he refuses, saying that the future of the Tasen race is at stake and that she knows nothing of either their race or the "damned Komato". She is unable to sway him, and the encounter ends with Krotera dead. Dan contacts her again, and she informs him of what Krotera said: that this was their last colony, and that they had possibly come to Earth to escape the Komato. He advises her to continue on to a Tasen communication area nearby, in order to send a distress call to the Komato.
After Iji finds a computer connected to the Tasen communicator, the perspective shifts from Iji into space outside of Earth, where a Komato fleet is gathered. Inside the control room of a spaceship is the leader of the Komato Imperial Army, General Tor; and Iosa "the Invincible", the greatest warrior of the Komato race and Tor's long-time love. Back on Earth, Dan expresses worry that the Komato forces have not yet landed, but is cut off by an explosion. Komato troops appear and begin engaging the Tasen with genocidal intent, inflicting heavy losses. Iji navigates through the chaos until she reaches the roof of the complex and meets the Komato Assassin Asha, who fights her. When she defeats him, he disappears using teleportation.
Iji manages to meet up with her brother Dan, who has managed to survive despite a gunshot wound. During the course of their conversation, Dan reveals to Iji that the Komato are planning to destroy the planet's surface in an attempt to annihilate the remaining Tasen once and for all, using a full-strength Alpha Strike much more powerful than the one the Tasen used. The only thing that's stopping them is the planetary shield generator that was installed by the Tasen. The Komato plan to destroy the shield generator with a powerful particle cannon called the Phantom Hammer. Dan urges Iji to enter the Komato spaceship and destroy the Phantom Hammer in order to buy them time before they manage to locate and talk to Tor, the Komato general.
Development
Development of Iji began in 2004, after Remar learned about and began to use Game MakerGame Maker
GameMaker is a Windows and Mac IDE originally developed by Mark Overmars in the Delphi programming language. It is currently developed and published by YoYo Games, a software company in which Overmars is involved...
. Inspired by the animations of Alien 3 and Another World
Another World (video game)
Another World, also known as Out of This World in North America and Outer World in Japan, is a 1991 cinematic platformer designed and developed by Eric Chahi...
, he created a 3D model of the character Iji and started to build a basic platform game around it. Remar has stated that the name "Iji" has no special meaning, but that the character and name is a combination of his previous characters, and that he wanted the main characters' names to be "short and easily recognizable".
As of March 21, 2011 the alpha demo 1 for Iji is available for download as part of the 'Scrap pack 2' on Daniel Remar's site.
Reception
Iji has received a mostly positive response from commentators, particularly for its replay value.- Greg CostikyanGreg CostikyanGreg Costikyan, sometimes known under the pseudonym "Designer X" , is an American game designer and science fiction writer.Costikyan's career spans nearly all extant genres of gaming, including hex-based wargames, role-playing games, boardgames, card games, computer games, online games and mobile...
of website Play This Thing described it as "..a nice, nostalgia-inducing game of a type you don't often see any more..", and was impressed that the game was created by a single developer using Game Maker. - PopMattersPopMattersPopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
' L.B. Jeffries stated that the player's choice in guiding Iji to the end of the game as either a pacifist or an aggressor, along with the outcomes of those paths, sets Iji apart from other games. - Anthony Burch of gaming website Destructoid was not as positive, highlighting the game's limitations in terms of abilities. Investing points in hand-to-hand combat, for instance, does not increase damage inflicted by a successful attack but instead dictates which enemy types can be physically attacked. He stated this system "makes leveling the player's individual stats feel less like you're actually improving your character and more like you're simply collecting keys to unlock doors."
- It was voted number one in the Free Indie of the Year 2008 contest by Bytejacker.