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Sonic Freedom Trailer

Discussion in 'Fangaming Discussion' started by RGamer2009, Dec 11, 2016.



  1. So I just saw this and it looks GOOD. Like Really Good!

    The creator says all this was hand animated, and they are going to start learning Unity and look for a programmer to make this into a full game.

    I think if they can keep the game looking like that, it would be spectacular.

    Thoughts?
     
  2. SpaceyBat

    SpaceyBat

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    Freedom Planet 2
    A few thoughts:

    While the parkour mechanics look impressive, they break the flow of momentum, and Sonic's apparent slow acceleration from a standstill isn't doing him any favors. Overall, his movement in this video feels like it would be better suited for a different character. The environment could also do with a few more splashes of color; If you look at the source material in the Sonic OVA, it has a ton of vibrant environments.

    I presume this is all stuff that will be addressed when it's converted into game form but it's definitely something to consider.

    Also, shouldn't this topic be in Fangaming?
     
  3. TimmiT

    TimmiT

    ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Member
    I like the animation, but outside of that one mid-air spin dash move the gameplay concepts don't look that great. It kinda feels like someone who doesn't know much about designing game mechanics made this.
     
  4. I do like how it looks, it's great so if they keep that artsyle when they work it into Unity; that'd be pretty sweet but the colors do look a bit stale so it would be dope to make it a bit more vibrant! I also like how the Parkour is used like the vaulting you can do in Lost World or the jumping between walls that's more like the Jump Panels in Adventure.

    That mid-air spin attack is ripped straight from Ori and the Blind Forest, which I like and it would make homing attack chains more interesting than what we normally get in Sonic games nowadays (Sonic 4 eat your heart out).

    Though as Strife said, the slow acceleration is pretty jarring but I don't see the gameplay shown being pace-breaking in my eyes.

    Overall, color me intrigued.
     
  5. Cooljerk

    Cooljerk

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    Not to be "that guy" but much of this seems traced from the Sonic CD intro and ending, the Sonic screensaver, and the OVA.
     
  6. Well I'm guessing, it's just a proof-of-concept type of trailer. The hand-drawn animations are probably not going to be used in the final version, maybe I don't know.
     
  7. Pokepunch

    Pokepunch

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    A Sonic 2 Hack
    It looks quite nice, but I really can't see it working as a game.
     
  8. Hez

    Hez

    Oldbie
    I'd second this. The movements here just aren't repeatable in a game-play fashion. Although I like that Air-Spin-Dash kind of move, it'd be nice to see this in 3-D replacing the homing attack.
     
  9. 360

    360

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    Sonic Neon
    It's very impressive on a technical level but artistically I'm not loving the drab and gloomy beach environment. The colours are just depressing. It needs more vibrancy, light and colour. This has potential though so I'd be interested in following the project. Some inspired and fantastic ideas here. Would love to see this progress and evolve.

    The mid-air spin dash is genius even if it is ripped from another game.
     
  10. Beltway

    Beltway

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    Yeah, in terms of the concept itself as a "game", I'm not too hot on it. Definitely feels like something that was put together in a disjointed manner, (in both the "level" as well as the artstyle of the zone, which clashes heavily with the sprite depiction of Sonic) and the attempt at level design looks something out of a different game rather than Sonic. Though I do like the mid-air dash attack and the idea of platforming sections below the main path the player can go below to.

    Considering it was animated entirely by one guy, it's a commendable effort on that point. And the sprite animations for Sonic itself is easily the best thing about it IMO. If a future 2D Sonic game does take the modern sprite route, something like that is what I'd like visually (with proper Genesis gameplay and a more consistent artstyle, of course).
     
  11. Lilly

    Lilly

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    Since it's a manually done animation and not a real game with Sonic-y physics, I'm willing to overlook what it's pretending to do. However, so much of the art and background assets clash, and some frames look lifted directly from the OVA instead of drawn from scratch.

    The ideas it shows off are great, it just falls a bit weak on the presentation side of things. (Which likely wasn't a priority. It's a proof of concept after all.) I can imagine that if this were a game, all the neat parkour and dash techniques would feel a lot better than it looks right now.
     
  12. Liraxus

    Liraxus

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    Nothing, really.
    I think people are viewing this more as an "Hey, I'm going to make this into a game!" and not a proof of concept, because this honestly fits the idea of one. I can see how these mechanics can work together, however, I do agree that the artstyle is really...flat, and uninteresting.

    I'd like to see the gameplay refined, I still think parkour has potential for a 2D Sonic game if it's done well, and knows how to keep the pace up.
     
  13. AnimatedAF

    AnimatedAF

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    I've always wanted to see what a 2D Sonic game in the style of Sonic CD's intro/OVA would look like, though gameplay wise I think to realise that intro's vision of how Sonic traverses environments would require a 3D world to explore, somehow.

    The animation is a little iffy (you can see a difference in quality between what was eyeballed from the official animations and what's brand new) but it is only a proof of concept and looking at from that angle it's a really interesting concept that with refinements could be pretty cool. I just don't know if another reinvention of 2D sonic is needed? Compared to 3D sonic that could do with all the help it can get anyway heh.

    A commendable effort that I'd like to see more of with some extra polish.
     
  14. Man if my decade+ here has taught me anything, it's that "looking for a programmer" means "this project isn't ever going to come to fruition."
     
  15. Harmony Friends

    Harmony Friends

    it's the whole gang Oldbie
    Can someone please get this out of general sonic and into fangaming? I keep skipping half a heartbeat because for a tiny moment I'm thinking something Project 2017-related has happened.

    Have to agree with SoNick as well, re: "looking for a programmer".
     
  16. Lilly

    Lilly

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    I think I missed that detail. Yeah, this thing is going nowhere unless the creator is determined to learn Unity instead of "hiring" a programmer; that is putting the entire project at the mercy of whoever is coding it. We all know how well that worked out for the original Sonic 2 HD project.
     
  17. Dark Sonic

    Dark Sonic

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    Working on my art!
    UP DOWN LEFT RIGHT A ENTER :specialed:
     
  18. Aquova

    Aquova

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    As an animation, I think this works well. It looks cool, relatively fluid (for a concept) and adapts the Sonic CD intro into pseudo-gameplay. That being said, I don't know how this would work as an actual game. Certain movesets don't look like they would adapt well to an actual game (Sonic Lost World showed us the dangers of parkour). Sonic's acceleration in particular looks frustratingly slow. If the creator comes back with an actual demo, I would be very excited to try it, as I really like the art direction, but I have my doubts.
     
  19. winterhell

    winterhell

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    At least they are not ALSO looking for a designer, an artist and a musician.
    You can see the person is actually doing his job (aka drawing) so its half-legit.
     
  20. Ritz

    Ritz

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    Everything that's been said in this thread is true, but as a standalone animation, this is excellent. I've always wanted to see a 2D game with the density of contextual animation this guy is teasing here, even if it's totally impractical- if not for the artists, then certainly for all the gameplay concessions you'd need to force to make it work. I applaud his ambition, and he drew inspiration from the right sources.

    I don't know how 2016 wound up being the year of Getting Sonic Right, but we deserved it.