Okay, seriously guys, cut the joking/off-topic bullshit. This is about legitimate discussion for these zones, not dicking around.
How about "Autumn Paradise" for this zone? And I had an idea about a possible fitting kind of music, namely a remix of the Lava Reef BGM from S3&K but with different instruments and a more quiet tempo. EDIT: I found something like that: http://www.zshare.net/audio/51316018459f5d72/
Tundra Summer Zone might be a good name. Coming from an artic desert, I can testify that the design you have in mind here echoes what our summers look like. .. Except a tiny bit less green. That's all I can contribute.
Maple Road is the best so far. At the moment this topic seems to just be focused on the name, maybe we should go for that and start actually getting some concepts and pixel work going.
I can't download the file from zShare and the WMP plugin on FF is screwy. Anyone have a mirror for it?
How about my idea for the Robotnik fight? I might be able to whip something up, but right now I'm in the middle of drawing out a zone for my Sonic game. I'll do some work on it when I finish with that.
Well, given that Tropical Zone is already going to be a green, grassy level, let's do something different here - make it more autumnal. Grass should probably be more yellowy, or perhaps instead of grass, we'd have large piles of leaves covering the ground. Trees would be brilliant shades of red, yellow, orange, etc., but also starting to bare as their leaves fall down. Generally it'd be a thick forest, but higher routes instead have a great view of a winding river in the tree-covered mountains. Sky would probably be a bit cloudy, if not entirely cloudy, just for the extra mood (not raining, though - it's autumnal, not depressing). I guess we could work the highway in here somewhere - I know my state has a few highways through forested areas, so it's not like it's never happened before. Now, while that sets the backdrop, I haven't really put much thought into actual gimmicks for this stage. Obviously, you'd want to be relatively foresty here... well, except for the highway parts. That would probably be parallel with the screen, for the most part, and have large trucks come by every so often, with a large horn (and slight rumbling of the screen) to warn you of their upcoming appearance. You can avoid them by ducking? Dodging into a pothole? Something like that. I'd say getting the hell off the road, but given the 2D nature of the game, that's... kind of not possible! You could probably pass by the river (or its various forks) a few times, but there wouldn't be a bridge across it; you'd have to skip along some rocks jutting above the surface. If you fall into the water, the sheer force of the river would force you down a waterfall, where you'd land on a lower, less-rewarding path. Fish robots a la Green/Emerald Hill would probably make crossing it quickly a bit more challenging, though not by much. As for the forest... dunno. I do think wind should be factored in here somewhere (signified by some of the leaves getting blown across the screen). Maybe reintroduce the hang-glider in the higher portions? Or strong winds present in areas, impeding progress in certain directions and improving it in others. I'm not feeling terribly inventive here, but go wild, I say.
I too like the idea of keeping with the Canadian theme, though not keen on having Canada in the name. Prehaps somethign like Maple Wood (or Tree) zone. I picture the level being like Mushrooom Hill zone. A trap could be something like one of the enimies shooting something sticky on the ground for Sonic to get stuck in or get slowed down. Oh, and thanks for trashing my original post. The typo on wood was accidental. :v:
Totally, totally agreed here. BUT... I must admit, I'm not personally into the whole idea of "Canadian Zone". I mean, what is there to make the concept interesting? Come on, sell it to me. If you can't make a convincing case, I suggest looking into other zone themes. BUT, the suggestion to make this autumnal actually reminds me (In a roundabout way) of something I so dearly want to see in a Sonic game -- something a little bit like Sonic Riders Zero Gravity's Gigan Rocks level. Because the series (And character) was initially designed to appeal to a western audience, we've not generally seen much in the way of far eastern imagery or influence in the game. Phantasy Star Universe (Slightly unpopular a game, but bear with me) has this area on planet Neudaiz that I am positively in love with -- Mizuraki Conservation District. This is an autumnal cherry-blossom-trees-and-mountains sort of area, and it's absolutely fucking beautiful, despite the myraid shades of brown (Note to game artists everywhere. Browns are beautiful when they don't look like poo). The music is also nice, and wouldn't be out of place in a Sonic game either. I'm not trying to hijack this zone and turn it into Oriental Zone here, but give it a think (Please? ^^; ). Something inspirational to watch (Thanks Tweaker for the 'education') Look at the backgrounds at 0:15 and 0:25 in this video. Beautiful. Something I do want to see.
A more Oriental themed level would actually be very nice, but I honestly think it should be saved for another level. Which is also something I'd like to see... More levels. Sonic 2 had a TON of planned levels as we all know, but a good number were scrapped due to time restraints. However, since this is a community project, there's no time restraints (Unless you count death, but, y'know...). But, otherwise, it should stay a more Autumn theme. I haven't seen too many stages like that except perhaps Mushroom Hill. I'd like to see a really well made Autumn stage, since it's probably one of my favorite looking times of the year.
Good point also about the lack of autumnal Sonic levels. We need something like this. Why? It's sheer and inherent beauty. Take care, though to analyse the colours of Autumn. Here, we can see a whole spectrum of leafy colours. It's not just leaves turning brown, you know. There are still some yellow-greens ranging through to red-oranges. AND WHAT IS THIS? PINK? Yes, siree. In fact, there are a few trees near where I used to live where the leaves go a sort of purple in autumn. Shame I couldn't find any pics (Although it would help if I knew the specie and/or genus of tree. I don't ). Whilst being careful to avoid 'one-colour syndrome', it should be noted how much raw variety can be found within one hue alone. This is sheer beauty. More beauty. It should be noted, however, that grass does not turn yellow or brown in autumn -- it stays pretty green. And this one is fucking amazing. Look how the red, RED leaves leap out at you, and nicely frame the murky green of the lake behind. I think this is imagery we should look into reproducing. Which makes me think of the zone theme. How about knocking the whole canadian thing on the head and focusing on the beauty of natural change? You know, stuff like caterpillar badniks who, if left, chrysalis themselves (Becoming invulnerable) and emerge as dangerous butterfly badniks. Tadpole badniks who take a while to grow new legs, fire their tails at Sonic, and are now superfast kill frog badniks... that sort of thing. I also propose a new name-in-progress; Fall Lake Zone (Although this is hardly the most important thing, I know). Your thoughts, gentlemen?
I'm pretty sure it wasn't quite meant to be entirely based off Canada and all from the start, but more of the Autumn and maple leaf aspect of Canada. But, those are some great references for what the trees should look like. As for the name, Fall Lake Zone just doesn't flow as well. Autumn Lake Zone sounds better :D. Oh, and I agree, badniks that transform/evolve/whatever your word of choice is would be a pretty interesting thing to see. I think the boatload small aspects like that really make the Sonic games, so it'd be great if more of those were used. For the butterflies, if possible, make it so they follow Sonic across the whole level, not just a specific area. The caterpillars should also be able to become a chrysalis even if Sonic isn't near them. Although, to stop it from being annoying, they'd only begin to do so if Sonic walks by them first... To trigger it.
I always thought that background was a perfect base for making a fitting one, it just needs more details and shading.
Autumn Lake, yeah that's cool... I'm just keen on the word 'fall' because we don't use it here in the UK. I think centering around the theme of the natural metamorphosis that occurs in nature would be a great thing to do, and add more depth to the idea than just "autumn" or whatever. Also, imagine a boss fight centred around this. As for things occuring when Sonic isn't around, this would be a good idea, but there has to be some way to make the change noticable to the player. I am reminded of the bugs in Metroid Fusion that become chrysalises (Blocking some routes to go back to earlier areas) and then emerge much later on (When the area is revisted because the power is down) as much tougher beasties. I'll not go more into this, because though I'm keen on the ideas, I want to know what the main guys make of them.
<!--quoteo(post=248041:date=Nov 20 2008, 10:43 AM:name=Jayextee)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jayextee @ Nov 20 2008, 10:43 AM) And finally the addition of road segments, keeping the player on his toes as he goes from platform heavy Hill Top type layout to all of a suddent hitting full speed along a highway dodging obsticals, then back to platforming again
This actually sounds sort of annoying. I am reminded of several sections in games (Tomb Raider's third level is in mind at the moment) where a platforming section would be repeated ad nauseum because of being punished this way for slight failure. Walkways and roads made of wood seem interesting. Perhaps a sort of 'ewok village' suspended high in the autumnal treetops?
