The only reason that I found this video was to show an idea on how Sonic runs through an open landscape. Don't forget that this is only a fan-game. The one who created this stage failed to put in guidelines on where to go, enemies to defeat, (quite possibly) a radar pointing to the goal to give a better sense, and so on.
I've noticed that whenever I talk to people about level design such as this, they think that I'm actually talking about THAT particular level, to which they use a piece of the level they dislike to argue that it's not good design. No, I'm presenting the video as a general sense on what type of landscape Sonic should be running on. There will still be the typical features, such as hidden areas to explore, large alternate routes, and so on. That is, if one were to make a complete game out of this type of landscape. The only difference is, levels will no longer be flat. This time, there's more running space.
As I've said, take a flat stage, like Metal Harbor. That level is really straight forward, with hardly any spots to explore, and it's a simple straight-shot. This is, I believe, how Sonic should NOT play. Imagine if in the original Sonic Adventure 2, there were a lot more routes, beams, ships to run on, different pathways to find, and so on, like a really large harbor should be set up. After all, it IS a harbor.
We're somewhat getting off track, so I'm going to go back to explain why I think there should be a remake of the first Sonic the Hedgehog game in the third dimension.
A lot of older fans remember the Sonic series from the first game, and they've built themselves up from there. A lot of newer fans who haven't discovered that game yet has been stuck with games like Sonic Unleashed, Sonic Colors, Sonic Generations, Sonic Lost World, and Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric. Some of these titles are boosting titles that require a LOT of trial and error, and some stray far from the original formula. Even though Sonic Generations does give some older fans an idea of the transition between the older and newer Sonic games, it does it with bias. It suggests that Sonic games in the third dimension are inferior to side-scrolling titles, even though Sonic is moving forward to a newer generation. However, they can bring in more members by showing how well Sonic can control in the modern times, as well as remind older players about what made Sonic great. This would be a step up for the Sonic Team.
On the other hand, I'm on the fence about Sonic's abilities for if the first game were to be remade. I mean, the spin dash in the third dimension has been proven to be either completely game-breaking or useless in terms of playing the stages normally. Then the boost element was introduced, and it created games that require a lot of trial and error, Sonic Unleashed especially. The homing attack is something I think that Sonic should keep, though. That's definitely one of Sonic's better features in the third dimension. As for the spin dash and boosting, though, that could be adjusted. The spin dash has shown to work best in a side-scrolling environment, and the boost has shown Sonic to lose control. Maybe Sonic should just roll when the player presses that relative button, similar to how he rolled in Sonic Adventure 2, though with the advantage of rolling down hills and such.
TheKazeblade, on 12 May 2015 - 12:34 PM, said:
TimmiT, on 12 May 2015 - 12:21 PM, said:
On the other hand, if Sonic games were just large open fields like that they would be pretty boring. Yeah, you can run around with Sonic for a bit, but what else? All of the examples you name don't really allow you to do much aside from running from one place to the next.
This is primarily why I would like to see a Sonic game that embraces objective-based goals as opposed to an A-> B level design. I imagine a 3D Sonic title to be a huge obstacle course with several paths that interlace and stack, with several goals requiring different routes. An open-world Sonic game would be boring. But a level with multiple fixed points to get to with various options to get there from different starting points would be a blast.
I mean, I agree with that. I'm just merely talking about the running landscape. I don't mean a large landscape with nowhere to go. I'm talking about less flat level design. If you were to check out my video link in my original post, then you'll see, from 4:12 to 5:00, there is a great sense of direction. The problem is, with THIS particular fan-game, stuff isn't placed very well. That, and there aren't any enemies, but I'm merely talking about the sense of direction, though.
Oh, and as a trial member, I promise that this is my last thread under this trial. From now on, I'll only reply to threads.
This post has been edited by Chad Devore: 12 May 2015 - 12:51 PM
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