I'm really hoping that SEGA keeps the same quality production values for the next 3D game as they did with Unleashed; quality music, visuals, polished gameplay, etc. Just replace Werehog with like, something not Werehog and more Sonic, and we should be all good.
So, your reasoning is basically just, "I think it's needless." Well, that's just great. I can't argue with that, and I'm not even being a smartass—how do I argue with an opinion whose grounds is, "This is my opinion?" Never mind. The detail is there and it's neither going anywhere nor hurting anything by staying.
My reasoning is that it's needless because it isn't functional. And I agree with you that its there, and while it's not really hurting anything, it's questionable why time is invested into such little things in the first place. More tiny additions continue to be added that don't do anything to the characters. That's the way I feel about, and that's what I'm backing up my opinion with.
Time is invested in making a game look more detailed so it looks nicer. Most people care about in-game graphics and when I see a new game get released that's very lacking detail, I generally assume the game is rushed. Presentation is very important in gaming and could make the difference from being a moderate financial success to high game sales. Example: If the Halo games released looking mediocre with a lack of attention paid to detail, that series would have done no where near as well.
Detail is fine where it's necessary, and I'm certainly not against it. Presentation is definitely key. I was talking about polish where it isn't needed.
Sometimes it's the little details that are some of the most impressive aspects of a game. Developers often try to wow gamers and when reviewers talk about how impressed they are over the littlest of details, it increases game sales.
Sure, I'm not against that at all if there's reason for it. Although I do find it ill conceived when there isn't any justification for it and it's made to cover up a game's fun factor when there isn't any at all.
Unleashed had so much effort put into it it really is a shame that the reviewers hammered it so much, yes the game had it's flaws but it did so much right, well atlease enough for me to say that its one of my favorite 3D sonic games, up there with sonic adventure. I think if they keep up the presentation for the next game and make the levels a little slower, no warehog or any other shoehorned character, with more exploration and not OMG SPEED!11!!1 we could be on with a winner
That model is so ugly. It reminds me of that American kids programme that used to be on a few years ago; Butt Ugly Martians. Google it... ...See, aren't those some ugly fuckers? :v: *Back on topic* I personally think the design change for Sonic is something which is good and bad. Sonic would have aged quite a lot more had he not changed his style. I also think that had Sonic NOT changed his style, he could have potentially become a more 'classical' character, almost like Mario or Mickey Mouse; it's hard to explain, but both of these characters are fairly renouned for what they do, and are more critically acceptable. Sonic is less so. Mario has always been a quiet, reserved character and over the years, his in-game design has changed (particulary between conception and the early 90's), but since 1991, hasn't in terms of actaul concept art. Mario on the front cover of Super Mario Bros 3, is exactly the same as Mario from Galaxy, from the detail on the dungarees, to the colour of his eyes and the shape of him. Mickey Mouse has also changed, but never to the extent where features are too warped, or colours are added or changed. Sonic has constantly changed, be it sprite-wise, or concept wise. Sonic has never really had a specific detail which has always remained the same, he's had a constant evolution, which can be very hard to see. It also doesn't help players mentally when his graphical style changes too. He can be cartoony, or he can be 'realistic', whatever the hell that actually means. Anyway, I'm not actually quite sure where I'm going with this, it's been a long day. Take from my ramblings what you will. EDIT: I'd just like to say that I actually like Sonic's modern model and look.
Not quite, Mario has changed, though with more subtlety than Sonic. Notably, he's become a bit more athletic looking and generally not as short and fat as he looked in old artwork.
Mario's still chubby! Actually, I just put his slight shape change down to the material the artist worked with in the original picture (pixels which didn't bear a huge resemblence to the material on the NES), but you're right, he dos look a bit more athletic, he has less of a beer gut.
Well, what did you expect? That princess keeps him busy. Doesn't get any sleep at night. ... He's too busy storming Bowser's Castle for the umpteen zillionth time trying to get her back.
This is not true. Sonic has ALWAYS be blue, and has ALWAYS had red shoes with a white strap. Little details were added to make him look more "Finished". Mario has always had those tiny details in concept art. Its just that they were only seen in-game, when the hardware could handle the detail. Initially, he was red and green. Perhaps the design preference is more of a phsychological thing, where the old design is prefered because it had happy memories attached, and the new design is disliked because it has bad memories attached. I don't know whether this is actually the case, but it seems plausible.
It is true. Even his blue is inconsistent to a degree where we can plainly see it's a totally different type of blue. His shoes have changed; the shape, the straps (an added yellow buckle), the bottom of them in recent games, everything about Sonic has changed at some point or another, save for the basic template, which of course bounds what is Sonic together.
The yellow buckle has been in the artwork for ages, just not all of the artwork. And that's one of those kinds of details that wouldn't have worked so well in sprite form, really. The same could be said of shoe soles, at that. I wouldn't rank shoe soles and glove textures as being on the same plane as far as possibly-unnecessary added details go, though. People look at the bottom of a shoe and expect to see some kind of texture there whether it's CG or in-game graphics these days, and it would be considered lazy if it were absent. Glove textures are something you only expect out of high-grade CG renders. Which is the only place the glove textures and such are ever found, incidentally.
Secret Ring/Black Knight/Mario and Sonic Olympics/Unleashed use cloth detail in the textures. I believe All Stars Racing does as well, but I don't feel like ripping the texture again to check. Secret Ring/Black Knight/Mario and Sonic Olympics/ Unleashed
From those pics and Sonic's current look we can conclude that 3D Mario is just 2D Mario sligthly adapted to look better in 3D, while the current 3D sonic was not just adapted but changed from what he used to look like back in the day, in both 2D and 3D. They shoud have never done that, in my oppinion. They just destroyed a perfectly good character that won't come back even for the supposed sequel to his adventures. EDIT: Even Mario's soles have stayed practically the same since the early 90's. It's obvious Nintendo has tried to stay true to that classic design.
Mario had soles in the early nineties? I never saw them... :v: Bah, I still prefer Sonic's modern design. In Adventure 2 and Unleashed, anyway. Oh, I know, it's just that they never seem to go out of their way to make the gloves look any more "threaded" than the rest of the model. In Unleashed, for example, they're pretty much just flat white. It's only the CG that goes that extra mile. Not that the in-game model had to, with such an awesome lighting system behind it.
Ahem. The, um, bottoms of his feet, I mean. ... Wait, sorry. I forgot about Super Mario 64. Never mind, carry on.
