Sonic Forces Thread

It's kind of reached the point where the angry posts about character creation in and of itself are now stereotyping.

 

But Mania is more than a fangame. It's the breakthrough that Sonic's needed for years. If Sonic Team wanted a fangame they could have just paid people money to sell and redistribute one. But they're giving the team a chance to prove that even working from conventions and philosophy from nearly two decades ago, they can pull out a winner. Not just with the fans but with everyone. Iizuka keeps selling this as a game for the fans, and yeah that's true, but I think Sega really wants to see if this has the appeal and power that we've been screeching about. It's fun to see what everyone even people outside of the fanbase will think of it, especially when you've got a couple of non sonic fans saying they might give it a try.

And as for Sonic Forces...we kind of do know what we're getting right? Generations with an avatar creator that's "not Modern Sonic". I don't forsee it having major glitches or horrible gameplay. It's just kind of the same as before. So why should I bothered being excited about it? The new avatar character is either going to mean nothing in the end, or overshadow whatever good elements everyone expects (and wants). So we know what we're getting, it's just not that interesting. It's cosmetically made to look interesting.

 

I think some people are missing the point due to my language. What I'm meaning to saying is, Classic Sonic platforming is clearly a more accessible playstyle, for better or worse. I'm not making any pronouncements about which is better or more fun or flawed, OK. My main point is just that Sonic Team appears to be of the opposite opinion in their marketing strategy and comments. I use NSMB as an example, and note that it would have been silly, and limiting, for Nintendo to approach NSMB with a similar tunnel vision.

Now tell me I'm shit.

 

Again, if you want to talk about what Sonic Team seems to think they're doing with Sonic, it might be better to take that discussion to this thread: http://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?showtopic=32349&st=150

Not trying to shut your discussion down. Just might not be best to do it in this thread as it'd probably go off-topic again.

 

Not a fan of the "Mania is a fangame" argument. Is it being made by fans? Yeah. You know who else are fans of Sonic? Probably a lot of Sonic Team's devs.

It's being given the resources to achieve a status beyond that of a fangame. It's being published as an official game in the series. This engine was used for official ports of 3 beloved Sonic titles. We're paying money for it and it's getting a collectors edition. It's not a damn fangame. I play fangames, and I've tried Mania. It's literally night and day (not to say that the fangames aren't good, they're fantastic. But there IS a notable difference in quality between them and the originals.)

 

If you don't think "millennial" applies then fair enough. I'm talking about the stereotype. "Millennials want everything to be about them" and all that, speaking AS a millennial, but fine. "YouTube Generation", "DeviantArt Members", "It's All About Me People", whatever you want to call them. Fuck the characters that already exist alongside any possible suspension of disbelief and sense of immersion- "Sonic's in trouble, and he needs YOU'RE help!" "Wow Player-kun, you're sooooo cool!" The shot in the trailer of both Sonic's literally sidelined while (omg,) YOU take center stage says it all honestly. It's pandering to an absolutely stunning degree.

And like people are saying, Mania looks like the best thing this series has gotten in years and is still only a small side game in the grand scheme of things. And besides that, us Adventure (1) fans have been hung out to dry since Unleashed, which was already just ok to begin with.

But I mean sure yeah even though everything we've seen so far looks to range from "looks like that decent game I played five years ago" and "looks straight up bad" I guess we should just sit and wait til it's out before we can actually voice dissent about anything.

 

I'm not gonna lie, the character creator is actually the only thing about the game that's 'hooked' me, so far. Like, I was planning to get the game anyway, but nothing had me excited for it. Now, I have something I'm legitimately looking forward to. Comparing with friends to see who can make the stupidest looking one, laughing, and having a great time.

While true, that Mania's even being made is a pretty good underdog story.

 

You know what would be a great idea? Having to finish the game with one OC of each species in order to see the true final boss. :v:

 

The CaC is obviously there to reuse the assets from Modern Sonic but with grappling hook stuff and weapons. It almost looks like the paths intertwine at points with areas where Modern Sonic bulldozes through. It's not the take I was expecting from Sonic Team, but I find it funny how its the first boost title that you can play other characters in 3D... and instead of tweaking it for Tails or Knuckles its a goddamn OC. What do they have against them? :specialed:

 

Back at 4chan, /STHG/ created a poll or what animals do you want in the Avatar customizer as a DLC.

I think it's financial genius to allow character customization in order to pander to the fanbase (especially with the FC becoming real), though it will be limited; Echidnas were out due to the Penders Chronicles, and they all have the same body structure (take a look at that green bear). Also, who going to bet that SeGa obtain the designs from Archie Comics out of the negotiation and use the Freedom Fighters in a DLC mission?

 

I'm scratching my head why generational theory is being used as an argument here when the field is flimsy at best. People look far too deep into it when the only constant is that social groups are moulded by relative trends and experiences. I think people forget the internet really started to unfilter personal opinions ten years ago with the rise of powerful social tools that showed us all what people really think rather than what they show IRL. That's something these focus groups have been unable to analyse making the theory pretty much invalid because baby boomers and generation x could have very well been just as narcissistic and entitled, the analyst's just didn't see it to record it.

Anyway injecting yourself into the star roll has always been a desire for many people over many generations as we see with historical events and entertainment so to call this millennial pandering is just off when in reality it's just plain ego stroking regardless what age generation it's from.

 

My guess is that the Custom Hero's kind of like Colors' filler stages and the level tweaking challenges from Generations; reusing and rearranging pre-existing levels and assets for something wholly different due to a different gimmick focus, except on a character basis. Arguably the 2.5D footage could probably be derived from a Classic Sonic stage too, and I wouldn't be surprised seeing as the Hero uses both 3D and 2.5D gameplay.

 

There's nothing in the Archie comics or Penders bullshit that would keep Sonic Team from allowing certain designs or characters. Echidnas aren't left out of the creator because of Penders, Sonic Team probably barely even knows he exists. They're left out because all of them are dead. If they wanted to use the FF characters they could too, since they've always been owned by SEGA, even if Archie were allowed to use them. Even across the rest of the comic, everything since the legal shitbaggery was owned by SEGA since the reboot hit. They're not held back by anything, it was a conscious decision to include some character types over others. Hell, if ST gave a shit, they could probably make a sequel to Chronicles if they wanted to, and if Penpen tried to protest, SEGA can afford better lawyers than him. They wouldn't though, because Chronicles is terrible and nobody cares about it, least of all Sonic Team.

All that said, I hope I can change my hairstyle regardless of race. I've always wanted to see what Sonic looked like with his hair tied back in a ponytail for some reason. Or just, really, really long hair. Plus, that way I'd be able to definitively tell people Sonic's quills are like hair, not weird flesh tentacles hanging off his head. I hate when people misunderstand that Sonic characters' heads are just big spheres.

 

I put my money on the mystery character being there as a replacement for "Boom Sonic". Think about it: This newly introduced branch of the franchise (Boom) got horrible reviews and reception all over the place, and my gut feeling tells me that just by looking at the grappling hook (100% Boom-like), the lanky-like proportions of the customized Bubsy/furry, and the onset of delays Forces has had, all point in the direction of patchwork trying to cover scrapped boom content. I may be wrong, but I believe time will prove me right.

No, it is not not dumb, and it makes perfect sense under a post-modern interpretative lense.

I rest my case.

 

I'm pretty sure millenials and younger fans want the other characters to be playable rather than an OC. The idea that the majority of people 18 and below are hyperactive morons is offensive and untrue

Not sure what all this ridiculous stereotyping is about.

But then looking at that ridiculous quotation above, I guess this fanbase has a lot of growing up to do (ironic considering how many 25-30 year olds I've seen critique younger fans in such an immature way).

 

The above quote isn't ridiculous in any way. While I do not agree with it 100% (more along the lines of 90%), it is still undeniably pertinent, and it does bring meat to the discussion (unlike most of your comment), with examples, historical background regarding other products, analogies and insight. Oh and going all "No, it's stooopid! Because [adjective] and [buzzword]!" isn't even a counter-argument to begin with.

 

You're still showing your immaturity by labelling any character trait in an under 30 you don't like as 'millenial'. Basically everyone on this forum, and almost all of the series' fans are millenials so I don't really think you get to call it 'pandering'. Who else would they be trying to sell games to?

 

"showing your immaturity by labelling any character trait in an under 30 you don't like as 'millenial'"
Please do quote the moment where I said those were my thoughts. Also using "immaturity" as insult, as you appear to do so often against the arguments you apparently don't agree with (and which you also avoid engaging with in a constructive manner, opting instead for dismissal, and simple adjectivation) would invite an entire new discussion about what maturity exactly is, what is its nature, and what are the heuristic protocols to use in order to avoid falling into such category of immaturity. If cheap snark, appeal to emotion/popularity, and lowkey insult is a part of that, then apparently you do fall within it.

 

Yeah Nova. It would be far more immature if he called people something like "slobbering autistic mongrels". And surely he knows better than to do that after being suspended for using autism as an insult earlier.

...Oh.