Gimmicks and Gadgets you'd like to see in a Sonic Zone

A rail which, walking normally, sonic falls though. However, when he spindashes into it, he travels along the length of the rail eventually making it to the other end.

A spring on wheels which is stationary normally, but with a push, will roll on the ground, allowing sonic to constantly bounce, collecting rings along the way. Could also be used as a path seperation gimmick.

 

Mine are just variations of what's already been done in games, like industrial-strength extractor fans that suck you in then suddenly stop so you're catapulted into spikes, and steam/coolant ejectors that spew their contents over Sonic for massive damage.

And those are just the hazards. I need some imagination =P

 

A better way to use the rail. When Sonic isn't moving fast at all, Sonic balances and walks across it like the balancing beams from Unleashed. If moving down one at an angle or in contact with the rail at speed, Sonic could finally slide across it, but it'd take momentum to keep you sliding. Once you slow back down on the rail, you'd have to continue walking on it like a balance beam. Also Sonic could Spindash / roll down the rail, which would help suppor gaining speed.

 

Buzz bomber and the crab+bumper badnik from Casino Night Zone, combined into one: that is to say that it's a floating/flying bug which buzzes around. If you attack it from behind, you bounce off like a bumper. If you jump to attack it from the front or below, it retracts inward and basically becomes a regular bumper. As soon as things are safe, it comes back out. The secret to defeating it is that it cannot see you coming from above, nor could it retract inward while it's shooting. So you have to either attack from above, or wait for him to shoot and then attack before he finishes.

He'd probably be a flying badnik for the casino-type level. Because Casino Night Zone only had one, right?

 

It would be similar to a Toilet Paper roll, and Sonic would run on it to open doors, and the boss would involve dodging stuff while on one of those rolls.

 

The SegaSonic arcade game actually has a gimick just like that one. Except without add boss stuff.

 

I always liked the idea of some sort of spinning tower gimmick that shot you off at a different path depending on certain goals reached upon entering it. This gimmick would likely take place in some sort of casino/carnival level, where lots of rings and other goodies are abundant. Three different factors would control where you goal:

- Points: The player would have to have obtained a certain number of points in the level—let's say 10,000—to pass path level 1.
- Speed: The player must have entered the tower with an internal speed of at least $1000 to pass path level 2.
- Rings: The player must have at least 150 rings in hand to pass path level 3 and reach the very top.

Each different path would present the player with a different ratio of difficulty-to-reward, depending on the level of path you achieve. Level 1 would provide you with little goodies and more challenge, level 2 would provide you with a pretty equal balance between challenge and reward, and level 3 would provide you with an extremely fun, danger-free route littered with goodies and ways to gain speed.

The whole idea is that you're trying to reward the player for fulfilling several stringent requirements that may take a fair amount of effort to obtain. Not only are you racing the clock, but within that time you also have to get a certain number of rings and points. The time limit seems like it would be what makes or breaks a player's ability to reach path level 3. Considering the level's niche, this can either be a simple or difficult task depending on how you interact with the level's other gimmicks—slot machines, bumpers, etc.

Would definitely love to see something like that.

 

Do I even have to say it? :v:



Otherwise, I was thinking of things recently that would be easy to program in a hack, for future use. Like take the spikes from collision chaos positioned horizontally on the gray block that pops out from the ground, then add it to an invisible track underground and have both the block and the spikes chase the player, like the certain circular saws in scrap brain. If the character hops onto it, it turns from a deathtrap to a helpful transport! Mainly to jump to ledges that would be just out of reach on the ground.

 

Or to smash through otherwise-unbreakable obstacles, I'd wager

 

Moving rings. Nothing totally dickish, just rings that move in a scripted pattern, sort of like the barrels in Donkey Kong Country, except in a snake-like line or similar.

Combine this with a Megamix light-dash and you got yourself some macro-puzzle related to variable platform routes, Kyle.

 

A scale, where Sonic has to push/break respawning statue on it to use it as a staircase.

 

This would actually make me like the light dash.

 

Hm, rather than a badnik monitor, I'd rather see one that randomly changes quickly between Robotnik, a 1-up, and a 10 ring bonus.

 

An insectoid robot flying around, wearing the Eggman Empire mark on it. Smash it before it latches onto technology around you, or it will reprogram it to KILL YOU. ... Like, I dunno, a soda machine propelling cans at deadly speeds towards you. 8D

 

The Color Glue Beam

Imagine, if you will, a launcher much like you would find in Casino Night Zone, with a seemingly harmless beam of light spanning across the exit hole. The beam slowly cycles through the colors of the rainbow (Chemical Plant, anyone?), and as Sonic shoots through it, one of three things happen, depending on the color:

1.) The light beam sticks to Sonic, slowing his ascent, much like one of those Mushroom Hill traps, before pulling him back down onto the lowest level. This occurs when the color is a shade of blue close to Sonic; the same-colored light actually fuses to Sonic, becoming part of his body, creating a tether, until the color changes enough to release him.

2.) The light accelerates Sonic to astounding heights, landing on the highest level. This happens when the color is the opposite of Sonic's color (yellow), and the repelling force is so great that it pushes Sonic away.

3.) The light beam does nothing, and Sonic is propelled to a middle level by the cannon.

When Tails or Knuckles uses the cannon, the colors which stick are orange and red, respectively, and the colors which accelerate are cyan and green, respectively.

 

I'll raise you the following; monitor badnik (read: monitor which looks different enough from the usual ones to be noticable) which reacts to you actions in the following way:

- Jump = Eggman
- Spin dash = Eggman
- Normal roll = something positive

The kicker? Make this appear in sections chased by a spiked wall or similar (yeah, like HCZ2's wall, but DANGEROUS) and you got a valid gameplay mechanic there; risk versus reward.

Am I the only one who thinks ludologically rather than just brainfarting this shit?

 

A spring that requires timing the jump button right (ala the springs from Super Mario Bros.)?