Sonic OCs have gotten a lot better since the early recolor days. (There are quite a few adorable, creative examples now.) So I'm curious and excited to see how well they translate in Forces. The reactions on social media have been great so far; even deviantART pulled a joke with it. Yesterday's announcement made for a fun afternoon! I wonder to what extent the customization goes, though, and how many character slots you would get, if any. I hope the selection of character pieces is enough to rebuild Blaze. (Or most of her, like an alt costume.) Or some fan characters from my favorite Sonic artists. I'd even be okay with cheap DLC packs for more species, or promotional crossover presets and species. We could take the Bubsy jokes to the next level with that, with the real live Bubsy! No imitations will do. :v: Most people here simply bemoaned the vanity of it, while also conceeding they would still use the feature anyway for the laughs. Only one user really went out on a limb, and if you think about the wider fanbase beyond Retro, that's pretty tame. Faith in this community is not tarnished for me. Well said in the case of more acidic remarks about this, though. Luckily, I haven't seen much of it on my Twitter timeline besides one person, who I've temporarily disabled retweets from. Most everyone else is super excited for this.
All I can say really is that Forces is not a Sonic game that interests me, and that I would hate to see the series continue with this character creation format. I've already enjoyed the cast of the series, so the recent "Sonic only" direction had been disappointing enough, but a custom character makes it worse because it's further sidelining something that I always liked. The gameplay for both Sonic's looks rather poor. The custom gameplay also seems to be more like the bonus acts in Colours/Generations than anything else, and that's really not a particularly good thing. I do understand the appeal of character creator, and honestly I wouldn't have too much of a problem if this was set in a universe/timeline/future wherein none of the existing cast were around. That would be kind of interesting - a bunch of non-heroes need to band together to save the world. The character creator doesn't even look all that bad. The results are just generic templates with random accessories slapped on - it works and could be much worse. As it goes, this is going to please a lot of younger and newer fans, but could also further alienate lots of long time fans. At least Mania is a thing, and I sincerely hope that this particular gimmick doesn't stick around in the future. This game is not why I'm a Sonic fan at all. I can see it being really successful though, so taking it out into a spin-off series would be wise long-term do they can continue to make more traditional Sonic games.
Personally, I am warming up to the idea, but then, I've been biased towards character generators (Mass Effect, Xenoverse), etc. Makes me wonder if the custom Hero will remain mute or have a selectable voice á la Saints Row? Also, heck yes, Wolves and Bears. Their choice of default appearance was kinda horrible, but, eh. I think I'd have been happier about this ten years ago, now. Nowadays, there's this tired and dumb meme that apparently all fan-created characters are following the 90% of Sturgeon's Law presented on DeviantART even though that page and others also features a load of awesome designs we'll never even get to see in anything official. (Then again, we've had dA artists work for Archie in an official capacity a lot more in recent months.)
I agree. There's no need to totally shit on the create-a-character simply because it's in a Sonic game. The only acceptable criticisms will be what it allows/doesn't, if the interface is clunky, or it's too limited. Everything else is just causing the oft-referenced 'Sonic Cycle' to be prematurely enforced. I mean, I'm gonna have a bit of fun with it, and I'd like to get something similar to this made in it: Sure, I'll be bummed if it's not possible, but I've got a backup in mind, so I'm not too stressed.
HOLY SHIT THAT'S ABSOLUTELY WHAT THAT IS OH MY GOD This is very accurate and I'm still puzzled that some of you seem to think all OC's are inherently bad. All of the people whining about this need to grow the fuck up. OCs are not a bad thing, and a character creator certainly isn't. The gameplay looks perfectly good from what we've seen. If you're really still childishly throwing a tantrum about it at this point, I'm happy about your empty threats to leave the fanbase for good. Please do, good riddance.
As I saw somebody mention on Twitter, the Freedom Planet characters (Especially for the first game.) are also essentially Sonic fan characters in a sense, yet I hardly see those characters get nearly as much flak. Yes, there are many cheaply made Sonic fan character edits and re-colours out there, but some of the more creative inspirations are really not that bad.
I guess it's because after the forum threads and Buzzfeed articles about how weird or gross Sonic fan characters/art can get, that Sonic OCs have this reputation of being made by weirdos. While in reality a lot of that weird/gross stuff can be seen in any fanbase of big franchises, just the weird Sonic fan art somehow got the most attention. Meanwhile a lot of Sonic fan characters aren't actually that weird, and are often made by kids who are just using Sonic as inspiration to make their own characters. Not that I see anything wrong with adults making fan characters as well. It's not really any different from people making Dragon Ball characters in Xenoverse.
As corny as it may be, I actually might recreate my old Dark Sonic fan character in this game, at least to the ability this game will allow me too. Just something to let my childhood self get a win in the modern age :specialed: A black Sonic with green Shadow esq stripes that wore fingerless gloves, a tank top, and black jeans. Good ol mid 2000s angsty teen edge :specialed:
Was he also Sonic's faster twin brother who was separated from him at birth and exposed to government supersoldier clinical trials?
Actually I don't remember lol I don't recall ever making a back story for him. I think he was just a replacement for another fan character I made who someone else claimed that I stole from them (Shadowknux... who also didn't have a back story). Dark Sonic was originally an Orange shadow with blue stripes. All very, very awful characters lol.
Xenoverse: You're THE guy. Create a fighter can heavily modify how the game's played, both off and online, especially in multiplayer matches. There's a lot of meat there that affects the game, especially what stats/moves you want to utilize. Forces: You're the third character. There are some modifiers that effect the game slightly, but overall, it's (likely?) going to be the same experience. You'll still have the grappling hook, you're still be some lanky-ish animal character. Ya dig?
I like it. Think it's a neat idea. Would be good to see it in a 2D game. EDIT: just realized that items could be in game purchases...
Hold up, was it you who made that SFGHQ old How-to (that doesn't work anymore FUCK) on how to do certain actions in MMF/TGF?
Nah I never knew how to do anything in MMF/TGF, although younger me always wanted to learn. Someone at some point did steal my fan character long after I stopped caring though, but that was in like, 2012 or something.
Completely fucking stupid idea and I think this "wow, now YOU can help Sonic save the world" self-insert bullshit is the most cynical millennial pandering I've seen from this series since Shadow. Gameplay looks the same as before and shockingly even the music is super generic. This game has just had me completely dumbfounded at every turn. I hope this bombs, gets trashed in reviews, and SEGA does a clean sweep of Sonic Team before turning in a completely different direction, like they did after 06. What a joke.
...How is having a character creator "cynical millennial pandering"? ...And even if it was why are you even complaining about pandering to Sonic's primary audience????
Dude, millennials. Spending money on toast with avocados. Don't even eat cereal. Millennials, man. Root of all evil, even with other millennials.
Nothing about Forces has "hooked" me, like the game just looks like it'll be a fun enough romp that I'll enjoy it without being wowed by it. That said, I'm very excited about how this design decision has brought out all sorts of people complaining about people they can't relate to who would enjoy making their own Sonic characters and how much they hate those people. The extra dose of perspective is always appreciated. I'll probably pick the game up around launch if I can afford it at the time.
