Game Concepts

The basic formula is still there !! He had to re-tune some of it because this is 2007 we're talking about. People are into different things. New gamers have been born. Iizuka was simply trying to please the casual gamer and the NiGHTS gamer. You still fly through loops at high speed through imaginative levels and all. But on top of that, you have different missions, simple platforming and rollercoaster levels that casual children can enjoy. And voice acting because this is 2007, this isn't the 90's. EVen A. LIFE !! [something we haven't seen them do since SA2]
As a game developer you have to adapt to the kind of markets out there. It's not gonna be the same damn bosses and atmosphere. Otherwise, it'll just feel like the same game. Where it only seems as though they're catering only towards the NiGHTS fanbase.

This is why there wasn't a Sonic Adventure 3. He had to change the formula and atmosphere to make Heroes appeal to the average gamer as well as still keep the average hardcore sonic fan interested.

If you say so. Completely ignore the fact that Sonic Heroes and his self titled game have sold millions.

 

I've thought about how I would do a 3D Sonic game quite a bit.

One major idea I've always wanted to try is a Sonic game where everybody stays quiet. The entire storyline of the game will be told exclusively through body language and facial expressions. Maybe little voice quips - something along the lines of Skies of Arcadia maybe, where key facial expressions/moments evoke sort of an elated "YEAH!" or a "Argghhh!" - but no dialog.

Stylistically, I've always been fascinated with the concept of a "dreamworld", where abstract and fantastical elements mesh seamlessly and nobody seems to mind. Klonoa, Kirby, NiGHTS... stuff like that, where things can just get really bizarre or really nightmarish. A world where things don't have to make sense, but neither are they so obtuse that it's just nonsense - it makes just enough sense to be believable.

Controls are what I've thought about the most.

Essentially, Sonic in 3D needs a run button. The biggest hurdle Sonic in 3D tangles with is the issue of having controls that work for both running really fast and doing slower things like platforming. Cater to one and the other suffers. What's more, the controls of a 3D platformer don't really lend themselves very well to the sorts of gravity-defying environments Sonic is known for. So how do you fix this?

A run button.

The run button switches between two modes of control for Sonic. When not pressed, Sonic controls like a tight, every day platformer - like Ratchet & Clank, Mario Galaxy, so on and so forth. Hold the run button down, and suddenly Sonic will begin accelerating on his own. This changes his controls so that he steers like a race car - a good example would be how Trackmania handles. There are actually a surprising amount of racing games that do all the gravity defying Sonic stuff (Rollcage, F-Zero GX), but I think Trackmania is the most fitting of Sonic because of how tight your car handles.

I got the idea while playing Sonic R. I figured racing game controls like Rollcage/F-Zero/Trackmania were the solution, but accelerating in Sonic R by holding up on the analog stick doesn't feel right - it feels sort of like Sonic Heroes. Holding a different button to accelerate and just using the stick to steer like a car vastly improves the enjoyment factor. Thus, the concept of a "run button" was born.

I've always liked Jak & Daxter's idea of a platformer in an open world. I've really wanted to apply that to a Sonic game somehow, and my basic idea is:



"Exploration Fields" are wide-open areas meant to be worked through at a slower pace. They are full of platforming and exploration elements. Fields are connected by action stages, which work more like traditional, SA2-style Sonic levels where you're always running "forward". If at all possible, transitioning between these locations would be as seamless as possible, with no loading screens to speak of at all.

Edit: Oop, I forgot - no boost pads to speak of in levels ever at all. The run button would definitely get you moving pretty quickly, and running down slopes would increase your speed even more. I like the idea of the launcher ramps in SA2's City Escape and SA1's Ice Cap. I would like to see those expanded upon, as I also liked pulling tricks off in Sonic Riders - there was a great build up before a jump and catching air depending on when you let go and how charged your jump was, was a really cool idea. I've thought that maybe the closer to the edge of the ramp you were, the larger the speed boost you got from it was and the more elaborate the trick would be - again, like the ramps in City Escape.

 

I skimmed over your post and came up with this:

How about a DS game where the top screen and buttons work like a Sonic Rush-style game, but the bottom screen and touchpad works like an (A)RPG? By performing some kind of tricks or movements successfully on the top screen you could deal damage to your enemies on the bottom. Alternatively you could adopt the bottom screen control to automatically progress in the level on the top. It'd be like two games in one, and you could switch whenever a particular area was difficult in one style but easier in the other.

 

Rave, thank you for the criticism, that allowed me to revise the game a little bit.

I've narrowed the controls (again, a 360 layout) down to this:

A: Jump

A,A: Primary Air Action (homing attack, gliding, etc.)

X: Ability. Attack combos (Amy's Hammer, Knux's punches, etc.), projectiles (Bean's Bombs, Shad's Chaos Spear, etc.). Haven't exactly settled on a good one for Sonic yet though.

A, X: Secondary Air Action/Midair Alternative to the Ability.

Y: Power. Chaos Control (teleportation), Super Form, and Hyper Form. The Requirements should be obvious.

B: Action. Starting missions (when pressed near a mission character, as opposed to hearing them talk for an entire minute), getting into vehicles (likely limited to the Tornado and Sea Fox), picking up objects.

LB/RB: Change Character (if there are anymore in your party).

Click LS: Crouch/Roll. Yes rolling should return. Tapping X while crouching = the Spin Dash.

And while there would be a massive number of PLAYABLE characters (48), only 14 would have an actual story, to play as the others you would need them to join your party in story mode. Seems like a ton, which it IS, but they would all be optional. ONLY Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles would be REQUIRED to play as to unlock everything in the game.

There would also be a multiplayer mode in which you can battle, or race. All 48 Characters would show up on a SSB style roster. You can play one on one, have a giant battle royal, or do a team match. All of these would be able to be played over Live/PSN/Nintendo WiFi, or in the comfort of your own home.

Cutscenes would be almost just like Brawl, in the sense that you could tell what was going on by ACTIONS as opposed to words. SOME dialog would take place, a few exclamations here and there, maybe even a few conversations, but not NEARLY as dialog filled as any of the recent games. Oh, and pointless, corny lines would not be included either.

 

Combine this with the gameplay from the day stages of Sonic Unleashed. I have nothing more to add to that.

 

Do we even have that many official characters?

I know SEGA loves to add a new character with every damn game, but...

Sonic, Eggman, Tails, Knuckles, Eggrobo, Amy, Mighty, Espio, Vector, Charmy
Ray, Tikal, Shadow, Rouge, Chaos, Gamma, Big, Cream, Silver, Blaze
Metal Sonic, Mecha Sonic, Silver Sonic, Metal Knuckles, Tails Doll, Emerl, Gemel, Cosmo, Nazo

I count 29 and can't think of any others =P

 

Fang, the two robots from Sonic Riders...

 

Oh right, Jet. Was he a robot? (I've never played either of the Riders games so I wouldn't know, but I didn't think he was a robot)

Edit: You know the more I think about it the more this idea sounds like a Sonic version of Puyo Puyo 15th Anniversary

 

As LoS posted his idea of a Sega vs. Nintendo Smash Bros (which would be awesome, btw!), I thought I'd post my idea for a new Fighters Megamix--

FIGHTERS MEGAMIX: NEW GENERATION
(for Xbox 360/PS3)

With 66 characters from Virtua Fighter, Fighting Vipers, Sonic the Hedgehog and other classic Sega games!

Virtua Fighter Characters
*Akira Yuki
*Pai Chan
*Lau Chan
*Wolf Hawkfield
*Jeffry McWild
*Kage-Maru
*Sarah Bryant
*Jacky Bryant
*Shun-Di
*Lion Rafale
*Aoi Umenokouji
*Taka-Arashi
*Vanessa Lewis
*Lei-Fei
*Goh Hinogami
*Brad Burns
*Eileen
*El Blaze
*Jean Kujo
*Dural
*Siba (removed character from VF1, was unlockable in original Megamix)

Fighting Vipers Characters
*Grace
*Bahn
*Raxel
*Tokio
*Sanman
*Jane
*Honey
*Picky
*Mahler
*Emi
*Charlie
*B.M.
*Del Sol
*Kuhn
*Kumachan
*Ura Bahn (powered up version of Bahn from original Magamix)

Sonic the Hedgehog Characters
*Sonic the Hedgehog
*Miles "Tails" Prower
*Fang the Sniper
*Bean the Dynamite
*Bark the Polarbear
*Espio the Chameleon
*Amy Rose
*Knuckles the Echidna
*Metal Sonic (UNLOCKABLE)
*Dr. Eggman (UNLOCKABLE)
*Honey the Cat (UNLOCKABLE)
*Super Sonic (UNLOCKABLE)
*Shadow the Hedgehog (UNLOCKABLE)
*Blaze the Cat (UNLOCKABLE)

Hidden Characters from Fighters Megamix
*Rentahero
*Janet Marshall (Virtua Cop)
*Deku (Fighters Megamix original character)
*Hornet (Daytona USA)

Unlockable Characters from Other Sega Games
*Alisa Landale (Phantasy Star)
*Rolf (Phantasy Star II)
*Axel Stone (Streets of Rage series)
*Blaze Fielding (Streets of Rage series)
*Jo Musashi (Shinobi)
*Ryo Hazuki (Shenmue)
*S.Harrier (the guy from Space Harrier)
*Arthur (Shining in the Darkness)
*Segata Sanshiro
*Gilius Thunderhead (Golden Axe)
*Alex Kidd

I've been working on a character select image: I'll post that when I'm finished, and also an arena list

 

Nop, he's the green bird. But I recall Sonic Riders added two robots which are basically red and green versions of the generic badnik of Heroes. They were added just as fillers.

 

Titan, your post made me imagine the following:

El Blaze: Start running... NOW!!

Sonic: <blank stare>

Perhaps you should tone down charters per franchise, you're missing some pretty big ones, like Panzer Dragoon and Skies of Arcadia, it wouldn't hurt to include some people from Tales of Vesperia, it's like Sega's only new IP in years.

 

On that note, what about Valkyria Chronicles? :P

 

That's what I meant

 

Well, here's what I have:

Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Vector, Espio, Charmy, Shadow, Rouge, Omega, Cream, Big,
Gamma, Emerl, Blaze, Silver, Ray, Mighty, Fang, Bean, Bark, Tikal, Illumina, Shade, Eggman,
Metal Sonic, Mecha Sonic, Silver Sonic, EggRobo, Tails Doll, Metal Knuckles, Mecha Knuckles (Advance),
Zero, Beta, Shadow Android, E10000, Captain Whisker, Jet, Wave,Storm, Grand Battle Kukku 15th,
Chaos, Black Doom, Erazor Djinn, Nazo, Ashura, Honey, and Mephiles.

That is a lot, but its not plot involved, just for the fun of playing crazy match ups (either a race or a fight), so even non canon characters appear there too, like Nazo, Ashura, and Honey. Eggman and Eggman Nega would be too similar, as would Emerl and Gemerl. Possibly alternate colors though.

Whether you race or battle, you pick a location, like Green Hill, Mystic Cave, Hydrocity, or some other locations that would be available. If you pick Green Hill, you play in the ENTIRETY of Green Hill, all acts, from both versions of Sonic 1, put together in full 3D. Same with whatever "Zone" or "Action Stage" you would choose, the ENTIRE area.

Now even if its a battle, its still the full level, so you could run away if wanted too, only to be chased down by the other player. Now a new twist I'm thinking of is having the Chaos Emeralds placed onto the map as well, so if someone found all of them and nabbed 50 rings, they could go super and basically win the match. However, each time you get hit while you have emeralds, you lose them, one hit at a time. They wouldn't exactly be easy to find though, I'm thinking, ehh, 14-21 possible spawn points for them.

 

That really is quite a list of characters, though you forgot most of the rest of the e-100 series, like Zeta, Epsilon, Alpha, Delta, and whoever else I forgot, and some others like Sharah and Chip. I haven't ever heard of Illumina, Shade, or Grand Battle Kukku 15th.

 

From Shuffle, Chronicles, and Tails Adventure, respectively.

 

Well technically Zero (the green robot chasing Amy) is supposed to be E-100 Alpha, or that's what I've heard. The rest of the E series are too similar to Gamma, they'd just be alternate colors (like Gmel, Eggman Nega, Metal Sonic 3.0 etc.). I know Beta is too, but he would appear in his flying Mark II model. Zeta's upgraded form is entirely immobile, so he'd have 0% usefullness.

Well I had considered Sharah, but I ended up removing her along with Heavy & Bomb, GUN Commander, and Marine, because, well honestly the four of them are pretty much useless. I DID forget Chip though. Mario wouldn't be a bad guest star either.

 

Sonic & The Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition Cartridge

Following on from Sonic & The Black Knight, one day Sonic is playing Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition for his Megadrive, when lighting strikes his house and he gets sucked in or something.

The game features entirely 2D gameplay, as Sonic has to find a way out of the game and see his ending sequence, while also besting and gaining the help of several other World Warriors, all of whom take the appearence of people Sonic known.

Such as

Shadow - Ken (Head Swap )
Knuckles - Balrog
Dr.Eggman - M.Bison
Werehog - Dhalism (Stretchy limbs or some shit like that)
Amy - Chun-Li (Token girl character)
And many more!

 

I could actually see Sega and Capcom doing this...



I've got a storybook game idea too...

Sonic & the Iraq War

-Knuckles as Bush
-Eggman as Bin Laden
-Shadow as Saddam Hussein

Sonic gets sucked into an alternate version of the real world, right before 9/11. Eggman Bin Laden attacks Knux's country, duping him into attacking Shadow Hussien's country, believing he somehow stashed the eclipse cannon underground in the desert. Now Sonic has to bring them all down.

 

If I made a Sonic Game it would have songs like in Sonic Rush but with the words that are being said on the bottom of the screen and it would have some move combos depending on the rythm... I don't know =P