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Takashi Iizuka's levels

Discussion in 'General Sonic Discussion' started by sonicteamUSA, Jan 1, 2009.

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  1. muteKi

    muteKi

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    Yeah, and the direct questions seem easier to respond to -- I wouldn't throw that much in there about "and I thought this level was really good" as it's mostly irrelevant to the information that we're trying to gather.
     
  2. Shadix

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    I like the little bit you added on, it makes it personal without detracting too much from the question. I wouldn't call it asskissing as much as it is being respectable.
     
  3. OKei

    OKei

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    I've got another question, and its a particular one too. Reword it however you like, I was trying to make sense without sounding persistent or anything.

    *Was Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut originally meant/planned to have featured more "unreleased" or "unused" content such as lost levels, deleted scenes, etc. from the original SA? When looking at old Sonic Adventure articles and previews for the game, we see a lot of things that aren't in the final Dreamcast version of the game. Examples include a flying dragon chasing the Tornado in Sky Chase, and a level that's not in the final release of the game but highly resembles Windy Valley. Why not included them in "Director Cut"? EDIT: And you can show him pictures so he can know what the hell you're talking about. :)

    Apologies if that sounded way too specific and long, but IMO Sonic Adventure is one of those Sonic games with the most amount of dynamic design changes; It is also my favorite 3D Sonic game, as well, if it matters. It would be interesting to hear why DX would be called Director's Cut if it doesn't even have anything that's significantly different from the original SA (Unless the term "Director's Cut" was a bullshit marketing move by Sega, anyway).
     
  4. Blanche Hodapp

    Blanche Hodapp

    *urp* Eternal Queen
    Yeah, but when it's every other question, it can quickly turn into colonic irrigation.

    Best to look at the other interviews collected over the years to see what sort of tone gets an answer. Also phrasing. If he's so busy, he's not going to have time to read questions if they ramble too much.
     
  5. sonicteamUSA

    sonicteamUSA

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    The reason some of the questions aren't so direct is because this is by e-mail. If we interviewed Takashi face to face, you could get away with that, as it's a different environment. But over the net, it's a different feeling. I want to put a smile on his face as he's reading and answering these questions, regardless if he's busy. Maybe it'll reduce his stress.

    Is this a good rephrasing? If so, than this would be the final Q. yay:
    When we looked through old articles of the original Sonic Adventure, we've seen things and environments that didn't turn out in the final release. Was the DX version meant to feature this ununsed/lost content?

    Actually I've heard that Windy Valley went through numerous design changes to get the right feel of how Sonic would play in a 3d environment. And it was the first 3d game by Sonic Team, so it's understandable that there would be numerous changes in level design and such. They were trying to get a feel of how the game should be played.

    Where can we find these secret pics?

    I think they called it directors cut because they added additional content. Like that mission mode and improved chao garden and graphics. Actually Iizuka wasn't even the director for Sonic DX. I think it was Kenji Morimoto. So he may not have all the answers since he was at the time busy working on Sonic Heroes. However, he was a mission mode designer for DX.

    Also, if any of you guys would like to see an actual video interview with Iizuka and 1Up to get a feel of his personality: Here's a Youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gaZ8vGgnmI
     
  6. OKei

    OKei

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  7. sonicteamUSA

    sonicteamUSA

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    1) Was the shift in direction in sonic level design (More flashy, great-to-watch action as opposed to traditional platforming) something of an internal decision, a marketing-led decision or an intended evolution of the series?

    2) When you design a level, how much do you collaborate with the field artists? Do they come up with the concept of the stage, or do you?

    3) There have been some sonic fans in the US that have wanted to join Sega Studio USA. Who made the decision to close Sega Studio USA down? Was it Sega of Japan wanting Sonic Team to stay as one division? What are your reactions to this?

    4) What are the hard parts and easy parts in designing a level? Final Rush from Sonic Adventure 2 and Rail Canyon from Sonic Heroes are very complex in their geometry and offer many exilirating moments, where these stages difficult or fun to design?

    5) We have always been fascinated by the work put into the Sonic level designs. Do you remember any of the levels specifically you might have created over the course of the series? Which level designs did you have the most enjoyable time working on and are most proud of?

    6) In an interview with Hashimoto-san, he stated you are now the sub-manager at the Japan Division. What does this mean in terms of your involvement in future games? Will you continue to direct games and design exilirating levels?

    7) If you had the opportunity to go back and change or add anything to your past titles, what would it be and why?

    8) What was your first experience like when you worked at Sega Technical Institute on the Sonic Mega Drive games?

    9) How do you feel and/or are you happy with Sonic's change in direction with the transition from 2D traditional platforming to 3D speed-based platforming?

    10) When we looked through old articles of the original Sonic Adventure, we've seen things and environments that didn't turn out in the final release. Was the DX version meant to feature this ununsed/lost content? Here are a few images that we found interesting in the prototype stages of the game: [insert those pics here]

    Yippi do! We have our 10 Q's...... Can someone contact the Sega Europe employee AAUK. If anyone has his email.
     
  8. ICEknight

    ICEknight

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    Or rather, what did he exactly do in the Mega Drive games.


    Asking vague questions generally gets useless vague answers, mainly because the other person won't even suspect you'd like to read specific details.
     
  9. Tweaker

    Tweaker

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    Yup—especially since he had a hand in the object placement for Sonic 2, according to an earlier post. Sonic 3 & Knuckles wouldn't have even been his first foray into the Sonic series. :)
     
  10. sonicteamUSA

    sonicteamUSA

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    Fixed :) By the way, can someone contact AAUK so we can get these Q's out the door.
     
  11. Blanche Hodapp

    Blanche Hodapp

    *urp* Eternal Queen
    Why don't you just PM the questions to him? It'll save four or five people sending requests.
     
  12. ICEknight

    ICEknight

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    Too vague...
     
  13. sonicteamUSA

    sonicteamUSA

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    ....please let this be okay:
    The Mega Drive Sonic titles are very popular among the fanbase. We're very interested in what roles and inspiration you had as a designer working in the US at Sega Technical Institute.
     
  14. ICEknight

    ICEknight

    Researcher Researcher
    Let's get more to the point, shall we? Something like:


    It's known that you also worked in some of the Mega Drive games, which helped SEGA make Sonic a worldwide icon.
    We'd like to know, what was exactly your role in the creation of Sonic 2, Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles? What levels were you involved with and how?
    Also, can you remember any levels, ideas, music, etc, that for some reason had to be changed or removed from these games before they were released? We'd love to read any kind of info you'd want to share about how these old 2D games were developed, and about all the behind-the-scenes stuff us fans might have never heard about.



    Questions 1 and 9 could be perfectly merged into one, by the way.
     
  15. sonicteamUSA

    sonicteamUSA

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    1) Was the shift in direction in sonic level design (More flashy, great-to-watch action as opposed to traditional platforming) something of an internal decision, a marketing-led decision or an intended evolution of the series?

    2) When you design a level, how much do you collaborate with the field artists? Do they come up with the concept of the stage, or do you?

    3) There have been some sonic fans in the US that have wanted to join Sega Studio USA. Who made the decision to close Sega Studio USA down? Was it Sega of Japan wanting Sonic Team to stay as one division? What are your reactions to this?

    4) What are the hard parts and easy parts in designing a level? Final Rush from Sonic Adventure 2 and Rail Canyon from Sonic Heroes are very complex in their geometry and offer many exilirating moments, where these stages difficult or fun to design?

    5) We have always been fascinated by the work put into the Sonic level designs. Do you remember any of the levels specifically you might have created over the course of the series? Which level designs did you have the most enjoyable time working on and are most proud of?

    6) In an interview with Hashimoto-san, he stated you are now the sub-manager at the Japan Division. What does this mean in terms of your involvement in future games? Will you continue to direct games and design exilirating levels?

    7) If you had the opportunity to go back and change or add anything to your past titles, what would it be and why?

    8) It's known that you also worked in some of the Mega Drive games, which helped SEGA make Sonic a worldwide icon.
    We'd like to know, what was exactly your role in the creation of Sonic 2, Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles? What levels were you involved with and how?
    Also, can you remember any levels, ideas, music, etc, that for some reason had to be changed or removed from these games before they were released? We'd love to read any kind of info you'd want to share about how these old 2D games were developed, and about all the behind-the-scenes stuff us fans might have never heard about.

    9) How do you feel and/or are you happy with Sonic's change in direction with the transition from 2D traditional platforming to 3D speed-based platforming?

    10) When we looked through old articles of the original Sonic Adventure, we've seen things and environments that didn't turn out in the final release. Was the DX version meant to feature this ununsed/lost content? Here are a few images that we found interesting in the prototype stages of the game: [insert those pics here]

    If that is all, then......Yippi do! We have our 10 Q's...... .AAUK?
     
  16. ICEknight

    ICEknight

    Researcher Researcher
    As noted before, some questions can be easily merged:
    +
    =
    +
    =


    So, there's still two more possible questions to ask. This would be the new list:


    1) How do you feel and/or are you happy with Sonic's change in direction with the transition from 2D traditional platforming to 3D speed-based platforming? Was the shift in direction in sonic level design (More flashy, great-to-watch action as opposed to traditional platforming) something of an internal decision, a marketing-led decision or an intended evolution of the series?

    2) When you design a level, how much do you collaborate with the field artists? Do they come up with the concept of the stage, or do you? What are the hard parts and easy parts in designing a level? Final Rush from Sonic Adventure 2 and Rail Canyon from Sonic Heroes are very complex in their geometry and offer many exilirating moments, where these stages difficult or fun to design?

    3) There have been some sonic fans in the US that have wanted to join Sega Studio USA. Who made the decision to close Sega Studio USA down? Was it Sega of Japan wanting Sonic Team to stay as one division? What are your reactions to this?

    4) ???

    5) We have always been fascinated by the work put into the Sonic level designs. Do you remember any of the levels specifically you might have created over the course of the series? Which level designs did you have the most enjoyable time working on and are most proud of?

    6) In an interview with Hashimoto-san, he stated you are now the sub-manager at the Japan Division. What does this mean in terms of your involvement in future games? Will you continue to direct games and design exilirating levels?

    7) If you had the opportunity to go back and change or add anything to your past titles, what would it be and why?

    8) It's known that you also worked in some of the Mega Drive games, which helped SEGA make Sonic a worldwide icon.
    We'd like to know, what was exactly your role in the creation of Sonic 2, Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles? What levels were you involved with and how?
    Also, can you remember any levels, ideas, music, etc, that for some reason had to be changed or removed from these games before they were released? We'd love to read any kind of info you'd want to share about how these old 2D games were developed, and about all the behind-the-scenes stuff us fans might have never heard about.

    9) ???

    10) When we looked through old articles of the original Sonic Adventure, we've seen things and environments that didn't turn out in the final release. Was the DX version meant to feature this ununsed/lost content? Here are a few images that we found interesting in the prototype stages of the game: [insert those pics here]


    It could do with some organization, by the way...
     
  17. OKei

    OKei

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    I have one more.

    "What were the internal reasons behind Naoto Oshima and Hirokazu Yasuhara departure from Sonic Team? We asked ask this because they had such a pivital influence behind the creation of Sonic and later titles, and we were all saddened to hear there departure."

    I KNOW what Oshima said in his most reason interview with Nintendo Power about why he left but I also want to hear Iizuka's perspective. I know there's more to that story.

    "Speaking of the original creators of Sonic, what sort of advice would Naka-san and Oshima-san give you as you transform Sonic and his gameplay into 3D in Sonic Adventure?" Or something like that. Reword it if you want.

    I have more to come. Later.
     
  18. Jayextee

    Jayextee

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    I DONE MAKED GAMES.
    I like this one. Would be good to see if he actually took the advice, too. :3
     
  19. sonicteamUSA

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    Should we ask him about the NiGHTS 360/PS3 fiasco? Iizuka even said that development started on Wii for 1.5 years, and pre-production was done for 6 months......But that sega employee who spilled out all that info. I'm not sure. Is Sega Japan forcing Iizuka to keep his mouth shut? After all, they did absorb his branch back into japan, for reasons I'm not sure of yet.
     
  20. OKei

    OKei

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    Nah. Just send them already. :P
     
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