Sonic Boom

[Nester the Lark]

So, the next exclusive Sonic game is based on the upcoming Sonic Boom animated series. It's being developed by Big Red Button, led by a former art director of Naughty Dog, and runs on CryEngine 3. It features four playable characters: Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy, each with unique abilities. There's four-payer local co-op (no online), and two characters will always be active on screen, even in single player, and you can switch between them at will. (Source)

Here's the teaser trailer:


And the characters have gotten redesigns to coincide with the cartoon:



Sonic's been due for another re-design for quite a while now, so hey, I'm game. But what I'm wondering is, is this only for the cartoon series, or is this a new direction for Sonic in general? Will Sonic Team continue to make games in the style of Lost World (as Takashi Iizuka previously indicated)?

EDIT: Official website

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UPDATE: According to Sega of America COO John Chen, Sonic Boom is a sub-franchise and is not replacing the main Sonic games. So, I guess that confirms that the redesign only applies to the cartoon and related media, and Sonic Team will continue their own vision of Sonic.

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UPDATE 2: A Polygon article explains that Sonic Boom is intended to be aimed directly at Western audiences.

A few choice excerpts:

Speaking with Polygon, Iizuka said the decision to give developer Big Red Button creative control over Sonic Boom and have Sanzaru Games work on the 3DS title was part of Sega's overarching plan to make a completely Westernized branch of the Sonic franchise.

. . .

"Sonic Team is great and they make really great speed-oriented games, but this game is not just about speed," he [Stephen Frost] added of the title's emphasis on combat. "Speed is an important aspect of it, but exploration, combat and the strong narrative of the storyline are very big aspects of the game, more so than I would say in the past.

. . .

Frost added that a more combat-oriented Sonic game would allow the personalities of Sonic's companions to be expressed more fully. Each character will have specialty abilities that speak to who they are and how they interact with the world. For example, Amy can clear out swathes of enemies with her hammer and Knuckles can knock out opponents with brute strength. The action focus also ties into the exploration component of the games, Frost said, which will in turn feed into character and story progression.

. . .

As for the blue hedgehog's new scarf — it's not incorrect to say it was pulled straight from the closet of Nathan Drake.

"We were exploring different outfits and we went through a lot of iterations and the scarf was something I've used in the past and it works for me and it works for the character," he [Bob Rafei] said. "Really, the history of that comes from the old western days, with John Wayne, and as a kid watching a lot of those westerns, that really stuck with me.

. . .

Iizuka confirmed that there are currently no plans to bring the Sonic Boom games or cartoon to Japan; the show will launch in North America and France later this year, while the game is "coming soon." He also noted that the Japanese Sonic Team will continue to make Sonic games parallel to Big Red Button and Sanzaru's games, although he could not comment on their publication to PlayStation 4 or Xbox One.

Food for thought.

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UPDATE 3: A lot of info pouring in all at once. Clearly some NDA's expired.

Another article from USGamer explains things a bit more.

Rafei says it's "hard to say" at this point what the split between exploration and combat will be, but that combat will be a "major component". He also tells me that Big Red Button has found a compelling use for the Wii U GamePad, but declined to give details at this reveal. The Wii U game is built on Crytek's CryEngine 3, but Rafei was coy on what that means for the game's framerate or resolution.

"I think we're revealing that soon, so I'm going to hold off on that," he says.

[Leon]

I like the redesigns except for those horrid noodle legs. It just makes the characters look freaky.

[Nester the Lark]

I like the redesigns, too, tho I think they went a little overboard with the bandages.

I like seeing different interpretations of characters. That's why I like Link. He gets redesigned on a regular basis. Just as long as the "spirit" of the character isn't lost in the process (like Castlevania Judgement).

I can see what they were going for here, and frankly, I'm a little surprised Sega let them go this far. But I guess being a separate sub-franchise allows for more flexibility.

I'm really intrigued to see where they take this.

[Nester the Lark]

A video interview with Stephen Frost:

[Spud]

I don't mind the tape as much (kinda makes me think of kingdom hearts and zippers), but I'm going to have to agree with you guys on the limbs. Those look really silly and out of place.

[Nester the Lark]

A video interview with Bob Rafei (former art director at Naughty Dog):



And a CVG interview with Rafei and Stephen Frost. Here's a summery: "We'll talk more about that closer to E3."

They keep saying this is the first Sonic game being made by a Western developer, but Sonic 3D Blast and Sonic R were developed by Traveler's Tales in England (known these days for the LEGO games), and Sonic Spinball came from Sega Technical Institute in San Francisco (who also worked on Sonic X-treme and assisted with Sonic 2).

[TV Eye]

Oh my god...Bob Rafei is involved?! Consider me excited now. He's one of my favorite artists. His work on Crash Bandicoot and Jak and Daxter shaped my art as a kid. I used to print off his drawings and try and see how he made them. I loved the backgrounds he designed in Crash Team Racing.

Ack...I'm gushing.

[Nester the Lark]

Another video interview with Frost and Rafei that doesn't reveal too many new things. There are no Chaos Emeralds in this game, but there will be other returning characters revealed in the next few months.



EDIT:

Here's a really interesting interview with Evan Baily, executive producer of the cartoon series, and it actually does answer some questions I had. Mainly, was the game being seen simply as a promotional tool for the cartoon (like a licensed product), or would it stand on its own, and it sounds like the game and cartoon are somewhat independent of each other.

[kirbychu]

I was hoping there'd be more returning characters. I know most people will likely be pissed off about it, but I'd love to see what these guys would do with characters like Shadow and Metal Sonic. Or maybe even Fang.

[Nester the Lark]

I was kinda wondering what your reaction to the game (and cartoon) was, kirbychu, but I was afraid to ask.

[Shrikeswind]

Involving the redesigns, my feelings are mixed. I despise all the unnecessary bandages (wouldn't running at supersonic speeds shred the ones on your feet, Sonic?), and Knuckles looks horrible, but on the other hand, I like Sonic's, Tails', and Amy's new looks. Especially Amy, actually, since her normal dress' gravity defiance kinda bugs me, and she's the only character where the wrappings actually add something to the design, as opposed to just being there for the sake of being there.

...That's really all I have to say on the matter.

[TV Eye]

Feb 13, 2014 14:58:10 GMT -5 Shrikeswind said:

Involving the redesigns, my feelings are mixed. I despise all the unnecessary bandages (wouldn't running at supersonic speeds shred the ones on your feet, Sonic?)

But it's sports tape. Like what Ryu uses so his punches don't damage his skin. Makes sense for Sonic to wrap it on his shoes, going so fast would realistically destroy them.

[kirbychu]

Feb 13, 2014 13:47:48 GMT -5 Nester the Lark said:

I was kinda wondering what your reaction to the game (and cartoon) was, kirbychu, but I was afraid to ask.

Haha, I thought somebody might be wondering that.

To be honest, I was really apprehensive about the new designs (Knuckles in particular) until they said the old designs were sticking around too, and then I instantly warmed up to them. Writing-wise there's only up to go. I'm not a fan of the terrible jokes the new main series writer shoehorns into every scene, or the fact that he openly admitted to never having looked at any Sonic media he didn't write himself. These guys have already gone back and played through the old games and watched the old shows, so even if they do change the character personalities some they're still likely to be more in-character than they were in Lost World. My only worry there is that Amy will lose the traits that made her fun and turn into a stock 'independent female' character.

I don't think I ever voiced my opinion on Lost World here, but it.. wasn't exactly high. I didn't like the art, gameplay or writing. This looks like it could easily be a huge step up in all three areas. The scenery is stunning, at the very least.

As far as the show goes, I liked everything I saw in that short clip we got except the animation on Sonic's running and spin attack. Neither had any weight or force behind them. I could animate it better, and I'm just a student. I'm hoping that was just early animation.

Feb 13, 2014 17:46:58 GMT -5 TV Eye said:

Feb 13, 2014 14:58:10 GMT -5 Shrikeswind said:

Involving the redesigns, my feelings are mixed. I despise all the unnecessary bandages (wouldn't running at supersonic speeds shred the ones on your feet, Sonic?)

But it's sports tape. Like what Ryu uses so his punches don't damage his skin. Makes sense for Sonic to wrap it on his shoes, going so fast would realistically destroy them.

I saw an interview somewhere where Rafei said exactly that. He put the tape on there because he figured Sonic would have to patch up his shoes a lot, and isn't the type to care too much about how they looked. I like it, it makes sense and still kinda looks like the classic white stripe shoe design.

[TV Eye]

As far as writing goes, I like to think that Bob Rafei will incorporate some classic Crash Bandicoot humor. Obviously there won't be a silent protagonist, but I'm sure there will be plenty of gags.

I also expect Eggman to be full of ham and cheese.

[Shrikeswind]

Feb 13, 2014 17:46:58 GMT -5 TV Eye said:

Feb 13, 2014 14:58:10 GMT -5 Shrikeswind said:

Involving the redesigns, my feelings are mixed. I despise all the unnecessary bandages (wouldn't running at supersonic speeds shred the ones on your feet, Sonic?)

But it's sports tape. Like what Ryu uses so his punches don't damage his skin. Makes sense for Sonic to wrap it on his shoes, going so fast would realistically destroy them.

Sonic's shoes have a long-known (if admittedly not strictly canon) ability to reduce friction, the force responsible for shoes wearing out. I mean, I can understand Knuckles' gloves might need a bit of back-up, but what you're saying is that...

a) Sports tape would not shred as fast as shoes which are designed to reduce friction to the point where a guy can run at supersonic speeds in them.
b) Tails, a guy whose feet literally do not touch the ground at all when he's running, needs sports tape around his shoes.
c) Sonic needs more grip than Amy despite Amy having a melee weapon of significant size and weight and Sonic being unarmed.
d) Sonic and Tails are wearing gloves that would not protect their hands when they punch.
e) Sonic and Knuckles need sports tape around their arms and legs in places which do not need the sort of protection where sports tape would be warranted.
f) Knuckles' shoes, being made of sports tape, are less likely to fall apart than a pair of shoes made of a more sturdy material, such as leather.

No matter what Rafei says, these redesigns look ridiculous and don't have anything to mitigate how ridiculous they are.

Also, while I'm bitching about things which don't actually matter, take a look at Sonic's arms. Here too. Someone wasn't doing his homework.