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Craig Bayfield wrote:

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As for your blanket assumptions. Please remember that Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 exist and were good

To some.

and that S3&K was not the last good game in the series,

Indeed, Sonic 3D Blast is chronically underrated.

For that matter, has 3D Realms even released any games in the last ten years?

Personally I think the plan to "save Sonic" is kind of pointless.

Cuz think about it.... Between the Genesis and Game Gear, Sonic has been in 24 games (if my count is correct), most of them the 2D sidescrollers everyone loves. In that amount of games, Sonic has pretty much done everything it can as a series.

So how do you revitalize it? Well you give it a major shift, like changing it to 3D. Unfortunately 3D has proven itself to not really work well with Sonic--at least not in the hands of Sonic Team.

There are two answers, then: Fix the 3D, or go back to 2D.

Going back to 2D is the wrong answer, because the minute you do that you've doomed the series to perpetual stagnancy. You end up with a Mega Man syndrome where every game is little more than an expansion pack for the last game--In fact I remember there being complaints that the 2D games had become exactly that.

Sure, you could add new elements, such as playing as other characters with different playstyles, but... is this really welcome? I personally don't like this aspect of any of the 3D games. I mean, as characters I like Amy, Knuckles, Shadow and even Big the Cat, but when I have to play as them they become unbearable. The point is, there is only so far you can alter the game until it goes from being "A Sonic game" to being "A game that happens to have Sonic in it."

So the better answer IMO is to fix the 3D. That entails the following:

1. Fix the camera. This is the main reason Sonic in 3D hasn't been the best experience ever--its always going off, getting behind things, or showing you things from the worst possible angle. A good idea would be to do like Mega Man Legends where the camera is always right behind the avatar (or as close to as possible). If any object comes between cam and character, then that object should become transparent as to not effect your view. The camera should be able to fly through walls and objects in case you're in a narrow area and need to look around. Above all make sure it can follow Sonic at top speeds.

2. There should only be one goal in every non-boss level: Find the exit. If you ever once have a level where you have to do anything else, whether it be hunting emerald shards or solving puzzles, then you are designing for the wrong series. In Boss levels, the goal should be to beat the boss and nothing else.

3. Speed is a privilege, not a right. Sonic's stories in the 3D games have rightly been described as "simply holding forward and watching him run," and while that's short-term visceral excitement it becomes dull in the long term (though Sonic's levels are often far more fun than everyone else's). It should take a considerable (but not superhuman) amount of skill and experience until the player is able to speed through the stages like the blue blur actually would.

4. I'm tempted to say "there should not be a single bottomless pit anywhere in the game," but I'm not entirely sure because there are times when bottomless pits make sense (the Egg Carrier for example). So, I guess, use them when they make sense. Ancient temples should not have bottomless pits (how would the ancient tribes dig them out?) but floating fortresses should.

Some other suggestions, most of these from personal preference:

5. The only playable characters should be Sonic and Tails and MAYBE Knuckles (or Shadow if you're a fan of him). Each should have similar play except for one or two unique gimmicks, and each should go through the exact same story and levels--the only difference would be who the hero is. And once more the levels' only goal should be "get to the exit" (or "Beat the boss").

6. There should never, EVER be a time in-level where you don't have control of the character (however, cutscenes are okay).

7. Bosses should rarely have a "weak point," and instead should be vulnerable at all times, but might require you to wait until they're in range or find a way to get close to them.

8. There should be NO PUZZLES. Nobody plays Sonic games to solve puzzles. Even relatively simple stuff like "put the stone on the platform" is entirely in the wrong game. As a matter of fact if you have a part where Sonic has to lift or carry ANYTHING, you're doing something wrong.

9. Super Sonic/Tails/Knuckles should not be a story event, but something available to everyone who finds the chaos Emeralds. I'm not sure if the classic Special Stages or the GG-style "emeralds hidden in levels" mechanic would be better, so I'll let you call that one. The closest thing to a story event the games should get is maybe unlocking a new level or final boss if you have all seven emeralds.

10. I don't mind if you acknowledge Shadow, Amy, Big, Cream or most of the half-million characters that have been introduced in the more recent games. I personally like most of the extended cast. But... the Chao don't exist. Please, whatever story/continuity/retcons you go with, please forget the Chao. I'd rather have Mannix and Sophia than the Chao.

11. His name is Robotnik, not Eggman. No, I'm not even gonna argue about canon or official statements or whether Japan's or America's are the "true" story, Robotnik is simply a better name than Eggman, and that's all the justification I need.

That's all I have for right now.