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Sega Takes You Behind the Scenes of Sonic Boom's Development

They REALLY want us to understand the thinking behind wrapping all these characters in athletic tape.

Feb. 25 2014

Posted by: Alex

In This Episode:

Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric

56 Comments

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ArrrCee

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I don't get all the hate for these character designs. Knuckles has pretty much always looked like that. The game looks like fun. It's definitely aimed at kids but still looks fun.

This is my thought process as well. I don't understand why people clamor for change and then when they change it up a bit they hate it. I'm not sure what everyone is expecting of a change to a group of cartoony animals who save the word from some big fat guy. Looks fun to me!

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audiosnow

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Only Amy wears clothes, presumably to hide her lady parts, so is Sonic's dick on his neck? Gonna need an answer, Sega.

Nope, it's right...

What the... (5:55)

No Caption Provided

... here!

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bobrocks

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ironscimitar

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Edited By ironscimitar

Knuckles is the only design that turns me off. The others, i can live with.

Somebody tell Knuckles that he can exhale.

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amafi

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Sanicball is the best sonic game ever made and probably will be for all time.

Also, Sanicball kinda sucks.

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vigorousjammer

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Edited By vigorousjammer

@ptys said:

Sonic was a Master System game originally wasn't it? Seems like these guys were a little late to the party.

No, it was originally a Genesis game (released in June of 1991)... and after it became successful it was ported to the Master System (in October of 1991).

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jpmcosta

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Edited By jpmcosta

As I was watching the developers talking, I was looking to the drawings in the background. In those drawings, Sonic and Knuckles have almost the same height, but Knuckles is still more ripped. That would look so much better and more familiar.

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shatted

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Edited By shatted

I don't know if it's...

the lethargic, disinterested Japanese man in the beginning,

the alternating dubstep / Hans Zimmer music throughout,

the designers trying to convince you that these are interesting characters in a meaningful world,

or the name "Sonic Boom,"

but something about this video package is hilarious.

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Jazz_Lafayette

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Knuckles is such a terrible character. What animal is he even meant to be?!

An echidna. No, I don't know how I know.

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JayCee

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Guys, kneckerchiefs = adventure

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MrLetsPlay

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I love knuckles I always thought he was cooler then Sonic and the others but now he looks so rubbish the new design is horrible. Why is he double the height of everyone else? Why does he look like a rugby player on steroids? God I havent even played a Sonic game since generations and I don't think I will be getting this one

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Accolade

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Soooo they're looking to acknowledge the intelligence of their tv audience...

"Then my delicious cream filling will shoot out like toothpaste!"

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MonkeyPunch

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Edited By MonkeyPunch

Knuckles is such a terrible character. What animal is he even meant to be?!

I can understand that they need more characters than one - but really using these poor Sonic characters which no one really cares about isn't the answer.

They'd be better off coming up with a new Sonic support cast for the most part.

I mean characters like Robotnik can stay (again "Eggman" is as stupid name and it too should be terminated).

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Benmo316

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I went back and watched the first episode of Sonic Adventures. Oh man, it was rough to watch but I forgot how much attitude that show had. And from the clips of Sonic Boom (TV show) it appears that is back, which is good. I won't get any sort of hyped for the game because, well, it's a Sonic game. But I do hope it surprises me and is good.

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MeatSim

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@csl316 said:

It went something like this:

No Caption Provided

CLICK

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deactivated-5cd0563e26314

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@ptys said:

Sonic was a Master System game originally wasn't it? Seems like these guys were a little late to the party.

Nope, the Master System version was actually released after the Genesis/Mega Drive version.

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Shortbreadtom

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Wait, did that TV guy use his experience as a Simpsons writer to show how the series was constantly expanding on the story? Dude, one of the main jokes of the Simpsons is the fact that everything returns to normal at the end of the episode regardless how out there each episode one.

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afterland

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Only Amy wears clothes, presumably to hide her lady parts, so is Sonic's dick on his neck? Gonna need an answer, Sega.

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wmoyer83

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Edited By wmoyer83

The funniest thing is hearing grown men on YouTube get legitimately angry about this change to the sonic franchise.

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Akujin

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Edited By Akujin

"We're Making a Comedey"

Yep.... you are.

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Fairbrethees

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I like that they are trying to build a world and giving the characters and story more attention. I wish them the best of luck. We need way more games suitable for kids at the moment.

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TrottyVek

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if this ends up sucking will it really be that much worse than almost any other Sonic game? Also they kept the name Eggman for the reboot, they done fucked up

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rmanthorp

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rmanthorp  Moderator
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kippers

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Edited By kippers

Sonic games always look super promising at this stage.

I like the concept art for all the characters, but as soon as I saw the 3D models I just felt 'yep, it's gunna go downhill again'. I'd dig a more cartoony Sonic game with those pencil drawn versions.

The TV show dialogue sounded cheesy as all hell, but that sequence at the end gave it more context. Seems alright. Kids will like it. I'll probably watch an episode just to see.

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Agnosticwatermelon

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A scarf? TAPE??? My god, the character designers are just as uninspired as developers.... Sonic is just the worst.

honestly surprised they didn't throw in a few zippers.

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damodar

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'Chief Content Officer of Sonic' has to be the saddest job title in the world.

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Niceanims

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I really want to like what they've done with Knuckles, but I can't get past his baby face and lanky-ass legs.

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Hazelnuttz

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A scarf? TAPE??? My god, the character designers are just as uninspired as developers.... Sonic is just the worst.

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patbaer

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ARE THEY MUMMIES?

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MindChamber

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Edited By MindChamber

Athletic Tape on your sneakrs.. makes sense.

...Sooo.. Sonic Heroes 2? or am I missing something

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ptys

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Sonic was a Master System game originally wasn't it? Seems like these guys were a little late to the party.

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GIyn

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No Caption Provided

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GIyn

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@csl316 said:

It went something like this:

No Caption Provided

I burst out laughing as soon as I saw the new Knuckles. I thought it was a joke at first! No wonder Sonic games have never been good, when you have these idiots making them.

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Metric_Outlaw

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That writing was horrendous.

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Lurkero

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Everyone who is complaining about Sonic being different. You are not the target audience. Just like Sonic changed in 1999, he will change again to fit a new target demographic.

Most people complaining will probably still buy Sonic anyways.

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RonnieBarzel

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"This was the era of 16-bit games...nobody was doing stuff in games that had this much character"

Except in 'Boulder Dash,' an 8-bit game from seven years earlier. Rockford could tap his foot in boredom just as much as Sonic.

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CrimsonAvenger

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Edited By CrimsonAvenger

I don't get all the hate for these character designs. Knuckles has pretty much always looked like that. The game looks like fun. It's definitely aimed at kids but still looks fun.

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AMyggen

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I think Jeff was right: Sonic has always been aimed at kids, and this update is because they think these designs will appeal more to the kids today. That's it.

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s-a-n-JR

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Edited By s-a-n-JR
@whitegreyblack said:

What the... (5:55)

No Caption Provided

The long limbs were clearly compensating for something.

Edit: Tbh, I kinda dug the cutscene at the end. It felt Dreamworks Animation-like. They may have been able to successfully hit the tone and humour they were striving for in previous games.

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geirr

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SomeJerk

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wsowen02

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Yup, character designs are still trash

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Nasar7

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Edited By Nasar7

Not a fan of the (new?) voices but good luck to them.

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paulosaurus

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WOW I'M SO EXCITED TO SEE THIS FRANCHISE PUT A FRESH NEW TWIST ON THE SONIC BRAND

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deactivated-63ce64d7ef40c

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Is he called Dr. Robotnik again yet?

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internetfamous

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Edited By internetfamous

Oh god...their rationalization of the character designs is a strong combinations of "buzz words" and "we think our audience is too stupid to understand what the character's personalities are."