Analysis of Game Design

Sonic The Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog was released in June 1991 for the Sega Genesis console. It featured the titular character Sonic, as he worked to free animals from machines made by Doctor Robotnik who has stolen the Chaos emeralds. The game featured simple controls including movement, jumping and rolling into a ball for speed, with collectable rings being used as health.

To start with, it’s apparent that hardware limitations impacted the core design of the sonic character itself. Sega originally had the idea of a rabbit seen above, but couldn’t implement the idea of using the rabbit’s ears to pick up and throw objects. This led to them changing to a character that can roll into a ball to attack, which helped to simplify the controls for the game as they then only had 1 button to jump and attack.

Sonic was developed to become the mascot of Sega and to rival Mario, replacing Alex Kidd as the mascot since Sega believed him to be to similar to Mario. Development was speed focused, so primarily fast animals were used in designs. An idea for a rabbit mascot was put forth, one that could manipulate objects with it’s ears, however it was scrapped as it was too complex for the hardware that was available. They decided to focus on more spiky animals like an armadillo or a hedgehog, eventually settling on hedgehog. There were many different designs for the mascot, including a character that would eventually become Doctor Robotnik.

The first Sonic the Hedgehog game was a 16 bit 2D platformer that was focused on platforming and speeding through multi-layered levels, with the higher portions of the level being more difficult to navigate, but giving a faster route to the goal and more rings. The main demographic for the game was teens in the 90s, which is reflected in the fast paced nature of the game and Sonic’s character design as a whole.

The game itself is incredibly fun and well made, and while i couldn’t play it when it originally came out, it’s a game that i was able to pick up and play years after its release. The visuals and style of play were unique at the time, and this made it stand out against competition.

Sonic the hedgehog (2006)

Jumping ahead quite a few years, Sonic 06 was a game developed for series’ 15th anniversary and was released on the PS3 and Xbox 360 around the holiday season. Prior to it’s release, the game received praise at its pre release showings, as many believe it to be taking the series back to it’s roots after more experimental games were released prior. However, the game turned out to be a critical failure. The main reason for this would be problems within Sonic team that occurred during it’s development and it’s rushed time frame because of this.

Sonic 06 began development in 2004, led by Yuji Naka, and development ran smoothly until Yuji Naka decided to resign from Sonic team in pursuit of his own company. This put strain on the Sonic team, as at this point half of the staff also split off to work on the Wii title Sonic and the Secret Rings, leading Sonic the Hedgehog to be rushed out for the holiday season. As a result, the game was a critical failure with many critics having problems with with load times, stability, controls and overall story for the game. Another of the games many problems were the glitches, as the team didn’t have the time to work these out with their tight schedule.

This game was supposed to reboot the Sonic series for the newer generation and celebrate the series’ 15th anniversary, however due to problems with development it failed to live up to the expectations. However, i feel like with proper development time for the game, this could have been a solid game in the series. It featured good mechanics with decent level length and unique gameplay with the 3 different playable main characters.

Sonic Colours

A solid instalment in the series, Sonic colours was released in 2010 on the Nintendo Wii. It featured a simple story with tight controls and a mix of 2D and 3D gameplay. It featured Sonic in a new location, Eggman’s Interstellar Amusement Park, with the task of freeing new characters called Wisps, which provide the namesake of the game and a new power up for Sonic to use to traverse levels.

After looking at previous games downfalls, Sega decided to focus on Sonic and his gameplay, opting for high speed platforming with Sonic as the lone playable character. Sonic retains the ‘boost’ formula gameplay from previous titles, where he can gain a boost of speed based on a usage bar. Sonic also has his usual moves, such as a stomp attack, homing attack and a new double jump. There are 8 wisps total, each with unique gameplay based on their respective colour. Other collectables include the usual rings and lives, and if the players lives run out then they get a game over.

The game was aimed at more casual fans and younger children as well as fans of the Mario series with Sega hoping to attract fans from the success of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic games. This led to the game being seen as too easy for more hardcore fans of the series, however the game sold well despite this.

This game was one i played when i was younger, and i feel like it was a standout game in a sea of bad Sonic titles. The gameplay was easy to pick up and learn, the wisps added a new and exciting gameplay experience, and the story was easy to follow and understand. All this came together into a game that was easy to pickup and play for a younger audience, which was Sega’s goal for the game.