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10WaysinWhichSonictheHedgehog
WasntAboutSpeed
byRadekKoncewiczon08/10/1703:42:00pm

PROGRAMMING
2comments

ART Thefollowingblogpost,unlessotherwisenoted,waswrittenbyamemberofGamasutrascommunity.
ThethoughtsandopinionsexpressedarethoseofthewriterandnotGamasutraoritsparentcompany.
AUDIO

DESIGN WhenSonictheHedgehogwasfirstreleased,thegamewasmarketedasaspeedyantiMario.Insteadof
slowlyploddingthroughsmall,geometriclevels,Sonicblazedupanddownrollinghillsinlarge,open
PRODUCTION areas.

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10WaysinWhichSonic
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About
EditorInChief:
KrisGraft

Editor:
AlexWawro

AssignmentEditor:
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Contributors:
ChrisKerr
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BryantFrancis Jumpingontocertainislandsfloatinginlavacausesthemtodipandcatchonfireontheleft
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side,forcingtheplayertokeepmovingforward.
Advertising:
CourtneyBlair
TheupcomingSonicManiaseemstobeembracingthisspeedelement,evenaddinganewmoveto
Sonic'srepertoire:thedropdash.ItmightprovefairlyusefultootheoldSonicalwayshadabitofa
ContactGamasutra
slowaccelerationcurvebutIhopethebacktorootsapproachalsopayshomagetotheoriginal's
ReportaProblem precisiontraversal,improvisationalmaneuvering,andoptionalexploration.Inotherwords,theslower
pacedelementsofSonic.
SubmitNews
I'mnotsureifpinballwasabiginfluenceontheinauguraltitle(beyondthebumperthemedSpringYard
CommentGuidelines Zone),butit'sanaptcomparison.Sonic'sgameplaymimickedboththethrillingmomentumofrocketing
aroundaboard'splayfield,andtheprecise,nailbitingnavigationthroughitsclusteredobstacles.
BloggingGuidelines

HowWeWork InaninterviewwithGameDevelopermagazine,HirokazuYasuhara,thechiefleveldesignerforSonicthe
Hedgehog,elucidatedonhisdesignphilosophy.Whatstruckmeinparticularwashisdescriptionof
creatingsmallerscalechallenges:

...Amoreshortdistancegoal,meanwhile,wouldbeifyou'reinabaseballgameyourgoalistoget
onbase,andthereareanynumberofsimple,linearwaystoachievethatgoal.Anexampleofa
Gama Network middledistancegoalwouldbeifyourunintoabridgeintheforestthatyoucan'tgainaccessto

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youmightalsowanttocheck
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somethingIdoalotingames.Maybeyouhavetodoasequenceofjumpstoreachit,butit's
visible,atleast...
Thesesortsofshortandmediumdistancegoalsareaconstantsourceofinterruptionstotheplayer,but
theyalsocreategameplayvarietyandchangeuptheoverallpace.TheoriginalSonictheHedgehogis
largelyrememberedforitsspeedandattitude,butitalsocontainednumerouselementsdesignedtoslow
downtheplayerandcreatetheseminichallenges.

1).Teases&Secrets
Asthequoteabovealludesto,oneofthebestwaystomaketheplayerstopandconsidertheir
surroundingsistoteasethemwiththingsjustoutsideoftheirreach.Sonic'slevelsarequitebigandtheir
intertwiningpathslinkedbyspeedramps,automaticallymovingplatforms,verticalsprings,andallsorts
ofothergadgetsthatfacilitatetraversal.Changing"lanes"inSonicisfairlycommon,whetheronpurpose
orjustbygoingwiththeflow,andthisteachesplayersthatthereareextrastocollectiftheydon'tjust
rundirectlytotheendofthelevel.

Simplydashingthroughthemapsshowcasesplentyofalternativeroutesanddifficulttoreach
locations.

Someoftheseextrasarealsofairlytrickytoreach,especiallytheonesthatrequireexploratory
platformingormovingthroughhiddenpaths.
 WhenIoriginallydiscoveredhiddenpathsinthegame,Iobsessivelycheckedallthewallsto
seeiftheywerecollidableorifthey'dleadmetosecretgoodies.

Theincentiveforextracollectiblesisfairlyconsistentthroughoutthegame.Themoreringstheplayer
possesses,theeasieritistoabsorbahit,andextrashieldsandtemporaryinvincibilitypowerupsprovide
furtherprotection.Collectingenoughringsalsograntsextralives,andachancetoenterthespecialstage.

2).SpecialStages

Intheseminigames,Sonicisalwaysinhisballmodeandthestageslowlyrotatesaroundhim.It'sa
constantfightagainstthetideasSonic'smobilityisseverelydiminished,andgettingtotheChaos
Emeraldinvolvespatientlynavigatingtoitscage.

Afullmapofthespecialstagecourtesyofsoniczone0.com.

Oncediscovered,SonicmustpressagainsttheindividualdiamondsthatsurroundtheEmeraldinorderto
graduallychangetheircolours.InBreakoutfashion,oncetheallthecoloursarecycleddown,the
diamondsdisappearandopenapathtotheprizeinside.ObtainingalltheChaosEmeraldsactuallyalters
thegame'sending,sothere'saconcreteincentiveforcollectingthemthroughoutthegame.

Specialstagesalsoallowtheplayertocollectextraringsandpointsinordertogainadditional
 livesandcontinues.

3).UniqueEnemies

Mostoftheenemiesinthegamedieafterasinglejump/spinattack,andthecollisionneverslowsSonic
down.However,afewofthemcontainuniquepropertiesseeminglydesignedtomaketheplayerpause,
orevenbacktracktoasaferspot.

TheOrbinaut,oftenfoundintightcorridors,issurroundedbyfourspikedballsthatmakeit
difficulttohitwithoutalsoharmingSonic.However,theenemy'smainattackistoslowlylob
itsprotectivespheresstraightahead,graduallyleavingitmoreandmoreexposed.

Bombscan'tbehitthemselves,buttheyinitiateaselfdestructsequencewheneverSonicgets
close.Ifclusteredtogether,Sonic'ssafestbetistotriggerthemandretreatuntilthebombs
clearthemselvesout.

4).TimedHazards
Unlikeenemies,hazardscanneverbedefeatedandtheirtimingisn'talwayssyncedupwitha
straightforwardrunthroughofalevel.

Whileit'spossibletohastilymaneuverpastvarioushazards,somewillinevitablyrequire
carefulnavigationinordertoovercomethem.
Muchtothechagrinofspeedrunners,parkouringthroughtheseobstaclesisnotalwaysanoption.Sonic
hasalimitedmoveset,lackingwalljumps,dashes,gliding,etc.,sooftentheonlywaytogetthrough
unscathedistosimplywaitfortherightopening.

5).MomentumModifiers

Inadditiontoobstaclesthataredangeroustotouch,thegamealsocontainsvariouselementsthatslow
down,stop,oreveninvertSonic'smomentum.

BumperssendSoniccareeningaway,waterslowsdownallmovement,automatedfanscan
completelycanceloutSonic'svelocity,andconveyorsmakenavigationthatmuchtrickier.

6).TraversalObjects
ThemostcommontraversalobjectsareautomaticallymovingplatformsthatallowSonictogettoanarea
heotherwisewouldn'tbeabletoreach.Theseareessentially"alwayson,"buttheirscriptednaturemeans
thatwhentheplayergetstothem,theobjectmightbesomewhereelse,orinaninactivestate,requiring
ashortwaitforittobecomeavailable.Inaddition,theactualprocessofusingtheseobjectsisusually
slowerthanSonic'sregularrunningandjumpingspeed.

Certaindoorsandbridgesalsofollowanautomatedschedule.
Playeractivatedobjectsexistaswell,requiringvarioustypesofactionstomanuallyinitiate.

Ricketybridgeslowerwhenhitfromunderneath,whileseesawscancatapultSonichighupif
heproperlyusestheweightofthespikedballs.

7).Switches

Notalltraversalobjectsareautomaticoractivateddirectly,whichiswhereswitchescomein.Locatedon
thefloorsofvariouszones,theseallowSonictolowerbridges,opendoorways,andgenerallycreatenew
traversalpaths.Switchesrarelyaffectanythingoffscreensotheydon'tcausemuchconfusionor
backtracking,buttheydorequiretheplayertoslowdownandexecuteanextrastepbeforemovingon.

Hittingthisswitchreversesthedirectionoftherotatingcylinder,allowingSonictoenteritand
bedepositedontherightpathinsteadofbeingdroppeddownintothegauntletbelow.

8).MovableBlocks
ExclusivetoMarbleZone,blocksareuniqueinthatthey'retheonlyobjectsthatcanbeslowly
maneuveredaroundthemapbySonic.Thisresultsinavarietyblockbasedgameplaythat'smandatoryto
completingthezone.

Whileindividualblocksexistinotherzones,onlyinthisareaistheplayerrequiredtomove
 themtokeepswitchespresseddown,usethemasplatformstoridelavedrifts,orpushthem
asidetoopenupanewpath.

9).Destructibles

ThemajorityofdestructibleelementsinSonictheHedgehogcomeintheformofcrumblingplatformsthat
encourageforwardmovementratherthanslowingit.However,thereareafewspecificexceptionstothis.

Unliketheoccasionaldestructiblewallsthathidesecrets,theseblocksmustbedestroyedone
atatimeinordertoproceed.

OnceagaintheseobjectsareonlyfoundinMarbleZone,andwhiletheyslowSonicdownbyproviding
extraindividualbarriers,bustingthroughthemisalsoafunmechanicthat'sabitdifferentfromtherestof
thegame.

10).BossArenas
PerhapsthemostbluntforcewayofpreventingSonicfrombuildingupspeedislimitinghisavailablereal
estate.AllbossencountersasidefromtheoneinLabyrinthZone,whichisjustaraceagainstthetide
dothisbyforcingtheencountertotakeplaceonasingle,nonscrollingscreen.

Eachbosshasauniqueattackpatternthatneedstobestudiedandexploitedinordertodefeat
thevileDr.Robotnik.

Whileit'seasytoassumethattheseriesevolvedpastthesespeedbumps,theoriginal'ssequelslargely
themostbelovedSonictitlescontainedthemaswell.Thegameswerestreamlined,providingshorter
pausesandmoreopportunitiesforbuildingupspeed,buttheywerestillfilledwithcrazygadgetsthat
facilitatedmovementandexploration,interestingenemieswithuniqueabilitiesandproperties,andlotsof
secretsthathelpedtheplayerprogressandunlocktheultimateending(s).
 ShortandmediumdistancegoalswereclearlyaguidingelementinthedesignofSonicthe
Hedgehogasexemplifiedbyitsearlyconceptart.

AnexcessivefocusonspeedwasprobablyamajorreasonforthedeclineoftheSonicplatformer(atleast
intermsofgameplay),buttheissuewasalsoabitmorenuanced.Theproblemwasn'tjusthowmuchofa
backseatothergameplaytooktospeed,butalsohowthespeedelementsthemselveswereimplemented.

NotaSonicmap,butratheralevelfromUniracerscourtesyofvgmaps.com.It'swhatalways
popsintomyheadwhenItrytorecallmyexperienceplayingSonicRush.

InrecentSonicgamesbuildingvelocitywasnolongeranorganicpartofalevel,butratheritsmain
feature.Mapsturnedintoonewayobstaclecourses,lackingininterestingchallengeswhileforcibly
rocketingSonicahead.Thethrillofthespeedbecameroutine,anditturnedtheexperienceintoa
somewhatpassiveandboringrollercoasterride.Whilethatsortofdesignmethodologycanworkinsome
genresitcertainlydidwiththethelanerunnerSonicDashitjustdoesn'tmakeforverygood
platformers,2Dor3D.

Originallypublishedby@JustRadekonthegamedesignblogSignificantBits.

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Comments

GarrickWilliams 14Aug2017at5:27amPST

Youbeataroundthebushbydescribingmanythings,butonlylightlytouchonthebig
picture.TheoriginalSonicgameswereplatformers.Everylevelwasstructuredby
alternatingbetweenaplatformingchallengeanda"rollercoaster"sectionthathelpedgive
thestagemomentumaswellasprovideforsectionswheretheplayercanjustrestand
enjoywatchingSonicgothroughloopdeloops.FuturegameslikeSonicAdvanceandSonic
Rushnixedthestructureandmadeitmorelikearollercoasterwithquicktimeevents.

LogintoReplyorLike

PieterSmal 15Aug2017at7:42amPST

Greatanalysis!Welldone!

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