Google search, "Extra Credits: Gamification" for the original videos that started this train of thought and to learn more about this topic.
I find that one of the best ways games teach us is through trial and error. I think we should be allowed to take everything in a classroom setting and still be rewarded with points, homework assignment, quizzes, test, projects.etc I really learn a lot from being tested and getting questions wrong. A lot a people do. It's actually sort of exciting to get a test back and see what you got wrong, and after the experience of getting a question wrong, I then know exactly how to do it right; but this never gets reflected in my grade or anyone's grade which makes the grading system a horrible and inaccurate system.
The best format for learning, in my opinion, would be to lecture, have guided practice, independent practice then be tested and retest until everyone understands. It might be a good idea to throw out the ability to fail altogether. Make it so that a person simply completes the class or he/she doesn't complete a class. Make it so that a person must pass all the tests to get any credit for it, but they can attempt the tests as many times as needed. Just like how boss fights can be attempted over and over until the proper method of defeating him is used. If there were no grades, yes, total points wouldn't matter but that's a good thing.
Points should not determine your final grade just as the level of your character in a game doesn't determine if you have beaten the final boss. Points show that you are more likely to succeed when it comes to passing a test, but they don't guarantee it. Making this change is the best change to the structure of a class that could be made.
Currently we have a system similar to Super Mario Land 2: The six golden coins except worse. The school as it stand now, in particular to college, is that a person has to go for 8-16 weeks, respectively, without serious failures otherwise they have to retake the entire class for it to count for anything, and most likely, it wasn't every aspect of the class that tripped them up, but specific parts of it. Super Mario Land could be completed in a much shorter time than a college class, and it could be completed at a person's own pace unlike a college class. In it death, losing all lives, meant all the bosses had to be beaten again which is sort of like having to take a class over again. It's not necessary to make a person beat the first boss that super easy every time they can't beat the super hard levels.
This would also motivate people to study and do research. I've spent tons of time researching how to beat or complete certain aspects of games. If I was allowed to retake a test and I keep failing it, I'd spend a bunch of time studying what I got wrong.
This is exactly what many good games do. Super Mario RPG for example. First it starts with what you know Mario saving Peach from Bowser, then it sets the stage for the new adventure. It tells the objective of the whole game from the beginning, defeat the giant sword and get the seven stars. After that it has toad give you some instructions on how to play. Directly after giving instructions the game helps you apply them with a guided practice. So we have been told what to do and to make sure we understood, we have been hand guided through the process, and they make this part of the game optional for those who already knew, which is the beauty of it. After this the player has a chance to practice their new battle skills on enemies without any assistance from the game. So, the player gets to battle some enemies earn experience which compares to class/homework and points. Then the boss fight comes, tests, and it's more difficult as it requires the player to have LEARNED how to play the game good enough to beat it, but doesn't it just seem silly if a game forced you to continue even if you didn't beat the boss, and if you failed to beat enough bosses at the end you didn't beat the game? What the point of having boss fights if regardless of your performance you progress? It seems silly to me, but this is actually how classes operate.
If you managed to read all of this you are awesome and I thank you for hearing me out."
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Saturday, October 4, 2014
Sonic World is More like Super Mario Sunshine than Galaxy
Despite the obviousness of it's similarities to galaxy. This game is a lot like Sunshine perhaps even more than it is like galaxy. This game has the most moves and ways for Sonic to interact with in environment in the series, the levels are very open so there's a lot of exploration, both involve the player visiting a isolated new place, the biggest gimmick of the games is an addition to the characters permanent moveset (FLUDD/parkour) for the game; The list goes on. Although, this game could use more of Sunshine's spacious level design since
Sonic is finally properly geared up to make exploration and scaling structures styled platforming fun. These levels feel too small with too little scaleable objects and other interact pieces, for all the crazy things Sonic can do. Large non tubular, with more scaling, and less death pits, levels would be much appreciated here.
Sonic is finally properly geared up to make exploration and scaling structures styled platforming fun. These levels feel too small with too little scaleable objects and other interact pieces, for all the crazy things Sonic can do. Large non tubular, with more scaling, and less death pits, levels would be much appreciated here.
Monday, September 1, 2014
How Zelda Dungeons and Puzzles Should Work
the most fun I've ever had in a video game is when I play as Luigi in Super Mario 64 DS and discover ways to break the game with his added jump height and amazing spin jump.The feeling I get when I've gotten the star in a way the designers didn't intend is one of the best feeling I've ever had. That feeling , more than anything else is what I think Zelda games need to capture.
Have an obviously solution for the noobs, but make the items more powerful, so if a person knows what each item's capabilities and limites, then they can break the puzzle and finish it a different way. Like the cheat trick in the water temple in ocarina of time where you use the hookshot to attach to a treasure chest; getting you to a floor you otherwise would be able to get to, or the trick that allows you to use a deku stick against Ganon at the end, or the trick in the Wii version of twilight princess where you take the iron boots off in the middle of being sucked up into a magnetic force field, and then you walk normally on the magnetic surfaces. This is why sometimes older games are better, there's more fun glitches and more loop holes the designer missed. Oh yeah, there's a way to get a fifth bottle in ocarina of time too. Super fun and rewarding to do stuff like that.
There should pretty much always be more than one solution for every puzzle and task. Here's how it could work. There's tons of environment activity. Like many more things are explodable and changeable. If I shoot a bomb arrow at a tower it falls over. If I stake crates I may be able to hook shot to the top and get up somewhere higher. Rather than them spending a lot of time testing to make sure the player can't get trapped, they should instead impliment a room reset and undo system. Even give the option to reset the whole dungeon which would vital when a person has so many options. Then when you get more items you at times will be able to complete the dungeon in a different way or a lot faster.
Have an obviously solution for the noobs, but make the items more powerful, so if a person knows what each item's capabilities and limites, then they can break the puzzle and finish it a different way. Like the cheat trick in the water temple in ocarina of time where you use the hookshot to attach to a treasure chest; getting you to a floor you otherwise would be able to get to, or the trick that allows you to use a deku stick against Ganon at the end, or the trick in the Wii version of twilight princess where you take the iron boots off in the middle of being sucked up into a magnetic force field, and then you walk normally on the magnetic surfaces. This is why sometimes older games are better, there's more fun glitches and more loop holes the designer missed. Oh yeah, there's a way to get a fifth bottle in ocarina of time too. Super fun and rewarding to do stuff like that.
There should pretty much always be more than one solution for every puzzle and task. Here's how it could work. There's tons of environment activity. Like many more things are explodable and changeable. If I shoot a bomb arrow at a tower it falls over. If I stake crates I may be able to hook shot to the top and get up somewhere higher. Rather than them spending a lot of time testing to make sure the player can't get trapped, they should instead impliment a room reset and undo system. Even give the option to reset the whole dungeon which would vital when a person has so many options. Then when you get more items you at times will be able to complete the dungeon in a different way or a lot faster.
They should keep shortness of the dungeons in LBWs or even shorter. This would be so fricking awesome! When you get a new item that's what really makes you excited. "Oh man what are all the things I can do with this."
I'd be okay with starting with all of the main items, like in a LBW, but instead of still having dungeons where you're mostly using one item make in each dungeon it's possible to use a lot of items in a way of way. I'd want this to be open enough where the ideal that even the designers don't know of all the ways the puzzles in a dungeon could be solved.
If they could manage to make a such a complex system work, they make even be able to go a step further and implement a random dungeon generater, that could theoretically dish out nearly endless dungeons. I get the idea from the platformer game like that. The randomization process is designed to only put together levels that are solvable. Brilliant concept for Zelda dungeons.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Mental Health (uncut)
Just a heads up because it's discussed in this post, I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS or Mormon. I was emailing my friend on his mission, and during the process my creativity channels were opened and I received a lot of insights into mental health and other topics. It took a long time to write, and I'm winded, but I want to share it, so here it is. I'd say I might get around to revising it, but realistically I won't.
"I was thinking about something. I don't get sick, my mom doesn't get sick, my ESTP brother doesn't seem to get sick another ESTP guy I used to home teach said he doesn't get sick. Now, all of can get infected and sick or get diseases. You get sick easily and get allergies and so does your dad, but you personally, claim you aren't affected by anything, swearing, crudity, dark humor, etc. things that can be equated to mental germs, which cause mental sickness, poor health, and diseases. I think a person's type is genetic, considering it's basically the software-operating system, running inside of the brain, what else would it be; Resilence to germs and disease may be genetically greater for sensors; thus, sensors may be in part born resistentt to physical toxins while intuits may be resistent to mental diseases.
I hypothesis we can compare the body to mind and say that the laws of physical health can be applied to the brain as well.
Laws of Health
1. Eat immune system strengthening and cancer fighting foods which contain immune system and cancer fighting minerals vitamins and minerals. Vitamin c from Lemons, Limes, and oranges, vitamin A from carrots, vitamin E, K, Herbs and spices, orengano (Italian seasoning), etc.
2. Build up the immune system through gradual exposure to toxins. Pretty straight forward and explanatory. I would say using hand sanitizers, and washing hands and cleaning foods and touched surfaces too often hurts a person in the long run.
3. Exercise to release toxins from the body. It releases toxins through the pores and sweat. When overwhelmed with toxins, fat is stored and created in a body deal with the excess ive amount later to protect the body; to engulf and pacify toxins to the body such as chemicals, viruses, bacteria. When that fat is burned off the toxins should be burned off and exit the body throught the digestive track which the body can do now that it isn't overwhelmed with toxins to eliminate; Also, the increased body temperature during exercise likely also helps kill harmful, viruses, bacteria, and microrganisms. This is probably another reason I like to take really hot baths so much. The high heat: first, kills the bacteria on the skin and surface of the body, then increases a person's internal body temperature killing germs on the inside, anf finally the high heat as well as the waters expands and loosens the pores to allow toxins and germs to exit into the water. So the water doesn't just deal with macro germs and dirtines (dirt and visible stains), but micro-germs and dirtiness.
So then the mental laws of good mental health are....
1. Strengthen the minds mental immune system with immune building and nutrious mental food. When thinking about what mental food is we have to understand how our minds work. First off, our minds are basically the embodiment of all the information we've taken in and how they are connected in the brain. So this makes the information itself the food and how it's connected is the digestion of the food. This concept that information, like nutrients, are the primarily source of nourishment for the brain that strengthens it. So, if the information is mental food, then it's we need to be careful about what we physically drawing from our environments as well as how we interpret it which is digestion. So what's healthy and opposingly unhealthy?
Healthy mental food is, thoughts and ideas that are: positive, powerful, uplifting, motivating, and helpful etc. Imagination is the ability of man to see in his mind what is possible. If something is impossible, logically imposible, we can't even imagine it. A square circle can't even be imagined.
Here are some supporting examples for my hypthesis that exposure to information is literal food. There was this story I heard from a video with black and white pictures of the father and girl. The father kept the girl locked away inside away from other people with scarce and few interactions until she was around 10. When social services or someone, found her she couldn't talk, I'm certain of, or do basic things kids her age could do like walk, dress or feed herself, I believe. Then, I'm pretty sure they, overtime, they were able to teach her these things; so, there you go; if a person does take in information: ideas, and thoughs, from the outside world, then there brain atrophies, and they become inept. Of course the properties and amounts needed are likely different than food and water. A person may be able to go longer without mental food and water than they can physical food, but as seen in people who develop alzheimers and other brain degenerate diseases in old age, the brain will suffer and break down, if a person ceases, to feed, nourish or exercise it. Social interaction seems to be an excellent way to feed and exercise the brain which is probably why I love and need it so much and frequently. I haven't looked anything up, but from what I can observe at all the churches I've been to as well what I know and have observed about the apostales, the development of alzheimers and other brain degenerative diseases is lower inside of the church than outside. There are plenty of super old high priests, bishops, stake presidents, and apostales their minds fail none of them. The information of the Gospel is very nourishing studying it requires a lot of exercising, and system 2 thinking. So, there is inherent worth and value in the gospel afterall. It isn't simply about the reward in heaven to come. Living the gospel brings physical and mental health.
The Gospel gives us not only a physical health code, but also a mental one. This is a personal gripe that I probably shouldn't have and need to work on. My gripe is when a general conference talk, general authority message, or anything said at church, is critical, chastizing, and negative. Because and when I'm hungry and starving for mental nourishment, it can at times hurt a lot of be lectured and scolded at the dinner table. Well, hmm, vegetables don't always taste good. Perhaps positive thoughts are sweet and tasty foods like are fruits, nuts, and honey, that are good for the body in only in only if you don't each too much. On the other hand negative critical thoughts are vegetables, perhaps some forms of beans, fungus, and meat. They're foods that don't taste good, but are good for you. Huh, so maybe there is such a thing as eaching to many vegetables. Vegetables are high in fiber, so perhaps if you eat too many vegetables, and too much fiber, then the body won't be able to digest it. The fiber and the negativity block out the positive and physical nutrients. Hmm, so positive thoughts and ideas are fuel; they are sugar. All food in the body is converted into glucose which is sugar; however, if a person eats too much sugar they'll get fat. If a person is never constructively critisized they'll get mentally fat. On the flip side, too much negativity can block and prevent the sugar from being digested
2. Build up the immune system. So, gradual exposure to harmful mental food with toxins makes a person mentally stronger in the long-run. Going to public school probably actually makes a person mentally stronger while home schooling kids, or even possibly really strict private or charter schools probably makes them weaker.
3. Mental exercise, solving problems, using creatively to build or create something helps expunge toxins as well.
I'd add the pure knowledge, sensations and definitions of words, compare to proteins and carbohydrates which seem to be the foundation and staple of a healthy diet. The common analogy of "It's my meat and potatoes," seems to be based on what conventional wisdom has discovered through experience; that protein and carbohydrates are the bare minimum, essential nutrients of a diet. My nutrition class at school I'm taking confirms this. Alright, well that's about it.
In summary and conclusion
All people should be aware of what information and intepretations come into their mind if they want to be mentally healthy. They need to monitor, sense data, thoughts, and any form of communication.This shall bring all ultimate happiness and glory."
Hmm, I'd like to add to my thoughts, that information with no redeeming value will feed the mind, but's it is analagous to empty calroies. Cotton candy is pure sugar. The sugar probably could sustain a person's life for a while, but it has no nutrients.
"I was thinking about something. I don't get sick, my mom doesn't get sick, my ESTP brother doesn't seem to get sick another ESTP guy I used to home teach said he doesn't get sick. Now, all of can get infected and sick or get diseases. You get sick easily and get allergies and so does your dad, but you personally, claim you aren't affected by anything, swearing, crudity, dark humor, etc. things that can be equated to mental germs, which cause mental sickness, poor health, and diseases. I think a person's type is genetic, considering it's basically the software-operating system, running inside of the brain, what else would it be; Resilence to germs and disease may be genetically greater for sensors; thus, sensors may be in part born resistentt to physical toxins while intuits may be resistent to mental diseases.
I hypothesis we can compare the body to mind and say that the laws of physical health can be applied to the brain as well.
Laws of Health
1. Eat immune system strengthening and cancer fighting foods which contain immune system and cancer fighting minerals vitamins and minerals. Vitamin c from Lemons, Limes, and oranges, vitamin A from carrots, vitamin E, K, Herbs and spices, orengano (Italian seasoning), etc.
2. Build up the immune system through gradual exposure to toxins. Pretty straight forward and explanatory. I would say using hand sanitizers, and washing hands and cleaning foods and touched surfaces too often hurts a person in the long run.
3. Exercise to release toxins from the body. It releases toxins through the pores and sweat. When overwhelmed with toxins, fat is stored and created in a body deal with the excess ive amount later to protect the body; to engulf and pacify toxins to the body such as chemicals, viruses, bacteria. When that fat is burned off the toxins should be burned off and exit the body throught the digestive track which the body can do now that it isn't overwhelmed with toxins to eliminate; Also, the increased body temperature during exercise likely also helps kill harmful, viruses, bacteria, and microrganisms. This is probably another reason I like to take really hot baths so much. The high heat: first, kills the bacteria on the skin and surface of the body, then increases a person's internal body temperature killing germs on the inside, anf finally the high heat as well as the waters expands and loosens the pores to allow toxins and germs to exit into the water. So the water doesn't just deal with macro germs and dirtines (dirt and visible stains), but micro-germs and dirtiness.
So then the mental laws of good mental health are....
1. Strengthen the minds mental immune system with immune building and nutrious mental food. When thinking about what mental food is we have to understand how our minds work. First off, our minds are basically the embodiment of all the information we've taken in and how they are connected in the brain. So this makes the information itself the food and how it's connected is the digestion of the food. This concept that information, like nutrients, are the primarily source of nourishment for the brain that strengthens it. So, if the information is mental food, then it's we need to be careful about what we physically drawing from our environments as well as how we interpret it which is digestion. So what's healthy and opposingly unhealthy?
Healthy mental food is, thoughts and ideas that are: positive, powerful, uplifting, motivating, and helpful etc. Imagination is the ability of man to see in his mind what is possible. If something is impossible, logically imposible, we can't even imagine it. A square circle can't even be imagined.
Here are some supporting examples for my hypthesis that exposure to information is literal food. There was this story I heard from a video with black and white pictures of the father and girl. The father kept the girl locked away inside away from other people with scarce and few interactions until she was around 10. When social services or someone, found her she couldn't talk, I'm certain of, or do basic things kids her age could do like walk, dress or feed herself, I believe. Then, I'm pretty sure they, overtime, they were able to teach her these things; so, there you go; if a person does take in information: ideas, and thoughs, from the outside world, then there brain atrophies, and they become inept. Of course the properties and amounts needed are likely different than food and water. A person may be able to go longer without mental food and water than they can physical food, but as seen in people who develop alzheimers and other brain degenerate diseases in old age, the brain will suffer and break down, if a person ceases, to feed, nourish or exercise it. Social interaction seems to be an excellent way to feed and exercise the brain which is probably why I love and need it so much and frequently. I haven't looked anything up, but from what I can observe at all the churches I've been to as well what I know and have observed about the apostales, the development of alzheimers and other brain degenerative diseases is lower inside of the church than outside. There are plenty of super old high priests, bishops, stake presidents, and apostales their minds fail none of them. The information of the Gospel is very nourishing studying it requires a lot of exercising, and system 2 thinking. So, there is inherent worth and value in the gospel afterall. It isn't simply about the reward in heaven to come. Living the gospel brings physical and mental health.
The Gospel gives us not only a physical health code, but also a mental one. This is a personal gripe that I probably shouldn't have and need to work on. My gripe is when a general conference talk, general authority message, or anything said at church, is critical, chastizing, and negative. Because and when I'm hungry and starving for mental nourishment, it can at times hurt a lot of be lectured and scolded at the dinner table. Well, hmm, vegetables don't always taste good. Perhaps positive thoughts are sweet and tasty foods like are fruits, nuts, and honey, that are good for the body in only in only if you don't each too much. On the other hand negative critical thoughts are vegetables, perhaps some forms of beans, fungus, and meat. They're foods that don't taste good, but are good for you. Huh, so maybe there is such a thing as eaching to many vegetables. Vegetables are high in fiber, so perhaps if you eat too many vegetables, and too much fiber, then the body won't be able to digest it. The fiber and the negativity block out the positive and physical nutrients. Hmm, so positive thoughts and ideas are fuel; they are sugar. All food in the body is converted into glucose which is sugar; however, if a person eats too much sugar they'll get fat. If a person is never constructively critisized they'll get mentally fat. On the flip side, too much negativity can block and prevent the sugar from being digested
2. Build up the immune system. So, gradual exposure to harmful mental food with toxins makes a person mentally stronger in the long-run. Going to public school probably actually makes a person mentally stronger while home schooling kids, or even possibly really strict private or charter schools probably makes them weaker.
3. Mental exercise, solving problems, using creatively to build or create something helps expunge toxins as well.
I'd add the pure knowledge, sensations and definitions of words, compare to proteins and carbohydrates which seem to be the foundation and staple of a healthy diet. The common analogy of "It's my meat and potatoes," seems to be based on what conventional wisdom has discovered through experience; that protein and carbohydrates are the bare minimum, essential nutrients of a diet. My nutrition class at school I'm taking confirms this. Alright, well that's about it.
In summary and conclusion
All people should be aware of what information and intepretations come into their mind if they want to be mentally healthy. They need to monitor, sense data, thoughts, and any form of communication.This shall bring all ultimate happiness and glory."
Hmm, I'd like to add to my thoughts, that information with no redeeming value will feed the mind, but's it is analagous to empty calroies. Cotton candy is pure sugar. The sugar probably could sustain a person's life for a while, but it has no nutrients.
The World that never Was; Org. 13 Why I love the concept of them; Dystopic Sensual Daft Punk World
"Organisation Xiii's homeworld, that I'm sorely missing the civilians on the streets"
I actually think it being devoid of people fits the theme of the world. Nobodies are empty shells and it's a big, empty, lifeless world. The only creature inhabiting it are the undead heartless and empty shell nobodies. It's the perfect setting for the homeworld of villains. It one of my favorite worlds if not my favorite. The mystical feeling it gives off is hard to describe. It's sort like a the feeling despair and mystery combined, but that isn't accurate enough. It's like the feeling of a daft punk or Gorillaz song. It's very somber and comtemplative. If for no other reason I like Organization XIII for feeling and impression they distill in me. It isn't precise, and I wish I could think of a better term, but they can be described as Cyber Punk. The feeling is like a good uncanny feeling, it;s like if the uncanny valley was flipped. At a certain range of oddity and mysteriousness the feeling you get exponetially increases. I love the look of their black coat, the concept of nobodies, their world. It all ties together with the theme of emptiness. It's gives the symbolism of a person who's alive, but might as well be dead. Somewho who has emotionally died. Someone who hasn't truly feel good and alive in years. Someone with a void who uses drugs and pleasure to attempt to fill the void, but it only temporarily eases the pain. This person like the nobodies can feign emotion and life, but it's hollow as they feel nothing inside. A dsytopic world where human emotions and flaws bring shame and disapproval, so these nobodies" dehumanize. They eliminate their heart and function only off of their body and mind. They turn into a machine one of million. As there perfect name implies, they are now truly a nobody. It's poetic and beautiful to think about. It's sombering and meditative.
This dystopic, Brave New World, Daft punk, dehumanized type of world is the PEFECT fit as the antagonizing force for a game called Kingdom Hearts. Organization XIII is the perfect antagonist and anthesis of the ever jublinant and emotional Sora whom is full of life and humanity.
I actually think it being devoid of people fits the theme of the world. Nobodies are empty shells and it's a big, empty, lifeless world. The only creature inhabiting it are the undead heartless and empty shell nobodies. It's the perfect setting for the homeworld of villains. It one of my favorite worlds if not my favorite. The mystical feeling it gives off is hard to describe. It's sort like a the feeling despair and mystery combined, but that isn't accurate enough. It's like the feeling of a daft punk or Gorillaz song. It's very somber and comtemplative. If for no other reason I like Organization XIII for feeling and impression they distill in me. It isn't precise, and I wish I could think of a better term, but they can be described as Cyber Punk. The feeling is like a good uncanny feeling, it;s like if the uncanny valley was flipped. At a certain range of oddity and mysteriousness the feeling you get exponetially increases. I love the look of their black coat, the concept of nobodies, their world. It all ties together with the theme of emptiness. It's gives the symbolism of a person who's alive, but might as well be dead. Somewho who has emotionally died. Someone who hasn't truly feel good and alive in years. Someone with a void who uses drugs and pleasure to attempt to fill the void, but it only temporarily eases the pain. This person like the nobodies can feign emotion and life, but it's hollow as they feel nothing inside. A dsytopic world where human emotions and flaws bring shame and disapproval, so these nobodies" dehumanize. They eliminate their heart and function only off of their body and mind. They turn into a machine one of million. As there perfect name implies, they are now truly a nobody. It's poetic and beautiful to think about. It's sombering and meditative.
This dystopic, Brave New World, Daft punk, dehumanized type of world is the PEFECT fit as the antagonizing force for a game called Kingdom Hearts. Organization XIII is the perfect antagonist and anthesis of the ever jublinant and emotional Sora whom is full of life and humanity.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Random Argument Extra Credits, "Beyond Fun" "Differeneces in Kind" Sonic Heros SA2.
The point I'm supporting is what I said. Games don't have to be narrow mindedly be limited to light-hearted pleasure, and arcade-like gameplay. Actively doing something while taking in the story is something movies nor books can deliver on. It's arguably the best way to experience a story.
As defined in this video and by me Engagement does mean the same thing as fun. Engagement is having your interest kept and mind stimulated. Fun is light-hearted, thrill based pleasure. Are puzzles fun? Is a mystery novel fun? No, but they keep your attention, and thus engage you. Something that's only fun is not even a tenth as rewarding as something deep and meaningful.
When I think of games that had the cencept of "fun" in mind, I think of the every Mario game Nintendo has made since Super Mario Galaxy 1. I think of Sonic Colors, and Lost World. By focusing on "fun" as the only and core objective, developers end up making a game that provides a shallow experience, and often isn't even that engaging.
Extra Credits makes a lot of keen observations, and puts a lot of abtract concepts into easily understand terms. The writer for the show James has actually spent many years as a developer and observing other developers. Whether or not they accurately sum up individual franchise is not important. Those are just examples and opinions. The design priciniples they establish are far more important, and that's where they excel.
The principle of "Differences in Kind" in this video explains why Sonic Heroes is boring, yet SA2 is fun. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlBR1z-ue-I)
In Sonic Heroes everything in one level feels the same, visually and indiviual action wise. There are almost no set piece moments and few dynamic camera angle shots. Mechanically, you're doing the same tasks in the same way over and over. Punch blocks and enemies with Knuckles, switch to tails to slowly platform, switch to Sonic on straigh aways and to spin around poles. The music is flipping repitive too which only makes the experience worse. Shadow's game basically has the same problem. Unleashed and even Colors are less boring then Heroes because at least in Unleashed the visuals and tasks are dynamic and diversified. One of Color's problems actually is that it put too much diversity into a single level which resulted in a severe lack of flow.
In City Escape of SA2..I start with.boarding down a city street while jumping off jumps and avalanching cars. Then, I'm running around normally, then I'm running on the side of a wall, then I need to go up stairs where I hace to be careful because enemy are blocking my path and shoot at me, then I'm rail grinding done a corridor, then I'm in a park that I can explore and run around in, then I'm doing tricks off of pull up bar, then a giant truck is chasing me with a backwards facing camera. Each moment feels different Unlike in Heroes.
As defined in this video and by me Engagement does mean the same thing as fun. Engagement is having your interest kept and mind stimulated. Fun is light-hearted, thrill based pleasure. Are puzzles fun? Is a mystery novel fun? No, but they keep your attention, and thus engage you. Something that's only fun is not even a tenth as rewarding as something deep and meaningful.
When I think of games that had the cencept of "fun" in mind, I think of the every Mario game Nintendo has made since Super Mario Galaxy 1. I think of Sonic Colors, and Lost World. By focusing on "fun" as the only and core objective, developers end up making a game that provides a shallow experience, and often isn't even that engaging.
Extra Credits makes a lot of keen observations, and puts a lot of abtract concepts into easily understand terms. The writer for the show James has actually spent many years as a developer and observing other developers. Whether or not they accurately sum up individual franchise is not important. Those are just examples and opinions. The design priciniples they establish are far more important, and that's where they excel.
The principle of "Differences in Kind" in this video explains why Sonic Heroes is boring, yet SA2 is fun. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlBR1z-ue-I)
In Sonic Heroes everything in one level feels the same, visually and indiviual action wise. There are almost no set piece moments and few dynamic camera angle shots. Mechanically, you're doing the same tasks in the same way over and over. Punch blocks and enemies with Knuckles, switch to tails to slowly platform, switch to Sonic on straigh aways and to spin around poles. The music is flipping repitive too which only makes the experience worse. Shadow's game basically has the same problem. Unleashed and even Colors are less boring then Heroes because at least in Unleashed the visuals and tasks are dynamic and diversified. One of Color's problems actually is that it put too much diversity into a single level which resulted in a severe lack of flow.
In City Escape of SA2..I start with.boarding down a city street while jumping off jumps and avalanching cars. Then, I'm running around normally, then I'm running on the side of a wall, then I need to go up stairs where I hace to be careful because enemy are blocking my path and shoot at me, then I'm rail grinding done a corridor, then I'm in a park that I can explore and run around in, then I'm doing tricks off of pull up bar, then a giant truck is chasing me with a backwards facing camera. Each moment feels different Unlike in Heroes.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
History, Sega's Tactics, Sonic Boom, The Return to Sonic Adventure, and Hope for the Future of Sonic
Beginning in 2010 with Sonic Colors and Sonic 4, Sega has been trying to multitask by simultaneously designing for the long term fans while attempting to attract new ones. Sonic Generations was a smorgage board as it cotained everything that everyone from all sections of the fanbase, even Adventure fans, could enjoy. After Colors a few team members began working on Lost World while the rest worked on Generations so the general plan for it had been decided by in 2010 or sooner. After the abysmal sales of Lost world, Sonic Team took note of the increasing demands and complaints from people like Roger, SA3, Tails Channel, and others; So, now, The next game is a traditonal Adventure Sonic game not like Colors, Generations, or Lost World. Sonic Team hasn't been ignoring their fanbase just misunderstanding it.
Sonic Generations was a love letter to the long time fans as well as an attempt to appeal to new fans acquired by Sonic Colors. It's more so they assumed that their long term paying fans consisted of mostly gensis fans who only cared about gameplay. Sonic 4 didn't sell very well, and SA3/ SA like games are increasing being demanded, so they seem to be aware what their long term fans truly want.
Their new approach is to Sonic games is to hire developers like BRB to make a new type of Sonic for new users, then they themselves make adventures games for the long time fans which is great! They no longer have to try and make one alternating contuity to satisfy all the different type fans by themselves. Casual, comedy seeking Sonic fans don't care what the games are like, so they've feel satified while niche Sonic fans can get their traditional games free of experimentation and poor humor. It cannot be emphasized enough how much of an improvement spliting up Sonic Colors, Generations, and Lost World into two continuities is.
So long as the execution and vision of returning to Adventure, Retro Sonic turns out well. Yes, Sonic Boom doesn't contain the type of story or perhaps even gameplay we adventure fans want, but it's a spin off series. So we don't really have a good enough reason to be pissed off at this point. The future of Sonic looks bright not dim.
Sources
http://www.lazygamer.net/
http://www.tssznews.com/2014/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPiAuPl7h9g&list=UUUNYWmlvdPYcFlrs3a1EfPg
http://www.licensemag.com/license-global/sonic-new-generation-sonic-boom
Sonic Generations was a love letter to the long time fans as well as an attempt to appeal to new fans acquired by Sonic Colors. It's more so they assumed that their long term paying fans consisted of mostly gensis fans who only cared about gameplay. Sonic 4 didn't sell very well, and SA3/ SA like games are increasing being demanded, so they seem to be aware what their long term fans truly want.
Their new approach is to Sonic games is to hire developers like BRB to make a new type of Sonic for new users, then they themselves make adventures games for the long time fans which is great! They no longer have to try and make one alternating contuity to satisfy all the different type fans by themselves. Casual, comedy seeking Sonic fans don't care what the games are like, so they've feel satified while niche Sonic fans can get their traditional games free of experimentation and poor humor. It cannot be emphasized enough how much of an improvement spliting up Sonic Colors, Generations, and Lost World into two continuities is.
So long as the execution and vision of returning to Adventure, Retro Sonic turns out well. Yes, Sonic Boom doesn't contain the type of story or perhaps even gameplay we adventure fans want, but it's a spin off series. So we don't really have a good enough reason to be pissed off at this point. The future of Sonic looks bright not dim.
Sources
http://www.lazygamer.net/
http://www.tssznews.com/2014/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPiAuPl7h9g&list=UUUNYWmlvdPYcFlrs3a1EfPg
http://www.licensemag.com/license-global/sonic-new-generation-sonic-boom
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Sonic Boom Footage Leak and First Hands on Impression
So, we got our first glimpses of how Sonic Boom will actually play and a hands-on impression for both the Wii U and 3ds versions
Wii U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
3DS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
My prediction was right, it's going to have the same problem as Sonic Heroes. Too much slow-paced combat, but I also get the feeling there will be more battle feedback here. The speed level looks really cool though, except is the whole level a speed thrill with no challenge or freedom? Even Unleashed made you platform and you could stop and explore around everyone once in a while. I mean, don't get me wrong, I should still like it because I'm entertained by visual spectacle, but it'd be frustrating if the highly automated levels are the only time the game feels fast paced. Of course it's a small amount of footage, but it gives cause for alarm none the less.
And ah, the humor. It cracks me up that right as the guy says, "There are jokes, funny ones too." The person who edited this puts in an incredily stupid joke. The Sonic eating rings joke did get a shock value laugh out of me, just because of how unfitting and absurd it is, so whatever. The humor in a game isn't important to me. I have shows and movies for that. Good, refined, and tasteful jokes isn't what I come to Sonic for anyway.
The 3DS version, actually comes off a lot like Sonic and Knuckles 3. The exception being that it seems to be made with modern design skills and wisdom in that you can switch between characters whenever you want and such. The guy who played it seemed to really like it so that itself is a good sign. But oh I almost forgot. 2D explorations, /sigh. Actually though, I'm pretty optimistic with it because: The goal is still to just get to the end, you can switch to tails or knuckles, or sticks at anytime, the control is claimed to be good, and it seems optional and not in your face. I just hope they will leave clues as to where the collectible will be rather than make you scratch through the level inch by inch to find anything. 3D exploring can be just as bad if there's no clues to give the player a sense of direction. The 3D sections remind me of Sonic Dash. Again, I'm easily excited, so that should be satisfying. The only chance of it failing to entertain me is if it becomes really cheap and expects you to have the reflexes of a God.
I couldn't help but notice, that Knuckles is now the not-the-drill wisp and Tails the not-the-hover wisp; So, Good job Sonic people, you're actually making use of Sonic's friends again, Hooray!
More information will be avaible at E3 soon, so this is a bit premature, but hearing from someone who has actually played it is a big difference because of course they're going to try and hide the flaws and make it look cool in a big, eventful release. So this is valuable stuff.
TTFN, my loyal, imaginary audience.
Wii U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
3DS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
My prediction was right, it's going to have the same problem as Sonic Heroes. Too much slow-paced combat, but I also get the feeling there will be more battle feedback here. The speed level looks really cool though, except is the whole level a speed thrill with no challenge or freedom? Even Unleashed made you platform and you could stop and explore around everyone once in a while. I mean, don't get me wrong, I should still like it because I'm entertained by visual spectacle, but it'd be frustrating if the highly automated levels are the only time the game feels fast paced. Of course it's a small amount of footage, but it gives cause for alarm none the less.
And ah, the humor. It cracks me up that right as the guy says, "There are jokes, funny ones too." The person who edited this puts in an incredily stupid joke. The Sonic eating rings joke did get a shock value laugh out of me, just because of how unfitting and absurd it is, so whatever. The humor in a game isn't important to me. I have shows and movies for that. Good, refined, and tasteful jokes isn't what I come to Sonic for anyway.
The 3DS version, actually comes off a lot like Sonic and Knuckles 3. The exception being that it seems to be made with modern design skills and wisdom in that you can switch between characters whenever you want and such. The guy who played it seemed to really like it so that itself is a good sign. But oh I almost forgot. 2D explorations, /sigh. Actually though, I'm pretty optimistic with it because: The goal is still to just get to the end, you can switch to tails or knuckles, or sticks at anytime, the control is claimed to be good, and it seems optional and not in your face. I just hope they will leave clues as to where the collectible will be rather than make you scratch through the level inch by inch to find anything. 3D exploring can be just as bad if there's no clues to give the player a sense of direction. The 3D sections remind me of Sonic Dash. Again, I'm easily excited, so that should be satisfying. The only chance of it failing to entertain me is if it becomes really cheap and expects you to have the reflexes of a God.
I couldn't help but notice, that Knuckles is now the not-the-drill wisp and Tails the not-the-hover wisp; So, Good job Sonic people, you're actually making use of Sonic's friends again, Hooray!
More information will be avaible at E3 soon, so this is a bit premature, but hearing from someone who has actually played it is a big difference because of course they're going to try and hide the flaws and make it look cool in a big, eventful release. So this is valuable stuff.
TTFN, my loyal, imaginary audience.
Saturday, May 24, 2014
Classic Love Shenanigans in Sonic
Watching some other cartoons I used to watch I realized how much fun is to have a plot based around characters suddenly falling in love. There's some great chemistry between Sonic characters already, so there's tons you could do with this concept. Ah, I can exactly how'd it'd go...../thought bubble....
Sonic, a world famous hero, is attending a seminar to inspire children, when Amy crashed the party. She does something that embarasses him, and the children laugh. He's angry, but he doesn't want to let it show in front of the children so he suppresses it, and endures the shame until the events over. Then rather than directly confronting Amy out of fear she'll overreact, he instead goes to Tails for the solution.
Sonic tells Tails that Amy's obession with him has gotten, "Out of hand," and mocks, "Where's the off switch?" This gives Tails gets an idea.
"What if we could 'Turn off' Amy's love for you?" He then sets to work making an invention to do just that.
He gives him a special spray to use on her.
Sonic goes up to Amy reaching his arms out for a hug intending to spray Amy behind her back, but because Amy is so overjoyed by this, she squeezes him harder than Sonic expected and he ends up spraying himself and he falls in love with Amy. Amy is overjoyed that Sonic is finally expressing his love for her, and they go out on a lot of dates at amusement parks, restaurants, running across land and seas while Sonic carries her, and more. This makes Tails worried.
When Sonic finally gets around to visit Tails again, Tails is astonished to find out how Sonic has been acting. He tries asking Sonic what happend, but Sonic is too love struck to recall the details. Tails deduces Sonic must have sprayed himself, and after making Sonic take some tests, he realizes that his potion not only does his potion make some one fall out of love, but it makes a person fall in love too, as it reverses the love emotions of what the person naturally feels. Tails goes about making an antidote, but first he needs to test the love reverser again, So he calls in his good buddy Knuckles for some help.
Knuckles, who was guarding the Master Emerald, agrees to use the spray on someone so long as Tails takes his place while doing such. Knuckles asks who he should spray, and Tails tells him, "It doesn't matter so long as you know for certain that the person has love or a lack of love for another." After a brief moment of thought and a sigh, Knuckles takes off with a communication device Tails gave him, as he heads for GUN headquarters.
At the GUN HQ Knuckles meets up with Rouge, whose happy to see him as she's been stuck in her office all day. Knuckles then attempts to spray her, but Shadow Chaos controls in the way to inform Rouge of her next assignment and intercepts the blast. He's stuck dumb in love for Rouge.
Back at the scene with Amy and Sonic. Sonic's constant love and affection is starting to bore and annoy her, and she realizes that it was more fun when she was the one chasing him. Having no where else to turn she calls up Tails for advice as to what she should do.
Tails, being an absent minded blabber, lets it out that Sonic's in love with her because of his invention. In a fit of confused emotions she at first expresses relief, but then half waythrough her sign she bursts in to a rage. She then scolds Tails and demands an explanation. He explains, "Sonic was sick of your obsessive behavior so I invented a spray that would make you fall out of love with him, but as it turns out it actually reverses how someone feels, so Sonic..fell...in...love...with.....you." He then mutters, "Oops, as he realizes he's again revealed too much, and he's right as Amy breaks down in tears, having connected that this means Sonic doesn't truly love her at all like she had always imagined.
Back at the scene with Knuckles, Shadow, and Rouge things have escalated. Shadow, struck with Rouge, has taken her hand, kneeled on the floor, and begun uttering poetry. Rouge being confused and weirded out, but also flattered, attempts to ask Knuckles what's going on, but as she tries to do such Shadow is offended that she's giving her attention to another guy, and starts deriding Knuckles, "Back off, she would never be into a dim-witted, inferior lifeform such as yourself."
Knuckles is offended and retaliates, "Who says she wouldn't?! The whole reason I came here is because I knew she liked me." *Rouge lets out a shocked, "Oh my!"
Shadow, unaccept to even stand the possibility of this, lunges at Knuckles and a brawl comences. As the brawl is going on Sonic zooms in and hides behind Rouge, followed by a crazed Amy who crashes through the ceiling with Tails's hijacked Tornado, with him sitting in the back seat cowering and freightened. She then nose dives into the ground yelling, "SOOOONIC!" She crashes into the spray Knuckles brought along, and a cloud of dust and love potion perfume engulfs the room.
Coughing, and scuffed up, everyone gets up, and it quickly become apparent that Sonic and Shadow are turned back to normal, as Sonic looks startled and bothered by Amy's presence, and Shadow looks gruff and unexpressive again.
Everyone meets back at Tails Workshop to be tested to make sure all traces of the love potion are gone.While this is going on Sonic musters up the courage to state how he's been feeling and convess to Amy that he's been embarassed by her behavior recently, and he brings up the event with the kids. Amy then tells him that she wished that he would have just told her rather than put her through all the embarassment she's gone through. It would have been much less hurtful to find out that way. As she looks insecurly downward and away from Sonic while reaching over and grabbing her upper arm to comfort herself. Then feeling like a dirt bag, hints that, "But, hey, you never know, maybe someday when we're both older I'll genuinely like you. So don't lose hope!" He then gives her a reassuring, winked eye, grin and a thunbs up.
This makes Amy perk up, and says, "So, does this mean you're asking me to marry you in the future?!" having leaned in towards Sonic with a big toothed grin, and her hands clasped and held up to one side. Everyone looks over, and a shocked moment of silence occurs. Then Amy closes her eyes while remaining in the exact same pose in every other way, and says, "Just kidding!" To which all the characters in turn and round, begin to laugh. The camera slowly rises up and away from the characters, showing the sky with the laughter still being heard, as the screen fades to black and the credits play.
Sonic, a world famous hero, is attending a seminar to inspire children, when Amy crashed the party. She does something that embarasses him, and the children laugh. He's angry, but he doesn't want to let it show in front of the children so he suppresses it, and endures the shame until the events over. Then rather than directly confronting Amy out of fear she'll overreact, he instead goes to Tails for the solution.
Sonic tells Tails that Amy's obession with him has gotten, "Out of hand," and mocks, "Where's the off switch?" This gives Tails gets an idea.
"What if we could 'Turn off' Amy's love for you?" He then sets to work making an invention to do just that.
He gives him a special spray to use on her.
Sonic goes up to Amy reaching his arms out for a hug intending to spray Amy behind her back, but because Amy is so overjoyed by this, she squeezes him harder than Sonic expected and he ends up spraying himself and he falls in love with Amy. Amy is overjoyed that Sonic is finally expressing his love for her, and they go out on a lot of dates at amusement parks, restaurants, running across land and seas while Sonic carries her, and more. This makes Tails worried.
When Sonic finally gets around to visit Tails again, Tails is astonished to find out how Sonic has been acting. He tries asking Sonic what happend, but Sonic is too love struck to recall the details. Tails deduces Sonic must have sprayed himself, and after making Sonic take some tests, he realizes that his potion not only does his potion make some one fall out of love, but it makes a person fall in love too, as it reverses the love emotions of what the person naturally feels. Tails goes about making an antidote, but first he needs to test the love reverser again, So he calls in his good buddy Knuckles for some help.
Knuckles, who was guarding the Master Emerald, agrees to use the spray on someone so long as Tails takes his place while doing such. Knuckles asks who he should spray, and Tails tells him, "It doesn't matter so long as you know for certain that the person has love or a lack of love for another." After a brief moment of thought and a sigh, Knuckles takes off with a communication device Tails gave him, as he heads for GUN headquarters.
At the GUN HQ Knuckles meets up with Rouge, whose happy to see him as she's been stuck in her office all day. Knuckles then attempts to spray her, but Shadow Chaos controls in the way to inform Rouge of her next assignment and intercepts the blast. He's stuck dumb in love for Rouge.
Back at the scene with Amy and Sonic. Sonic's constant love and affection is starting to bore and annoy her, and she realizes that it was more fun when she was the one chasing him. Having no where else to turn she calls up Tails for advice as to what she should do.
Tails, being an absent minded blabber, lets it out that Sonic's in love with her because of his invention. In a fit of confused emotions she at first expresses relief, but then half waythrough her sign she bursts in to a rage. She then scolds Tails and demands an explanation. He explains, "Sonic was sick of your obsessive behavior so I invented a spray that would make you fall out of love with him, but as it turns out it actually reverses how someone feels, so Sonic..fell...in...love...with.....you." He then mutters, "Oops, as he realizes he's again revealed too much, and he's right as Amy breaks down in tears, having connected that this means Sonic doesn't truly love her at all like she had always imagined.
Back at the scene with Knuckles, Shadow, and Rouge things have escalated. Shadow, struck with Rouge, has taken her hand, kneeled on the floor, and begun uttering poetry. Rouge being confused and weirded out, but also flattered, attempts to ask Knuckles what's going on, but as she tries to do such Shadow is offended that she's giving her attention to another guy, and starts deriding Knuckles, "Back off, she would never be into a dim-witted, inferior lifeform such as yourself."
Knuckles is offended and retaliates, "Who says she wouldn't?! The whole reason I came here is because I knew she liked me." *Rouge lets out a shocked, "Oh my!"
Shadow, unaccept to even stand the possibility of this, lunges at Knuckles and a brawl comences. As the brawl is going on Sonic zooms in and hides behind Rouge, followed by a crazed Amy who crashes through the ceiling with Tails's hijacked Tornado, with him sitting in the back seat cowering and freightened. She then nose dives into the ground yelling, "SOOOONIC!" She crashes into the spray Knuckles brought along, and a cloud of dust and love potion perfume engulfs the room.
Coughing, and scuffed up, everyone gets up, and it quickly become apparent that Sonic and Shadow are turned back to normal, as Sonic looks startled and bothered by Amy's presence, and Shadow looks gruff and unexpressive again.
Everyone meets back at Tails Workshop to be tested to make sure all traces of the love potion are gone.While this is going on Sonic musters up the courage to state how he's been feeling and convess to Amy that he's been embarassed by her behavior recently, and he brings up the event with the kids. Amy then tells him that she wished that he would have just told her rather than put her through all the embarassment she's gone through. It would have been much less hurtful to find out that way. As she looks insecurly downward and away from Sonic while reaching over and grabbing her upper arm to comfort herself. Then feeling like a dirt bag, hints that, "But, hey, you never know, maybe someday when we're both older I'll genuinely like you. So don't lose hope!" He then gives her a reassuring, winked eye, grin and a thunbs up.
This makes Amy perk up, and says, "So, does this mean you're asking me to marry you in the future?!" having leaned in towards Sonic with a big toothed grin, and her hands clasped and held up to one side. Everyone looks over, and a shocked moment of silence occurs. Then Amy closes her eyes while remaining in the exact same pose in every other way, and says, "Just kidding!" To which all the characters in turn and round, begin to laugh. The camera slowly rises up and away from the characters, showing the sky with the laughter still being heard, as the screen fades to black and the credits play.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
The Structure and Analysis of Sonic Unleashed: I can see why it was going to be called SA3
Sonic Unleashed
Now as for Eggman....
Unleashed Eggman is an improvement from 06 Eggman. Eggman's always had a silly side to him. He's not just a menacing badarze. This is the guy who names every robot he makes after eggs! He's crazy! No, not just crazy that's an understatement, he's a crazy megaglomania induced psychopath. Unleashed properly portrays him as such, and makes him intersting again. I disagree that he's portrayed as dumb, it's more so that he gets so over excited and overzealous about his plans that his overlooks the small details. That fits with his personality type of ENTJ. In case you're now wondering Sonic-ESFP, Tails- INFP (same as you), Knuckles- ISTJ (same as me), Amy-ESFJ, Shadow- INTJ, Rouge- ENTP, eh that's enough.
He's much closer to how he was in the Adventure games. In Sonic Adventure Eggman gives a enthusiactic speech to the robots HE programmed. In Sonic Adventure 2 he's a crazy war general who gives an ego inflating, enthusiastic speech to the world, and he blows up the moon!
The scenes in Eggman's ship where he talks to Orbot are really good scenes. As you already dissected, but I'll add that it's a very rewarding scene because it solves some of the mystery and thickens the plot, as well as give Eggman personality as mentioned.
Sonic is back to his oldself too. He's jokes with Eggman, he's emotional and personable with Chip and Tails. He's just very human, and interesting again, without becoming unhonorable like subsequent games. He acts very much like his adventuresome, fun loving, wise cracking, caring self.
So to recap: the beginning of the story is strong and great, then things slow down, but the tradeoff is a believeable, relateable, and emotional story, and beginning with the Eggman Ergo scene and onward the story picks up in intensity, and it starts becoming interesting again which carries through until the ends.
Critical Choice- Sonic must choose to face the dangers of the God like Dark Gaia to help out his new friend that Chip that he's bonded with or leave him to face the beast alone knowing now that Chip is actually really powerful.
Climax- Dark Gaia fight, a result of Sonic helping Chip
Reversal- Chip saves unconscious Sonic's live. The Earth's saved
Resolution-Sonic and Tails run along the Windy Isle continent as the credits play. The game leaves you with a great sense of closure: All the important mysteries are resolved, the day is saved, and Sonic and Tails return to normal life. The credits are really good too. Pictures of the adventure and emotional, moving music. Standard stuff, but good credits really help give and are an essential part of the closure process.
Design: I love the thrill and adrenaline fueled excitement. Visually and mechanically, it's constantly giving me new, exciting things to look at and do, and I agree with Clement that the levels are not terribly unfair and trial and error. Sonic Generations has more sucker punch moments than Unleashed, it's just that you don't die from them but get a less cool path and miss out on red rings, but I hate that more though. Failing at a challenge and then being unable to go back unless I replay the whole level over again is infuriating! I hate missing out on stuff and having to go back through a second time just to see what I missed.
I don't like much exploring in Sonic games. I hate knowing there's places to explore in linear levels when I have stiff control, am moving at mach speeds, can't control the camera, and can't backtrack; so, the linearity of Unleashed is perfectly fine by me. I like the level design. I do enjoy exploration as well though, so they can put it in the game, but I need the camera and controls to be designed for it, but then again if they design the controls for exploration by making your character really powerful at climbing and jumping, but don't change the level design to an open world format, things become boring like in Lost World and Sonic Heroes. So, expecting Sonic to be thrillingly fast and exciting, and control well, and have exploration, but not too much because you'll lost is unrealistic. You can't have your cake and eat it too. A game needs focus. So either make a linear SA2 and Unleashed, or make Sonic Lost have Super Mario Sunshine's level design.
So after the out-of-character Heroes and Shadow, and the Uncanny 06, Unleashed is very refreshing. It's believeably the same world as SA1&2. It fixed many of the problems that the story of the previous 3 games had, and more. It doesn't screw or mess up the canon like Heroes and Shadow, if we take Captain Theories theory about it, it enhances it infact. Well alright it kind of does because we have to wonder where Knuckles Shadow and Rouge are during this affair, but at least is doesn't establish drastic things like Shadow having amensia and being part alien. I still hate the designer doing that in Heroes and Shadow. That is my biggest problem with the Sonic series in general. It doesn't have just 1 fleshed out canon, the executvives tried to make spin-off games part of the main story line NO!!!! Because of Heroes and Shadow, Shadow's story still doesn't have solid closure.
/Sigh/ Contuinty ranting,
Well, that is all.
Stasis-Because the Sonic series is a saga this phase is actually unnecessary. Sonic Adventure showed us what normal life is, so sequels can skip straight to the trigger.
Trigger-Eggman's causing troubling and Sonic shows up to stop him. Power is actually pretty balanced here. Big threating fleet of ships and robots, Sonic smashes them +1S. Eggman Grabs and immobilizes Sonic +1EM. Sonic turns Super and breaks free causing Eggman to run +1S. Eggman tricks Sonic into lowering his guard by begging for mercy and drains him of most of his chaos energy, Sonic becomes monsterous, and Eggman blows open the Earth +3 EM. At the beginning of the story the villain should always be ahead otherwise he's not a threat, and there's no story to tell. This part of the story is incredibly well done.
Quest-Restore the Earth by collecting the chaos emeralds and restore chip's memory. You're right that the game spends WAY too much here It akes roughly 20 minutes just for the quest to begin; So we're a fourth of the way in and we haven't even reached the meat of the story yet?!; however,slow pacing itself doesn't ruin a story, it just makes it tedious. Slow pacing it the equivalent of a gameplay glitch.It's a technical issue.
Surprise- This is where the story is both strong and weak. It's strong because it has a lot of mysteries to solve: What the heck was that giant monster that came out of the Earth? why is Sonic a werewolf? What's chips back story? What happened to Proffessor Pickle? How can the Earth be restored? and by the end of the story all of them are answered. Although, The surprise catergory isn't just about mystery though, but, "pleasant events...obstacles, complications, conflict and trouble for the protagonist."(http://www.
So there are 3 main sensual and emotional value aspects.
Trigger-Eggman's causing troubling and Sonic shows up to stop him. Power is actually pretty balanced here. Big threating fleet of ships and robots, Sonic smashes them +1S. Eggman Grabs and immobilizes Sonic +1EM. Sonic turns Super and breaks free causing Eggman to run +1S. Eggman tricks Sonic into lowering his guard by begging for mercy and drains him of most of his chaos energy, Sonic becomes monsterous, and Eggman blows open the Earth +3 EM. At the beginning of the story the villain should always be ahead otherwise he's not a threat, and there's no story to tell. This part of the story is incredibly well done.
Quest-Restore the Earth by collecting the chaos emeralds and restore chip's memory. You're right that the game spends WAY too much here It akes roughly 20 minutes just for the quest to begin; So we're a fourth of the way in and we haven't even reached the meat of the story yet?!; however,slow pacing itself doesn't ruin a story, it just makes it tedious. Slow pacing it the equivalent of a gameplay glitch.It's a technical issue.
Surprise- This is where the story is both strong and weak. It's strong because it has a lot of mysteries to solve: What the heck was that giant monster that came out of the Earth? why is Sonic a werewolf? What's chips back story? What happened to Proffessor Pickle? How can the Earth be restored? and by the end of the story all of them are answered. Although, The surprise catergory isn't just about mystery though, but, "pleasant events...obstacles, complications, conflict and trouble for the protagonist."(http://www.
So there are 3 main sensual and emotional value aspects.
1.Interpersonal relationship moments: As Clement pointed out, Sonic and Chip have a great relationship with one another. The story spends a lot of time on the interpersonal relationship of characters; Primarily between Sonic and Chip, but between all the characters as well. The key is that when they with one another they are talking like normal people and saying normal people things along with plot relavent topics. The voice acting is also top notch everyone's tone andinflections sounding very natural and human-like. The soothing emotional music also helps set the mood and atmosphere. A step up from the very unnatural, uncanny interactions bewteen characters in Sonic 06. The scene where Sonic first meets up with Tails for example. In that scene their animations are very puppet-like and they say awkward things to one another like "I am going to rape you later" oh wait, wrong script, sorry, but you get the point. Another big thing is...
2.Believable characteristics and behavior:all the characters, main and side, feel like real believable people. They talk to people amicably and personably and exhibit a lot of normal human behaviors. Eating, dancing, going to college; the NPCs tell you about their lives and the town the live in. This helps makes the world of Sonic Unleashed feel like a real believable place despite having an imaginative artstyle.
3.A consistent, believeable, immersive world:The details and visuals are consistent inside and outside of the cutscenes. When you explore the hub it looks the same as it does in the cutscenes. It's all consistent and makes you feel immersed in Sonic's world. A, "living breathing world," as Clement would say, though he was talking about FFXIII-2 vs XIII, but digression.
2.Believable characteristics and behavior:all the characters, main and side, feel like real believable people. They talk to people amicably and personably and exhibit a lot of normal human behaviors. Eating, dancing, going to college; the NPCs tell you about their lives and the town the live in. This helps makes the world of Sonic Unleashed feel like a real believable place despite having an imaginative artstyle.
3.A consistent, believeable, immersive world:The details and visuals are consistent inside and outside of the cutscenes. When you explore the hub it looks the same as it does in the cutscenes. It's all consistent and makes you feel immersed in Sonic's world. A, "living breathing world," as Clement would say, though he was talking about FFXIII-2 vs XIII, but digression.
Now as for Eggman....
Unleashed Eggman is an improvement from 06 Eggman. Eggman's always had a silly side to him. He's not just a menacing badarze. This is the guy who names every robot he makes after eggs! He's crazy! No, not just crazy that's an understatement, he's a crazy megaglomania induced psychopath. Unleashed properly portrays him as such, and makes him intersting again. I disagree that he's portrayed as dumb, it's more so that he gets so over excited and overzealous about his plans that his overlooks the small details. That fits with his personality type of ENTJ. In case you're now wondering Sonic-ESFP, Tails- INFP (same as you), Knuckles- ISTJ (same as me), Amy-ESFJ, Shadow- INTJ, Rouge- ENTP, eh that's enough.
He's much closer to how he was in the Adventure games. In Sonic Adventure Eggman gives a enthusiactic speech to the robots HE programmed. In Sonic Adventure 2 he's a crazy war general who gives an ego inflating, enthusiastic speech to the world, and he blows up the moon!
The scenes in Eggman's ship where he talks to Orbot are really good scenes. As you already dissected, but I'll add that it's a very rewarding scene because it solves some of the mystery and thickens the plot, as well as give Eggman personality as mentioned.
Sonic is back to his oldself too. He's jokes with Eggman, he's emotional and personable with Chip and Tails. He's just very human, and interesting again, without becoming unhonorable like subsequent games. He acts very much like his adventuresome, fun loving, wise cracking, caring self.
So to recap: the beginning of the story is strong and great, then things slow down, but the tradeoff is a believeable, relateable, and emotional story, and beginning with the Eggman Ergo scene and onward the story picks up in intensity, and it starts becoming interesting again which carries through until the ends.
Critical Choice- Sonic must choose to face the dangers of the God like Dark Gaia to help out his new friend that Chip that he's bonded with or leave him to face the beast alone knowing now that Chip is actually really powerful.
Climax- Dark Gaia fight, a result of Sonic helping Chip
Reversal- Chip saves unconscious Sonic's live. The Earth's saved
Resolution-Sonic and Tails run along the Windy Isle continent as the credits play. The game leaves you with a great sense of closure: All the important mysteries are resolved, the day is saved, and Sonic and Tails return to normal life. The credits are really good too. Pictures of the adventure and emotional, moving music. Standard stuff, but good credits really help give and are an essential part of the closure process.
Design: I love the thrill and adrenaline fueled excitement. Visually and mechanically, it's constantly giving me new, exciting things to look at and do, and I agree with Clement that the levels are not terribly unfair and trial and error. Sonic Generations has more sucker punch moments than Unleashed, it's just that you don't die from them but get a less cool path and miss out on red rings, but I hate that more though. Failing at a challenge and then being unable to go back unless I replay the whole level over again is infuriating! I hate missing out on stuff and having to go back through a second time just to see what I missed.
I don't like much exploring in Sonic games. I hate knowing there's places to explore in linear levels when I have stiff control, am moving at mach speeds, can't control the camera, and can't backtrack; so, the linearity of Unleashed is perfectly fine by me. I like the level design. I do enjoy exploration as well though, so they can put it in the game, but I need the camera and controls to be designed for it, but then again if they design the controls for exploration by making your character really powerful at climbing and jumping, but don't change the level design to an open world format, things become boring like in Lost World and Sonic Heroes. So, expecting Sonic to be thrillingly fast and exciting, and control well, and have exploration, but not too much because you'll lost is unrealistic. You can't have your cake and eat it too. A game needs focus. So either make a linear SA2 and Unleashed, or make Sonic Lost have Super Mario Sunshine's level design.
So after the out-of-character Heroes and Shadow, and the Uncanny 06, Unleashed is very refreshing. It's believeably the same world as SA1&2. It fixed many of the problems that the story of the previous 3 games had, and more. It doesn't screw or mess up the canon like Heroes and Shadow, if we take Captain Theories theory about it, it enhances it infact. Well alright it kind of does because we have to wonder where Knuckles Shadow and Rouge are during this affair, but at least is doesn't establish drastic things like Shadow having amensia and being part alien. I still hate the designer doing that in Heroes and Shadow. That is my biggest problem with the Sonic series in general. It doesn't have just 1 fleshed out canon, the executvives tried to make spin-off games part of the main story line NO!!!! Because of Heroes and Shadow, Shadow's story still doesn't have solid closure.
/Sigh/ Contuinty ranting,
Well, that is all.
The Story Structure and Analysis of Sonic Colors and Generations
Sonic Colors and Generations
For Sonic Colors though I can see the dilemma, Stories need to be mysterious, but when you're told to write the story so that 6 and 7 years olds will understand, how do you convey it without directing stating it. That's probably why they kept repeating the obvious.
In generations they fixed this to extent. It wasn't so obvious that Eggman was controlling the Time Eater because his classic form gets sucked up by it. Only assuming metaknowledge would tell you that. So, in the context of the story, it's a decent plot twist. Again, the obvious statements in generations parts seem to be for out of worry that the audience won't understand. I won't defend how it handles the climax or lack there of, but it starts off and resolves well.
It has a
Sonic Generation's Structure
Stasis- Sonic's Birthday at a park
Trigger- Time Eater attacks and sucks up not only everyone at the party, but all of time and space.
Quest- Find friends, restore time and space
Surprise- It, at the very least, attempts to convey a mystery as to why everything is white and where everyone is. On some level the mystery works, the cutscene where the two Tails tells you the tale, I'm sorry, explains everything, still feels rewarding to some degree, even if obvious, because it follows the format of giving you very little information then gradually cueing you in on what's happening. I also like being rewarded with cutscenes about characters I already know and care about. That's another plus.
Criticial Choice???
Climax?: The best part about the Climax is the plot twist of the Eggmans, Eggmen? controlling the Time Eater. The failure is what you've said about it: A lack of energy and momentum; a cocky, over powered Sonic, but to be fair Sonic has beaten Eggman a LOT, in a sense he deserves to be cocky at this point.
Reversal?: Sonic shows young Sonic how to do the homing attack and tells him his future will be great which teaches his younger self to be cocky and arrogant, I suppose.
Resolution: Story earns points again, as it returns to the park birthday setting originally established.
Eh overall, I like it. At the very least, it's non offensive by being short. There weren't any moments that I felt like it was really wasting my time.
Now more on Colors
Sonic Colors
I like the concept and setting. In fact it's golden! There's a lot that could have been done with it.
The Concept:
Eggman builds an INTERSTELLAR amusement park to repay humanity for his crimes and Sonic needs to investigate.
-It contextualizes the story.
-It ties the story to the past and acknowledges Eggman's infamy the world know who he is and what he's done
-It makes Eggman smart again as he's trying to deceptive like Lex Luther.
-It could have been exactly like the Justice League Unlimited ark with Lex Luther. where he gets released from prison and says to the news, he's, "turned over a new leaf." A mystery revolving around whether or not a villain has changed is interesting.
So the execution then? You definitely don't need to feel bad about what you've said about this one. The structure really does suck for the bulk of it, the Surprise catergory. Ironically though, it excells in the areas Generations lacked: The Critical Choice, the Climax, and the Reversal.
Critical Choice- Does Sonic simply track down Eggman and go home or go out of his way, planet to planet, putting himself in danger, to free the trapped wisps who may not even offer him anything in return? I'm forcing this part a bit because the story doesn't convey it this way, but Sonic is stilling making this choice regardless.
Climax- Sonic beats Eggman and the wisps help him deal the final blow; however, he's caught in the explosion and knocked unconscious.
Reversal- The wisps repay Sonic by carrying him to safety.
Resolution-None, but then again a stasis was never established, so it's wasn't even possible to have one. Since Sonic games are a series though, the stasis and resolution aren't actually that important, so whatever not a big deal. The two most important parts to get right are the meat of the story, the Surprise and the Climax. The stuff before and after are just appetizers and dessert.
Briefly: While I do enjoy it when a game changes the pace, I've come to realize the Sonic Colors goes too far with it. Its problem is that the experience is too inconsistent.
For Sonic Colors though I can see the dilemma, Stories need to be mysterious, but when you're told to write the story so that 6 and 7 years olds will understand, how do you convey it without directing stating it. That's probably why they kept repeating the obvious.
In generations they fixed this to extent. It wasn't so obvious that Eggman was controlling the Time Eater because his classic form gets sucked up by it. Only assuming metaknowledge would tell you that. So, in the context of the story, it's a decent plot twist. Again, the obvious statements in generations parts seem to be for out of worry that the audience won't understand. I won't defend how it handles the climax or lack there of, but it starts off and resolves well.
It has a
Sonic Generation's Structure
Stasis- Sonic's Birthday at a park
Trigger- Time Eater attacks and sucks up not only everyone at the party, but all of time and space.
Quest- Find friends, restore time and space
Surprise- It, at the very least, attempts to convey a mystery as to why everything is white and where everyone is. On some level the mystery works, the cutscene where the two Tails tells you the tale, I'm sorry, explains everything, still feels rewarding to some degree, even if obvious, because it follows the format of giving you very little information then gradually cueing you in on what's happening. I also like being rewarded with cutscenes about characters I already know and care about. That's another plus.
Criticial Choice???
Climax?: The best part about the Climax is the plot twist of the Eggmans, Eggmen? controlling the Time Eater. The failure is what you've said about it: A lack of energy and momentum; a cocky, over powered Sonic, but to be fair Sonic has beaten Eggman a LOT, in a sense he deserves to be cocky at this point.
Reversal?: Sonic shows young Sonic how to do the homing attack and tells him his future will be great which teaches his younger self to be cocky and arrogant, I suppose.
Resolution: Story earns points again, as it returns to the park birthday setting originally established.
Eh overall, I like it. At the very least, it's non offensive by being short. There weren't any moments that I felt like it was really wasting my time.
Now more on Colors
Sonic Colors
I like the concept and setting. In fact it's golden! There's a lot that could have been done with it.
The Concept:
Eggman builds an INTERSTELLAR amusement park to repay humanity for his crimes and Sonic needs to investigate.
-It contextualizes the story.
-It ties the story to the past and acknowledges Eggman's infamy the world know who he is and what he's done
-It makes Eggman smart again as he's trying to deceptive like Lex Luther.
-It could have been exactly like the Justice League Unlimited ark with Lex Luther. where he gets released from prison and says to the news, he's, "turned over a new leaf." A mystery revolving around whether or not a villain has changed is interesting.
So the execution then? You definitely don't need to feel bad about what you've said about this one. The structure really does suck for the bulk of it, the Surprise catergory. Ironically though, it excells in the areas Generations lacked: The Critical Choice, the Climax, and the Reversal.
Critical Choice- Does Sonic simply track down Eggman and go home or go out of his way, planet to planet, putting himself in danger, to free the trapped wisps who may not even offer him anything in return? I'm forcing this part a bit because the story doesn't convey it this way, but Sonic is stilling making this choice regardless.
Climax- Sonic beats Eggman and the wisps help him deal the final blow; however, he's caught in the explosion and knocked unconscious.
Reversal- The wisps repay Sonic by carrying him to safety.
Resolution-None, but then again a stasis was never established, so it's wasn't even possible to have one. Since Sonic games are a series though, the stasis and resolution aren't actually that important, so whatever not a big deal. The two most important parts to get right are the meat of the story, the Surprise and the Climax. The stuff before and after are just appetizers and dessert.
Briefly: While I do enjoy it when a game changes the pace, I've come to realize the Sonic Colors goes too far with it. Its problem is that the experience is too inconsistent.
Sonic Heroe,s a.k.a Knuckles Chaotix 3D, has Great Writing
Heroes should have been a spin-off game focusing on the Chaotix. If you take as if the other storys weren't there then it satisfies many formal story telling criteria, using this as a template.....
http://www.dailywritingtips.
Stasis- They run a dective agency that isn't doing well as their laughably absurd policy is, "We never turn down work."
Trigger- A mysterious package arrives
The Quest- Anonymous client needs help, the journey begins.
Surprise- Very fittingly for a story about detectives there's a mystery going on that isn't completey obvious from the get go but gives enough clues spaced throughout to make you think, "Oh, I should have seen that coming." The key here is that it doesn't directly tell you any clues right away. It keeps things unobvious. This makes you pay attention closer as it makes your mind desperate for details, so when you do get crucial information for solving the mystery, it really stands out and feels rewarding.
So, then the story gives you all the clues you need to figure out it's Eggman with the fake Eggman scene, but again the key is vagueness. If the viewer still didn't get it, then in the next scene the person speaking from the walkie talkie says, "What I am the world's greatest.. I mean he is the world's..." This does two things.1.As state give people an additional, and 2. It rewards those who figured out it was Eggman with the assurance that they made the right connection.
Critical Choice- So now that the Chaotix have deduced they're working for Eggman they have a critical choice to make. Do they press forward and rescue someone they know is and consider evil in pursuit of money, or do they abandon the mission knowing freeing Eggman could ultimately cause havoc. Considering that Vector, the team leader, decides to plow forward, it reveals that he really is greedy and desperate for money.
Climax- The consequence of choosing to proceed is the continued danger they face throughout the rest of the levels, and epic showdown with the Egg Emperor. With Eggman turning out to be a fake again, Vector is sure that he was right, "after all."
Reversal- The player and the chaotix definitively find out if they had the right answer to the mystery as they Find Eggman in a bunker. Now, the consequences of Vectors critical choice bear fruit. He choice to be desperate for money despite knowing he was working for an evil person and it backfires on him. Eggman has squat. Cartoony violence ensues and the screen cuts to black.
Resolution- Ignoring the actual last story ending here, we can assume that chaotix went back to their detective hut, and hopefully learned their lesson.
The chaotix definitely have a lot of personality, character, and charm. They use a lot of plausible cultural speech and humor like Vector saying to Rouge, "Who's this broad." (That cracks me up.) The ninja thing with Espio, in the level he says, "Spirit's unite!." That's another thing it does well, makes efficient use of the gameplay time by having the characters talk. It's a great strategy as it give us more details about the story and characters that would otherwise have to be told scarce and expensive cutscenes. Lost World gets +1 for doing this too, except it makes no sense why the Deadly Six are standing around shouting at Sonic the whole level.
In general, again assuming that Sonic and the cast didn't already have established character traits and backstories, overall the writing for the character and story is all pretty good. Having silly reasons for fighting each other is deliberate so that's not a flaw, it's calculated. The game's TRYING to be funny, and I think a lot of the time it's successful. Just about everything Omega, Vector, or Big says cracks me up and I find "psychopath" Amy funny too as I told you before. Beyond that, probably every character has said something that made me laugh; however, Sometimes it's unintentional, like, me laughing at the idea that Sonic developed schizophrenia, post trauma stress, or perhaps best of all Megaglomania after SA2; Knuckles warns him of dangers ahead, Sonic says "Yes, we are. We are going out of our way to go into that dangerous place." Or, the infamous line, "Because we're Sonic Heroes!" Not to mention the fact that he wanted to kill to Shadow now for some reason. Shadow: It'll be a day to DIE for Sonic: "Hey that's my line."
The same writer that wrote SA2 wrote Heroes. It is decent enough. The reason we don't like or approve of it is because it messed up what we loved about SA2 because Sega executives wanted a light hearted game. It's not poorly written, but in fact shows a considerable amount of skill and attention to detail despite being short in comparision to the previous stories. It'd be nice of if it didn't mess up the canon by reseting Shadow, but other than that and overall it's a funny, light hearted, and well written story.
One more thing, In the last story Metal Sonic is presented as a legitimate threat, and his power isn't arbitrary. To paraphrase Eggman, "He's copied all of data and combined it with the power of Chaos. He'll be impossible to defeat. It will take a miracle." Then they beat him by, (cue cheesy emphasis) "The power of team work" and the chaos emeralds. It then resolves nicely with the character gags. Again, the fact that everyone is a bit out of character is a deliberate attempt to keep the tone casual, so it's not a flaw.
http://www.dailywritingtips.
Stasis- They run a dective agency that isn't doing well as their laughably absurd policy is, "We never turn down work."
Trigger- A mysterious package arrives
The Quest- Anonymous client needs help, the journey begins.
Surprise- Very fittingly for a story about detectives there's a mystery going on that isn't completey obvious from the get go but gives enough clues spaced throughout to make you think, "Oh, I should have seen that coming." The key here is that it doesn't directly tell you any clues right away. It keeps things unobvious. This makes you pay attention closer as it makes your mind desperate for details, so when you do get crucial information for solving the mystery, it really stands out and feels rewarding.
So, then the story gives you all the clues you need to figure out it's Eggman with the fake Eggman scene, but again the key is vagueness. If the viewer still didn't get it, then in the next scene the person speaking from the walkie talkie says, "What I am the world's greatest.. I mean he is the world's..." This does two things.1.As state give people an additional, and 2. It rewards those who figured out it was Eggman with the assurance that they made the right connection.
Critical Choice- So now that the Chaotix have deduced they're working for Eggman they have a critical choice to make. Do they press forward and rescue someone they know is and consider evil in pursuit of money, or do they abandon the mission knowing freeing Eggman could ultimately cause havoc. Considering that Vector, the team leader, decides to plow forward, it reveals that he really is greedy and desperate for money.
Climax- The consequence of choosing to proceed is the continued danger they face throughout the rest of the levels, and epic showdown with the Egg Emperor. With Eggman turning out to be a fake again, Vector is sure that he was right, "after all."
Reversal- The player and the chaotix definitively find out if they had the right answer to the mystery as they Find Eggman in a bunker. Now, the consequences of Vectors critical choice bear fruit. He choice to be desperate for money despite knowing he was working for an evil person and it backfires on him. Eggman has squat. Cartoony violence ensues and the screen cuts to black.
Resolution- Ignoring the actual last story ending here, we can assume that chaotix went back to their detective hut, and hopefully learned their lesson.
The chaotix definitely have a lot of personality, character, and charm. They use a lot of plausible cultural speech and humor like Vector saying to Rouge, "Who's this broad." (That cracks me up.) The ninja thing with Espio, in the level he says, "Spirit's unite!." That's another thing it does well, makes efficient use of the gameplay time by having the characters talk. It's a great strategy as it give us more details about the story and characters that would otherwise have to be told scarce and expensive cutscenes. Lost World gets +1 for doing this too, except it makes no sense why the Deadly Six are standing around shouting at Sonic the whole level.
In general, again assuming that Sonic and the cast didn't already have established character traits and backstories, overall the writing for the character and story is all pretty good. Having silly reasons for fighting each other is deliberate so that's not a flaw, it's calculated. The game's TRYING to be funny, and I think a lot of the time it's successful. Just about everything Omega, Vector, or Big says cracks me up and I find "psychopath" Amy funny too as I told you before. Beyond that, probably every character has said something that made me laugh; however, Sometimes it's unintentional, like, me laughing at the idea that Sonic developed schizophrenia, post trauma stress, or perhaps best of all Megaglomania after SA2; Knuckles warns him of dangers ahead, Sonic says "Yes, we are. We are going out of our way to go into that dangerous place." Or, the infamous line, "Because we're Sonic Heroes!" Not to mention the fact that he wanted to kill to Shadow now for some reason. Shadow: It'll be a day to DIE for Sonic: "Hey that's my line."
The same writer that wrote SA2 wrote Heroes. It is decent enough. The reason we don't like or approve of it is because it messed up what we loved about SA2 because Sega executives wanted a light hearted game. It's not poorly written, but in fact shows a considerable amount of skill and attention to detail despite being short in comparision to the previous stories. It'd be nice of if it didn't mess up the canon by reseting Shadow, but other than that and overall it's a funny, light hearted, and well written story.
One more thing, In the last story Metal Sonic is presented as a legitimate threat, and his power isn't arbitrary. To paraphrase Eggman, "He's copied all of data and combined it with the power of Chaos. He'll be impossible to defeat. It will take a miracle." Then they beat him by, (cue cheesy emphasis) "The power of team work" and the chaos emeralds. It then resolves nicely with the character gags. Again, the fact that everyone is a bit out of character is a deliberate attempt to keep the tone casual, so it's not a flaw.
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