An Idea on Sonic's Speed

Flamerstreak wrote:Well, this is my little rant on how I think how fast Sonic was to the old school Sonic fans in the Genesis era was nothing more than an illusion.

So let me get started.

Sonic has never been as fast int the Genesis days as fans have said that he was. Sonic was not even close to running at the speed of sound back int he Genesis era. The way the backgound of every level he ran through, which went off screen in the opposite direction at the same speed Sonic moved at made it apparent that Sonic was moving so fast. So basically, Sonic was not really moving as fast as others say he was. The relative motion of the background made it seem that Sonic was going very fast. In shot, Sonic's speed in the genesis games was merely more of an sensation-inducing illusion than actually moving at blazing speeds.

But that is only a fraction of the "speed" classic old school fans believed to be experiencing in those days.

With the loops, corkscrews, and many roller coaster elements; as well as the bumpers, flippers, and other collision obstacles in the classic Sonic games, players would control Sonic and have him go through many twist and turns that added to the "speed" Sonic players thought they were recieving form Sonic games. Basically, the in-game physics of those games were made so that Sonic would be able to go though such roller coaster like elements. In reality, Sonic would have to overcome friction, a real life force that would slow down Sonic big time, in order to run those loops.

Now, like I said, Sonic was never as fast as fans said that he was. Perhaps if he did actually run at the speed of sound in those games without the physics that existed back then, it would not be any more difficult to run through loops and such. However, players could run into things easier than they could as Sonic back in the genesis games. The developers made the classic Sonic games so that the games would be well balanced in terms of controls, and players would not have to hit walls or other obstacles more frequently than the actual speed Sonic ran from.

Also, regarding the many loops and other roller coaster like elements players made Sonic run through in the Genesis era; those games had well made momentum physics that added more to the sense of Sonic's speed. Sonic's momentum would carry him through those roller coaster like elements, which in turn, made classic Sonic games more fun, but more challenging. Take away all the momentum Sonic had as he ran with the ilusory supersonic speed back then, or have Sonic actually go at the speed of sound without any momentum, and it would be impossibe for Sonic to get across such routes.

The momentum physics were what most likely gave that sense of speed to Sonic fans back then. The momentum physics in Sonic Heroes, Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 were not well done nor well developed. The lack of such physics may have taken away the "sense of speed" Sonic players were craving.

Other games, like Sonic Adventures 1 and 2 and the day time levels of Sonic Unleashed had well developed momentum physics to add to the sense of speed. While Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Unleashed may not be the kind of Sonic games that old school fans wanted so much, most fans may be able to agree that Sonic Adventure 1 was the closest to the classics that any 3D Sonic game has ever been. Not because of the character interactions, but there was a sense of speed players from the old school days wanted to have in a Sonic game. However, Sonic was not the only playable character. There were characters other than Sonic that could be playable. However, soem characters had gameplay that old schoolers were not thrilled to have, like Big the Cat's fishing gameplay. However; not unlike the classic Sonic days of the Genesis, Sonic did not move any faster than the speed of sound. Just like the classics before Sonic Adventure, the sense of Sonic's speed in that game was once again; merely an illusion.

But of alle twist and turns that may have added to the sense of speed in classic Sonic games; there was one thing that anyone playing those did not apparently recieve from playing the games: Vertigo.

Now, there is a game in first person view called Mirror's Edge, which had gameplay as shown here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N1TJP1cxmo

Now, take a look at that video above, and look at this video from the movie theater of the collection game: Sonic Jam.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_5swslxkIA

Now skip to the 0:35 Second mark. You will see Sonic running though the area in first person view. Now, most classic Sonic fans say that Sonic is just all about speed. Sonic is actually more about speed and platforming than speed alone. But have a game as fast as Sonic Unleashed's daytime levels and put a "Mirror's Edge" like camera view int he works. Would you even want that game?

I hope not!

Playing a game like that would most likely have people end up in the hospital because of motion sickness. Then, Sega would be sued big time from all of this, and they could go out of business! The reason the loops and corkscrews were not done in the way that they could induce vertigo in 3D Sonic games was because Sonic Team wanted to make sure that Sonic's running through loops at specific camera angles (like the camera following Sonic or in first person view) was so that 3D Sonic games would be safe to play without anyone being at risk of motion sickness.

Technically; the reason no one got such sickness in the Genesis Sonic games was because how simple the camera system was back then, and also because of the fact that all Sonic games made back then (except Sonic 3D Blast) were all made in 2D. With 2D styled gameplay and the camera system back then, even the most hardcore old school Sonic fan would not be aware of the actual effects of going through those roller coaster elements by controlling a character like Sonic in such a video game.

Well, that is pretty much it. Any thoughts or comments?