The humans in sonic unleashed.

[SuperStingray]

His point was:

If Sonic+Surreal=Good

then why Humans+Surreal=Bad?

I get that and I agree, but I'm just saying that I don't think those were the best words to use.

[Reading]

I like the humans in the middle ground between 2006 and Unleashed, sort of like how they were in Adventure, Adventure 2, and Shadow. Maybe not exactly, but in that general anime-esque zone. I don't think the humans need to be exaggerated to fit Eggman; he's Eggman.

I would like if they did something to make each person stand out in hub worlds, like in Unleashed, since it makes them interesting and enjoyable to talk to. They might still be able to do it without making them too cartoony, by giving them all names and distinct personalities. Unique features, too; a lot of Sonic 2006's people looked too similar, and Adventure's humans were sort of not detailed enough. Make them detailed and unique enough so we can remember them like we remember people in real life.

[SuperStingray]

Unleashed is middle ground enough for me. To be honest, I didn't actually see the Unleashed NPCs as "cartoony." A bit unrealistic, yes, but they still felt realistic enough that I wouldn't exactly associate them with Ren & Stimpy or anything (except for Louis Montaine. Seriously, what was up with that guy?) Hell, even if they do look like Pixar characters, I don't think Pixar humans themselves seem too unrealistic at all, at least beyond the morbidly obese ones from Wall-E. And even if they do seem cartoonish in certain ways, Eggman clearly surpasses them all in that aspect.

Edited May 25, 2009 by A Ham Sandwich

[redmenace]

Unleashed is middle ground enough for me. To be honest, I didn't actually see the Unleashed NPCs as "cartoony." A bit unrealistic, yes, but they still felt realistic enough that I wouldn't exactly associate them with Ren & Stimpy or anything (except for Louis Montaine. Seriously, what was up with that guy?) Hell, even if they do look like Pixar characters, I don't think Pixar humans themselves seem too unrealistic at all, at least beyond the morbidly obese ones from Wall-E. And even if they do seem cartoonish in certain ways, Eggman clearly surpasses them all in that aspect.

I agree with this.

[Blueblur1]

I thought the human characters looked great in Sonic Unleashed. Now whether or not they should have been so prominent in the game is another issue. Personally, I felt that they put too much emphasis on them and the town areas. That content existed solely to pad out the game and make it longer than it actually would be.

Also, you can't really compare them to the models used in Sonic Adventure though. The SA1 models were as basic as you can get with NPCs. They would have not looked the way they do if the artists had more resources and power at their disposal (the Dreamcast's power was limited). They're just barely similar to anime style characters only because of the eyes. Otherwise, they're generic cartoony human characters.

[Djawed]

"Why do the NPC's always have to be humans, today i havent seen any other animals except for the main characters."

Edited May 26, 2009 by Jaouad

[Rusty Spy]

"Why do the NPC's always have to be humans, today i havent seen any other animals except for the main characters."

I know and it's such a good point. Actually seeing other casual hedgehogs or many other kinds of animals would be a great way to actually expand the world that Sonic lives in and makes it feel more like his home. Also, it'd be a cool way to implement old characters into new incarnations of some NPCs. They could have a few armadillos, flying squirrels, weasels, etc.

[lounge]

They could have a few armadillos, flying squirrels, weasels, etc.

Ack! That idea would soften sonic's image for me. See, that kind of thing's okay for mario, but sonic is just... Why do we need NPC's in the first place? Just give us action stages. That's what any player who is or isn't familiar with sonic, would want to do if they bought a game.

[Dr. Mechano]

That's what any player who is or isn't familiar with sonic, would want to do if they bought a game.

You can't just speak on behalf of everyone like that. Just because that's what you want doesn't mean it's what "any player who is or isn't familiar with Sonic" would want.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

That's what any player who is or isn't familiar with sonic, would want to do if they bought a game.

Buddy...you're one out of how many Sonic fans?

I actually like roaming around outside the actions stages, so I would like to have my NPCs please.

[Toby]

Every Sonic game that released is SOMEBODY'S first Sonic game, remember that.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Every Sonic game that released is SOMEBODY'S first Sonic game, remember that.

Every game in general that is released is somebody's first game of any title.

But when you bring veterans of the series into the mix on what they want, you're on a whole new playing field.

Edited May 27, 2009 by ChaosSupremeSonic

[SuperStingray]

I have no problem with hubs; sometimes I like them sometimes I don't, but they don't have to be mandatory. That way, everybody wins!

Edited May 27, 2009 by A Ham Sandwich

[Phos]

I think it's safe to assume that most people don't want to go searching around for the game part of the game they bought.

Sonic Unleashed had two kind of hubs: the towns and entrance stages. Towns have fuck all to do aside from some missions that vary between frustrating and asinine. The entrance stages are basically asking the player to search around for the "game" part, like I said. They also look to on paper to be the sort of stages I'd rather they make a whole game out of, but they're still pretty far off.

Edited May 27, 2009 by Phos

[Thirsty Pocket]

I sure didn't mind searching for the next level in the N64 Banjo Kazooie games. They just gotta do it right.

Edited May 27, 2009 by Lando The Bat

[Phos]

I don't load up a Sonic game planning to search around all over the place for the next level, and I can't imagine others doing so either.

[Blacklightning]

I don't load up a Sonic game planning to search around all over the place for the next level, and I can't imagine others doing so either.

That's funny, because to my recollection that's one big reason for a lot of people why they idolize Sonic Adventure.

[Phos]

That's funny, because to my recollection that's one big reason for a lot of people why they idolize Sonic Adventure.

If they really had to search for it, that's not fun, but if they found it quick, that's no problem. Lot's of people around here know that Tikal will tell you where to go, but the game doesn't really tell you this, you have to figure it out. It's not hard, but not everyone is going to happen upon it.

Edited May 27, 2009 by Phos

[Thirsty Pocket]

Hence my "they just gotta do it right" line.

[Chaos Walker]

I think the only issue should be consistency. If it is a game full of npcs you will never see again, then who cares? But there are some regular looking humans that are main characters. I think it's important to keep with that style. If Maria, Gearld, (or more likely) the president, or G.U.N. commander show up, how will they look amongst the other characters?

[redmenace]

I don't load up a Sonic game planning to search around all over the place for the next level, and I can't imagine others doing so either.

When the loading screen is up, you can see where the next stage entrance is. Was it that hard to find? I didn't had problems with it. I had more problems with Red Mountain than I had with the whole Unleashed.

[Mick]

I'm satisfied with how the humans look like in Sonic Unleashed. A few of 'em did scare me at first, cos there are a few who look really bizarre and abnormal. Certain facial expressions freaked me out. Even the animal characters slightly freaked me out. However I got used to it and it doesn't bother me anymore.

[FlameStream]

I'm disappointed with the direction of the humans look in the recent Sonic game. It's not a style I'm fond of so I didn't warm up to any of them. (Aside maybe from Pickle-kyouju. But maybe that's because of that Silver scene XP).

Wishing they'll adopt another one in the next game.

On the other hand, anything like Merlina would be fine though.

[Phos]

When the loading screen is up, you can see where the next stage entrance is. Was it that hard to find? I didn't had problems with it. I had more problems with Red Mountain than I had with the whole Unleashed.

Are you talking about the town areas? You don't get a map of the entrance stages.

And I was speaking in General, not just Unleashed.

[lounge]

Yeah, I agree. If you're going to put exploration in the game, put it into the action stages. When you turn up sonic adventure, would you rather play in emerald coast or station square? They just have to make sure they don't make exploration parts in any future action stages, confusing or tedious. They tried putting exploration like this in the two ark levels in Shadsy's game. That's a bad ex. though.

I was just saying instead of wasting development time designing town stages, they should just put more effort into the stages that anybody would expect to play in a sonic game. If they want to put NPC's in the action stages, I don't see a problem. Something along the lines of humans walking down the sidewalks of city escape or having tea by a restaurant are good examples.