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Sandbox sonic?


Sonic The Badass

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Problem with a sandbox Sonic game, is that it probably won't have "levels" in the standard sense, seeing as the whole island will be a series of zones, a la inFamous or Just Cause. If entering a specific zone triggers a level to start, then what makes this any different to an oversized hubworld.

 

I personally reckon a large-ish hubworld is the best way to go about it, or at least a series of hubworlds like Unleashed. Of course these hub worlds would need to be designed similarly to stages, and in fact could serve as a fantastic place to have a tutorial. Let the player roam around the hubworld and generally get to grips with how Sonic moves, before even entering a level.

 

The way you transition between the levels would need to be figured out. Would you casually just flow into other areas when you get to them, like if you reach the end of a forest area, would you just slowly transition into fewer trees before reaching a more mountainous area, or would there be loading screens between areas. The transitions would maye the area be more free roam of course, but could it handle it. There are many games where you never see the loading screen, where as you get closer to the new areas, the game starts to already load those new areas for you. If there needs to be result screens, it likely should be after you do bosses or do missions. Then when the screen is done, the game just goes right to continuing or there are story related cut scenes. There just needs to be as few loading screens and transtions between areas as there can be. Having too may would make the game no different than normal sonic games.

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Something similar to the R&C games wouldn't be bad. I'll elaborate more when I'm not on my phone.

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The way you transition between the levels would need to be figured out. Would you casually just flow into other areas when you get to them, like if you reach the end of a forest area, would you just slowly transition into fewer trees before reaching a more mountainous area, or would there be loading screens between areas. The transitions would maye the area be more free roam of course, but could it handle it. There are many games where you never see the loading screen, where as you get closer to the new areas, the game starts to already load those new areas for you. If there needs to be result screens, it likely should be after you do bosses or do missions. Then when the screen is done, the game just goes right to continuing or there are story related cut scenes. There just needs to be as few loading screens and transtions between areas as there can be. Having too may would make the game no different than normal sonic games.

 

Think of a sandbox game. Say for instance inFamous 2, GTAIV or Just Cause.

Are there really any loading times for when you enter a different part of the map? No. That is pretty much what defines a sandbox game. Its a space; a large continuous space that isn't separated by any loading or whathaveyou. A Sonic game in my eyes, wouldn't feel like a Sonic game, if every level bled into each other and there wasn't really any such thing as a "Zone" or "Act" in the traditional sense.

 

It is for that reason, I would rather have interconnected hubworlds, from which you can access the various traditional Zones and Acts, while still not losing any sense of progression. Now in order for this to flow naturally, it would need some work. Do you have a different hub for each zone, that you can only access after completing the main acts of the previous zone? Or do you have one huge hub, where you can access all of the zones, but only as they're unlocked by the story progression.

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Think of a sandbox game. Say for instance inFamous 2, GTAIV or Just Cause.

Are there really any loading times for when you enter a different part of the map? No. That is pretty much what defines a sandbox game. Its a space; a large continuous space that isn't separated by any loading or whathaveyou. A Sonic game in my eyes, wouldn't feel like a Sonic game, if every level bled into each other and there wasn't really any such thing as a "Zone" or "Act" in the traditional sense.

 

It is for that reason, I would rather have interconnected hubworlds, from which you can access the various traditional Zones and Acts, while still not losing any sense of progression. Now in order for this to flow naturally, it would need some work. Do you have a different hub for each zone, that you can only access after completing the main acts of the previous zone? Or do you have one huge hub, where you can access all of the zones, but only as they're unlocked by the story progression.

 

While zones and acts are the traditional way, it doesnt mean it has to be the permanent way of course. When you say it in the way of GTA4, yes that is likely what some of this means when it comes to sandbox. The fact that you can run anywhere and go anywhere and get to the ending in a number of different ways, would be fun to me. I can understand if each area was one massive zone and you dont have to go to all zone and its a pick your own path game to the end, but that's not sandbox as the topic suggests thats just the player can pick their own route. If you have a huge map that has many paths to get to Eggman's base, but each path is its own set of levels and zones, yes, I do believe that would work as well for a Sonic game, just not a sandbox game as the title says. It is a good idea of course.

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Just had a thought, why doesn't the open world/ sandbox game be set on angel island? It gives Knuckles a valid reason to appear aswell as giving a valid reason you can't leave (it's in the air!). Mix it up a bit and have the zones from S3&K but with the changes from the endgame, so Angel Island zone could still be a bit scorched, maybe Marble Garden is a little flooded from the water from Hydrocity, heck we also now have two crash sites for the Flying Battery and the Death Egg to visit. Maybe have Sky Sanctuary obviously broken and litter parts if it throughout the other zones?

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I guess angel island could work in theory. The one from the comics was always rather big, and looked a bit bigger than the ones from the games in the past. As long as the island is its old huge self, then this could possibly work there, but at the same time, would be a bit limiting as well. Having a new island does make more sense if you want something fully new. Having the island though allows you to rehash some of the older levels yes, so you have a general idea already as to what zones and concepts should already be like. Though a circulaar island compared to a long island like the map someone drew on the other page would make it a bit more tricky. I guess it could work similiar to like the yoshi island concept of go around the base of the island before going up, but I do tend to like the long island a bit better.

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Well do we really know the shape of Angel island? The one shown in the games is only really from the side, so it could be a long thin one? My main point was that something like that could work as There would be a reason that every character couldn't escape the island, aswell as some new takes on an old level :)

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