Sonic Boom's New Characters designs

[Phos]

I haven't said a lot about Knuckles because I thought it went without saying that that design was bunk.  They've essentially just stuck a few recognizable features onto a different body.  

These are the sort of teeny little nuances you would only ever notice on unscrupulously close inspection.

 

lol

 

Have we run out of things to discuss regarding character design yet? I think so  If you really want to argue discrepancies in design between the art and in-game, look no further than Knuckles' crest. In the art it appears to just be part of his body, and in-game it looks painted on complete with rough edges. What does it meeeeaaaan?

His spikes are just clipping out his hands and rotating in place, once again they're solving a problem that they made with a weird solution.  

[JaidynReiman]

I don't disagree, but I fail to see what Marine would bring to the table that wouldn't be equally well accounted for by inventing a totally new character, which I suspect this character will essentially be - although judging by her company in the image, I assume she's one of innumerable NPC bystanders and not really a "character" at all, and if that's the case I'd expect a few other cameos from characters too obscure to be despised.  Although in any case, they'll have picked what Sonic characters they wanted to include long before they came up with the specifics of the story, and I imagine that no pre-existing characters besides the main quartet will have made the cut.  They were picked because they're the characters of the classic games - the protagonists with real history in the series.

 

For future games?  It probably will be popular characters who are reintroduced nonetheless, because the popular characters tend to be main characters with actual narratives around them.  There's material to rework there, if they want to - although they might well prefer to invent wholly new characters, even ones with similarities to familiar characters from the Japanese canon, purely to avoid the baggage the non-classic characters tend to carry.

I disagree, I think that the "main cast" from the games will return as well as new characters. If other game characters return they'll probably be redesigned more heavily.

 

At this point, although most of the "main recurring cast" doesn't appear very often, the ones that typically do in the most important titles and spinoffs are the main four and Eggman, Shadow, Rouge, Cream, Silver, Blaze, and (arguably) the Chaotix. Espio/Charmy have not been playable recently, but they've still appeared in the Mario & Sonic titles, they were in Generations, and they all cameoed in Sonic Colors DS as well. Plus in Sonic Free Riders and Sonic Chronicles, all of them except Espio/Charmy made it.

 

Omega and Big are a bit more questionable. Big's cameoed a lot, he was supposed to be in Generations and was dropped. Big and Omega still appear as trophies in the special room, though, and both have been in the Mario & Sonic titles with Omega as a rival and Big as a cameo.

 

 

For a cartoon series, I can imagine much of these characters getting in as minor characters that pop up once and a while, probably as background characters in most cases. The Chaotix could be involved in plots on occasion mostly as bumbling buffoons naturally. Shadow, Rouge, and maybe Omega would be occasional rival/antagonist characters that pop up, and Silver/Blaze would be more difficult. For Silver/Blaze, they would need to be either have completely rewritten backstories, or appear VERY rarely (but in such cases, they'd probably be the focus of the plot).

 

If Marine did in fact make it in, she's probably just intended to be a background cameo character. I suspect that any real "main" characters would appear more rarely but have a more significant impact on the episode they appear in. Big would probably fill a similar role if he appeared, and Cream would be a minor ally with slightly more important roles and would probably appear more often than most of them assuming she does make it.

[Azure P]

Just lightening the mood. There we go. Post is legal.

 

Also, If you're looking for the author. Just click the picture -> the save button -> gives you direct link with the author's name in the link.

 

For the lazy: How to find the author to an image

 

For the super lazy: tsoutherland

 

Glad I've added my thoughts along with the picture?

[Kiah]

Image-only posts are against the rules as they are considered to be SPAM. When you make a post, at least put down a thought or two, as effort is required when posting here on the forum. In this case maybe you could of given your opinion of the designs as a long paragraph isn't necessary. You can post images in your posts if you wish, but that can't be the only thing you put in the post as you have to write something beyond a word or two.

[iDEATH]

In regards to Knuckles'....knuckles...I think they basically work with the same kind of cartoon logic that allows Mickey's ears to swivel around his head to make sure his outline is kept intact. Basically, they can be moved around his hand to do whatever fucntion is required of them.

 

I don't care at all about his knuckles moving around, I actually care a lot more about Mickey's ears I hate the way they constantly pivot around his head, especially in games like Castle of Illusion HD where you constantly need to move mickey around so his ears never keep still.

[Kat]

In regards to Knuckles'....knuckles...I think they basically work with the same kind of cartoon logic that allows Mickey's ears to swivel around his head to make sure his outline is kept intact. Basically, they can be moved around his hand to do whatever fucntion is required of them.

Maybe they do when we're talking about Sonic Boom's Knuckles, but Knuckles' original design had the spikes always depicted in a way that made their rather ridiculous capabilities (digging and climbing) at least fathomable without having to resort to such a trick.

 

I don't like explaining things ilke this with "cartoon logic" when there already is a blatantly obvious solution. Knuckles being able to dig and climb with those spikes (without hurting himself and/or taking an eternity to do so), that's cartoon logic. But badly placing those spikes and then working around it by making them move (because it's considered a detail that allegedly nobody would ever notice...), that's lazy design and could be a sign for lack of devotion. I think people who make games should at least have the ambition to think even little things like these through. It's only then that I, as a player, can get the impression that the developers cared for their product and enjoyed their work.

 

Obviously time restrictions usually work against those ambitions, but there are still lots of games out there that get this kind of devotion across. I think we should be allowed to have high expectations.

 

Disclaimer: Yes, I know it's work in progress. They might change it after all. No big deal.

[JezMM]

Image-only posts are against the rules as they are considered to be SPAM. When you make a post, at least put down a thought or two, as effort is required when posting here on the forum. In this case maybe you could of given your opinion of the designs as a long paragraph isn't necessary. You can post images in your posts if you wish, but that can't be the only thing you put in the post as you have to write something beyond a word or two.

 

Just wanna add Azure P, that sharing other people's parody art as part of your post is a great way to lighten the mood, but it's lame to not link to where you got it from and give them credit (this isn't a rule or anything so hope it's not backseat modding-ish, just a peeve of mine and most artists').

[Salamander]

I disagree, I think that the "main cast" from the games will return as well as new characters. If other game characters return they'll probably be redesigned more heavily.

 

[Etc.]

 

Yes, that all makes a lot of sense to me.  We've heard since I made my post that we will be seeing more Sonic characters in the game, and this tends to solidify my opinion that Marine is going to be a bit of a background character, and figures like Big and Cream would also fit that kind of a role - they don't really have powers or much of an investment in ongoing events, they're just normal, for a given value of normal (the only thing not making Amy a background character in the same way is that she's a true classic character, so it's harder to neglect her).

 

It increasingly sounds like they're reinventing the whole universe rather than just kind of sidelining the Sonic Team and neither confirming nor denying it, so that gives them a lot more leeway in their redesigning.  What really makes it hard to speculate is that we don't really know what society looks like in the Boomverse - so far we've just seen Sonic and his rugged pals in desert-like landscapes, but the presence of a whole load of background NPCs with nurses and bakers suggest that there are large communities.  But are they urban, rural, out in the desert somewhere?  That affects what the "normal" characters would look like, let alone the ones with wildly divergent origins like Shadow, Silver, and Blaze - although perhaps we get an idea of what a more normal individual looks like from Amy's costume, which isn't quite such a mess as everyone else's.

[CallieMacN]

Since I've been late to jump onto this bandwagon, I thought I throw in my 2 cents about the new character designs. 

Sonic: Sonic's new design has grown on me quite a lot. At first, like most people I was confused why they changed his arms to blue, but I've actually grown to like it. Even the whole obsessive sports tape thing doesn't bother me so I'm quite happy with his design.

Tails: Not much to say here, he looks just like Tails! I am glad that they are trying to show off his technical side through his new design though.

Amy: I simply love everything about this design. I think the outfit makes her look like a badass, and from what we can gather from her body language, she seems to be a lot more mature, and hopefully will be less love obsessive with Sonic (Lost World was a good start with that). Hopefully they make it just a crush in this series.

Knuckles: .... To be honest... just like Sonic's design it has grown on me a lot. Of course there was the first shock seeing him like that, but just like Wii Fit Trainer in Smash Bros 4 the stuff people have been posting about him is just hilarious. I actually can't wait to play as him, so I can make stupid sound affects as him while I do coop with friends.

Overall I really like all the new designs for the main 4. I can see why people are having an issue with Knuckles, but his design doesn't rub me the wrong way. I actually like that they've all gotten a little taller as well. I think of these designs as them as young adults, and being someone who grew up with Sonic since I was 5 I like seeing them grow up as well.
 

[GuyWithThePie]

You know, before I used to pretty much hate the new designs, but now I'm starting to grow onto them more. If they just made Sonic's arms the peach color, my biggest issue with this design, I wouldn't have a single thing to complain about, Heck, they even made Amy's arms peach, a detail that many people forget. I still think the game models are really ugly and need to be improved on desperately, though. Not the show models, those are fine.

[Mogtaki]

You know, before I used to pretty much hate the new designs, but now I'm starting to grow onto them more. If they just made Sonic's arms the peach color, my biggest issue with this design, I wouldn't have a single thing to complain about, Heck, they even made Amy's arms peach, a detail that many people forget. I still think the game models are really ugly and need to be improved on desperately, though. Not the show models, those are fine.

 

They made Amy's arms peach because she's a girl and shaves her arms to make her appear as if she's wearing a sleeveless top.

 

Sonic was given blue arms so it gave the illusion he was wearing a jacket.

[Failinhearts]

I enjoy everybody's designs...... Even Knuckles. (Because his new design will not be used in the modern games.)

[Tails spin]

I enjoy everybody's designs...... Even Knuckles. (Because his new design will not be used in the modern games.)(yet)

Fixed for u

[Azure P]

With how they dramatically redesigned Eggman in Sonic 06. Any thing is possible.

 

Tails is looking pretty good. So I could care less about the rest of them.

[Phos]

I realized that I don't actually get why they redesigned the characters at all. So caught up in the designs themselves I forgot about it. Probably something about differentiated silhouettes and this preoccupation cartoonists seem to have nowadays with giving main characters drastically different body types.

On the bomb cast they were speculating that it's to try and recreate the family friendly edginess he had in the 90's, but a neckerchief and sports tape? I don't get it. Wrapping it around their shoes is also strange, unless they wanted to get rid of the buckle and couldn't think of a better way. If that's the case... Why not just laces? Tape on the shoes kinda makes him look broke, which plays funny with Sega's finantial condition.

[SilentDoom]

I realized that I don't actually get why they redesigned the characters at all. So caught up in the designs themselves I forgot about it. Probably something about differentiated silhouettes and this preoccupation cartoonists seem to have nowadays with giving main characters drastically different body types.

On the bomb cast they were speculating that it's to try and recreate the family friendly edginess he had in the 90's, but a neckerchief and sports tape? I don't get it. Wrapping it around their shoes is also strange, unless they wanted to get rid of the buckle and couldn't think of a better way. If that's the case... Why not just laces? Tape on the shoes kinda makes him look broke, which plays funny with Sega's finantial condition.

 

Because as stated in multiple interviews, due to Sonic Boom being an alternate universe, they wanted to have the characters be instantly recognisable and definable as the Sonic Boom versions of the characters even from just the silhouettes.  It's not unlike them redesigning the Legend of Zelda characters in basically each game (although that's different points of a continuity as opposed to a different universe).

 

The justification for the sports tape iirc was that Sonic is an adventuring character.  He's constantly running around.  Exploring the world, going on adventures and defeating the forces of evil.  From all that running his shoes would get scuffed and his ankles and feet are constantly under stress so the sports tape is there for that additional support (much like an athlete).  Laces wouldn't achieve that sort of effect at all.

[Game2014]

Hi!  I'm new here!  I've seen people complaining about this particular thing, so I really feel like the need to create an account just to bring this up.

 

So people are complaining about Knuckles having fingers, eh?

 

But did anyone came to the realization that he always had fingers in the original, just that he was wearing gloves that didn't have fingers?

I seriously cannot imageine his hand being one big red piece of flesh underneath those gloves...

 

I did think that some people are referring to his gloves being fingerless, but some gave me the impression that they believe he has no fingers whatsoever.  Some of their complaints for Knuckles's redesign are the fingers, making it look like it's a sacrilege for him to have them...

[jords]

I didn't even mind the fingers, and I always assumed he wore a glove.

[Mogtaki]

 

Hi!  I'm new here!  I've seen people complaining about this particular thing, so I really feel like the need to create an account just to bring this up.

 

So people are complaining about Knuckles having fingers, eh?

 

But did anyone came to the realization that he always had fingers in the original, just that he was wearing gloves that didn't have fingers?

I seriously cannot imageine his hand being one big red piece of flesh underneath those gloves...

 

I did think that some people are referring to his gloves being fingerless, but some gave me the impression that they believe he has no fingers whatsoever.  Some of their complaints for Knuckles's redesign are the fingers, making it look like it's a sacrilege for him to have them...

 

 

I don't think anybody here has complained about Knuckles having visible fingers.

[Game2014]

I don't think anybody here has complained about Knuckles having visible fingers.

The first few pages beg to differ...

 

And then there's all those complaints about them in that Sonic fan film...

[Blue Blood]

I've complained about Knuckles having physical fingers before seeing the full designs. It's not that he has fingers, rather the fact that they are shown. His boxing gloves have always been a very important part of his design and represent one of his core attributes, much in the same way that his muscles do now. Whether or not he officially has fingers in the SEGA-Sonic designs doesn't matter at all. It's just that they weren't shown. For all that it matters with character design like the Sonic characters, whatever they wear is essentially a part of them.

 

I can think of one big reason why Knuckles has lost his mitts in this game; his new muscular physique and taped hands convey the same traits as before, while simultaneously giving him a more unique silhouette and make him a million times easier to animate. His fingers don't look bad.

[Salamander]

I think everyone either always assumed Knuckles had fingers, or just plain didn't care what the characters had under their gloves/shoes (which is probably the sensible position to take).

[Diogenes]

I assumed he had two big fingers and a thumb. One finger for each knuckle, basically just the fingers fused into pairs.

[Vertekins]

 

Looks like he has separate finger bones to me. And there's absolutely no reason to think otherwise especially when you consider that Tikal, a member of his own species, has fingers.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

Speaking of the new character designs, we've finally got a peak at what Tomy's cooking up.

 

https://www.facebook.com/tomy.toy/photos/a.10152188215325399.1073741832.33566045398/10152188208410399/?type=1