Sonic Forces | PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC "The Next Generations"

[Nepenthe]

8 minutes ago, Kintor said:

There's as always been good fan art and bad fan art. The internet is always pretty fickle when it comes to acceptable art anyway. The whole meme culture prides itself on its deliberatly low quality art work, like a kind of digital version of the 90s grunge aesthetic.

You keep missing the point that mockery of Sonic OCs as a concept is not limited to meme culture. Gamers and Sonic fans alike take stock in this shit as an indicator in quality. OCs and deviantART culture do not have a good reputation to the masses, and Sonic is the poster child for this shit.

[Sonicfan287]

2 minutes ago, Celestia said:

If I remember correctly, the leaker who turned out to be right about everything said something about the character being referred to as 'Buddy' or something? So yeah, they'll probably be addressed with generic nicknames, which makes sense. Wonder if you'll be able to choose a nickname or if it'll just be the one.

Lol "buddy"? I guess that's better than an automated voice saying your characters name. I guess I was hopeful for a more dynamic story where your characters role could affect the story somehow but this is Sega we're talking about. It'll probably be a straight A to B storyline with your "buddy" character playing a set number of levels and that's it 

[Chris Knopps]

Just now, Sonicfan287 said:

Lol "buddy"? I guess that's better than an automated voice saying your characters name. I guess I was hopeful for a more dynamic story where your characters role could affect the story somehow but this is Sega we're talking about. It'll probably be a straight A to B storyline with your "buddy" character playing a set number of levels and that's it 

Imagine hearing Sonic say Chris Thorndyke in a weird computer generated kind of voice...

[StaticMania]

2 minutes ago, Sonicfan287 said:

Lol "buddy"? I guess that's better than an automated voice saying your characters name. I guess I was hopeful for a more dynamic story where your characters role could affect the story somehow but this is Sega we're talking about. It'll probably be a straight A to B storyline with your "buddy" character playing a set number of levels and that's it 

They can affect the story through many actions...but that won't be the same as if Sonic just snaps at him even though that's OOC for Sonic to do. Because they can't connect.

[Multikaris]

As for me, I'm not going to bite the hand that feeds me. It took this long to get characters that weren't versions of Sonic (or crap like the RCs if they even count) in a primary release (not counting Storybooks, handhelds, Mania, or Boom), so I'm happy with that. Beggars can't be choosers. 

[Remy]

It'll be something like Buddy or how everyone in Persona 5 calls you "Him" or "This Guy"

[Chris Knopps]

8 minutes ago, Diogenes said:

Forces should include a sex minigame. People always make fun of how much porn of Sonic characters there is, but obviously it's a loving hate that people are just joyfully memeing about, so putting it in a game will make it super popular!

SonicxShadow would be the most popular coupling in such a feature with fantasy pregnancy between guys included.

...I'm ducking out of this schtick now, have a lovely day!

[Radiant Hero Ike]

24 minutes ago, KHCast said:

I could have sworn I called people saying "it's the first level" regarding telling people to wait and see. Cause before it was just "we haven't seen like any gameplay, at least wait for there to be a minute or so to show off"

There's so little to go off of that I can't form a full opinion on OC's gameplay... All I can say is that the grappling hook needs to be more fluid. The 3D part of the stage I need to see more of since, well, I don't really know what it'll be like. At first glance it looks too linear, but then people started pointing out alternate paths... So I don't know yet.

I can play it at E3, though. That'll probably help a bit.

[Crazy_Diamond]

So if I got this right, people are mad at a video game because fans made something similar before? And these fans have a reputation of being cancerous, so that automatically makes this implementation of this idea cancerous. Something about that doesn't seem to add up.

[Sonicfan7]

I love how the OC shoots the grappling hook, from the wrist, looks just like Spider-Man.

[Nepenthe]

7 minutes ago, Crazy_Diamond said:

So if I got this right, people are mad at a video game because fans made something similar before? And these fans have a reputation of being cancerous, so that automatically makes this implementation of this idea cancerous. Something about that doesn't seem to add up.

If you're going to make a game that's tone-deaf to the fact that its franchise exists in a wider cultural context wherein it is considered weird and off-putting due in part to fostering a weird subsection of the fanbase enamored with their terrible OCs, which in turn has actually affected the view of some of your franchise's official outputs ("Silver is shit because he looks like a bad dA OC" is a common sentiment), then that's on you. Just prepared to be shat on for being tone-deaf.

[CleverSonicUsername]

12 minutes ago, Crazy_Diamond said:

So if I got this right, people are mad at a video game because fans made something similar before? And these fans have a reputation of being cancerous, so that automatically makes this implementation of this idea cancerous. Something about that doesn't seem to add up.

I'm not mad about it since my expectations for this game are already pretty low, but I do think it's really cringeworthy. Remember that ~original characters~ are often a point of mockery in any franchise, but especially when it comes to Sonic the Hedgehog. Strictly personally, my reaction to is is "haha, wow, you're really going with that, huh?"

[Crazy_Diamond]

1 minute ago, Nepenthe said:

If you're going to make a game that's tone-deaf to the fact that its franchise exists in a wider cultural context wherein it is considered weird and off-putting due in part to fostering a weird subsection of the fanbase enamored with their terrible OCs, which in turn has actually affected the view of some of your franchise's official outputs ("Silver is shit because he looks like a bad dA OC" is a common sentiment), then that's on you. Just prepared to be shat on for being tone-deaf.

True, the wider perception of this character creator will be negatively impacted because of the terrible OCs that the fanbase have created. However, that's only the perception. The fact that fans have created horrible OCs has no impact on the actual way this has been implemented in the game. We can talk about wider perception all day, but I'm more concerned about how this affects the game concretely.

[blazefan519]

Watched the video during school, and knew what was going to happen once I took a quick peak at the forums. Whew! You guys never disappoint. Think we've added at least 10 pages since the news.

Oh well, time to give my thoughts I suppose.

I was one of the people who were skeptic on the character creator reveal, so when I see the thumbnail of the video, my heart just kinda stopped for a second. I clicked on the video hesitantly and while I was watching I noticed something...I was actually enjoying what I was seeing. Now I'm actually quite fond of the idea, weird and out there sure, but it's an interesting concept and can't wait to see how it'll be executed. And the music... OH GOD YES! I love me some vocals in the stages and is that some j-pop mess I hear? Sign me right the heck up!

I am still disappointed in the fact that we've gotten insert fan character over the actual characters of the franchise, but if they're integral and written well into the plot I'll give it a slide-- wh-what? Warren Graff is returning as the writer? Oh...

You know what, why not? I'll give the Pontaff writers another shot. Why? 'Cause I might as well get used to them because they'll probably continue writing for the series whether I like it or not. They did improve with F&I, but the writers of the show did help them, so let's see how they do on their own again. Am I being too optimistic? Yes, definitely. But I'd rather not sit her on my bum being negative all the time, just seems unnecessary. But that's just me, I suppose.

So I guess I'm back to being excited again? Kinda funny since everyone seems to have either been on edge or lost their faith completely. The only things that have severely disappointed me was Classic Sonic's return and Potaff's return, other than that, it's just been minor things. E3 is only a couple weeks away, so let's see how that goes down.

[CleverSonicUsername]

Too bad perception is what tends to impact whether or not someone buys a 60 dollar video game.

[The drunkard from space!]

I wonder how many lets plays of this game are going to resort to using Sonichu

[Chris Knopps]

Here's my next big question...

Did they not specifically state nothing about this new character and/or concept and/or third game play was to be revealed until the E3 event?

What's going on in the company now? Why did they just suddenly throw their hands up and spill everything that was in the bag when the plan was to wait until the big event?

Now that everything is out, what's left for E3 then since this stuff was supposedly reserved for revelation until then?

 

[blazefan519]

Just now, Chris Knopps said:

Here's my next big question...

Did they not specifically state nothing about this new character and/or concept and/or third game play was to be revealed until the E3 event?

What's going on in the company now? Why did they just suddenly throw their hands up and spill everything that was in the bag when the plan was to wait until the big event?

Now that everything is out, what's left for E3 then since this stuff was supposedly reserved for revelation until then?

 

Stages, more information about OC the character, maybe some slight glimps at cutscenes too, some music (possibly lyrics to the main theme). There's probably more, but this is just off the top of my head.

[CleverSonicUsername]

3 minutes ago, Kool Kirb said:

I wonder how many lets plays of this game are going to resort to using Sonichu

Literally all.

[Chris Knopps]

Just now, blazefan519 said:

Stages, more information about OC the character, maybe some slight glimps at cutscenes too, some music (possibly lyrics to the main theme). There's probably more, but this is just off the top of my head.

The way I see it the folks at SEGA/ST were sitting behind their desks with feet tapping and sweat dripping as all the reception poured in, then finally caved in too soon.

So... New plans for E3 maybe?

[Dejimon11]

3 minutes ago, Chris Knopps said:

Here's my next big question...

Did they not specifically state nothing about this new character and/or concept and/or third game play was to be revealed until the E3 event?

What's going on in the company now? Why did they just suddenly throw their hands up and spill everything that was in the bag when the plan was to wait until the big event?

Now that everything is out, what's left for E3 then since this stuff was supposedly reserved for revelation until then?

 

The first levels for all the characters

A new stage probably 

Cutscene 

Let people who are playing the game create their avatar

Boss fight

Just spit balling ideas here man

[Nepenthe]

15 minutes ago, Crazy_Diamond said:

True, the wider perception of this character creator will be negatively impacted because of the terrible OCs that the fanbase have created. However, that's only the perception. The fact that fans have created horrible OCs has no impact on the actual way this has been implemented in the game. We can talk about wider perception all day, but I'm more concerned about how this affects the game concretely.

Let's assume that we live in a world where humans are perfectly objective, cannot be conditioned in any way, and are thus able to separate their subjective and emotional reactions resulting from the meta context and text surrounding any given work (hype, fan culture, genre, target demographics and the relevant social expectations, trust in the developer from their portfolio, etc.) from the product itself--

Nothing about the OC creator looks like it's going to impact gameplay in a positive way.

We know for certain every character base acts nearly the same with the exception of how they take damage or act within a jump/Homing Attack. The species choice, thus far, seem totally wasted on the concept as a result.

We can also surmise that, because the game likely won't be given the ability to ascertain which given species, gender, and combination of color and clothing any given player will choose, the plot that results from their inclusion is going to have awkward and generic references to the player's avatar a la Pokemon, to say nothing about Pontaff being involved, and that is never endearing.

The gameplay ideas themselves- swinging around the city and using flame throwers for horizontal damage- are fitting in theory, as they augment a more stylish and speedy platforming experience without completely forgoing the genre, but in execution they potentially leave something to be desired as a result of the gameplay- like Classic Sonic- being constrained to a physics engine that was never meant for delivering any kind of robust and natural movement outside of boosting.

There's also the nagging feeling that this is yet another obvious gimmick in a long line of obvious gimmicks to justify Sonic Team leaving the extended cast with actual personality, development, and more interesting designs and moves to the wayside because they're perceived to be anathema to any game's quality itself (except Mania of course because Classic gameplay is a special exception.) The fact is, a great deal of people could not give two flying shits about OC the Buddy over Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Shadow, Blaze, and even the Chaotix. Sega has a perfectly usable cast sitting right there and they keep leaving them in unfittingly supportive/cheerleading roles for stupid-ass unnecessary shit like this.

So even if people were to just leave the cultural context of bad dA OCs to the wayside (and they're not obligated to because that's just not how people work), there is very little that is standing out about this gimmick as being a net boon for the game as a whole.

[blazefan519]

Just now, Chris Knopps said:

The way I see it the folks at SEGA/ST were sitting behind their desks with feet tapping and sweat dripping as all the reception poured in, then finally caved in too soon.

So... New plans for E3 maybe?

I mean, what "new plans". Like I said earlier, they've still got plenty to show us.

[Crazy_Diamond]

1 minute ago, Nepenthe said:

Nothing about the OC creator looks like it's going to impact gameplay in a positive way.

That's true. It's not like I'm ecstatic about this. I know that it's just going to result in more shit thrown at the Sonic franchise and the Sonic fanbase. But I don't understand people saying that this ruins Forces or that they are no longer buying the game. Sure it doesn't look like the OC creator will impact gameplay in a major positive way. But it doesn't look like the Werehog either. It at least looks like it will be fun and not something out of an entirely different genre. I just don't see how people can think that the whole game is ruined just because of this.

[Nepenthe]

4 minutes ago, Crazy_Diamond said:

That's true. It's not like I'm ecstatic about this. I know that it's just going to result in more shit thrown at the Sonic franchise and the Sonic fanbase. But I don't understand people saying that this ruins Forces or that they are no longer buying the game. Sure it doesn't look like the OC creator will impact gameplay in a major positive way. But it doesn't look like the Werehog either. It at least looks like it will be fun and not something out of an entirely different genre. I just don't see how people can think that the whole game is ruined just because of this.

Perhaps because people are looking at this in a meta context and feel that this is Sonic Team once again throwing random shit at a wall to see what sticks, or that they are validating something that they never wanted validated.

Or maybe they think the OCs gameplay itself doesn't look good and, considering it's probably mandatory, they don't feel like dealing with it. Just because it's not as jarring as the Werehog (although, honestly, to me it is) doesn't mean people are obligated to praise it.