SONIC BOOM

[The Shad]

Oct 2, 2013 15:31:01 GMT ShayMay said:

Amy doesn't look like she's wearing a skirt.

Yes, she does, the poofy thing around her waist.

[ShayMay]

Those are her hands, I'm fairly sure.

[RedDevilDazzy]

God help us all when they reveal them fully..lol.

[andy]

I should stop reading press releases for comics and cartoons. You get a tiny amount of info at the beginning then it's all "Powerful property... expansive franchising... license partners... we're gonna merchandise the [censored] out of this." Always leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

Looks from the picture that this is going to be 3D-animated judging by some of the background elements of that screenshot.

And Amy's certainly wearing trousers.

[Mambo's Here! Look Busy!]

The only one I like the look of is Amy. She looks like she's striking a sassy pose.

Knuckles looks freakin' hilarious though... he's hit the gym! And the 'roids...or perhaps it's Knuckles and Vector's secret lovechild?! XD

[Devo DrakeFox]

Now that I think about it, that silhouette could be mistaken for Thrash. Except for Thrash not being a Sega character, anyway.

[Alex]

How the hell do you start creating a CGI cartoon of a videogame franchise and get to the point where you think "Hey, let's make entirely new character models that look absolutely nothing like the character designs" instead of "hey, you know what - doing this stuff is hard and expensive and it just so happens that there are character models for every-one already... let's just use those!"?

At least the characters in Sonic X looked like the characters in Sonic the Hedgehog. I've no idea what that 'Knuckles' is meant to be from - but it isn't this series.

[andy]

Oct 2, 2013 17:49:16 GMT Alex said:

How the hell do you start creating a CGI cartoon of a videogame franchise and get to the point where you think "Hey, let's make entirely new character models that look absolutely nothing like the character designs" instead of "hey, you know what - doing this stuff is hard and expensive and it just so happens that there are character models for every-one already... let's just use those!"?

At least the characters in Sonic X looked like the characters in Sonic the Hedgehog. I've no idea what that 'Knuckles' is meant to be from - but it isn't this series.

You've got to give the character designers something to do.

Basically, it comes down to marketing. Every new cartoon needs to look relatively distinctive and unique even if it's based on an existing property. All the different Sonic cartoons have a different look. All the Ninja Turtles cartoons are different. The Batman cartoons all look different etc. It sticks out against the games so people don't come across it online and think it's cutscenes from the games. It also means you can make Sonic Boom toys and lunchboxes that are distinct from the game merchandise.

These specific designs though? I don't know, man, I really don't know.

[Charles]

Problem is, we don't have the designs - we just get their outlines. And it's possible that Knuckles' design will be really good and fit his Sonic Boom depiction perfectly.

Unfortunately, that won't make the silhouette any less wonky!

[andy]

It's Knux's separated fingers that get me rather than his overgrown shoulders.

I should probably point out that this is a mockup and so these silhouettes might not have any bearing on the final look, especially as it won't be shown for another year.

[Devo DrakeFox]

Okay, so Knuckles may be buff, Amy might not be wearing her trademark dress and Sonic may or may not have a jacket. I'm eager to see how different Eggman is gonna look.

[Hevs]

Oct 2, 2013 17:49:16 GMT Alex said:

How the hell do you start creating a CGI cartoon of a videogame franchise and get to the point where you think "Hey, let's make entirely new character models that look absolutely nothing like the character designs" instead of "hey, you know what - doing this stuff is hard and expensive and it just so happens that there are character models for every-one already... let's just use those!"?

At least the characters in Sonic X looked like the characters in Sonic the Hedgehog. I've no idea what that 'Knuckles' is meant to be from - but it isn't this series.

Exactly, I would have thought it would have made a lot more sense to keep the same character designs since:

A) There's nothing wrong with them
B) It's extra work that isn't needed
C) Negatively impacts any sort of consistency or unification in the Sonic Universe

So there's gonna be action for figures for "Modern Sonic", "Classic Sonic" and "Weirdass Cartoon Sonic" on the toy store shelves now. I hope they don't mess with Eggman D: Sonic X might have been a bit eh sometimes but at least it wasn't disjointed from the games.

[RedDevilDazzy]

Oct 2, 2013 19:04:31 GMT Devo DrakeFox said:

Okay, so Knuckles may be buff, Amy might not be wearing her trademark dress and Sonic may or may not have a jacket. I'm eager to see how different Eggman is gonna look.

Probably a big shaped egg, lol that you can crack.

[The Shad]

Oct 2, 2013 16:19:59 GMT ShayMay said:

Those are her hands, I'm fairly sure.

I... wait... oh yeah. Well played.

Also, the comment section makes my heart hurt.

Oct 2, 2013 18:44:12 GMT andy said:

You've got to give the character designers something to do.

Yeah, one of my friends is a character designer, she makes 950 dollars a week. If you're spending that kind of cash, you make them work.

[Fools in Miru]

To me it seems this will be a toy-shilling cartoon like classic TMNT, He-Man, etc.

We'll probably see one episode that puts all the focus on some toyetic new character (possibly a game import on occasion) a month.

[Hades]

"Do u evn lift, Sanic brah?"

[Juliett. Bravo. Alfa.]

Why is it that I think Sonic will have a creepy human styled face?

Look under his ear on his silhouette, I make it out a forehead and a pointy nose.

[Tanner / Ogilvie]

I'm optimistic for it if nothing else. I need something besides the Walking Dead or the news to tune into TV for anyway.

On tumblr it's become a game of sorts for people to pencil in what they think the characters will look like based on the silhouettes. Some are goofy but some are... actually honest attempts.



I like this one in particular. Some are also theorising that maybe Knuckles actually isn't muscular, but his dreadlocks are actually very thick and long, curving behind him in such a way that it looks as if he's got a wider torso. Though I'm assuming muscular is more likely; I just hope they don't make him the "big dumb jock" archtype...

[andy]

I've done a little bit of reverse-engineering myself on these silhouettes and I think I've discovered the real designs for Sonic and Knuckles.


I don't think we've got anything to worry about, do you?

[RedDevilDazzy]

Lol Andy, oh god.

[modochi]

Oct 2, 2013 17:49:16 GMT Alex said:

How the hell do you start creating a CGI cartoon of a videogame franchise and get to the point where you think "Hey, let's make entirely new character models that look absolutely nothing like the character designs" instead of "hey, you know what - doing this stuff is hard and expensive and it just so happens that there are character models for every-one already... let's just use those!"?

Call me cynic, but this TV series, will be set in an alternate universe, X years into the future. Thus the characters will be different in looks since they're older, they will also be outfitted with different accessories and outfits so they can better fit in with the current trends amongst the 6 to 11 year olds of this decade. They'll also be older in emotions so we can get the dreaded romance base covered too.

At least the characters in Sonic X looked like the characters in Sonic the Hedgehog. I've no idea what that 'Knuckles' is meant to be from - but it isn't this series.

I'm fairly certain that it is not really Knuckles we see there, but that is instead a new Echidna character crated just for this TV series so we can get the brain and brawn combo covered.

[Charles]

So it turns out Sonic Boom is part of a wider franchise revamp from Sega (and we can see the fuller designs). I quite like the new Amy and Tails, but Knucles looks weird. Quoth Sega:

The series is an ensemble comedy consisting of 52 x 11-minute standalone episodes packed full of high-adrenaline action. Every episode starts from a small character-driven story and explodes into an epic tale of saving the world, robot battles and more.

We've also got a sneak peek of the show and a trailer for a video game tie-in. It's basically a Sonic story - it's a bit like Lew Stringer, jokes about the robots and a grumpy Eggman and a nice fight scene. Nothing too spectacular but it's fun, kids should like it.

[Badly-Drawn Manchild]

It's like Knuckles found a stockpile of steroids and athletics tape that nobody was using...

Also, does anyone else get the feeling the game was commissioned when Sega took one look at Super Mario 3D World and said "Hey! We can do that too!"?

[Michael]

Announcement here:
SEGA Launches New Franchise Strategy for Sonic the Hedgehog with Sonic Boom

Cartoon Trailer here:


Video game trailer here:


I'm excited for this. It's the shot in the arm the franchise has needed for almost a decade now.

Sonic 2006, far all it's good points, was a complete disaster of a re-launch and SEGA never recovered or regrouped properly, some of that I'm sure is down to the Japan office but now it seems SEGA of America is running the brand and they've been working on this since early 2011 (the brand re-launch, not necessarily the specific show and games though) so hopefully it's going to be a solid new foundation for Sonic going forward.

As much as I'll miss "classic" Sonic, it's time to drag the whole thing into the present and gear it up for a new generation with a new cartoon, comic, video game (and probably a movie soon after the first batch of episodes finishes if it's successful) and that's exactly what they're doing. Finally.

The only thing that bothers me slightly is that all 52 episodes are said to be stand-alone. I'd hate if that was the case, especially if they're building the new franchise on it. Longer form stories are still en vogue and I'd hate to see character growth or larger tales rejected just so they can show them in any order on TV.

Otherwise, nicely done SEGA! Wish I was part of it.

[BM]

(sees that Sanzaru are involved)

Ah. So that's why I'm not keen.