Get ready to create new frontiers and experience Sonic the Hedgehog like never before in Sonic Frontiers! Sonic’s upcoming open-air, action-adventure platform is launching on November 8 and marks a big step into the future of 3D Sonic action games.
With the return of fan-favorites like Sonic, Tails, and Amy, as well as the birth of the mysterious new character, Sage, one key question springs to mind: How to make Sonic Team creating new characters in the Sonic universe with plans to suit them in the future of the franchise?
Sonic Frontiers producer Sachiko Kawamura and Art Director Yoshitaka Miura answered some of our questions about the new characters and enemies we’ve seen from the highly anticipated title so far, brightening The design process goes into introducing new friends and enemies to the Sonic’s universe.
How does Sonic Team approach creating brand new characters that fit the series?
Team Sonic: While Sonic has a very long history, there are variations in the theme and world for each title, as well as the visuals we think of for each character. From a variety of ideas, the team chose the best character design after sketching out the game’s world, making sure the new character matched the setting and cast we needed in the game. We also wanted to make sure we were honoring the history and core identity of the series.
How much does Sega consider past character designs and styles when creating new characters?
Team Sonic: The main rule for creating new characters is to make sure the character design doesn’t feel out of place when in the same world as the existing characters – even if the design style is different for each title. It is also important to create a design that is simple and impressive to our fans. We try to avoid mixing past character aspects together to stay on par with our simple and straightforward character designs.
How does the open-area nature of the game affect character design?
Team Sonic: In previous games, when Sonic ran through a linear, end-to-end chronological phase, the player often attacked enemies head-on, so we’ll prioritize how they look from the front. With the new enemies you see in Sonic Frontiers, we’ve paid attention to how each enemy and their shadow look from different directions because players can choose the direction they approach enemies and see them. from all angles.
In addition, with the new battle system, there are now many enemies that you cannot defeat with a single homing attack. Since it takes more effort to fight enemies, we had to modify enemy designs multiple times to make each battle visually appealing but still functional.
Can you dive deeper into the new character design/mythology details on a single character?
Team Sonic: We can’t say much about the new character, Sage, as she is at the heart of the story and the setting of the mystery. However, we did a lot of trial and error with her design as a young girl who is both mystical and mysterious, and adjusted her proportions to make sure she fits into Sonic’s world. . We pay close attention to how she will be perceived from her design and in the cutscenes, since she’s on the opposite side, try not to give her too much mythological or religious connotation. .
Sonic Frontiers is available for pre-order now starting at $59.99 on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 consoles.
