Difference between revisions of "Sonic Saturn"
From Sonic Retro
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===''Sonic Pool''=== | ===''Sonic Pool''=== | ||
| − | The game's bonus rounds were going to consist of a billiards minigame | + | The game's bonus rounds were going to consist of a billiards minigame titled '''''Sonic Pool'''''. Sonic would position himself behind a ball and perform a [[Spin Dash]] to strike it forward, with the camera then switching to an overhead view to show the ball's movement. The balls can also be pushed around the arena, but this is much slower. Later stages would have featured enemies wandering about the playfield, which could harm Sonic. The goal was to sink all seven balls into dedicated portals within a certain time limit. A number of differently-themed arenas were included in ''Sonic Pool'', including Egypt, Galaxy, Roman, Future, and Snow. An additional arena, set in an American Southwest-themed courtyard, was also planned.{{intref|Interview: Peter Morawiec (2000-12-27) by ICEknight}} |
| − | + | After ''{{PAGENAME}}'''s cancellation, the bonus round was initially considered for inclusion in ''[[Sonic X-treme]]''. A single known screenshot indicates it was indeed ported over to ''X-treme'' during its ''Project Condor'' phase{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20230919002626/https://tcrf.net/Prerelease:Sonic_3D_Blast_%28Sega_Saturn%29}}, but that game's August 1996 cancellation forced [[STI]] to consider other options. Despite this, development on ''Sonic Pool'' progressed through September and the following October, when at least one additional arena (Future) was added and the HUD's positioning was changed. Every screenshot from this period show Sonic's model in the same pose, suggesting that animations had not yet been implemented. | |
| − | + | In one last attempt to see their work on ''Sonic Pool'' make it to market, [[Peter Morawiec|Morawiec]] urged [[Yutaka Sugano]] (producer of the [[Saturn]] version of ''[[Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island]]'') to include the bonus round in that game. Unfortunately, due to the tight deadline of ''Sonic 3D'''s release schedule, this too was abandoned in favor of a 3D version of ''[[Sonic 2]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s [[Special Stage (Sonic the Hedgehog 2 16-bit)|special stage]].{{intref|Interview: Peter Morawiec (2000-12-27) by ICEknight}} | |
<gallery> | <gallery> | ||
| − | Image:SonicSaturn 1.png| | + | Image:SonicSaturn 1.png|Title |
| − | Image:SonicSaturn 2.jpg|Egypt | + | Image:SonicSaturn 2.jpg|Egypt (September) |
| − | Image:SonicSaturn 3.jpg|Galaxy | + | Image:SonicSaturn 3.jpg|Galaxy (September). A Death Egg can be seen in the background. |
| − | Image:SonicSaturn 4.jpg|Roman | + | Image:SonicSaturn 4.jpg|Roman (September) |
| − | Image:SonicSaturn | + | Image:SonicSaturn 7.jpg|Snow (September). Curiously, the amount of balls is only 5. |
| − | Image:SonicSaturn | + | Image:SonicSaturn 5.jpg|Egypt (October) |
| − | Image:SonicSaturn | + | Image:SonicSaturn 6.jpg|Future (October) |
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===Legacy=== | ||
| + | In December 2000, ICEknight of the [[Sonic scene]] fansite [https://web.archive.org/web/20230604110820/http://www.retrolel.com/sonicdatabase/ Sonic the Hedgehog Database] emailed developer [[Peter Morawiec]] about his work on a number of unreleased ''Sonic'' games. Morawiec responded later that day, providing a wealth of knowledge on topics such as ''[[Sonic X-treme]]'', ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball]]'', and ''{{PAGENAME}}'', even sharing development material from his time working at [[Sega Technical Institute]].{{intref|Interview: Peter Morawiec (2000-12-27) by ICEknight}} | ||
==Concept art== | ==Concept art== | ||
Revision as of 20:50, 18 September 2023
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| Sonic Saturn |
|---|
| System(s): Sega Saturn[1] |
| Developer: STI[1] |
| Genre: Platform |
Sonic Saturn (TBD) is an unreleased Sega Saturn platform game developed by Sega Technical Institute's satellite studio in Burbank, California.[1] Commissioned by Sega of America management around early 1996[2] to be produced alongside Sonic X-treme as one of two potential mainline Sonic the Hedgehog titles for the system, it was planned to present Sonic as a dedicated three-dimensional model instead of a sprite, and would feature a more realistic interpretation of the character's world than seen before.[2] While concept artwork, gameplay designs, background software, and even a playable bonus game were created for the project, Sonic Saturn was never publicly announced, and was ultimately cancelled altogether.[2]
Contents
Production credits
- Designer: Peter Morawiec
- Programmer: Adrian Stephens
History
| “ | "Sonic Saturn (or Sonic 3D) was a different project [from Sonic X-treme], which Adrian and I started at STI Burbank in early 1996. It was supposed to be a 3D Sonic game for the Saturn – those concept images I sent you previously are from that game. Adrian had a very nifty and fast spherical renderer going on for it, for things like bodies and heads. This game was going for a more realistic rendition of Sonic’s world, but Naka didn’t like it so the project was axed. (Ironically, the subsequent Sonic game for the Dreamcast was much more realistic). Following that, there was a slight chance of salvaging our tech and assets to create a bonus game for the Travelers Tales developed Sonic 3D Blast, although we will never know just how seriously this was ever considered. Nonetheless, we quickly whipped out a prototype, which we called Sonic Pool, but it never went past that." | „ |
| — Developer Peter Morawiec[2] | ||
Sonic Pool
The game's bonus rounds were going to consist of a billiards minigame titled Sonic Pool. Sonic would position himself behind a ball and perform a Spin Dash to strike it forward, with the camera then switching to an overhead view to show the ball's movement. The balls can also be pushed around the arena, but this is much slower. Later stages would have featured enemies wandering about the playfield, which could harm Sonic. The goal was to sink all seven balls into dedicated portals within a certain time limit. A number of differently-themed arenas were included in Sonic Pool, including Egypt, Galaxy, Roman, Future, and Snow. An additional arena, set in an American Southwest-themed courtyard, was also planned.[3]
After Sonic Saturn's cancellation, the bonus round was initially considered for inclusion in Sonic X-treme. A single known screenshot indicates it was indeed ported over to X-treme during its Project Condor phase[4], but that game's August 1996 cancellation forced STI to consider other options. Despite this, development on Sonic Pool progressed through September and the following October, when at least one additional arena (Future) was added and the HUD's positioning was changed. Every screenshot from this period show Sonic's model in the same pose, suggesting that animations had not yet been implemented.
In one last attempt to see their work on Sonic Pool make it to market, Morawiec urged Yutaka Sugano (producer of the Saturn version of Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island) to include the bonus round in that game. Unfortunately, due to the tight deadline of Sonic 3D's release schedule, this too was abandoned in favor of a 3D version of Sonic 2's special stage.[3]
Title
Egypt (September)
Galaxy (September). A Death Egg can be seen in the background.
Roman (September)
Snow (September). Curiously, the amount of balls is only 5.
Egypt (October)
Future (October)
Legacy
In December 2000, ICEknight of the Sonic scene fansite Sonic the Hedgehog Database emailed developer Peter Morawiec about his work on a number of unreleased Sonic games. Morawiec responded later that day, providing a wealth of knowledge on topics such as Sonic X-treme, Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball, and Sonic Saturn, even sharing development material from his time working at Sega Technical Institute.[3]
Concept art
Wetlands stage render
Wetlands stage background
Cybernik badnik concept art
Cybernik badnik concept art
External links
References
| Sonic the Hedgehog games for the following systems | |
|---|---|
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1996 Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island 1997 Sonic Jam | Sonic R Demos Sonic R: Trial Version
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| Unreleased Sonic the Hedgehog games |
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| Sonic X-treme incarnations |
|