Sonic Frontiers is the latest title from Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series and will be released on November 8th.
The blue hedgehog running at high speed is considered one of the most iconic characters from Sega. The latest title, Sonic Frontiers may be the most transformative adventure, separating itself from the gameplay and settings of the old titles and offering a non-linear open world (The devs call it "Open Space").
At TGS, we interviewed Takashi Iizuka, Creative Director of the Sonic series, and Director of Sonic Frontiers Morio Kishimoto, and talked about the details and fun during development: How is Sonic in Open Space realized?
Superpixel: First, what is the difference between Open Space and the common concept of "open world"?
Iizuka: We released the teaser trailer in December last year to show a broad world, but didn't give a detailed introduction to the gameplay. We found many players asked whether Sonic would be in an open world.
The game experience we want to present has a different understanding.
The Open world often refers to the 3D experience similar to the real world and real life. For example, creating NPCs and working on building the environment, etc.
But Open Space in this title is a space that allows Sonic to move freely in 360 degrees. The concepts of an open world in an RPG and being open in an action game are fundamentally different.
Some elements that existed in the open world, such as side quests, exploration, resource collection, combat, and puzzle solving, are included in the Open Space of this game.
But our general understanding of the open world is that the player will have an event at a certain location and then, move to a new location to take on some activities and develop the story.
In the Open Space of this game, players will develop the story by arriving at a certain location, but they can also freely choose different routes and methods, and all the routes are doable.
Superpixel: Compared with previous Sonic works, why is this title different?
Iizuka: In fact, the previous works have linear game experiences. For example, the player clears the first level and will proceed to the second level. Following that, they will reach the third level. They can't get to the third level without finishing the second level. It's basically a linear experience.
But in Open Space, the island has various interesting designs, such as solving puzzles, resource collecting, racing, etc. Players can freely choose the order of these elements without being restricted by levels.
For example, if you see a very large enemy, feel scared, and don't want to fight against it, you can advance the story by avoiding it.
Although not shown in the trailer, there are many new action elements. For example, we can run on a wall. Another brand new feature of action is that the player can besiege the enemies and attack them.
Superpixel: The previous works have sandboxes and are in 2D, making people feel the Sonics are very fast. The trailer about Open Space seems to show that "it's not as fast as it used to be". So how did the devs balance the vast open space and Sonic's unique sense of speed?
Iizuka: The dev team of this work remained the same as the series. For this team, the concept of "Sonic = sense of speed" never changed. It's not difficult to make sense of speed with the map of Open Space
In order to allow frequent action game players who have not played the Sonic series to experience the sense of speed, the dev team thought over their design.
For old players, it is normal for Sonic to run at a speed of 300 km per hour. But for frequent action game players who have not played the Sonic series, the proper speed may be 80 km per hour. If allowing them to reach a speed of 300 kilometers per hour, they may feel scared or uncomfortable.
So, we managed to realize a "mild" sense of speed that would not be scary but could reach 300 km per hour.
Superpixel: Can we be more specific about this thinking? Are there details and an example?
Iizuka: In terms of a specific mechanism, at the beginning of the demo, we provided a choice of difficulty level and a choice of mode. The game provides two modes, High-Speed and Action.
Former Sonic fans can choose the familiar High-Speed mode to experience running at 300 km per hour, while other new players can try the milder Action mode.
In this way, players can choose the style based on their own needs, which is a brand new mechanism of this game that we can look forward to.
Superpixel: For the Open Space of this title, what is the proportion of each element? Are players free to choose whether to play a certain element? Will the players try all the elements to advance in the game?
Iizuka: No matter which element the player takes: resource collection, fighting, solving puzzles, story, computer space, etc., it will be beneficial to the progress of the whole game.
The game does not force players to do everything on the map but provides various options. They can choose tasks and elements to play through according to their preferences.
Players who like puzzle-solving elements can get a very rich experience of solving puzzles. But for those players who think Sonic shouldn't waste time deciphering puzzles, it won't harm to develop the story.
During the development, we invited ordinary players multiple times to play our game (after signing the NDA). Based on their opinions and feedback, we made a lot of adjustments.
The previous works of Sonic may have 1-2 closed tests, but for this work, we have carried out 7-8 such closed tests.
We also requested our European and American branches to assist in tests. Not just Japanese players, but worldwide players participated in the tests. We compiled the feedback. It can be said that such a process added some burden to the development.
For example, in a certain test, if players feel very dissatisfied with some aspects of the game, we will remove it and do it all over again. This was repeated many times during development.
Even last month or even now, we are still accepting player feedback and adjusting the game.
Superpixel: It was mentioned that there are main quests, puzzle solving or exploration elements in Open Space, are there corresponding guides or landmark buildings on the map to attract players to explore?
Iizuka: Players will freely choose what they can do, but they can't be totally free. Otherwise, they will feel confused and not know what to do. So, we offer destination recommendations and item recommendations as guides. Players can ignore our guides and go to other places to do various things, and these guides are not mandatory requirements.
Superpixel: We saw that Sonic's combat system mainly uses high-speed rushing to attack. Are there any more attack methods and types of enemies? What is the approximate number?
Iizuka: There is a skill tree system and skills are unlocked by gaining experience points. There are roughly 30 combat actions that can be unlocked in the game.
We can't disclose the number of the enemy types, but in a broader sense, there are three types of enemies: small and easy to defeat; slightly larger or medium-sized enemies; The TGS trailer also featured a very large enemy known as a titan. There are various enemies under these three types, and we have a lot of types.
Superpixel: How did the music of Sonic Frontiers come into being? Do you have any stories to share about the composition?
Iizuka: The opening song was composed by Mr. Ohtani, the Sound Director who has been in charge of the Sonic series. The melody fits well with the worldview of the game. At first, it was relatively quiet and gradually advanced to an intense climax.
Mr. Ohtani's composition is tailored to the game, and we choose a suitable art team to sing.
And the band selection of the ending song is different from the focus of the opening song.
The band of the ending song, ONE OK ROCK, and Sonic both started in Japan and then went worldwide.
Of course, when it comes to the game's music, we're most concerned about whether it fits the style of our game, not just the popularity of the band.
After we listened to the song of ONE OK ROCK for our cooperation, we felt that it was in line with the style and atmosphere of Sonic Frontiers. The song successfully conveyed the information we want for players. The feedback from Japanese players, European players, and American players met our expectations.
At the end of the interview, Mr. Iizuka said that many people often think that Sonic is a popular character from Europe or America, but a Japanese team developed it.
Mr. Iizuka himself has been developing the Sonic series for nearly 30 years. He often thinks about how to spread Sonic's popularity from Japan to other Asian regions, such as China, and South Korea.
The devs hoped to truly bring the Sonic gaming experience to these new players who have never played Sonic.
The sense of control and the setting of Open Space are both popular elements for Asian players. The devs hope that everyone can look forward to the game's release, and after the release, players can fully enjoy the game.