Sonic Superstars and beyond. Sega makes up for lost time, part 5...

In the previous blogs I looked at Sonic Superstars, and the things that the developers at Sonic Team, and Arzest did great. I also talked about the technical and design choices that I think really hurt the game. While I played through it I was reminded of all the wonderful things that I enjoyed in the franchise. It very much felt like a continuation of the elements that made Sonic Mania work so well. The art direction, level, and enemy design fit in the classic 2D style, even though the models were in 3D. The introduction of a new character named Trip, plus using individual Chaos Emeralds to change the game play was inspired. When I struggled with some boss encounters it showed that there were cracks on the facade. Trying some encounters over and over lent me to discover what type of gamer I was. In the end I had a favorable opinion of the game that gave me a lot of insight into myself. It allowed me to realize that the Sonic series was one of the rare titles that was globally appealing for a number of reasons. The first thing that drew me to the franchise was the character himself.

I stated previously that I loved the art, and design behind the hero, and his friends. I never cared much for Knuckles though, but that was besides the point. I was a huge fan of the mascot style of character art. The cartoon star that created the movement was Pat Sullivan, and Otto Mesmer’s Felix the Cat. He debuted in 1919, almost a decade before Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, and Mickey Mouse. The large head, big expressive eyes, and animal features set a template that would be copied for the next century. The early US cartoon stars like Donald Duck, Bugs Bunny, or Flip the Frog wouldn’t have made it big without Felix. Sonic the Hedgehog, Tails the Fox, Knuckles the Echidna, Mighty the Armadillo, and Ray the Flying Squirrel all followed in the footsteps of Felix the Cat. They were descended from one of the greatest cartoon traditions the world had ever seen.

Although they were created by a Japanese team the Sonic art reflected my favorite form of American cartooning. The “rubber hose style of animation was the oldest form used in the US. The name was because the arms, and legs of these characters weren’t hinged as if they had bones. Instead they flexed like rubber hoses. Additionally the bodies on these characters were fluid. They could be pulled, stretched, and twisted like a rubber balloon. There was a sense of freedom in these cartoons that was liberating for artists. Although to be fair I was never good at drawing in a rubber hose format because my style was very rigid. It didn’t matter because I thought those early cartoon stars were so amazing. They could do the impossible, while still making their actions plausible. That tradition was rarely seen in modern cartoons, rare in video games, but not as rare in comic books.

The Mickey Mouse comics illustrated by Floyd Gottfredson in the 1930’s set a standard for adventure storytelling featuring cartoon mascots. His comics kept the animated icon alive outside of the movie theater. Mickey would hang out with his friends in some stories, having fun with the other Disney stars. Then he travel the globe on an international mystery for longer arcs. A decade later Carl Barks raised the bar in the Donald Duck, and more important, the Scrooge McDuck comics. Comic books were the perfect format for expanding on the animated shorts. We could get to see the characters develop a personality. The writers, and artists presented a universe that was much deeper than could ever be shown in a cartoon. For the longest time I assumed that these stories were for children until I actually sat down and started reading the collected volumes. I was not only amazed by the art, but by the storytelling. It worked on multiple levels There was action for the kids, great character development for teens, and mystery for the adults. They truly were books for all-ages.

Comic books in the USA were mainly superhero titles. Often mature in tone, and not really created for all-ages. However overseas the Disney comics were still popular with families, and even adults. They were an institution in Italy, where the Mickey comics (Topolino) had been in publication for over 90 years. I believe that they were the greatest run of all-ages comics ever published. Multiple generations were raised on stories that were every bit as good as those created in the USA. I would argue that the elite Disney cartoonists cut their teeth drawing on the pages of Topolino. The best of these stories were serialized and translated to multiple languages. I did a deep-dive on the Italian comics many years ago. The reason that I brought them up was because they were critical to keeping the characters popular. More than that they were important to spread the cartooning art form. You could only do so much in an animated short but the comics allowed the characters to live, and grow. They did more for audiences than the parent company did in the parks, television, or movie screens.

A similar thing could be argued for comics based on video games. Comic books could take a relatively short game, and give readers a cinematic experience. Udon was known for the Capcom books they published. Street Fighter, Mega Man, and Vampire / Darkstalkers were just some of the titles they released. Audiences got to follow the main, and side characters across a variety of story arcs. They allowed audiences to learn the dynamics between the stars, and any new faces introduced. As a fan of the mascot titles I was happy to see Sonic in publication. Granted not every editor, writer, or artist understood the games. This was especially true for many of the oldest issues. It seemed that the creators liked to make up stuff as they went along. The quality of the first comics didn’t matter to fans because they made the blue blur relevant. Whether in manga from Japan, or comics from the UK, and USA, Sonic had developed an international following. The most recent US comics from IDW were by far the best Sonic had ever appeared in print. The writing was amazing, and the stories stayed true to the games. Best of all the various artists captured the spirit of cartooning. They made young fans understand why the character appealed to older audiences, just as much as the Topolino comics helped kids understand why Mickey Mouse was beloved by their parents.

The creators at IDW were also able to expand the Sonic comic books to include new faces that were interesting in their own right. For example Lanolin the Sheep, Whisper the Wolf, Tangle the Lemur, and Jewel the Beetle were citizens-turned-freedom fighters. Their story arcs, and contributions in the comics made them very memorable. They were adventurers, sometimes with a tragic past, all rising to meet the challenge. They complimented all of the established heroes, and added their own unique dynamic to the stories. For long-time fans like myself I thought that these were characters that would be amazing to follow in a game. More than anything the Sonic comic books managed to remind audiences that the universe covered in the game series was far more expansive, and serious than we sometimes thought. Sonic Team managed to create a world that seemed straightforward, and easy to digest. Sonic was the good guy, and Eggman was the bad guy. He kidnapped animals to power his robots. It was up to Sonic to set them free. The formula hadn’t changed much in over 30 years, yet the stakes had always been incredibly high. Without Sonic, and his friends, then there was nothing preventing Eggman from conquering the world.

The threat that Dr. Eggman presented was epic in scope. He didn’t just raise an army of minions, he created an entire armada of war machines. He had a fleet of flying warships, giant robots, autonomous factories, laser satellites, and space stations with enough power to take over a planet. The fight had to be taken to Eggman to prevent him from ruling the world. There was nothing easy about the threats that Sonic, and his friends faced in every encounter. At the same time the designers at Sonic Team didn’t want to make the game feel heavy-handed. Yes the characters were fighting against impossible odds, but at this world was also a cozy place to live. The studio made sure to show audiences what Sonic was trying to protect. Sega wanted to remind us that this world was a beautiful place filled with loving characters. There were friends that wanted to enjoy a picnic with our hero, or perhaps do some fishing with him. These gentle characters were set against a backdrop that was quite serious. Being the protector of the innocent was the heart of several IDW story arcs.

Sonic Team created different types of innocent creatures that Sonic, and his allies had to protect. In most games the animals trapped within the robots were the obvious ones. As the games evolved we were introduced to the Chao in Sonic Adventure, then the Wisps in Sonic Colors, and most recently the Koco in Sonic Frontiers. Those minor characters were adorable beyond description. However when you placed them within the context of the stories they were also tragic figures. Each of the characters had survived catastrophic trauma. An entire planet of Wisps were enslaved by Dr. Eggman for his cruel experiments. The Koco were the memories of the ancient aliens that brought the Chaos Emeralds to the planet. Sonic had to complete their memories, and reunite their ghosts so that they could have some closure. The Chao were the de-evolved descendants of those alien refugees. They were also nearly wiped out in a raid by the Echidnas a millennia ago. Even the cutest characters in the franchise were important to the story.

Felix the Cat started the tradition of cartoon mascots more than 100 years ago. Sonic the Hedgehog helped bring the art form to a new generation through video games. The creators at Sega, Sonic Team, and at IDW helped it evolve across multiple formats. Whether it was an animated short for social media, a live-action movie, or an award-winning comic book run. There was no doubt that cartoons were alive and well. The lore of the game series was already robust, and the comic books went much deeper than casual fans could have ever known. The characters they introduced in the past decade could still look cute, and universally appealing, but they had now grown to include shapeshifting assassins, psychic madmen, and even sentient AI. Heroes, and villains in the Sonic canon were colorful, memorable, and awe-inspiring. The games they were featured in evolved in unique ways. I’ll trace it out in the next blog. Until then I’d like to know if you have a favorite mascot character. Or if you even like cartoons at all. Tell me about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Building a gaming legacy, the Games Workshop series, part 5...

Tabletop gaming systems come in many forms. Some require nothing more than some paper, pencils and a few dice. Others are more hobby oriented and require people to assemble and paint models and even create their own terrain. The great thing about the systems is how they cover different genres. If you want a game on race cars it exists. If you want one on wrestling it also exists. There are games on ancient warfare, World War II and science fiction wars. One of the most popular games from the '80s and early '90s was Battletech. The game was released in 1984 by FASA Corporation. It went on to spawn a number of PC games. One of the biggest gambles that the company took was in making dedicated arcade machines for the game where people could get in the "cockpit" of a robot or mech and pilot it against friends or rivals. The tabletop and PC games were huge hits. There were various expansions to the system for more than a decade. It was even republished to celebrate its 25th Anniversary. Battletech was very easy to get into compared to other tabletop systems. The rules were straightforward and the diversity of machine types were perfect for different types of gamers. Those that wanted fast, responsive robots had a group they could choose from. Those that wanted super powered brutes also had those choices. Each required their own strategy to use. The system was flexible and allowed for even teams of players to go to war using their machines.

There was some litigation that almost sunk the entire Battletech franchise before it even got going. The USA had been exposed to anime and Japanese programming in the late '60s and through the '70s through translated shows like Kimba the White Lion, Astro Boy and Giant Robo. By the '80s it was starting to become popular thanks to the success of Robotech, which was an adapted version of Macross. Western-produced shows like the Transformers helped bring giant robots into the spotlight. FASA was ahead of the curve when they released Battletech and later MechWarrior. Yet they were able to be right on that trend because they took some shortcuts. Specifically they stole designs of robots from various Japanese shows such as Dougram and Macross, in their early releases. When word of this got out to the Japanese studios they were hit with a cease-and-desist. They had to recall the games and redesign the robots. The newer robots lacked the stylized Japanese designs but the system was still popular even after the re-release.

Battletech had a rich story to compliment the game. Various houses, like corporations, were fighting for territory. The giant robots were their champions and spearheaded all military encounters. Think about how similar the function of the robots in Battletech was to the Imperial Knights in Warhammer 40,000. Or to be more precise think about how they predated the Titans in 40K. Games Workshop was working hard to break into the USA tabletop gaming scene. The Warhammer Fantasy and science fiction systems were doing fairly well but when FASA released Battletech it really took a chunk of their potential customers away. The studio needed to respond and quickly, yet they did not simply want to make a game that was a Japanese robot knock-off title either. They went to the drawing board, got the input from their senior designers and storytellers and released Adeptus Titanicus in 1988. The game introduced audiences to the world of the Titans, pre and post-heresy in 40K continuity. These robots were very different than those in either US or Japanese science fiction titles. They were massive, often bigger than buildings. They looked like mechanized suits of armor or walking cathedrals.

 

Games Workshop helped introduce a new scale of miniature to go with these giant robots. Most tabletop miniatures, not just for Games Workshop but for other titles as well were around 25-28 millimeters. If a figure were 28 millimeters tall then they represented a human just over six-feet in height. The size became known as "Heroic" scale. Adeptus Titanicus had gigantic robots that were so off the scale that a new form had to be created. It was called Epic scale, or 6mm scale. A Space Marine in a suit of power armor, somebody that was well over seven-feet tall, was just under 6 millimeters in height. Citadel actually created Titans in various sizes, the Warhound, Reaver and Warlord Titans for these games. They then followed up with a number of expansions to supplement the game. Each of these expansions introduced new models of Space Marines, heavy weapons and even Dreadnoughts in the new 6mm scale. The first expansion was actually called Space Marine. It was released in 1989.

 

Fans of Battletech not only had the ability to choose from the various giant robots, they also had the ability to choose from smaller vehicle types and aircraft as well. This helped keep the game new and unique. Games Workshop was keeping an eye on this trend and responding with other expansion as well. Titan Legions, which introduced Titans from various alien races, came out in 1994. The final massive expansion to the system came out in 1997 with the release of Epic 40,000. With these expansions and the various Epic Scale miniatures released the collectors were able to do something that they could not afford to do otherwise. Collectors could actually buy and assemble an entire Space Marine chapter. Hundreds of individual Space Marines in 28 millimeters would cost thousands of dollars. Each transport and tank, from the Rhino and Land Raider, all the way up to the massive Baneblade could end up costing untold thousands as well. These awesome vehicles cost a fraction in 6mm and yet managed to contain an incredible level of detail. Players that had the time and patience to create a regiment would actually be able to do so without going bankrupt. The other great thing about working in this scale was that all of these units, vehicles and Titans could all fit on a table. On a table that was five feet long and three feet wide could maybe fit one or two of the smaller titans in the 28mm scale. Forget about a cast of thousands and a few dozen tanks for support.

Games like Adeptus Titanicus and the Space Marine series helped introduce audiences to the world of Warhammer 40,000. Like Battletech these were self-contained experiences. They could be enjoyed by casual players just as much as veteran hobbyists. These games could be shared with friends or family. They would be easy to set up or tear down, with all the pieces and rules fitting in the box. Fans didn't have to paint the plastic robots once they were assembled and most expansions came with plastic or foam and cardboard buildings and terrain to help turn any desk into a bleak wasteland. Yet like many just getting into the hobby once they got bit by the bug they would want to customize their own units, paint their own robots and begin collecting an army. The people that were young men and women when they started playing the '80s would begin working in the '90s and have some disposable income to begin investing in the games. Games Workshop would follow the trends and offer bigger and better kits to help fill in the armies, whether in the 6mm or 28mm scale. As these gamers finished college and became working professionals post '00s then they had much more that they could spend on their hobbies. For those people Games Workshop began developing 28mm scale titans. They sold for hundreds of dollars yet became the centerpiece of many armies, and especially game stores.

Adeptus Titanicus was not the only self-contained experience from Games Workshop that got audiences into the 40K universe. The studio actually had some great success in both the science fiction and fantasy systems. Each time the company released a new game it expanded the universe they had created and allowed fans to experience these worlds in entirely new ways. One of the more popular offshoots of 40K went on to become a best-selling PC game and get re-released as a collectible card game as well. We will look at this title in the next blog. As always if you enjoyed this blog and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!