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163-622: Sonic the Hedgehog is a 1991 platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Genesis/Mega Drive . It was released in North America on June 23 and in PAL regions and Japan the following month. Players control Sonic the Hedgehog , who can run at near supersonic speeds; Sonic sets out on a quest to defeat Dr. Robotnik , a scientist who has imprisoned animals in robots and seeks

326-505: A dot matrix . Naka's prototype was a platform game with a fast-moving character rolling in a ball through a long, winding tube, and this concept was fleshed out with Ohshima's character designs and levels by Yasuhara. Yasuhara originally intended to work on the game for three months due to the delay of his planned move to the United States by the outbreak of the Gulf War , but was engrossed in

489-524: A rabbit able to grasp objects with prehensile ears, showed promise but was too complex for the Genesis hardware. The team narrowed its search to animals that could roll into a ball, their idea for an attacking move, and considered armadillos and hedgehogs . The hedgehog character, proposed by Naoto Ohshima , prevailed. Ohshima went on vacation to New York, taking sketches with him. He went to Central Park and asked locals for their opinions on them, and Sonic

652-599: A true 3D platformer is a French computer game called Alpha Waves , created by Christophe de Dinechin and published by Infogrames in 1990 for the Atari ST , Amiga , and IBM PC compatibles . Bug! , released in 1995 for the Saturn , has a more conservative approach. It allows players to move in all directions, but it does not allow movement along more than one axis at once; the player can move orthogonally but not diagonally. Its characters were pre-rendered sprites, much like

815-435: A video game . An individual involved with the development of game levels is a level designer or mapper. In some cases, the developer of a video game includes built-in level editing tools; for example, a track editor for a racing game. Other times they may release an official level editor for the game as a separate application. Sometimes players of the game develop fan-made level editors. Developing level editors will allow

978-448: A 1980 arcade release by Universal , is sometimes credited as the first platformer. Another precursor to the genre from 1980 was Nichibutsu 's Crazy Climber , in which the player character scales vertically scrolling skyscrapers. The unreleased 1979 Intellivision game Hard Hat has a similar concept. Donkey Kong , an arcade video game created by Nintendo and released in July 1981,

1141-401: A 2D plane are called 2.5D , as they are a blend of 2D and 3D. The first platformers to simulate a 3D perspective and moving camera emerged in the early-mid-1980s. An early example of this was Konami 's Antarctic Adventure , where the player controls a penguin in a forward-scrolling third-person perspective while having to jump over pits and obstacles. Originally released in 1983 for

1304-597: A 3D Sonic game, Sonic Adventure , for its Dreamcast console. It used a hub structure like Super Mario 64 , but its levels were more linear, fast-paced, and action-oriented. Level (video gaming) In video games , a level (also referred to as a map , mission , stage , course , or round in some older games) is any space available to the player during the course of completion of an objective. Video game levels generally have progressively increasing difficulty to appeal to players with different skill levels. Each level may present new concepts and challenges to keep

1467-606: A 65% share of the European console market. Sonic the Hedgehog set a Sega software sales record with 2.8 million cartridges sold by March 1992, including 1.8 million copies in the United States and another 1 million in Europe and Japan. The game went on to sell 3.7 million units by October 1992, and 4.5 million copies worldwide by November 1992. By 1997, the game had sold over 14 million copies worldwide, and earned over $ 400 million ( $ 890 million adjusted for inflation), higher than

1630-523: A bad performance and poor implementation of the original music and gameplay. As a response to the poor reception and claims that the system could not handle the original game, Simon "Stealth" Thomley, who later assisted with the development of the 2013 mobile port, released an unofficial, proof-of-concept version of Sonic the Hedgehog for the system. The unofficial version contains a complete Green Hill Zone and two bonus stages, as well as Tails and Knuckles as playable characters. A remastered mobile port

1793-462: A balance between open-ended and guided exploration. Another platform-adventure released that year, Pony Canyon 's Super Pitfall , was critically panned for its vagueness and weak game design. That same year Jaleco released Esper Boukentai , a sequel to Psychic 5 that scrolled in all directions and allowed the player character to make huge multistory jumps to navigate the vertically oriented levels. Telenet Japan also released its own take on

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1956-481: A bouncing car that jumps on various platforms such as buildings, clouds, and hills. Jump Bug offered a glimpse of what was to come, with uneven, suspended platforms, levels that scroll horizontally (and in one section, vertically), and differently themed sections, such as a city, the interior of a large pyramid, and underwater. Irem's 1982 arcade game Moon Patrol combines jumping over obstacles and shooting attackers. A month later, Taito released Jungle King ,

2119-525: A brief burst of episodic platformers where the first was freely distributed and parts 2 and 3 were available for purchase. The abundance of platformers for 16-bit consoles continued late into the generation, with successful games such as Vectorman (1995), Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995), and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995), but the release of new hardware caused players' attention to move away from 2D genres. The Saturn , PlayStation , and Nintendo 64 nevertheless featured

2282-469: A day on the project for several months. Due to the need to demonstrate the Genesis' technological prowess, the game underwent extensive testing and redesign, which took over six months. According to Naka, the game had the fastest-ever character speed in a video game and a rotation effect in the bonus stages that had been considered impossible on the console. The team intended to add a two-player mode displayed via split-screen , but Naka's programming knowledge

2445-415: A different environment. Level designers sometimes make hidden rooms and areas that usually require more effort for the player to reach or to notice. These usually give some additional rewards, such as ammo or powerups. They serve to induce players to explore. Sometimes, they serve as easter eggs , containing messages such as the level designers' names or pictures, or political or humorous messages. One of

2608-554: A different person or team. The level design process may be iterated several times before achieving the desired outcome. Level designers and concept artists may also be required to provide a pre-rendered map of the level (or entire game world) for the player. Level design is necessary for two primary purposes: providing players with a goal and providing players with enjoyable play experience. Good level design strives to produce quality gameplay, provide an immersive experience, and sometimes, especially in story-based games, to advance

2771-403: A few names in black text on a black background, identifiable only by looking at the code. Naka stated that level design was a major challenge: he created maps much wider than normal and tried to ensure players would not get lost. It took him around eight months to develop Green Hill Zone as he kept restarting from scratch. He stated that he found the process "very interesting". Naka also stated that

2934-450: A forward-scrolling effect similar to Sega's 1985 third-person rail shooter Space Harrier . 3-D WorldRunner was an early forward-scrolling pseudo-3D third-person platform-action game where players were free to move in any forward-scrolling direction and could leap over obstacles and chasms. It was notable for being one of the first stereoscopic 3-D games . Square released its sequel, JJ , later that year. The earliest example of

3097-501: A game than simply adding new levels, a software development kit (SDK) is sometimes needed. In the early years of video gaming, some games came with a utility called a "construction set". This was similar in many ways to a level editor. Some games used them to make extra levels, whereas others (like the Shoot-'Em-Up Construction Kit ) used them as a means to develop a game rather than be a game in itself. Maps' design can significantly impact

3260-684: A hedgehog is. According to Mark Cerny , who worked in Tokyo as an intermediary between the Japanese and American Sega offices, the American staff felt the character was "unsalvageable". They made plans to educate Sonic Team on character design with the work of Will Vinton , the creator of the California Raisins . They proposed a full-scale recreation of the character, but compromised with Sonic Team to simply make design changes for western audiences. The antagonist

3423-605: A high quality of animation. The 1988 shareware game The Adventures of Captain Comic was one of the first attempts at a Nintendo-style platformer for IBM PC compatibles . It inspired Commander Keen , released by id Software in 1990, which became the first MS-DOS platformer with smooth scrolling graphics. Keen's success resulted in numerous console-styled platformers for MS-DOS compatible operating systems, including Duke Nukem , Duke Nukem II , Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure , and Dark Ages all by Apogee Software . These fueled

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3586-558: A larger focus on exploration, with no vertical loops, and Sonic cannot re-collect his rings after being hit. The game has a different soundtrack composed by Yuzo Koshiro , which includes adaptations of music from the original version. It was the final game released for the Master System in North America. The Master System version was re-released for Wii 's Virtual Console service in North America and Europe in August 2008. The Game Gear version

3749-406: A level system of ascending difficulty as opposed to progression of storyline. An example of the former approach is the arcade shoot 'em up game Space Invaders (1978), where each level looks the same, repeating endlessly until the player loses all their lives . An example of the latter approach is the arcade platform game Donkey Kong (1981), which uses multiple distinct levels to progress

3912-407: A level. Sometimes, professional 3D editing software , such as 3D Studio Max , Blender , AutoCAD , Lightwave , Maya , Softimage XSI or Grome is used, usually customized with a special plugin developed for the specific game. A level editor (also known as a map , campaign or scenario editor ) is a game development tool used to design levels, maps, campaigns and virtual worlds for

4075-453: A map and these steps may vary dramatically across the many different game genres that exist as of the 2020s. General steps include: The first level of the game is usually designed to get players to explore the mechanics of the game, notably in World 1-1 of Super Mario Bros. Cut scenes may be triggered by events in a level, but require distinctly different skills, and may be produced by

4238-450: A modern game typically starts with concept art, sketches, renderings, and physical models. Once completed, these concepts transform into extensive documentation, environment modeling, and the placing of game specific entities (actors), usually with the aid of a level editor. A level editor may be distributed as a complete stand-alone package, at times, rivaling commercial 3D modelling software. There are various steps involved in laying out

4401-482: A novel technique that allows Sonic's sprite to roll along curved scenery which was based on a concept by Oshima from 1989. Sonic the Hedgehog , designed for fast gameplay, was influenced by games by Super Mario series creator Shigeru Miyamoto . The music was composed by Masato Nakamura , bassist of the J-pop band Dreams Come True . Sonic the Hedgehog received positive reviews for its visuals, audio and gameplay and

4564-623: A number of successful 2D platformers. The 2D Rayman was a big success on 32-bit consoles. Mega Man 8 and Mega Man X4 helped revitalize interest in Capcom 's Mega Man character . Castlevania: Symphony of the Night revitalized its series and established a new foundation for later Castlevania games. Oddworld and Heart of Darkness kept the subgenre born from Prince of Persia alive. The difficulties of adapting platformer gameplay to three dimensions led some developers to compromise by pairing

4727-536: A number of unofficial variants, including Somari , a pirated Nintendo Entertainment System conversion featuring Nintendo's Mario character in levels from the original Sonic game, Sonic the Hedgehog Megamix , a total conversion mod of the original game, and Sonic 1 Boomed , a ROM hack which implements Sonic's redesign from the Sonic Boom animated series. Platform game The genre started with

4890-646: A playable character in an upgraded version of Origins . Sonic the Hedgehog has been available for all three major seventh-generation video game consoles . It was part of the Wii Virtual Console at the service's 2006 introduction, and was released for the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network shortly afterwards. The game was released for the iPod Classic , iPod video , and video-capable iPod Nano models in 2007 and for Apple's iOS in April 2009. Sonic

5053-404: A player's interest high. In games with linear progression, levels are areas of a larger world, such as Green Hill Zone . Games may also feature interconnected levels, representing locations. Although the challenge in a game is often to defeat some sort of character, levels are sometimes designed with a movement challenge, such as a jumping puzzle, a form of obstacle course . Players must judge

Sonic the Hedgehog (1991 video game) - Misplaced Pages Continue

5216-441: A quarter and a third of all console games. By 2006, the genre had experienced a decline in sales, representing a 2% market share as compared to 15% in 1998. In spite of this, platformers are still being commercially released every year, including some which have sold millions of copies. A platformer requires the player to maneuver their character across platforms to reach a goal while confronting enemies and avoiding obstacles along

5379-583: A rival to Nintendo's mascot Mario . For the next three years, programmers and designers at Sega worked on a brand character to rival Mario. In 1990, Sega ordered its in-house development studio to develop a game featuring a mascot for the company. Sega's president Hayao Nakayama wanted a character as iconic as Mickey Mouse . The team developed ideas for characters, an engine , and gameplay mechanics . Development emphasized speed, so Sega considered fast creatures such as kangaroos and squirrels and eliminated designs not associated with fast animals. One idea,

5542-464: A robot frees the animal, but is not necessary to complete the game. The player must also avoid touching spikes, falling into bottomless pits, being crushed by moving walls or platforms, and drowning, which may be prevented by breathing air bubbles from vents. Sonic's main means of attack is the spin attack, in which he curls into a ball and spins his body, damaging enemies and certain obstacles upon collision. This may be performed by jumping or rolling. At

5705-466: A shift in design. Later 3D platformers like Banjo-Kazooie , Spyro the Dragon , and Donkey Kong 64 borrowed its format, and the "collect-a-thon" genre began to form. In order to make this free-roaming model work, developers had to program dynamic, intelligent cameras. A free camera made it harder for players to judge the height and distance of platforms, making jumping puzzles more difficult. Some of

5868-406: A side-scrolling action game some platform elements: jumping between vines, jumping or running beneath bouncing boulders. It was quickly re-released as Jungle Hunt because of similarities to Tarzan . The 1982 Apple II game Track Attack includes a scrolling platform level where the character runs and leaps along the top of a moving train. The character is little more than a stick figure , but

6031-540: A specific spot where they do not have to move to gain experience , because monsters are constantly spawned but can be easily and immediately killed. In multiplayer maps, a player may be able to reach areas of the map designed to be inaccessible; for example, reaching an advantageous rooftop position and camping other players. A player might be able to fall out-of-bounds of a map where other players cannot reach them. Invisible walls are cited to be level design bugs, and might be "left-over geometry" from an earlier version of

6194-412: A storyline; as Mario (originally called Jumpman) tries to rescue Pauline from Donkey Kong , each level ends with Kong fleeing with Pauline and then Mario having to complete a different level each time, until he finally confronts Kong. 1983's Lode Runner was one of the first titles to ship with a level editor. Its designer, Doug Smith , reputedly paid neighborhood children to design levels for

6357-433: A successful franchise , and adaptations into other media. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was released in 1992. Sonic the Hedgehog is a 2D side-scrolling platform game . The gameplay centers on Sonic the Hedgehog's ability to run at high speed through levels that include springs, slopes, bottomless pits and vertical loops . The levels are populated with robot enemies, inside which Dr. Robotnik has trapped animals; destroying

6520-665: A teenager with a rebellious personality to appeal to gamers who saw the previous generation of consoles as being for kids. The character's speed showed off the hardware capabilities of the Genesis, which had a CPU clock speed approximately double that of the Super NES. Sonic 's perceived rebellious attitude became a model for game mascots. Other companies attempted to duplicate Sega's success with their own brightly colored anthropomorphisms with attitude. These often were characterized by impatience, sarcasm, and frequent quips. A second generation of platformers for computers appeared alongside

6683-405: A time attack mode and the unlockable option to play as Tails or Knuckles ; it additionally features a heavily expanded debug mode , which allows for use of unused elements and elements from more recent games (such as the characters' super forms ). The iOS version was updated in 2016, adding compatibility with Apple TV . A Nintendo 3DS version, 3D Sonic the Hedgehog , was released as part of

Sonic the Hedgehog (1991 video game) - Misplaced Pages Continue

6846-458: A total high data throughput can eliminate the need for any loading tunnels in a seamless world game. A level designer is a game designer who makes environments and scenarios using a level editor and other tools. Level designers will usually work on a level from pre-production to completion – working with both incomplete and complete versions of the game. Video game programmers usually produce level editors and design tools for

7009-488: Is central to the genre, though there are exceptions such as Nintendo 's Popeye and Data East 's BurgerTime , both from 1982. In some games, such as Donkey Kong , the trajectory of a jump is fixed, while in others it can be altered mid-air. Falling may cause damage or death. Many platformers contain environmental obstacles which kill the player's character upon contact, such as lava pits or bottomless chasms. The player may be able to collect items and power-ups and give

7172-529: Is hit without holding any rings, he loses a life. Shields and temporary invincibility can be collected to provide additional layers of protection, but certain hazards, such as drowning, being crushed, falling into bottomless pits, or running out of time, kill Sonic regardless of rings or other protection. The game is split into six principal zones , followed by a short Final Zone. Each main zone has its own visual style, and while some enemies appear throughout, each zone has unique enemies and obstacles. Each main zone

7335-469: Is in a vector game called Major Havoc , which comprises a number of mini-games, including a simple platformer. One of the first raster -based platformers to scroll fluidly in all directions in this manner is 1985's Legend of Kage . In 1985, Enix released the action-adventure platformer Brain Breaker . The following year saw the release of Nintendo's Metroid , which was critically acclaimed for

7498-470: Is most often seen in platformers. Lighting and illumination, as well as distinctly-coloured objects, are often used to unambiguously guide the player towards the correct path. Similarly, clearly marked choke-points can be introduced. Another method is strategic placement of obstacles and aesthetic environment props that direct the player's attention to "clear" paths instead. This is often used in closed, "stuffed" environments. Levels may be designed to force

7661-445: Is right, every loop-the-loop is perfect, and you're in the flow, sailing above the game's strange structure ... Sonic is incorrect game design and yet ... it's a masterpiece." Primarily because of its Genesis bundling, Sonic the Hedgehog was a factor in popularising the console in North America, thus solidifying it as a competitor to Nintendo and their Super Nintendo Entertainment System . During October–December 1991, with

7824-421: Is split into three acts, all of which must be completed. At the end of each main zone's third act, the player confronts Dr. Robotnik for a boss fight . For most of the fights, Robotnik's vehicle is fitted with different weapons. After completing the sixth zone, the player continues to the single-level Final Zone for a last encounter with Robotnik inside a large machine environment. Destroying Robotnik's machine ends

7987-465: Is the endless runner , where the main character is always moving forward and the player must dodge or jump to avoid falling or hitting obstacles. Various names were used in the years following the release of the first established game in the genre, Donkey Kong (1981). Shigeru Miyamoto originally called it a "running/jumping/climbing game" while developing it. Miyamoto commonly used the term "athletic game" to refer to Donkey Kong and later games in

8150-489: Is widely considered one of the greatest video games . It sold approximately 24 million copies, becoming one of the best-selling video games . On the Genesis, which it was bundled with, it sold 15 million copies, making it the best-selling Genesis game . It established the Genesis as a key player in the 16-bit era and made it competitive with the Super NES . It has been ported to multiple systems and inspired several clones ,

8313-590: The $ 200–300 million typically grossed by a blockbuster movie at the time. The original version bundled with the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive hardware had sold over 15 million copies as of February 2009. The mobile game version also had eight million paid downloads by 2008, 482,960 units were sold on Xbox Live Arcade as of 2011, and over 500,000 paid Android downloads were sold between 2013 and 2016, bringing total sales to approximately 24 million copies sold worldwide across all platforms. Sonic

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8476-456: The 3D Classics line in 2013. This version, unlike most downloadable re-releases of the game, is not emulated ; rather, the code was restructured to take advantage of the 3DS system's stereoscopic 3D graphics and comes with additional enhancements, such as the option to use the Spin Dash move, a CRT -style filter, and the option to start from any level. With its sequels for the Genesis, Sonic

8639-611: The Atari 2600 , with 256 horizontally connected screens, became one of the best-selling games on the system and was a breakthrough for the genre. Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle was released on the ColecoVision that same year, adding uneven terrain and scrolling pans between static screens. Manic Miner (1983) and its sequel Jet Set Willy (1984) continued this style of multi-screen levels on home computers . Wanted: Monty Mole won

8802-675: The MSX computer, it was subsequently ported to various platforms the following year, including an arcade video game version, NES , and ColecoVision . 1986 saw the release of the sequel to forward-scrolling platformer Antarctic Adventure called Penguin Adventure , which was designed by Hideo Kojima . It included more action game elements, a greater variety of levels, RPG elements such as upgrading equipment, and multiple endings . In early 1987, Square released 3-D WorldRunner , designed by Hironobu Sakaguchi and Nasir Gebelli . Using

8965-516: The Master System with Alex Kidd in Miracle World . It has horizontal and vertical scrolling levels, the ability to punch enemies and obstacles, and shops for the player to buy power-ups and vehicles. Another Sega series that began that same year is Wonder Boy . The original Wonder Boy in 1986 was inspired more by Pac-Land than Super Mario Bros. , with skateboarding segments that gave

9128-557: The Mega Drive is capable of "beautiful things" in the technical department. Reviewers praised the colorful, detailed graphics. Rand called its color scheme "lively, but never garish", praising the interaction of color with detail in the sprites, backgrounds, and animations and describing its graphics as the best available for the Mega Drive. Reviewer Boogie Man of GamePro called the intricate backgrounds "eye-popping" and "gorgeous", which

9291-619: The Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985, became the archetype for the genre. It was bundled with Nintendo systems in North America, Japan, and Europe, and sold over 40 million copies, according to the 1999 Guinness Book of World Records . Its success as a pack-in led many companies to see platformers as vital to their success, and contributed greatly to popularizing the genre during the third and fourth generations of video game consoles. Sega attempted to emulate this success with their Alex Kidd series, which started in 1986 on

9454-458: The PAL regions and Japan the following month. In November 1991, Sega of America included Sonic as a pack-in game with American Genesis consoles, replacing Altered Beast . This enabled Sega of America to sell 15 million Genesis units. Genesis owners who bought their consoles before the switch could request free copies of Sonic the Hedgehog by mail. Sega of America created a marketing campaign, making Sonic its new mascot. A version of Sonic

9617-533: The virtual camera , it had to be constrained to stop it from clipping through the environment. In 1994, a small developer called Exact released a game for the X68000 computer called Geograph Seal , which was a 3D first-person shooter game with platforming. Players piloted a frog-like mech that could jump and then double-jump or triple-jump high into the air as the camera panned down to help players line up their landings. In addition to shooting, jumping on enemies

9780-424: The "catchy" soundtrack, calling some of the sound effects "absolutely brilliant". Although Mean Machines called the songs "vaguely appealing", the sound effects were better appreciated. However, Boardman of Raze considered the music "a little boring". Critics cited the fast gameplay, unprecedented in platformers. The difficulty was disputed, described as "impossible" by Rand and "average" by EGM . Rand said about

9943-595: The 1980 arcade video game Space Panic , which has ladders but not jumping. Donkey Kong , released in 1981, established a template for what were initially called "climbing games". Donkey Kong inspired many clones and games with similar elements, such as Miner 2049er (1982) and Kangaroo (1982), while the Sega arcade game Congo Bongo (1983) adds a third dimension via isometric graphics . Another popular game of that period, Pitfall! (1982), allows moving left and right through series of non-scrolling screens, expanding

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10106-476: The 8-bit version. An enhanced port for the Sega CD was also planned, but was canceled in favor of Sonic CD . Sonic the Hedgehog was a commercial success. It became America's best-selling video game for several months in 1991, outselling Super Mario . By Christmas 1991, Sonic the Hedgehog had sold nearly 1 million game cartridges in the United States. It was also Blockbuster Video 's highest-renting game of

10269-514: The Acro-Bat , James Pond 3 , Earthworm Jim , Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel , and Radical Rex . "Animal with attitude" games carried over to the next generation of consoles, with the developers of Crash Bandicoot and Gex citing Sonic as a major inspiration. Sonic 's success led to an extensive media franchise , with the first of many sequels, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 , released

10432-460: The Enchanted Castle , which was only modestly successful. That same year, Capcom released Strider in arcades, which scrolled in multiple directions and allowed the player to summon artificial intelligence partners, such as a droid, tiger, and hawk, to help fight enemies. Another Sega release in 1989 was Shadow Dancer , which is a game that also included an AI partner: a dog who followed

10595-608: The Hedgehog became available on GameTap in September 2009. In October 2010, it was released on Windows via Steam . The game was ported to Android and released in December 2012. Additionally, it is an unlockable reward in the console versions of Sonic Generations . The 2013 remaster was made available on the Sega Forever service on iOS and Android in June 2017. A port for Nintendo Switch

10758-583: The Hedgehog has been ported for a wide range of home and handheld consoles and personal computers through compilations. The first collection it appeared in was Sonic Compilation (1995) for the Genesis. It has since appeared in Sonic Jam (1997) for the Saturn , Sonic Mega Collection (2002) for the GameCube , Sonic Mega Collection Plus (2004) for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox , Sega Genesis Collection for

10921-475: The Hedgehog has maintained its popularity, and has since been considered one of the greatest video games of all time . Frank Provo of GameSpot described the game as "one of the best platformers of all time", finding that despite technical issues in the Game Boy Advance port "after all these years, the underlying graphics, audio, and gameplay still hold up". Lucas M. Thomas of IGN agreed that it stood

11084-482: The Hedgehog is one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time, with over 140 million copies sold or downloaded worldwide across consoles, PC's, mobile phones and tablets by May 2014. The game's first level, Green Hill Zone , has been featured in later games such as Sonic Adventure 2 , Sonic Generations , Sonic Mania , Sonic Forces , and the Super Smash Bros. series. The game inspired

11247-405: The Hedgehog was developed by Ancient and released in late 1991 for Sega's 8-bit consoles, the Master System and Game Gear . Its plot and gameplay mechanics are similar to the 16-bit version, though some level themes and digital assets are different and Chaos Emeralds are scattered throughout levels rather than bonus stages. Gameplay as a whole is simplified; the level design is flatter and has

11410-477: The Hedgehog was praised by critics, with scores above 90% from most video game magazines at the time. It was considered Sega's answer to Nintendo's widely popular Mario series, as it was a platformer featuring the company's mascot. In a preview following its CES debut in January 1991, John Cook of Computer and Video Games called it the most impressive game at the show and said it was "another jumpy jumpy game in

11573-472: The Hedgehog into 3D. Their project, titled Sonic Xtreme , was to have featured a radically different approach for the series, with an exaggerated fisheye camera and multidirectional gameplay reminiscent of Bug! . Due in part to conflicts with Sega Enterprises in Japan and a rushed schedule, the game never made it to market. In the 1990s, platforming games started to shift from pseudo-3D to "true 3D," which gave

11736-481: The Mario mould, but with an astonishing turn of speed and great music." Upon release, Paul Rand of Computer and Video Games compared the two in depth and characterized Sonic the Hedgehog as being faster, with brighter colors and Super Mario World as having more "depth of play". Frank Ladoire of Génération 4  [ fr ] believed Sonic the Hedgehog was part of a new generation of games that demonstrate that

11899-648: The PlayStation 2 and PSP , Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection (2009) for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 , Sonic Classic Collection (2010) for the Nintendo DS , Oculus Arcade for the Oculus Rift , and Sega Genesis Classics (2018) for Microsoft Windows , the PlayStation 4 , Xbox One and Nintendo Switch . The 2013 remaster was included in the 2022 compilation Sonic Origins . This remaster saw Amy Rose becoming

12062-462: The United Kingdom press. Examples include referring to the " Super Mario mould" (such as Kato-chan & Ken-chan ) as platform games, and calling Strider a "platform and ladders" game. The genre originated in the early 1980s. Levels in early platform games were confined to a single screen, viewed in profile, and based on climbing between platforms rather than jumping. Space Panic ,

12225-406: The United States. While the port is mostly identical to the original, it includes several new features not seen in the original Genesis release, such as the ability to save game progress and the inclusion of the Spin Dash move. This version, unlike others, received poor reviews, with a Metacritic score of 33/100. The chief complaints concerned its poor conversion to the Game Boy Advance, resulting in

12388-451: The Year". Another term used in the late 1980s to 1990s was "character action games", in reference to games such as Super Mario Bros. , Sonic the Hedgehog , and Bubsy . It was also applied more generally to side-scrolling video games , including run and gun video games such as Gunstar Heroes . Platform game became a common term for the genre by 1989, popularized by its usage in

12551-519: The acrobatics evoke the movement that games such as Prince of Persia would feature. B.C.'s Quest For Tires (1983) put a recognizable character from American comic strips into side-scrolling, jumping gameplay similar to Moon Patrol . The same year, Snokie for the Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit computers added uneven terrain to a scrolling platformer. Based on the Saturday morning cartoon rather than

12714-415: The basis for the non-linear mission structure found in most open-world, multi-mission, sidequest -heavy games. Another Capcom platformer that year was Bionic Commando , which popularized a grappling hook mechanic that has since appeared in dozens of games, including Earthworm Jim and Tomb Raider . Scrolling platformers went portable in the late 1980s with games such as Super Mario Land , and

12877-492: The colors. After this, four people came onto the team to speed development up. Due to the popularity of Mario, Naka wanted Sonic to take over the American market. Sonic's default speed was set to that of Mario while running. Tests were run using the Genesis' tool library, and problems such as flickering, slow frame rates, and shaky animation soon became apparent. Increasing Sonic's speed caused animation problems. Naka solved this by developing an algorithm retained fluidity. All that

13040-459: The computer hardware sufficient time to load the assets for the next area. The player's speed may be reduced, while story cues are presented to draw the player's attention. The player may be required to enter areas in which their view of the world is plausibly restricted, sometimes referred to as "loading tunnels". With newer consoles, such as the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S , special SSD arrays alongside software libraries that have

13203-428: The computer or console's memory as the player approaches the edge of one level and the start of a new one. This can effectively make the transition from one level to another level appear to be seamless and avoid the use of loading screens. This is known as level streaming or in-game streaming, and is often used for open world games to give the perception of a fully-interconnected space. There are often tricks used to give

13366-589: The console as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in North America, along with Super Mario World , while Sega released Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis . Sonic showcased a new style of design made possible by a new generation of hardware: large stages that scrolled in all directions, curved hills, loops, and a physics system allowing players to rush through its levels with well-placed jumps and rolls. Sega characterized Sonic as

13529-421: The criteria of a platformer, and was billed as an action adventure . It used true 3D characters and set pieces, but its environments were rendered using a rigid engine similar to the one used by Wolfenstein 3D , in that it could only render square, flat corridors, rather than suspended platforms that could be jumped between. Sega had tasked their American studio, Sega Technical Institute , with bringing Sonic

13692-440: The designers to use. This eliminates the need for designers to access or modify game code . As opposed to the level editing tools sometimes available to the community, level designers often work with placeholders and prototypes aiming for level consistency and clear layout before required artwork is produced by game artists. Many level designers have skills as both a visual artist and game designer , although in recent years

13855-426: The distance between platforms or ledges and safely jump between them to reach the next area. These puzzles can slow the momentum down for players of fast action games ; the first Half-Life 's penultimate chapter, "Interloper", featured multiple moving platforms high in the air with enemies firing at the player from all sides. Level design or environment design , is a discipline of game development involving

14018-419: The earlier Clockwork Knight . The game plays very similarly to 2D platformers, but lets players walk up walls and on ceilings. In 1995, Delphine Software released a 3D sequel to their 2D platformer Flashback . Entitled Fade to Black , it was the first attempt to bring a popular 2D platformer series into 3D. While it retained the puzzle-oriented level design style and step-based control, it did not meet

14181-454: The eight-member team changed his name to "Sonic" and took the name Sonic Team . Ohshima said that "Sonic" was chosen because it represented speed. Ideas proposed to flesh out the character included placing him in a rock band, giving him vampire fangs, and giving him a human girlfriend named Madonna. Sega of America scrapped these ideas to keep his identity simple. Sega of America also expressed concerns that most Americans would not know what

14344-533: The emeralds himself. If the player collects all the Chaos Emeralds and completes the game, an ending sequence is shown. If all the emeralds are not collected, Robotnik taunts the player while juggling any of the Chaos Emeralds not collected by the player. In the 1980s, Sega had limited success with Genesis ports of its arcade games , but wanted a stronger foothold against its main competitor, Nintendo . In 1988, Sega of Japan began an in-house competition to create

14507-521: The first award for Best Platform game in 1984 from Crash magazine. Later that same year, Epyx released Impossible Mission , and Parker Brothers released Montezuma's Revenge , which further expanded on the exploration aspect. The first platformer to use scrolling graphics came years before the genre became popular. Jump Bug is a platform-shooter developed by Alpha Denshi under contract for Hoei/Coreland and released to arcades in 1981, only five months after Donkey Kong . Players control

14670-483: The first games with a 3D engine to feature hidden features was Wolfenstein 3D , where certain walls could be pushed to reveal hidden passages. Sometimes, a whole level may be designed as a secret level. A bonus stage (also known as a bonus level or bonus round) is a special level within a video game designed to reward the player or players, and typically allows the player to collect extra points or power-ups . Bonus stage either have no enemies or hazards, or replace

14833-496: The following year. It has generated dozens of additional games and a large cast of recurring characters, keeping Sonic and Robotnik (later renamed as Eggman) mainstays, and continued beyond Sega's exit from the console industry after the Dreamcast . The series has ventured from platformers to fighting , racing , role-playing , and sports games , and also expanded into anime , manga , cartoons comic books , novels, and toys. Sonic

14996-477: The foreground and background, and the camera panning and curving around corners. Meanwhile, Pandemonium and Klonoa brought the 2.5D style to the PlayStation . In a break from the past, the Nintendo 64 had the fewest side scrolling platformers with only four; Yoshi's Story , Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards , Goemon's Great Adventure , and Mischief Makers —and most met with a tepid response from critics at

15159-464: The game a greater sense of speed than other platformers at the time, while its sequel, Wonder Boy in Monster Land added action-adventure and role-playing elements. Wonder Boy in turn inspired games such as Adventure Island , Dynastic Hero , Popful Mail , and Shantae . One of the first platformers to scroll in all four directions freely and follow the on-screen character's movement

15322-623: The game an A+ and wrote that it was a very fast game, yet never felt chaotic or impossible, and they later named it the best game available in 1991. At the 1991 Golden Joystick Awards , Sonic the Hedgehog won Overall Game of the Year . In the 1991 Electronic Gaming Monthly awards, Sonic the Hedgehog won Game of the Year . At the European Computer Trade Show (ECTS) awards, it won the awards for Best Video Game and Going Live Viewers Award. In 1992, Mega ranked Sonic as their third-favorite Genesis game. In 1995, Flux rated

15485-415: The game because of their limited replay value. A minigame (also spelled mini-game or mini game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short video game often contained within another video game, and sometimes in application software or on a display of any form of hardware. A minigame contains different gameplay elements than the main game, may be optional, and is often smaller or more simplistic than

15648-407: The game creator to use the same load- and rendering routines as the game itself, and may make it easier and more pleasant to create levels. Developers of FOSS -games may argue that a game is not complete until other users easily can add new levels. One of the first 3D games which became popular partially due to level editors and fan-made maps, other game addons, and other works related to the game,

15811-411: The game fourth in its "Top 100 Video Games." In 1996, GamesMaster ranked the game 78th on their "Top 100 Games of All Time." In 2016, The Strong National Museum of Play inducted Sonic the Hedgehog to its World Video Game Hall of Fame . Retrospective reception has been positive, with an 86% rating at the review aggregator GameRankings based on nine reviews published online in the 2000s. Sonic

15974-428: The game in which it is contained. Minigames are sometimes also offered separately for free to promote the main game. Some minigames can also be bonus stages or secret levels. They are distinguishable from levels in that a level is an environment bound to a set of mechanics and rules that all defines all other normal levels in a game, whereas a minigame can use different rules and playstyles but may not necessarily be set in

16137-479: The game interface itself. 3D first-person shooters Doom (1993) and Doom II (1994) were two of the first games to attract focused game modding activity, and many WAD level files were made for them. One of the reasons was a clear separation between the level files and game engine itself. Half-Life , Quake 3 , and many other games have notable mapping tools and communities focusing on user-generated content . Level design for each individual level in

16300-410: The game was made to play quickly, which was where he focused most of his effort. Naka explained that the reason he wanted a fast game was that he had ported Ghouls 'n Ghosts , and wanted to work on its movement but found it slow. Sonic the Hedgehog was developed by a team of seven: two programmers, two sound engineers, and three designers, although it began with just Ohshima and Naka. People came onto

16463-466: The game's success, the Genesis outsold the SNES by two to one; at its January 1992 peak it gained a foothold in the industry and had 65 percent of the market for 16-bit consoles. Although Nintendo eventually overtook Sega, it was the first time since December 1985 that Nintendo did not lead the console market. Sonic the Hedgehog inspired similar platformers starring animal mascots, including Bubsy , Aero

16626-471: The game. A brief animation shows Sonic's return to the first zone, with animals liberated from Dr. Robotnik. If Sonic reaches the end of any zone's Act 1 or Act 2 while holding at least 50 rings, a large ring appears through which he can jump to enter a bonus stage . In them, Sonic is continually curled up in his Spin Attack animation, and bounces off the bumpers and walls of a fully rotating maze. In these levels,

16789-454: The game. The same year, the multiplayer dungeon crawl Dandy was released, and it also shipped with a level editor which was documented in the manual. ZZT (1991) is a later game with user-accessible mapping and scripting. A game genre that required significant amounts of time to design areas were text-based games, such as MUDs . Often, promoted users were assigned to make new paths, new rooms, new equipment, and new actions, often using

16952-498: The gameplay from its precursor but traded the frog-like mech for a cartoony rabbit mech called Robbit. The title was successful enough to get two sequels and is remembered for being the first 3D platformer on a console. Rob Fahey of Eurogamer said Jumping Flash was perhaps "one of the most important ancestors of every 3D platformer in the following decade." It holds the record of "First platform videogame in true 3D" according to Guinness World Records . Another early 3D platformer

17115-455: The gameplay in general that it "plays like a dream"; according to GameZone it would enchant players for hours, and Boogie Man praised Sonic Team's ability to provide an engaging experience primarily from running and jumping. Although EGM , Dragon , Paul of Mean Machines and Boardman of Raze praised the level design (especially the hidden rooms), Paul found losing all of one's rings frustrating. Bob Strauss of Entertainment Weekly gave

17278-597: The gameplay. For example, the gameplay may be shifted towards a platformer (by careful placement of platforms) or a puzzle game (by extensive use of buttons, keys, and doors). Some FPS maps may be designed to prevent sniping by not including any long hallways, while other maps may allow for a mix of sniping and closer combat. Gimmick maps are sometimes developed to explore selected features of gameplay, such as sniping or fist fighting. While they are briefly useful to level designers and interesting to experienced players, they are usually not included in final list of levels of

17441-452: The genre continued to maintain its popularity, with many games released for the handheld Game Boy and Game Gear systems. By the time the Genesis and TurboGrafx-16 launched, platformers were the most popular genre in console gaming. There was a particular emphasis on having a flagship platform title exclusive to a system, featuring a mascot character. In 1989, Sega released Alex Kidd in

17604-413: The genre, such as Super Mario Bros. (1985). Donkey Kong spawned other games with a mix of running, jumping, and vertical traversal, a novel genre that did not match the style of games that came before it, leaving journalists and writers to offer their own terms. Computer and Video Games magazine, among others, referred to the genre as "Donkey Kong-type" or "Kong-style" games. "Climbing games"

17767-486: The hardest part was working with the limited number of sounds that could play concurrently: he was limited to four, and said that his lack of knowledge of music on computers made it "impossible". He wrote the soundtrack concurrently with the Dreams Come True album Million Kisses . After he finished the compositions, they were digitized using an Atari ST and the program Notator. On October 19, 2011, over 20 years after

17930-416: The inspiration of Michael Jackson 's boots on the album cover for Bad and the red and white color scheme of Santa Claus , whom Ohshima saw as the most "famous character in the world". Sonic's spikes were emphasized to make him sleeker, and he was given the ability to spin while jumping (so attacking and jumping could be controlled with one button). The new character was originally named "Mr. Hedgehog", but

18093-454: The levels were open and had objectives. Completing objectives earned the player stars, and stars were used to unlock more levels. This approach allowed for more efficient use of large 3D areas and rewarded the player for exploration, but it meant less jumping and more action-adventure . Even so, a handful of boss levels offered more traditional platforming. Until then there was no settled way to make 3D platformers, but Super Mario 64 inspired

18256-451: The main character new abilities for overcoming adversities. Most games of this genre consist of multiple levels of increasing difficulty that may be interleaved by boss encounters, where the character has to defeat a particularly dangerous enemy to progress. Simple logical puzzles to resolve and skill trials to overcome are other common elements in the genre. A modern variant of the platform game, especially significant on mobile platforms,

18419-459: The making of video game levels—locales, stages or missions. This is commonly done using a level editor, a game development software designed for building levels; however, some games feature built-in level editing tools. In the early days of video games (1970s–2000s), a single programmer would develop the maps and layouts for a game, and a discipline or profession dedicated solely to level design did not exist. Early games often featured

18582-489: The maze game, Namco's 1984 Pac-Land is a bidirectional, horizontally-scrolling, arcade video game with walking, running, jumping, springboards, power-ups , and a series of unique levels. Pac-Man creator Toru Iwatani described the game as "the pioneer of action games with horizontally running background." According to Iwatani, Shigeru Miyamoto described Pac-Land as an influence on the development of Super Mario Bros. . Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. , released for

18745-405: The more linear 3D platformers like Tork: Prehistoric Punk and Wario World used scripted cameras that limited player control. Games with more open environments like Super Mario 64 and Banjo Kazooie used intelligent cameras that followed the player's movements. Still, when the view was obstructed or not facing what the player needed to see, these intelligent cameras needed to be adjusted by

18908-454: The music industry and suggested his friend Yūzō Kayama write the Sonic score. However, Sonic Team did not think Kayama's music would fit, and so commissioned Masato Nakamura , bassist and songwriter of the J-pop band Dreams Come True . Nakamura said he was surprised, as he had just started with Dreams Come True, but accepted as he was inspired by the team's desire to outperform Nintendo. He said

19071-526: The new wave of consoles. In the latter half of the 1980s and early 1990s, the Amiga was a strong gaming platform with its custom video hardware and sound hardware . The Atari ST was solidly supported as well. Games like Shadow of the Beast and Turrican showed that computer platformers could rival their console contemporaries. Prince of Persia , originally a late release for the 8-bit Apple II in 1989, featured

19234-534: The normal penalties for being struck by enemies or hazards with simply being thrown out of the bonus stage. Many bonus stages need to be activated or discovered in some manner, or certain conditions must be satisfied to access them. Otherwise, they appear after the player has completed a certain number of regular stages. There are many map bugs that level designers try to avoid, but sometimes go unnoticed for some time. A player might get stuck in map geometry with no way to escape or to die. A player might be able to find

19397-408: The platform-action game, Valis , which contained anime -style cut scenes . In 1987, Capcom 's Mega Man introduced non-linear level progression where the player is able to choose the order in which they complete levels. This was a stark contrast to both linear games like Super Mario Bros. and open-world games like Metroid . GamesRadar credits the "level select" feature of Mega Man as

19560-416: The play area. Nintendo 's flagship Super Mario Bros. (1985) was a defining game for the nascent genre, with horizontally scrolling levels and the player controlling a named character—Mario, which became a mascot of the company. The term platform game gained traction in the late 1980s, as did the alternate form platformer . During their peak of popularity, platformers were estimated to comprise between

19723-549: The player around and aid in battle. In 1990, Hudson Soft released Bonk's Adventure , with a protagonist positioned as NEC 's mascot. The following year, Takeru's Cocoron , a late platformer for the Famicom allowed players to build a character from a toy box filled with spare parts. In 1990, the Super Famicom was released in Japan, along with the eagerly anticipated Super Mario World . The following year, Nintendo released

19886-524: The player completed the level, the next level would be loaded. The player would be presented with a loading screen while the game loaded level information from storage. With more advanced computing hardware with faster input/output data transfer rates, such as optical drives, hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), and larger amounts of memory, game developers have been able to take advantage of continuously loading new level assets – models, textures, and audio – into

20049-581: The player earns a number of continues for each multiple of 50 rings collected, but the main goal is to obtain the Chaos Emerald hidden within the maze. Colliding with any of the blocks marked "GOAL" ends the level. In his attempt to steal the six Chaos Emeralds and harness their power, Dr. Ivo Robotnik has trapped the animal inhabitants of South Island inside aggressive robots and stationary metal capsules. The player controls Sonic, who aims to thwart Robotnik's plans by freeing his animal friends and collecting

20212-405: The player more control over the character and the camera. To render a 3D environment from any angle the user chose, the graphics hardware had to be sufficiently powerful, and the art and rendering model of the game had to be viewable from every angle. The improvement in graphics technology allowed publishers to make such games but introduced several new issues. For example, if the player could control

20375-475: The player runs out of lives, although the player may return to the beginning of the act with three lives if they have any continues . Scattered around each level are gold rings . Collecting 100 rings rewards the player with an extra life. Rings act as a layer of protection against hazards: if Sonic holds at least one ring when he collides with an enemy or dangerous obstacle, all his rings will scatter. He can recollect some of them again before they disappear. If he

20538-1043: The player. In the 1990s, RPGs , first-person shooters , and more complex action-adventure games captured significant market share. Even so, the platformer thrived. Tomb Raider became one of the bestselling series on the PlayStation , along with Insomniac Games ' Spyro and Naughty Dog 's Crash Bandicoot , one of the few 3D games to stick with linear levels. Moreover, many of the Nintendo 64 's bestsellers were first- and second-party platformers like Super Mario 64 , Banjo-Kazooie , and Donkey Kong 64 . On Windows and Mac , Pangea Software 's Bugdom series and BioWare 's MDK2 proved successful. Several developers who found success with 3D platformers began experimenting with titles that, despite their cartoon art style, were aimed at adults. Examples include Rare 's Conker's Bad Fur Day , Crystal Dynamics 's Gex: Deep Cover Gecko and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver , and Shiny Entertainment 's Messiah . In 1998, Sega produced

20701-439: The players to explore the map and advance. Most Real-Time Strategy maps give each player a starting base, but will have resource distribution and terrain features designed to draw players out of their base and engage each other. Teamplay maps can provide noticeable advantages to one team over another, when designed poorly. Commonly on older hardware, most games would load a single level and all of its assets at one time, and when

20864-477: The powerful Chaos Emeralds . The gameplay involves collecting rings as a form of health , and a simple control scheme, with jumping and attacking controlled by a single button. Development began in 1990 when Sega ordered its developers to create a game featuring a mascot for the company. The developers chose a blue hedgehog designed by Naoto Ohshima after he won an internal character design contest, and named themselves Sonic Team to match their character. It uses

21027-551: The project for nearly a year. His designs for levels were intended to attract both hardcore and casual gamers by integrating occasional challenging set pieces into the mostly accessible level design. The color scheme was influenced by the work of pop artist Eizin Suzuki, and the aesthetics of Green Hill were influenced by the geography of California . In designing the gameplay, Naka was inspired by Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto , whose games he had enjoyed playing years earlier. Admiring

21190-416: The release, a three-disc compilation of music from Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was released in Japan. The first disc features original tracks from both games, the second contains Nakamura's demo recordings before they were programmed into the Genesis, and the third has songs by Dreams Come True and their associated Akon remixes. Game-package illustrator Akira Watanabe said that his goal

21353-505: The responsibility for visual-, structural- and gameplay-related tasks has been increasingly divided among several specialists. A wide variety of tools may be used by someone designing and making a level. Although it is faster to design models and textures with general-purpose multimedia development tools, games usually require the data to be in a unique format suited for that game's engine . For this, specific compilers and converters of models, textures, and audio data may be required to lay out

21516-499: The right time and because they saw an opportunity to "steal the show". Sonic the Hedgehog was believed to be the most impressive game at the show and won the CES award for innovation. Sega of America CEO Tom Kalinske wanted reassurance that the character would not fail. The global head of marketing, Al Nilsen, and the senior product manager, Madeleine Schroeder, became involved in redesigning Sonic for American audiences. Artist Greg Martin

21679-458: The simplicity of Miyamoto's mechanics in complex environments, Naka decided that Sonic would be controlled with only a directional pad for movement and a single button for jumping. He also wanted his creation to be more action -oriented than the Mario series; while playing Super Mario Bros. , he had wondered why the levels could not be cleared more quickly. Ohshima, Naka and Yasuhara worked 19 hours

21842-428: The start of the game, the player is given three lives , which may be lost if Sonic collides with hazardous enemies or objects while in possession of no rings, falls to the bottom of the level screen, or exceeds an act's ten-minute time limit. Signposts act as checkpoints to allow Sonic to return to the most recently activated post when he loses a life. The time resets when he returns to the checkpoint. The game ends when

22005-424: The storyline. Levels are generally constructed with flow control in mind; that is, directing the player towards the goal of the level and preventing confusion and idling. This can be accomplished by various means. Often the level layouts feature power-ups and items positioned so that collecting them inevitably makes the player move in the correct direction. This is one of the basic player direction techniques and

22168-436: The team as the need for content increased. After being assigned a project with the code name "Defeat Mario", Ohshima and Naka began work, but encountered problems: Ohshima's Rabbit proved hard to program. Catching items and throwing them caused the action's rhythm to break. Naka stated that the rabbit was not suitable for his game engine, and he also wanted the game to be playable with only one button. Hirokazu Yasuhara came onto

22331-435: The team to supervise Ohshima and Naka and develop levels. He became the lead designer due to his greater experience, and found the way to make the game playable with only one button by having Sonic do damage by jumping. The trio came up with the idea of him rolling into a ball. After the hedgehog character was chosen, many characters were redrawn, and the team agreed on the environments' visual complexity, with particular focus on

22494-415: The team was trying to create smooth maps, and that implementing looping structures was a challenge because Sonic would break through them instead of running around them. The backgrounds were also a challenge, as the game's speed created the impression of going backwards. The zones were based on designs by Naka and Ohshima, with the goal of creating the world's fastest action game. According to Ohshima, Robotnik

22657-547: The test of time. Writing in The Guardian , Keith Stuart observed that Sonic the Hedgehog ' s emphasis on speed and pinball mechanics dramatically departs from generally accepted precepts of game design, requiring that players "learn through repetition rather than observation" as "the levels aren't designed to be seen or even understood in one playthrough." However, Stuart concluded that "sometimes in Sonic , when you get better, or through sheer luck, things take off, every jump

22820-486: The time. Despite this, Yoshi's Story sold over a million copies in the US, and Mischief Makers rode high on the charts in the months following its release. The term 3D platformer usually refers to games with gameplay in three dimensions and polygonal 3D graphics. Games that have 3D gameplay but 2D graphics are usually included under the umbrella of isometric platformers , while those that have 3D graphics but gameplay on

22983-531: The top down perspective, Frogger (1981) as climbing games. In a December 1982 Creative Computing review of the Apple II game Beer Run , the reviewer used a different term: "I'm going to call this a ladder game, as in the 'ladder genre,' which includes Apple Panic and Donkey Kong ." That label was also used by Video Games Player magazine in 1983 when it named the Coleco port of Donkey Kong "Ladder Game of

23146-437: The video game industry internationally. The following year, Donkey Kong received a sequel, Donkey Kong Jr. and later Mario Bros. , a platformer with two-player cooperative play . It laid the groundwork for other two-player cooperative games such as Fairyland Story and Bubble Bobble . Beginning in 1982, transitional games emerged with non-scrolling levels spanning multiple screens. David Crane's Pitfall! for

23309-455: The visual flash of 3D with traditional 2D side scrolling gameplay. These games are often referred to as 2.5D. The first such game was Saturn launch title , Clockwork Knight (1994). The game featured levels and boss characters rendered in 3D, but retained 2D gameplay and used pre-rendered 2D sprites for regular characters, similar to Donkey Kong Country . Its sequel improved upon its design, featuring some 3D effects such as hopping between

23472-428: The way. These games are either presented from the side view, using two-dimensional movement, or in 3D with the camera placed either behind the main character or in isometric perspective . Typical platforming gameplay tends to be very dynamic and challenges a player's reflexes, timing, and dexterity with controls. The most common movement options in the genre are walking, running, jumping, attacking, and climbing. Jumping

23635-415: The year. In the United Kingdom, it was the top-selling Mega Drive game for two months following its release. Sonic the Hedgehog was the best-selling home video game of 1991 , with 2 million copies sold worldwide by the end of the year, becoming Sega's best-selling home video game up until then. In 1991, Sonic the Hedgehog helped Sega generate a gross revenue of $ 1 billion in console sales and capture

23798-508: Was Doom . The development of various third-party editors led to the formation of an online community trading fan-made maps. A level editor is often limited to designing levels for only a certain game engine . Developing a level editor takes a lot of time; it is more time- and cost-efficient to release multiple games using the same engine instead of developing a new engine and level editor for each game. As level editors generally allow for limited game-development work, to make larger changes to

23961-413: Was Floating Runner , developed by a Japanese company called Xing and released for PlayStation in early 1996, before the release of Super Mario 64 . Floating Runner uses D-pad controls and a behind-the-character camera perspective. In 1996, Nintendo released Super Mario 64 , which is a game that set the standard for 3D platformers. It let the player explore 3D environments with greater freedom than

24124-449: Was a primary way to attack. This was the first true 3D platform-action game with free-roaming environments, but it was never ported to another platform or released outside Japan, so it remains relatively unknown in the West. The following year, Exact released their follow-up to Geograph Seal . An early title for Sony's new PlayStation console, Jumping Flash! , released in April 1995, kept

24287-563: Was based on Humpty Dumpty . Yasuhara wanted the game to appeal to both Japanese and American players, which was why Green Hill Zone was redesigned many times. Sonic Team wanted the level to portray the character correctly. Its checkered ground was inspired by 3D image rendering from computers, an idea Naka obtained from Sega developer Yu Suzuki , who used this technique with Space Harrier . The team read Famitsu to stay informed of what their rivals were doing so they could avoid their mistakes. Sega director Fujio Minegishi had connections to

24450-451: Was commissioned to redesign the character, and a new backstory was created where Sonic was from Nebraska. Sega playtested Sonic across the United States with Mario fans: they were shown Mario and then played Sonic the Hedgehog . 80 percent preferred Sonic the Hedgehog , and the game was shown at the 1991 summer Consumer Electronics Show. It arrived in the United Kingdom on June 21, 1991, widely released in North America on June 23, and in

24613-489: Was echoed by Mean Machines . The Lessers (Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk) of Dragon claimed the graphics made Sonic a possible contender for the best game of 1991 and GameZone called the animation "some of the smoothest and fastest ... ever seen". Julian Boardman of Raze praised the "colourful and highly detailed" backdrops and "fabulous" sprites. The music and sound effects were also well received; Dragon called them "great", and GameZone "amazing". Rand praised

24776-521: Was found in any previous game in the genre. With this in mind, Nintendo put an analog control stick on its Nintendo 64 controller, a feature that had not been seen since the Vectrex but which has since become standard. The analog stick provided the fine precision needed with a free perspective. In most 2D platformers, the player finished a level by following a path to a certain point, but in Super Mario 64 ,

24939-592: Was insufficient to implement it. A two-player mode appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992), whereby the second player controls Sonic's sidekick Miles "Tails" Prower . Sonic Team also intended to include a sound test with animations of Sonic breakdancing to a band of animal characters; including a crocodile keyboardist who was later introduced into the series as Vector the Crocodile in Knuckles' Chaotix in 1995. The sound test

25102-424: Was left was to optimize of the game speed to adhere to the staff's expectations. The team noticed that different people had different perceptions of the game's speed: some believed it was too fast, which caused disagreements. As a result, it was slowed down. The loop running was implemented in a tech demo by Naka, who developed an algorithm allowing a sprite to move smoothly on a curve by determining its position with

25265-404: Was named "Dr. Eggman" in Japan and "Dr. Robotnik" in other regions as a result of a dispute between Sega's American and Japanese divisions. With a satisfying protagonist established, Sega turned to the programmer Yuji Naka , who had impressed them with his work on Phantasy Star and the Genesis port of Ghouls 'n Ghosts . Naka was a fan of Super Mario Bros. but wanted something faster, so

25428-588: Was re-released for the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console on June 13, 2013, and included as an unlockable game in Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut for GameCube and Windows and Sonic Mega Collection Plus for PlayStation 2 , Xbox , and Windows. To mark the game's fifteenth anniversary, a port for the Game Boy Advance , Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis , was released on November 14, 2006, in

25591-507: Was released on iOS on May 15, 2013, with an Android version following the next day. This version was developed by Christian "Taxman" Whitehead and Simon Thomley of Headcannon from scratch using the Retro Engine , previously used in the 2011 remaster of Sonic CD . This port features several enhancements, such as widescreen graphics, the optional ability to Spin Dash, an additional bonus stage,

25754-588: Was released on September 20, 2018 as part of the Sega Ages line of rereleases. It adds features including the ability to use moves from Sonic 2 and Sonic Mania , a challenge mode, a time attack for the first stage, and features from the 3DS rereleases of the game and its sequel. U.S. Gold acquired the rights to make a version of Sonic the Hedgehog for the Amiga , ZX Spectrum , Commodore 64 , Amstrad CPC and Atari ST personal computers, but these went unreleased. Several screenshots exist, some of which resemble

25917-470: Was scrapped for time reasons and Naka used the freed up memory to add the " Se-ga! " chant used in TV commercials as a startup sound. Naka's relationship with Sega was tenuous during this time, and he received little credit for his work. He left the company shortly after the game's release, although Sega of America hired him later. Before leaving, however, he defied Sega's prohibition of developer credits by displaying

26080-517: Was the favorite. A man with a moustache, who eventually became Dr. Robotnik , was in second place. Sonic was originally teal-colored, then a light shade of blue, but he was changed to dark blue so he would stand out against certain backgrounds and to match the Sega logo. According to Ohshima, Sonic's basic design was created by combining Felix the Cat 's head with Mickey Mouse 's body. His shoes had buckles through

26243-418: Was the first game to allow players to jump over obstacles and gaps. It is widely considered to be the first platformer. It introduced Mario under the name Jumpman. Donkey Kong was ported to many consoles and computers at the time, notably as the system-selling pack-in game for ColecoVision , and also a handheld version from Coleco in 1982. The game helped cement Nintendo's position as an important name in

26406-416: Was to make the characters "colorful", using clear lines and gradation to "finish them neatly". According to Watanabe, the developers asked him to create a package design "similar to pop art  ... without being particular to conventional packages" – something "original" and "stylish". Sonic was not revealed until the January 1991 international Consumer Electronics Show because Sega wanted to wait until

26569-534: Was used in Steve Bloom's 1982 book Video Invaders and 1983 magazines Electronic Games (US)—which ran a cover feature called "The Player's Guide to Climbing Games"—and TV Gamer (UK). Bloom defined "climbing games" as titles where the player "must climb from the bottom of the screen to the top while avoiding and/or destroying the obstacles and foes you invariably meet along the way." Under this definition, he listed Space Panic (1980), Donkey Kong , and despite

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