Robert Medina (“BlobVanDam”) is an incredibly talented 3D artist. His video has quickly skyrocketed to near 300,000 views as of this posting after only 5 days of being online. It has clearly struck a chord with gamers and I’m sure everybody, including ourselves, expressed interest for an interview this week. He finally broke his silence and spoke to PlayStation LifeStyle yesterday to talk about his incredible Mushroom Hill video. How did he manage to capture Sonic’s magic and our undivided attention in such a short time?
I really am surprised by the response from this video.Had I known it would get this much attention, I’d probably have put some more time into finishing the level, and polishing the animation and effects further. This was actually just a quick project I did for fun over a couple of weeks so I could see how well a classic style Sonic game would adapt to 2.5D/3D graphics. It wasn’t meant to draw any comparisons to Sonic 4, and wasn’t intended to make any major design changes to the game or introduce any new elements, hence the fact it sticks quite close to the original design of the level and Sonic. I know one of the main criticisms of my video is the Sonic model and animations, so I perhaps stuck too close to the original game in that regard.
Although the final video looks fairly good, it wasn’t really a complex or lengthy video to create. The level blocks are all pretty simple, and reused to create the larger level, and much of the animation consisted of small looping animations.
The reason it looks good (and why people have liked it) is because of how the 2D elements of Sonic were adapted to 3D, and because of the modern lighting and effects used to update the original look. And while it’s true that these effects weren’t achieved in realtime, with today’s modern consoles a similar game could easily get 95% of the way there with pre-rendered lighting and pixel shaders. The polygon counts are not very high due to the flatter depth of 2D gameplay, so that’s not a problem either.
I haven’t been contacted by Sega or anyone else concerning the video. I really don’t expect to, since it only showcases graphics, and doesn’t show a lot of new ideas aside from that. The video was posted on Sega’s blog, so I know someone has seen it, but I don’t expect anything to come of that. There have been hundreds of comments comparing my video to Sonic 4, but I don’t know that it will count for much in the long run. But if they were interested, I have plenty of ideas.
If interest keeps up, I may create another video, maybe even create a video showcasing some completely new ideas rather than remaking old ones, but since this is only for fun, I’m not sure if I will at this stage.
Robert has also made his rounds to Sonic Retro, where he is currently discussing the process with the members there. As a “peace offering,” he posted high-res images of his Sonic model!
Medina: "After seeing the comments on YouTube and looking through the redesign Sonic thread here, and after attempting to animate those stumpy legs into walking, definitely not the design I'd use next time, but still not a bad classic Sonic 3D adaptation... I intentionally made the spines thin and spiky so they'd show up better in the predominantly side-on view (otherwise they tend to blur together a bit too much). My only real criticism of the model is that the face lacks character. The eyes are a bit dead, and he has no mouth, but I'd say it's far from terrible (I say that as objectively as I can as the guy who actually made it)."
Medina also elaborated as to why there’s not a high definition version of such a beautiful video:
The render times were quite short, as I don’t currently have my render farm set up, so this was all done on the one machine. Average of about 2 minutes per frame at 640×360 (sorry guys, no higher def render available!), and then about 1:30 a frame for the light rays pass. Anyone who’s worked with 3D graphics will tell you that 2 minutes a frame is a dang short render, so these renders aren’t too unrealistic for realtime. Most of the magic was in post effects.
Robert is currently fielding questions about the video in the Sonic Retro thread. You don’t have a to be a member of the forum to see it, but you will if you want to ask any questions. I’ve linked you guys to the page where he starts discussing.
I love that model
I dislike pudgy Sonic. just doesn’t look right anymore…
GO JAKEIII! XD I do too. I mean, the body could be a little smaller cuz those legs are shorter than in the actual game but who cares? xD
Dude! that is a really short render! I want his computer now! Some thing like that would take me 10 min. to render each frame!
WOW!! SEGA has a lot to learn from this guy….I was aastonished by how good this is…I WANT so bad a remake of sonic 3 & knux like this!!
i like mixes between old sonic and new sonic, wshould have a pudgy sonic with spikes and shoes like the anime the eyes of new generation and body of old. so ya, black eyes have no charecter,this model though is the best choice for this video as the resolution would show eye color very well anyway…
I love the fat, pot belly Sonic so much more then modern day Sonic.
*Tails picks ups and stops Sonic from falling*
Tails: “Sonic, do you think you can stand to loose a little weight?”
Sonic: “What? And look like the new generation Sonic? Are you out of your mind?”
LOL
I approve of cute and pudgy Sonic.
It’s interesting to see a 3D model of old school sonic.
Once again, this is a beautiful video, you can really see the effort put into it. I love the light shining through the trees in the background, that’s simply wonderful. Truly amazing, he’s done a great job and I hope he knows it.
D’awwwww, I love pudgy Sonic too
SEGA needs to learn from this.
@Everybody regarding the model he knows there is some issues with it like the no-expression thing and stuff he just was hurrying into making it still it does look awesome
@Sonny no fukin way and the black eyes have alot more character then the green ones the reason they dont here is cuz sonic doesnt have a mouth here just look at this its perfect somebody gave him feedback on how to improve the model http://a.imageshack.us/img411/6591/sonicmhz1.jpg
No green eyed Sonic
I know people have different preferences on what they like or not, but I like the modern designs the best (Maybe it’s because I’m open-minded to the more recent games in the Sonic series and I don’t bash nor complain about them at all). Whenever I draw Sonic and company I always draw them using the modern design.
I have nothing against “classic” Sonic, since this design was used in the awesome anime OVA (Sonic the Hedgehog: the Movie) and the classic games were good fun, too. But what people need to accept is that character designs improve and evolve over time, and the change in design is not a bad thing to accept. What’s so wrong about Sonic having colored eyes, like everyone else in the world does? I don’t understand why people want the old design back so badly. SEGA retconned Sonic’s appearance with the release of Sonic Adventure, obviously for a reason. All they did was make him look better and gave him an eye color. What’s so wrong about that? People need to just accept the new look. There is nothing wrong with it, people.
The model of Sonic looks amazing. And the way that he made Sonic’s model react with so little animation compared to a real 3D game just made it look even more nostalgic. I hope people will start using this model in their classic style 3D games.
Black eyes all the way
@Vulpine: Every time someone tells me I need to accept something I don’t like as much as an alternative, the more I feel like being a bitch about it and saying “No. Fuck you.”
It feels good to be stubborn. That being said, I couldn’t really give a shit about which model appears in what games. I only get pissed off when people throw shit-fits and try to act all self-righteous about it, like they’re the Pope or some crap. I like both models, especially the older one, so you can go fuck yourself. Still wouldn’t really change whether or not Sonic Team makes decent games.
More on topic though, congratulations to Robert Medina for the unexpected success and a job well done. It looked marvelous, and I want to play that shit. No, seriously, make that game happen. Or a movie, whatever; his expertise is in 3D animation anyways.
Vulpine, you need to realize that not everybody has your opinion. Please stop stirring shit on every news post.
Stop trolling. Now.
Awesome! the dedication this guy had to the feel of Sonic & Knuckles was superb!
That’s a pretty good model right there, thought I don’t like that walking(?) pose.
…
Maybe it would be good for one of those “haters gonna hate” pics.
If I could imagine what a faithful 3D representation of that original pixelated little dude would look like, this would be it.
I imagine faithful representation of many 8/16 era bit characters would all look a little bit weird in 3D. There’s alot you can get away with when you can’t make out the details, LoL.
I love the running and jumping animation. Classic yet modern.
Goodness gracious, don’t be so mean, people. I’m not a troll. I just like to spread my views across, knowing how it will help the Sonic universe (and the video game universe in general) become better then it used to be. I know not everyone is going to have my same views, but who cares? I live in a free nation (US) and I can express my views whenever I want. At least I am good about what I say, because I never cuss.
It does not matter to me which model they use for future Sonic games. What annoys me is when people complain about the modern design being used in games like Sonic 4, and I wish they would act more mature and accept the change in things. People should be happy that they’re getting the game they want, not be a bunch of whiny, immature jerks about it. Sonic 4 and Sonic Colors are improvements from past recent games (Even though I loved games like Sonic 2006) and I feel they will turn out to be a success.
……..oh….my……..god…………. It took this guy a couple of weeks to make this……..Sega can’t even make Sonic 4 right and theyre taking over a year!
Sega needs to get a clue. The next time they decide to re-release the Genesis Sonic games (and you know they will), they should at least make it a little different. Do something like this, perhaps?
@ needsemail1 i agreee it would be awesome
AMAZIN! they gotta release that!! it can be done!
TBH I like both pudgy and thin Sonic
Hmm… He’s right about the model’s face. It does look dead. What would probably help is adding the shine to the eye, and easing up on the forehead creases. The spines seem to be missing a lot of their weight, and they’re still a bit too long for a classic Sonic. Other than that, it’s a pretty fine model.
But he’s perfectly right in his comments, guys. The only thing he has shown in this video is the ability to quickly adapt 3D graphics from a 2D image. And also, it’s not a statement about Sonic 4. It’s just a fan video. So take it for what it /is/ and not what you /think/ it is.
@Sonny, @Shoryuken: Any eye colour has depth if it’s shaded and highlighted correctly, and that’s pretty much the only thing SEGA need to learn when it comes to their current character models. The eyes are a bit flatly-coloured, not the mention the shine is currently placed pretty low on the iris, which is kinda weird considering Sonic’s shorter than most light sources.
@Beast1: Dude. We know. There are five billion comments like this, all said to the wrong people, all posted in the wrong place. I don’t think we need another one.
This man is a very talented renderer. Aise from the lack of expression (which has been noted many times already), I see no problems with this classic/3D model.
As for this frivolous classic vs. modern model slapfight: As someone who has played the Sonic games since 1991, I had no problem in 1998/9 when Sonic’s model was changed for Adventure and I have no problem with it now.