Summer of Sonic 2013

[Maria-Robotnik]

Who were the guest singers who jumped in at the end of the concert? It was certainly a surprise; at first I thought it was Johnny Gioeli making a surprise appearance (because why not), but I was able to figure he wasn't afterward.

 

 

The male singer was Daniele Narducci, a very talented singer who flew in from Italy. The female singer was one of the staff, Susie. Amazing people, and so much fun to talk to!

I got to spend a lot of time with all of them, I had such a great time!! I feel very privileged that I got to be one of the staff again this year. I actually can't believe how many of you I didn't meet.... we were in the same room.... xD I was at the art tables most of the day.

It's always sad when this day ends, but today more than ever, I feel excited about the future. I'll be looking forward to seeing everyone again!

Edited August 4, 2013 by Maria-Robotnik

[MamboCat]

I watched the live stream for most of the day. I have to say it was very very interesting, but I wish the camera could have been taken around between each stage event, just so we could see what the rest of the day looked like. Of course I wasn't expecting interviews with each table, but would have been nice.... I'm nosey, ysee.

 

Have to say I let a little squee out when I saw Stiv and LT step up to the stage for Buzzbombers, and I laughed my ass off at the SSSSS masks.

 

I was pleased that mini-Sonic, or should that be actual size Sonic won the cosplay contest. The little girl looked super happy to have won! My bet was on AoSTH RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRobotnik to win!

 

I stopped watching the stream soon after the cosplay, however as my stomach was complainng for its dinner, but I hope the rest of the stream was interesting for everyone else who watched.

 

I soooooooooooo want to go next year, it looks like so much fun!

[Tani Coyote]

While I'm here I'm going to ask. I notice there's a Sonic at the event who seems to be the official one, but it varies from year to year and doesn't match up with the one that attends most other SEGA events I've seen. I'm guessing to keep the homebrewed feel, the official Sonic suit (gets in all the pictures, on the stage, etc.) at SoS is made by fans rather than issued by SEGA Europe?

I watched the live stream for most of the day. I have to say it was very very interesting, but I wish the camera could have been taken around between each stage event, just so we could see what the rest of the day looked like. Of course I wasn't expecting interviews with each table, but would have been nice.... I'm nosey, ysee.

If they did that, we wouldn't have an incentive to face the Horde in the battle for the tickets, though!

 

Have to say I let a little squee out when I saw Stiv and LT step up to the stage for Buzzbombers, and I laughed my ass off at the SSSSS masks.

Those were a fairly nice touch. Very professionally-made too; it's impressive what sorts of work goes into this!

...I hope there's a Black Doom mask some year if there hasn't been already.

I stopped watching the stream soon after the cosplay, however as my stomach was complainng for its dinner, but I hope the rest of the stream was interesting for everyone else who watched.

It was! I stayed the full eight hours... missed some parts due to needing to take food breaks... I wrecked my sleeping patterns completely and utterly but it was so worth it!

 

I soooooooooooo want to go next year, it looks like so much fun!

No matter how big or Sonic Boom West gets... I wish to go some day just to say I have been to the original event that started it all...

[Badnik Mechanic]

Oh in case anyone was wondering.

 

There is likely to be no videos from Summer of Sonic of either the 3DS/Wii U version. As I thought, on the day brief they said no filming at all, and due to the way the pods were set up, there is no way anyone could just stand there with a camera and film.

[Tani Coyote]

Makes me think there's plenty of stuff that's yet to be seen in the gamepods then if they'd be sensitive about it.

...now I'm definitely going to have to try the game out at Boom or Expo 2013.

[xSinisterStrike]

Oh in case anyone was wondering.

 

There is likely to be no videos from Summer of Sonic of either the 3DS/Wii U version. As I thought, on the day brief they said no filming at all, and due to the way the pods were set up, there is no way anyone could just stand there with a camera and film.

 

When will your SOS 13 videos be up?

[MamboCat]

Makes me think there's plenty of stuff that's yet to be seen in the gamepods then if they'd be sensitive about it.

...now I'm definitely going to have to try the game out at Boom or Expo 2013.

 

In the UK there is stringent laws over what you can broadcast in public.... I'd imagine this has something to do with it, too.

 

BTW... some people were very upset when the feed cut during the Lost World trailer first showed... (like seriously, some horrid words being thrown around.) I was very surprised to see the trailer aired later on, so thanks for that. It looks fantastic! Although from the Q&A sessions it would seem like this is a total reboot of the series, it's still so Sonic.

Edited August 4, 2013 by MamboCat

[Tani Coyote]

When I saw the trailer in the feed, it just showed two seconds and then it was cut... I must have missed the actual trailer being shown to us when I walked away. Bummer! Now I'll have to hunt through the twitch.tv recording I guess...

In fact I remember a "Summer of Sonic exclusive" being smacked over the screen... unless that was for something else?

As for the chat's caustic comments... well, GIFT aside, I don't think most of the comments there were helping stereotypes about the fandom. The cruelty towards the singers near the end was so great the Sonic Show team actually had to threaten mod action...

Edited August 4, 2013 by Ogilvie Maurice

[Badnik Mechanic]

 

Just try to imagine the Emperor Metallix just rising up above Big Ben and you have the Hoshino edition of War of the Worlds.

[Crash]

Makes me think there's plenty of stuff that's yet to be seen in the gamepods then if they'd be sensitive about it.

...now I'm definitely going to have to try the game out at Boom or Expo 2013.

 

Nope, the only playable levels were the ones we'd seen the entirety of before.

[Badnik Mechanic]

So urm... I think I might have found my favorutie photo of SOS so far... but I'm still looking.

 

 

When will your SOS 13 videos be up?

 

Tour video.. hopefully tonight.

 

Toot video... tomorrow... maybe.

[xSinisterStrike]

So urm... I think I might have found my favorutie photo of SOS so far... but I'm still looking.

 

 

 

 

 

Tour video.. hopefully tonight.

 

Toot video... tomorrow... maybe.

 

Awesome, I look forward to it! 

 

Just try to imagine the Emperor Metallix just rising up above Big Ben and you have the Hoshino edition of War of the Worlds.

 

Haha, totally. 

[The Tenth Doctor]

Great to hear Hog, as I said on the day, your vids help me prepare every year :-) 

 

I'll talk about my day soon, just back in glasgow. If you saw Fix It Felix Jr running about, that was me XD

[Covskin]

That was you?! I was stood right behind you in the Hoshino queue!

[Trueblue3k]

The male singer was Daniele Narducci, a very talented singer who flew in from Italy. The female singer was one of the staff, Susie. Amazing people, and so much fun to talk to!

 

 

I got to take pictures with them after the show and Susie was really happy and said it was her first fan photo! I thought their performance was amazing... I can't believe I've read that there were bad comments on the live feed video or something... what show were they watching?  XD

[SegaSuperStar]

I had a good time too.

 

[Badnik Mechanic]

And then Rory decided to do this...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lkU5CV-DY0

 

What you can't see are the rest of the staff just off stage all trying to figure out if this is really happening or if we've all fallen into Rory's imagination.

[JezMM]

When he started that I was simultaneously overjoyed to know what it was, and that technically the year ended with it rather than Jun Senoue, and also very concerned that presumably an, overall, pretty small portion of the audience actually knew what was happening lol.

[Roareye Black]

I watched the live stream for most of the day. I have to say it was very very interesting, but I wish the camera could have been taken around between each stage event, just so we could see what the rest of the day looked like. Of course I wasn't expecting interviews with each table, but would have been nice.... I'm nosey, ysee.

We have attempted that before but in reality the Camera we use for the live feed cannot be moved or made portable. The only way to do it (Which didn't work last time we tried) was to have an extremely long length of cable, however then we would have moving, trailing cables between everyone's feet as we walk around. Deathtrap.

 

However don't despair. We decided not to focus on anything else on the LiveFeed because we actually had two full Camera Crews recording the event portably for documentaries on Summer of Sonic. So once they are edited together, you will have the view of the entire event that you're after plus some Behind the Scenes interviews. It is a shame we can't do all that live, but at least it is there.

 

While I'm here I'm going to ask. I notice there's a Sonic at the event who seems to be the official one, but it varies from year to year and doesn't match up with the one that attends most other SEGA events I've seen. I'm guessing to keep the homebrewed feel, the official Sonic suit (gets in all the pictures, on the stage, etc.) at SoS is made by fans rather than issued by SEGA Europe?

Actually no. It is SEGA's official Sonic suit. As far as I'm aware, the Sonic costume we had this year (And most years) is Sega Europe's official outfit. However last year SEGA accidentally forgot to bring the costume! Luckily (I think) Sega Merch brought a cheap and quite badly knocked-up outfit of Sonic so we were forced to use it - despite the fact it isn't the official suit nor as good as the official one. However we had the Official Suit this year, so it is legit. Not fan made.

 

BTW... some people were very upset when the feed cut during the Lost World trailer first showed... (like seriously, some horrid words being thrown around.) I was very surprised to see the trailer aired later on, so thanks for that. It looks fantastic! Although from the Q&A sessions it would seem like this is a total reboot of the series, it's still so Sonic.

We do everything we can to make everything go off smoothly, but unfortunately technical issues do happen. For a completely free and extremely complex event, these sometimes appear at inopportune moments. We apologise for the mishap, however the video was shown again later. Such harsh words are not really needed. I'm always surprised by how harsh people can be over minor issues, as if we are purposely screwing them over.

 

As for the chat's caustic comments... well, GIFT aside, I don't think most of the comments there were helping stereotypes about the fandom. The cruelty towards the singers near the end was so great the Sonic Show team actually had to threaten mod action...

GIFT? What's that?

As for the cruelty towards the singers, it's standard fare. We had the same when Johnny Gioeli played, a professional rock star and official vocalist of the Sonic series. It's called jealousy, happens all over the fanbase. We know quality, and singers are rigorously screened before getting the gig. Daniele Narducci and Susie Brown were both fantastic, and both did the gig for free. The only singer on stage who deserved some flack was me, for Robotnik's Tea Party and for some reason this fanbase is lavishing me praise (Pete is still a git lol. Love him though).

 

So urm... I think I might have found my favorutie photo of SOS so far... but I'm still looking.

 

This is the most amazing selection of faces there will likely ever be on Buzzbombers

 

I got to take pictures with them after the show and Susie was really happy and said it was her first fan photo! I thought their performance was amazing... I can't believe I've read that there were bad comments on the live feed video or something... what show were they watching?  XD

Again, jealousy from people. It happens. The photos say it all. Jun loves performing, he adores his solos and being the main man of the stage - the singers didn't take away from that. However his face, his attitude and his posture in the photos when singing alongside Susie and Dan show that he was genuinely loving every second playing with them. I don't know about you, but I'll take Jun's opinion over people on a laptop in Maine anyday.

 

And then Rory decided to do this...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lkU5CV-DY0

 

What you can't see are the rest of the staff just off stage all trying to figure out if this is really happening or if we've all fallen into Rory's imagination.

Gavin actually has a video of this I've seen, which has Adam Tuff in the bottom right corner facepalming in shame as I did this.

I figure this is the ultimate troll for Summer of Sonic. Jun warmed up the stage for my main performance ;p.

Actually I never intended on doing this. Jun hadn't considered an encore and had no other songs to perform, and I dropped myself in it stupidly by suggesting the only song left was me singing Robotnik's Tea Party. I was rather hoping people would take that as intended and stop asking for more. Instead they called my bluff. And before I said "No, that really is the end. Have a good night and safe journey home." Pete Nethercote came along to sell the gig to the audience and force me into it - which is why the video shows me calling him a git.

A bit full circle. In 2008, me and Svend had to sing the DK Rap, so I guess it's a good show if it can go back to it's roots.

 

When he started that I was simultaneously overjoyed to know what it was, and that technically the year ended with it rather than Jun Senoue, and also very concerned that presumably an, overall, pretty small portion of the audience actually knew what was happening lol.

I was surprised how many people knew it. More people knew that than Adam Tuff's Star Wars comment during Buzzbombers.

[JezMM]

Wow people were complaining about the fan singers at the end!?  They were both amazing and had great chemistry with Jun and the audience, bringing the whole finale to life in a way I was concerned would not happen without Johnny G's crowd-revving personality.  Perfectly matched to each song they sang too, they performed flawlessly.

[SumoSpartan]

So urm... I think I might have found my favorutie photo of SOS so far... but I'm still looking.

 

 

 

...yea I think I was trying to figure out the antenna. XD

[Mr. Kewing]

Finally got a good bit of rest after my trip back home. Man, was it worth it. It's a shame that I missed parts of the MegaDrive Band set and the Q&A sessions due to signing queues (which were insane), but still loved loved every single minute of it.

 

The only singer on stage who deserved some flack was me, for Robotnik's Tea Party.

 

Come on, man, don't beat yourself over it, that was a legendary moment right there. Never thought I'd see the day where I would see a YTP Music video performed live, and awesomely done, to be honest.

Also, that picture, that picture....

[DarkRula]

I also think that the reason why the singers at the end were so criticised was the inconsistency of the mics. Yes, I loved them when watching them performing with Jun, but the inconsistency of the sound on the stream [no idea if the same could be said for live at the venue] sort of ruined the voices, hence possibly all the hate.

 

As for the rest of it, loved it. Metropolis Madness and Sonic Shorts 8 were great, as was the trailer for Lost World, and Buzzbombers was great fun, as was the cosplay contest.

[Badnik Mechanic]

 

...yea I think I was trying to figure out the antenna. XD

 

It actually looks like I've asked a really hard question and you're trying to work out the answer.

[Mr. Kewing]

I also think that the reason why the singers at the end were so criticised was the inconsistency of the mics. Yes, I loved them when watching them performing with Jun, but the inconsistency of the sound on the stream [no idea if the same could be said for live at the venue] sort of ruined the voices, hence possibly all the hate.

 

I think audio mixing problems might have been a constant through all the day; for example, I reawatched the MegaDrive band concert on the livestream for the parts I missed, but when I got to the part when I did make it to it, it definitely sounds different than when physically there. The guitar's very muffled and barely audible at some points, and the bass fluctuated in loudness. I'm just speaking from ignorance here, but this could explain it.