Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric (Wii U)

[Milo]

The "Select Hero" example in the algorithm has a better view of Sonic and Tails (has Knuckles too, but is in the "not selected" mode and is harder to see):

 

 

Final artwork for comparison's sake:

 

 

Beta Boom Sonic also has a lack of defined soles on the bottom of his shoes, a la the Genesis design.

[Blue Blood]

So Tails, who IIRC people seem to agree looks the best and is the least changed of the main characters, was also the first one they finalised. And Amy's stocking also used to be leggings/trousers that went right up.

 

It's like the longer they worked on this game, the worse it got.

[Guest]

The tan arms honestly do look awkward with the scarf. I can see why they changed it.

[Badnik Mechanic]

Oh mah lord... LOL!!!!

 

Check this out.

 

 

 

Sega of America producer Stephen Frost told Polygon that keeping Sonic Boom in Western studios was important for the projects' "synergy." Frost said Sega picked Big Red Button because its team — led by Uncharted and Jak and Daxter veteran Bob Rafei — had experience with character-driven adventure games.

[Milo]

Oh mah lord... LOL!!!!

 

Check this out.

 

 

 

 

http://www.polygon.com/2014/2/6/5387184/why-sega-handed-sonic-over-to-western-studios-and-gave-him-a-scarf

 

Another website, different interview...

 

 

 

 

http://www.vg247.com/2014/02/07/sonic-boom-made-for-western-audiences-character-redesigns-explained-by-sega/

 

The original title of the game became a PR go to line!

[Blue Blood]

If you look closely you can see the exact moment where things went wrong...

 

Seriously though, lining them all up like that really makes it clear how much it changed.

 

On the far left, it's just Modern Sonic with sports tape and a scarf. As you move right, you can see his hands get smaller, his shoes change, his torso get rounded and his spikes get uncombed.

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

If you look closely you can see the exact moment where things went wrong...

[Your Vest Friend]

Is it me or do Knuckles' proportions look more squat in the hero select screen too?

[Blue Blood]

Is it me or do Knuckles' proportions look more squat in the hero select screen too?

[Gabz Girl]

omg what the hell is all this! Sonic Synergy? What kind of title is that? Boom!Sonic had tan arms but they just randomly made them blue during development?

 

So was this game rushed or was all that shit about it being in development for so many years a big fat lie?? Because I REALLY want to know what point they changed the title from Synergy to Boom.

[Autosaver]

I just noticed the statue.

Also why did the multiplayer map get a level design change? Makes zero sense.

 

 

Some noticeable changes. The soccer balls got changed to energy orbs. Gems got changed to shards. The complete left side of the arena got radically changed and put the Echidna statues. This is the "Temple Map". Crazy theory, but what if the game originally had a lot less to do with the Echinda statues? I know in the final product this happens to be the case, but it seems silly to have to radically redesign a multiplayer map just to have the references put in.

 

Did nobody notice the PS4 and Xbox One in the development room? In fact, the Xbox One is hooked up to the PC Monitor on the right side! There's also a Wii U in the room.. collecting dust.

[Indigo Rush]

Sonic Synergy? What kind of title is that? 

 

Synergy is a term that implies how the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Working together. Teamwork.

 

"Sonic is stronger with his friends."

 

Sound familiar?

 

Basically, Sonic Synergy is the Thesaurus Edition of "Real Super Power of Teamwork™"

[Blue Blood]

Because I REALLY want to know what point they changed the title from Synergy to Boom.

 

Between October 2013 and February 2014 when it was announced. Sonic Boom was first announced as just a working title, before it was later finalised. Though "Sonic Synergy" sounds like a project title and not something actually considered for the game or show. It means teamwork and working together, which emcompasses the spirit of the games and show as well as what it was supposed to be from a business and branding standpoint.

[Gabz Girl]

Like Azoo said this game is a complete and utter mess. I really wish we could find out what development must've been like!

 

EDIT: Ah, thanks for the explanation. I'm not surprised they changed it to Boom, though like you said it could've just been a working title.

Edited April 21, 2015 by Gabz Girl

[Autosaver]

 

They goofed up here too. This is all in the final game. In the loading screenshot, the statue is holding some orange/brown ball with a green/blue circle in the middle of it. In the final game, he's just holding a blue sphere.

[Badnik Mechanic]

 

Player 1! Player 2! Player 3! And Player 3!!!

 

I want to play as Player 3.

 

Also I know that this is just a quick mockup, but goodness me the alignment of some of those icons is pretty bad for a design document.

[E-van]

Also, the results are out of order. It goes from 1st, to 3rd, to 2nd, to 4th.

[Detective Shadzter]

Plus their math is off. 2638 x 4 = 10,552. 

 

I didn't use a calculator, I swear...

[Autosaver]

 

I'm trying to figure out the timeline for all of this.

Eggman's concept art was in 2012. Sonic's final design seems to have been decided at this point. In the menu flow, Eggman's final design is already decided but we got to see work in progress of the Sonic characters.

[Clewis]

 

This just reassures my feelings that the modifications made to Sonic's design for Boom look dumb even when applied to his more traditional look. The sportstape will always look silly and there's just something off about the inclusion of the scarf in that first design, which is a shame since I like the concept of Sonic wearing a scarf but I guess they were just never able to execute the idea properly.

Funnily enough, looking at the third iteration of Sonic's Boom design I think it actually looks alright in Rafei's style, it just seems to translate awkwardly when brought into the third dimension for some reason. Such an issue probably would have been fixed if BRB had taken a more stylized aproach to the character models instead of whatever we ended up with.

[Celestia]

Also, the results are out of order. It goes from 1st, to 3rd, to 2nd, to 4th.

I think it's supposed to be in order of player 1 up to player, um...3b, apparently. Like Super Mario 3D World's ranking screen which also has the players in order rather than basing it on who's first to last (nor is it--and I had to check a video to make certain of this, lol--the Mario-Luigi-Toad-Peach order as seen in the only screencap of the ranking screen I could find).

[goku262002]

So wheres our concept art archiver? those UI screens should be backed up!

[Tani Coyote]

Re: the choice of Synergy...

Alliteration is a traditional way to make any term more appealing.

Super Sonic vs. Ultimate Sonic, for example. While "ultimate" would convey more power, "Super" goes better with the S.

This is quite the interesting leak indeed, though.

I'm the odd one out in being kind of glad they altered Sonic's look a bit, though I do like the longer quills of the original. I think it's good a spinoff stands out rather than using the same exact designs, similar to how there were small outfit changes in games like Riders.

[Autosaver]

I'm the odd one out in being kind of glad they altered Sonic's look a bit, though I do like the longer quills of the original. I think it's good a spinoff stands out rather than using the same exact designs, similar to how there were small outfit changes in games like Riders.

As Sonic games go on, his quills keep getting shorter. First Lost World then Runners. I wonder if Boom's shorter quills had anything to do with Sonic Team making his qulls shorter or if they got influenced by Boom's design.

[-Mark-]

Beta Sonic has long spikes, no messy quills and tan arms

 

 

It actually looks way better than the final version

 

I didn't think it was possible, but seeing that is making me hate the final Boom!Sonic design even more.

 

This earlier design looks fine compared to what we ended up with, IMO.