Project Star
Contributions
- Created a set of highly detailed custom stages inspired by the Sonic 2 movie from scratch using the moding tools available in the Project Sonic The Hedgehog 06 Fangame.
- Developed multiple lengthy over 8-minute-long stage featuring diverse environments, custom obstacles, scripted events, custom dialogue, and various unique set pieces.
- Studied Sonic Level Design Philosophy as well as other AAA games at length in order to emulate the look and feel of a level featured in a retail Sonic game while adding my own creative twists on the formula.
- I own the entire development process of this project from initial design documents to finalized art assets, scripting, and polish.
- Two stages have been published while three more other stages inspired by scenes from the movie are currently in preproduction and more info on those will come out soon!
Project Star is a Sonic the Hedgehog fan project that aims to convert the "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" feature film into a video game built using the Project 06 Moding Tools. Currently Two stages based on the movie have been complete. "Temple Troubles" features diverse environments in a cave and temple like setting where the player will dodge and weave an onslaught of obstacles. "Siberian Shivers" has the player taking control of multiple different play styles as they cross mountains and tunnels.
Recognition
- Project Star has been showcased on several YouTube Channels, including one with over 320K Subscribers.
- Temple Troubles was downloaded over 100 times in it's first week.
- Siberian Shivers was downloaded over 150 time in it's first week.
- The entire project has currently been downloaded nearly 1000 times as of this point.
Temple Troubles Full Playthrough
Check out the level here!
Siberian Shivers Full Playthrough
Check out the level here!
Project Star- Temple Troubles - Development Process
The entire idea behind this project as whole is pretty simple. To turn the Sonic 2 movie into a video game featuring gameplay similar to that of the mainline Sonic games. The project was used as a level design exercise to see how well I could adapt a film into a playable level. It took roughly 4 months of active development time from the start of preproduction to the finished product for this first stage.
Pre-ProductionBefore beginning work in-engine, the entire design behind the stage was laid out on paper. It was decided that every level beat should fall into one of five different categories as well as listing out the needs and wants of the project to help avoid over scoping. It was only after that where I laid out the level beats and drew a mock up map of the stage. My main goal with each section was to challenge the player in new ways and for them to all feel distinct to keep the level feeling fresh during it's longer than average runtime. This was a live map that was updated throughout the development process.
Section Categories:
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Rebuilding the MovieWhen it came to blocking out major sections of the level, I referenced a ton of concept art and scenes taken directly from the movie to try and authentically recreate the experience of the film.
Other sections outside of the temple where I had to create new environments from scratch such as the water-filled crystal caves, I looked towards other more generic sources that still fit the vibe of the rest of level. Wanted each area to feel distinct and different from the last to avoid any dull moments in gameplay and environment design |
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Bringing Everything to LifeThroughout this portion of the movie, we see Sonic frantically dodge a large variety of obstacles as he's running through the temple so I made it a goal to recreate most of those obstacles in engine. It took a lot of iteration and playtesting to make this section feel "just right" to evoke the feeling of frantically dodging and weaving while still feeling fair.
The level expands beyond just the scene from the movie so I also wanted more obstacles to avoid throughout the level as a whole other than just what is seen in the movie to add more variety to sections outside of the hallway, including scripted rolling boulders, darts, dangerous crystals, falling debris, etc. Also while art is not my focus, learning a lot about texturing, modeling, lighting, audio, and VFX was an enjoyable and vital aspect to bringing this stage to life! |
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Implementing Gameplay VarietyA major factor in Sonic level design that makes the player feel "quick" is a bit more nuanced than simply watching Sonic run fast. It's constantly introducing different elements that keep the player's reflexes in check while also feeling stylish and cool. This is often easier said than done but this stage aims to achieve this goal of keeping the player engaged by constantly changing and evolving what they are doing throughout. In the first minute of the level, Sonic starts by uncontrollably going down a slide, leading into a tight cave with multiple paths that test the player's abilities, then leading to a vertical climb where Sonic ascends a massive crystal tower, leading to him running straight down a wall on the other side of the tower, bouncing him into a tight hallway filled with enemies' and obstacles that leads to the more open waterfall cavern. This is all done in the first minute of the level and it's this constantly changing design that helps the level feel fast paced and fun outside of simply watching Sonic run fast.
Also having Sonic constantly interacting with different types of objects and obstacles helps with this design philosophy as well. An example could be going from a launch pad into a spring that leads into some wall running that leads to a homing attack chain onto a rail and so on. Just constantly changing what sonic is doing while still feeling natural and not over bearing is very important to keeping player's engaged which is why scripted events are important as well to give player's a short mental break before hopping back into the changing/evolving gameplay. It's also important to give player's agency over their actions which is why this stage includes multiple paths, shortcuts, and secrets filled throughout to give each player a unique experience each time they run through the stage. |
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