Sonic X-treme
Encyclopedia
Sonic X-treme is a canceled platform
video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Early version were considered for several systems until ending up as being developed
by Sega
for the Sega Saturn
, with the intended release being around Christmas
of 1996
. However, after getting stuck in development hell
, and missing that deadline, it was eventually cancelled. Had it been finished, it would have been the first fully 3D
Sonic game and the first original Sonic title developed for the Sega Saturn.
-based developer
that had worked on games such as Sonic 2
, Sonic 3
and Sonic Spinball
. It was originally developed for several other Sega game consoles prior to the Sega Saturn. In its earliest conception, after the completion of Sonic & Knuckles
in 1994, the game was set to be released on the Sega Genesis, as a side-scrolling platform game, much like the first four Sonic games game for the same system. As the Genesis was coming upon the end of its lifespan, it was eventually moved to the Sega 32x
under the code-name Sonic Mars. (The reason for this name being that the Sega 32x was originally codenamed Sega Mars). This version of the game would have featured Sally Acorn and the other Freedom Fighters from the Saturday morning animated series, Sonic the Hedgehog
. Even at this stage, the game's design changed wildly, going from "an isometric view, and a 2.5D side-scroller, but eventually settled on a 3D view set on a floating plane." Eventually designs evolved beyond what the Sega 32x was capable of, and the system itself was struggling sales-wise, so the game, among many in development for the system, was shifted to the Sega Saturn console.
For the boss level engine, several modes such as top-down and side scrolling views were prototyped to create a more interesting view of the boss battle areas while still using the prerendered Sonic sprite assets used in the main game engine developed by Ofer. The boss level engine began to evolve into a game of its own using this new source of inspiration, trying to stay closer to its 2D roots by adopting a 3D but side-scrolling viewpoint. The new boss engine gameplay prototype adopted a more pastel color scheme and organic flow of the inspirational Nights Into Dreams game, made by Sonic creator Yuji Naka
.
In March 1996, Sega of Japan representatives, including CEO Nakayama Hayao went over to Sega Technical Institute's headquarters to check up on the game's progress. They were unimpressed at the progress made on the main game engine, but they had actually watched an old, outdated version of the main game's engine. The representatives left before they were allowed to watch the most recent version, but were conversely so impressed by the boss engine that they requested the entire game be reworked to be like that instead. This was devastating to both teams; to Senn and Alon's team because their work was rejected based on outdated work, and Coffin's because they had far more work ahead of them, with a strict December 1996 deadline nearby.
In order to attempt to make this deadline, the team was moved into a place of isolation from further company politics, practically moved into the company's office, and worked sixteen hours a day. Additionally, since their approach was similar to the Nights Into Dreams game engine, they requested if they could have access to it as a starting point. This request was granted, however, after two weeks of work on it, it was taken away, as the company hadn't secured permission from the engine's creator, Yuji Naka, who threatened to leave the company if it were used. This further wasted development time.
Two major hurdles are credited to stopping the project. Senn and Alon had initially continued on with their game engine, undeterred by their work's original rejection, hoping to pitch it Sega's PC division. However, it was eventually rejected again, and it, along with more company politics, prompted Alon to leave Sega. Secondly, Coffin, who had been overworking non-stop to get the project out, came down with pneumonia
.
This solidified the fact that the game could not be released by the end of the December 1996 deadline and thus, the project was cancelled. Instead, for the holiday season in 1996, Sega decided to concentrate on an alternative Sonic project, Sonic 3D Blast
, and Nights Into Dreams, the game done by Sonic original creator Yuji Naka.
For many years, very little content from the game was ever released beyond screenshots that had been released to the media in promotion of the game prior to its cancellation. However, in 2006 a copy of a very early test engine was sold at auction to an anonymous collector who bought it for 2,500 dollars. An animated GIF
image of the gameplay was initially released, with the disk image
itself was leaked
on July 17, 2007 after a fundraising project by the "Assembler" website community purchased the disc from the collector.
In 2006, the game's director, Chris Senn, opened the Sonic X-treme Compendium web site and began revealing large amounts of the game's development history to the public, including videos of early footage, a playable character named Tiara, and a large amount of previously unreleased concept music related to the title. He also was given permission by Hirokazu Yasuhara
, the level designer for the majority of the original 16-bit Sonic titles, to post level designs that were going to be put in the game. Senn, along with the community, announced intentions to recreate the game, but their efforts deteriorated, and the project was canceled in January 2010.
is after the six Rings of Order, and call on Sonic to get the Rings before Robotnik can. Dr. Robotnik ends up kidnapping Gazebo after he requests Sonic's help, making it so Sonic has to retrieve both him and the Rings of Order.
To further the traditional "Sonic formula", every level
was designed in a tube-like fashion; Sonic would be able to walk onto walls, thus changing the direction of gravity and the rotation of the level itself, much like the special stages in Knuckles' Chaotix
. In addition, an unusual, fish-eye lens
-styled camera was put into place so players could see more of their surroundings at any given time.
At one point in the development process, there was a possibility for 4 playable characters
: Knuckles the Echidna
, Tiara Boobowski, Miles "Tails" Prower
and Sonic the Hedgehog
, with each character wou having had a unique gameplay style. Knuckles and Tiara would have had traditional-style play, having top-down and side-scrolling views respectively. Sonic had the fish-eye style levels, and Tails would play in first person flight mode. Tiara had the Ice Blade to fight her enemies. Sonic himself was to be equipped with a large set of new moves, including a "spin slash", a ring throwing ability, and a downward dash.
Other characters intended to be included in the game were Nack the Weasel and Metal Sonic, who would have been a boss
character in the final game.
There were six planned Zones: Jade Gully, Crystal Frost, Red Sands, Blue Ocean, Metal Blade and Galaxy Fortress.
respectively), Sega was expected by the fans to follow suit and produce an official 3D Sonic game. With the games cancellation, the Saturn never did receive an exclusive Sonic platforming game, but rather only the Genesis port of Sonic 3D Blast, Sonic Jam, a compilation of the 2D Genesis Sonic titles, and Sonic R
, a racing game. Sonic's debut in a full 3D platform game wasn't until 1999, with Sonic Adventure
as a Dreamcast launch title, well after the death of the Saturn.
The game's cancellation led to the overworking, and ultimate disbandment, of Sega Technical Institute.
Websites such as Destructoid
and Games Radar have speculated the game could have been a source of inspiration for future games such as Super Mario Galaxy
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Early version were considered for several systems until ending up as being developed
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
by Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
for the Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
, with the intended release being around Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
of 1996
1996 in video gaming
-Notable releases:*January 29 — Duke Nukem 3D, successor to the simple side-scrolling originals, and a genre-redefining title for first person shooters....
. However, after getting stuck in development hell
Development hell
In the jargon of the media-industry, "development hell" is a period during which a film or other project is trapped in development...
, and missing that deadline, it was eventually cancelled. Had it been finished, it would have been the first fully 3D
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
Sonic game and the first original Sonic title developed for the Sega Saturn.
Genesis and 32x years
Development of the game was started by Sega Technical Institute, a U.S.United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-based developer
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
that had worked on games such as Sonic 2
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit)
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a 16-bit 1992 platform video game that was developed by Sonic Team members working at the Sega Technical Institute, and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis console. It was released in Japan on November 21, 1992 and in North America and Europe on November 24, 1992...
, Sonic 3
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a 1994 platform video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. It was developed in the United States by members of Sonic Team working at Sega Technical Institute, and was published by Sega, debuting worldwide in the first half of 1994...
and Sonic Spinball
Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball
Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball is an adventure pinball game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It was originally released for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis in 1993 and later ported to the Game Gear and Master System in 1995.The game title is a pun on pinball and Sonic's famous spin dash move...
. It was originally developed for several other Sega game consoles prior to the Sega Saturn. In its earliest conception, after the completion of Sonic & Knuckles
Sonic & Knuckles
Sonic & Knuckles is a 1994 platform video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. It was developed in the United States at Sega Technical Institute by members of Sonic Team, and was published by Sega worldwide on October 18, 1994.As well as working as a standalone...
in 1994, the game was set to be released on the Sega Genesis, as a side-scrolling platform game, much like the first four Sonic games game for the same system. As the Genesis was coming upon the end of its lifespan, it was eventually moved to the Sega 32x
Sega 32X
The Sega 32X, codenamed Project Mars, is an add-on for the Mega Drive/Genesis video game console by Sega. Its aim was to increase the lifespan of the aging Mega Drive/Genesis system, which was facing stiff competition from the SNES...
under the code-name Sonic Mars. (The reason for this name being that the Sega 32x was originally codenamed Sega Mars). This version of the game would have featured Sally Acorn and the other Freedom Fighters from the Saturday morning animated series, Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog (TV series)
Sonic the Hedgehog: The Animated Series is an American animated series produced by DIC Entertainment with the partnership of Sega of America and was based on the Sonic the...
. Even at this stage, the game's design changed wildly, going from "an isometric view, and a 2.5D side-scroller, but eventually settled on a 3D view set on a floating plane." Eventually designs evolved beyond what the Sega 32x was capable of, and the system itself was struggling sales-wise, so the game, among many in development for the system, was shifted to the Sega Saturn console.
Saturn and PC years
The game in this form was initially developed separately by two teams in parallel starting in the second half of 1995. One team, led by Chris Senn and Ofer Alon, was in charge of developing the main game engine, while the other team, lead by Chris Coffin, worked on a "free-roaming, ‘arena-style’ 3D engine". The main game levels themselves were developed in a tubular mode, allowing level rotation and gravity directions, and as result, moved around Sonic. The fish-eye lens camera view, developed by Alon, gave the game a distinctive spherical appearance.For the boss level engine, several modes such as top-down and side scrolling views were prototyped to create a more interesting view of the boss battle areas while still using the prerendered Sonic sprite assets used in the main game engine developed by Ofer. The boss level engine began to evolve into a game of its own using this new source of inspiration, trying to stay closer to its 2D roots by adopting a 3D but side-scrolling viewpoint. The new boss engine gameplay prototype adopted a more pastel color scheme and organic flow of the inspirational Nights Into Dreams game, made by Sonic creator Yuji Naka
Yuji Naka
, is a video game designer and programmer, best known as the former head of Sonic Team, a group of Sega programmers/designers, where he was the lead programmer of the original Sonic the Hedgehog....
.
In March 1996, Sega of Japan representatives, including CEO Nakayama Hayao went over to Sega Technical Institute's headquarters to check up on the game's progress. They were unimpressed at the progress made on the main game engine, but they had actually watched an old, outdated version of the main game's engine. The representatives left before they were allowed to watch the most recent version, but were conversely so impressed by the boss engine that they requested the entire game be reworked to be like that instead. This was devastating to both teams; to Senn and Alon's team because their work was rejected based on outdated work, and Coffin's because they had far more work ahead of them, with a strict December 1996 deadline nearby.
In order to attempt to make this deadline, the team was moved into a place of isolation from further company politics, practically moved into the company's office, and worked sixteen hours a day. Additionally, since their approach was similar to the Nights Into Dreams game engine, they requested if they could have access to it as a starting point. This request was granted, however, after two weeks of work on it, it was taken away, as the company hadn't secured permission from the engine's creator, Yuji Naka, who threatened to leave the company if it were used. This further wasted development time.
Two major hurdles are credited to stopping the project. Senn and Alon had initially continued on with their game engine, undeterred by their work's original rejection, hoping to pitch it Sega's PC division. However, it was eventually rejected again, and it, along with more company politics, prompted Alon to leave Sega. Secondly, Coffin, who had been overworking non-stop to get the project out, came down with pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
.
This solidified the fact that the game could not be released by the end of the December 1996 deadline and thus, the project was cancelled. Instead, for the holiday season in 1996, Sega decided to concentrate on an alternative Sonic project, Sonic 3D Blast
Sonic 3D Blast
Sonic 3D is an isometric platform game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It was developed in the United Kingdom by Traveller's Tales and published by Sega. The Japanese version was also Sega Saturn exclusive...
, and Nights Into Dreams, the game done by Sonic original creator Yuji Naka.
Post-cancellation
GIF
The Graphics Interchange Format is a bitmap image format that was introduced by CompuServe in 1987 and has since come into widespread usage on the World Wide Web due to its wide support and portability....
image of the gameplay was initially released, with the disk image
Disk image
A disk image is a single file or storage device containing the complete contents and structure representing a data storage medium or device, such as a hard drive, tape drive, floppy disk, CD/DVD/BD, or USB flash drive, although an image of an optical disc may be referred to as an optical disc image...
itself was leaked
Internet leak
An Internet leak occurs when a party's confidential information is released to the public on the Internet. Various types of information and data can be, and have been, "leaked" to the Internet, the most common being personal information, computer software and source code, and artistic works such...
on July 17, 2007 after a fundraising project by the "Assembler" website community purchased the disc from the collector.
In 2006, the game's director, Chris Senn, opened the Sonic X-treme Compendium web site and began revealing large amounts of the game's development history to the public, including videos of early footage, a playable character named Tiara, and a large amount of previously unreleased concept music related to the title. He also was given permission by Hirokazu Yasuhara
Hirokazu Yasuhara
Hirokazu Yasuhara is a Japanese video game designer and Sonic Team's 2nd Assistant President.He designed the gameplay and stages of the majority of the initial Sonic the Hedgehog video games for Sega Mega Drive based on technical demos and engines coded by Yuji Naka and characters designed by...
, the level designer for the majority of the original 16-bit Sonic titles, to post level designs that were going to be put in the game. Senn, along with the community, announced intentions to recreate the game, but their efforts deteriorated, and the project was canceled in January 2010.
Story
With the game constantly changing platforms, engines, and development teams, there were many loose storylines in consideration. The main storyline used in promotion of the game in magazines involved a Professor Gazebo Boobowski and his daughter, Tiara, who are the guardians of the six magical Rings of Order, as well as the ancient art of ring-smithing. Gazebo and Tiara fear that Dr. RobotnikDoctor Eggman
, also known by his alias , is a fictional video game character, the main antagonist of the Sonic the Hedgehog series created by Sega. Dr. Eggman is a rotund, mad scientist with an IQ of 300 who plans to conquer the world in order to build his Eggman Empire and is the archenemy of Sonic the Hedgehog...
is after the six Rings of Order, and call on Sonic to get the Rings before Robotnik can. Dr. Robotnik ends up kidnapping Gazebo after he requests Sonic's help, making it so Sonic has to retrieve both him and the Rings of Order.
Gameplay
Level (computer and video games)
A level, map, area, or world in a video game is the total space available to the player during the course of completing a discrete objective...
was designed in a tube-like fashion; Sonic would be able to walk onto walls, thus changing the direction of gravity and the rotation of the level itself, much like the special stages in Knuckles' Chaotix
Knuckles' Chaotix
Knuckles' Chaotix, is a platform game spin-off to the Sonic the Hedgehog series, developed by Sonic Team, and published by Sega for the Sega 32X. The game was released in North America in March 1995, in Japan on April 21, 1995 and finally in Europe in May 1995. The game's only re-release since then...
. In addition, an unusual, fish-eye lens
Fisheye lens
In photography, a fisheye lens is a wide-angle lens that takes in a broad, panoramic and hemispherical image. Originally developed for use in meteorology to study cloud formation and called "whole-sky lenses", fisheye lenses quickly became popular in general photography for their unique, distorted...
-styled camera was put into place so players could see more of their surroundings at any given time.
At one point in the development process, there was a possibility for 4 playable characters
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
: Knuckles the Echidna
Knuckles the Echidna
Knuckles the Echidna is a video game character of the Sonic the Hedgehog game series, including spin-off games and comics. His first appearance was in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, released in 1994 to introduce a new rival for Sonic. He was presented as an antagonist who was tricked by Dr. Eggman into...
, Tiara Boobowski, Miles "Tails" Prower
Miles "Tails" Prower
, better known by his nickname , is a character, as well as the main deuteragonist in the Sonic the Hedgehog series of video games, comics, animated series and film released by Sega....
and Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog (character)
, trademarked Sonic The Hedgehog, is a video game character and the main protagonist of the Sonic video game series released by Sega, as well as in numerous spin-off comics, cartoons, and a feature film. The first game was released on June 23, 1991, to provide Sega with a mascot to rival Nintendo's...
, with each character wou having had a unique gameplay style. Knuckles and Tiara would have had traditional-style play, having top-down and side-scrolling views respectively. Sonic had the fish-eye style levels, and Tails would play in first person flight mode. Tiara had the Ice Blade to fight her enemies. Sonic himself was to be equipped with a large set of new moves, including a "spin slash", a ring throwing ability, and a downward dash.
Other characters intended to be included in the game were Nack the Weasel and Metal Sonic, who would have been a boss
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
character in the final game.
There were six planned Zones: Jade Gully, Crystal Frost, Red Sands, Blue Ocean, Metal Blade and Galaxy Fortress.
Legacy
The Sonic X-treme debacle has been cited as a reason for the ultimate failure of the Sega Saturn. With the Sonic the Hedgehog series of games being attributed to much of the company's prior system, the Genesis, success, and Sony and Nintendo both having flagship 3D platformers available early in the life cycle of their consoles (Crash Bandicoot and Super Mario 64Super Mario 64
is a platform game, published by Nintendo and developed by its EAD division, for the Nintendo 64. Along with Pilotwings 64, it was one of the launch titles for the console. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, and later in North America, Europe, and Australia. Super Mario 64 has sold over...
respectively), Sega was expected by the fans to follow suit and produce an official 3D Sonic game. With the games cancellation, the Saturn never did receive an exclusive Sonic platforming game, but rather only the Genesis port of Sonic 3D Blast, Sonic Jam, a compilation of the 2D Genesis Sonic titles, and Sonic R
Sonic R
Sonic R is a racing game developed by Traveller's Tales and Sonic Team for the Sega Saturn and PC, the latter version being ported to the GameCube and the PlayStation 2 in Sonic Gems Collection. It features characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog series...
, a racing game. Sonic's debut in a full 3D platform game wasn't until 1999, with Sonic Adventure
Sonic Adventure
is a 1999 platform video game developed by Sonic Team and released on December 23, 1998, in Japan by Sega for the Dreamcast. One of its development titles was Sonic RPG...
as a Dreamcast launch title, well after the death of the Saturn.
The game's cancellation led to the overworking, and ultimate disbandment, of Sega Technical Institute.
Websites such as Destructoid
Destructoid
Destructoid is an independent video game-focused blog based in San Francisco, California that was founded in March 2006. It has since grown into one of the most widely read video game sites on the Internet, reaching more than 3 million unique visitors per month...
and Games Radar have speculated the game could have been a source of inspiration for future games such as Super Mario Galaxy
Super Mario Galaxy
is a 3D platform game developed by Nintendo EAD Tokyo and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It was released in most regions in November 2007, and is the third 3D original platformer in the Mario series, after Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. The game follows the protagonist, Mario, on a...