Sonic Xtreme Info - Update: 01/15

[Keith T. Hemari]

I haven't seen a topic for this here, and I figure either noone here knows, or noone wants to bother, but here it is:

Recently, Chris Senn who was the Art director, co-lead designer, team coordinator, and conceptual music composer for the ill-fated Sonic Xtreme project has decided to end the ten year silence and is publicly answering questions and posting images and information on his experiences working on Sonic Xtreme. The forum can be found here.

He is also planning the release of a Sonic Xtreme Compendium which will include just about everything he has saved up from his time on the project.

Needless to say, this is a very important moment in Sonic Research history. Comparable to when Simon Wai found the Sonic 2 Beta ROM. If you were an Egyptology student, this would be about like having a builder of the pyramids come back to life and say: "Hey, I can tell you how we did that!"

Sorry if everyone already knows about this, but I just felt it should be mentioned here.

Edit: Oh yes, and credit where credit is due: I first heard about this from this thread at the SWS2B site.

Edit Edit: of course I forgot you have to have an account there now to view it.. well.. ok, so HXC posted it and I credit him for my knowledge of it XD

Edit Edit Edit: Stupid cut and paste...

[SonKnuck]

keithhemari said:

Edit Edit: of course I forgot you have to have an account there now to view it.. well.. ok, so HXC posted it and I credit him for my knowledge of it XD

I don't have an account there, and I saw it.

...and.. HOLY MOTHER OF A DISCOVERY!

[dead]

zomg nekkids

[Blues]

Was that Yuski I saw over there?

[王泥喜]

Tiara was better when colored pink; She looks a tad too much like Sally Acorn in that getup.

Then again,Sally was pink at one point too... but she didn't look like Tiara then.

Anyway, interesting finds.... since I'm not gonna register there right away, can anyone tell me the juiciest bits that come out of this?

[Keith T. Hemari]

sonknuck said:

keithhemari said:

Edit Edit: of course I forgot you have to have an account there now to view it.. well.. ok, so HXC posted it and I credit him for my knowledge of it XD

I don't have an account there, and I saw it.

...and.. HOLY MOTHER OF A DISCOVERY!

Ahh, ok. Simon must have switched it back over. For a while there they had all non-registered visitors locked out because of a spamming attack or some such thing. Either that or I've discovered a weak spot in that security XD

kiddocabbusses said:

Anyway, interesting finds.... since I'm not gonna register there right away, can anyone tell me the juiciest bits that come out of this?

Just go over to Chris's forum. Anything on Simons forum is there plus the answers he's giving out to the questions that I and others are asking him. And anything new will show up there first. You don't need an account there (or, as it turns out for the SWS2B forum either) to veiw the topics.

[Seph]

I am engrossed and cannot turn my head away.

[Kulock]

I'm too tired to go through the whole thing (I feel like I'm missing a good opportunity by not saying something now, before everyone really floods in), but what I've seen and DLed is quite impressive, the two demos so far with Sonic running around that "playground", and the 2.5D Tiara gameplay idea, for example.

[midopa]

Very cool. Can't wait to see all the stuff Mr. Senn and co. (?) has to offer.

That Sonic animation SWS2B has... It makes me think, "woop woop woop woop woop!"

[Keith T. Hemari]

midopa said:

That Sonic animation SWS2B has... It makes me think, "woop woop woop woop woop!"

*snickers*

Yeah, take Sonic running around in circles and add some Three Stooges noises to it.. instant comedy hit!

But it was meant for demo stuff so we shan't judge it too harshly

Take note: The Tiara images are from a very early developmental stage. The final image (which he will show later, possibly in the SXC), I expect is much more refined.

Interesting to note also that she isn't a hedgehog, as previously thought. She is a Manx Kitten, which explains her color and some of the earlier images that have a more feline look to them. So basically she's a female cat who was supposed to be a match for Sonic's 'tude.

Wait.. this sounds familiar.. XD

[突貫 (Tokkan)]

I knew Blaze was familiar somehow.

[Toxic]

Well I just set that sonic GIF to the Benny Hill theme, and now I'll be amused for hours.

[Admin]

The dude says "lol" a lot, doesn't he? ^_^;;
Anyway.... *digs around*

[luckett]

That Tiara artwork looks incredibly fake. The rest of the stuff looks pretty legit as proof of concept stuff, but the Tiara stuff looks just like Sonic Advance furry edits on DA. She has Sonic Adventure eyes for instance.

If its real then damn, Sega had some shitty artists!

edit: Good lord, just reading the guys forum makes it even harder to believe he's legit. In one topic he says he saw a trailer for a Sonic movie before King Kong, then says he might of hallucinated it. Okaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

[Optimus Prime]

I'm going to LIVE over there for awhile! I know what I'm doing this weekend =D.

Tiara's a kitty, Tiara's a kitty!... well, maybe. I don't know. But considering the only other mentioned species is hedgehog, and she doesn't... look much like one...

I am hoping to see a pic of her father though. Mostly because I have never seen -one- that was not a fan-concept...

[Ink The Echidna]

luckett said:

That Tiara artwork looks incredibly fake. The rest of the stuff looks pretty legit as proof of concept stuff, but the Tiara stuff looks just like Sonic Advance furry edits on DA. She has Sonic Adventure eyes for instance.

I don't agree, Luckett. I mean, your concern that they aren't legit might possibly be warranted, but I don't at all thing that they're just edits from Advance/Adventure art. I don't see the simlarities, other than that she's a Sonic character in pixel form.

Compare:



With:


Even compared to Advance 2 art, (sorry, I don't have an example handy), she's clearly a separate design style. For one thing, her eyes are freakin' huge. XD She's also got much stronger highlights, making her look 'shinier'... About the only thing a bit simliar I see is the Amy-esque gold glove ring on some of the images.

And compare the Tiara 'sprites' to the concept art of her that's been floating around the web forever. She's had a bit of a so-called 'Sonic Adventure' look about her even when the first preview articles hit the gaming magazines. (again, I can't find the image I want--just cleaned out my harddrive and everything's packed away on disc--but you guys know where to find this stuff by now, right?)

EDIT: Angst: XD, you're right, she doesn't look much like a hedgehog, does she?

[Keith T. Hemari]

Lukett.. I would agree with you if this were some random website. But senntinet.com is the home page of Chris Senn himself. take a look, eh? Read the bio and such. This guy is legit. It has been around for quite a while and I seriously doubt he's done this just to fool us.

[Admin]

bluetail said:

Tiara's a kitty, Tiara's a kitty!... well, maybe. I don't know. But considering the only other mentioned species is hedgehog

He also mentioned Bandicoot. =o

EDIT SINCE I DON'T WANT TO DOUBLEPOST:

Comparing the new colored Tiara pics to the VERY old one already available shows a lot of differences, but comparing them to the screenshot of that "Rock the Rock" video posted in this topic: mooglecavern.proboards45.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1128220631

.... Similarities abound, wouldn't you say? Be sure to take a close look at the difference/similarity in the shoes, in particular.

[Optimus Prime]

I told you that Rock the Rock was later Tiara artwork. Not that it gains me any bragging rights, but, uh... yeah. Shiiiny. I want to see the colored version of those, DAMMIT! GIVE GIVE GIVE!

Unfortunately I have nothing to contribute to conversation over there... but I'm going to stare at it for new posts.

[Keith T. Hemari]

Actually, I think that suggests that the pics fro Rock the Rock are actually earlier designs, given that the images that Chris has posted are very early concept works.

And that's another thing to consider about those images. You can tell that they're being used, in some cases to test color schemes. Notice how her eyes and clothes are different colors in some. Also take note that he was using Deluxe Paint on an Amiga, so this is obviously some quick mouse art that he did to test different ways she could be colored.

From his own site we can see that he is quite a good artist.