I wrote a legitimate dissertation on Sonic the Hedgehog.

[Crowbar]

Link before all the too-long-didn't-read stuff. (.doc format, not html, sorry)

Hi, I'm new. Been aware of the site and community for a long time, though. I recently graduated from an Illustration and Animation degree in London. As well as all the practical/portfolio work, we had to do an 8000-odd word essay on a subject of our choosing. I chose to do mine on a comparison of the Sonic and Mario franchises, examining their varying levels of success (especially recently), but concentrating on issues of design, characterisation, and narrative, rather than gameplay. I told myself I'd only post it online anywhere if I got good marks for it, and I did (they even kept a copy for the university library), so here it is.

I'm posting it here because I figure this crowd would get a kick out of it (whether or not you agree with everything I put forward). Also, while I was researching it I asked GG!'s help in getting scans of the original japanese language Sonic manuals. Sadly they didn't play as big a part in the essay as I'd originally planned, and I believe they're somewhat easier to come by these days, but you still have my sincerest gratitude.

Please note that this was written early this year, so certain things are out of date (Brawl is out, we know about Unleashed and Sonic & The Black Knight etc.) Also, there were many topics I couldn't include, either due to hitting my max word count or lack of adequate research material. There's also tons of stuff I've since realised I could've phrased better, or things I didn't think of before that I could've included, but nonetheless I present it here exactly as it was when I handed it in.

Hope you enjoy.

[P.P.A.]

Hi Crowbar, glad you joined. I have a feeling you'll fit in here very well.
As for the dissertation, I think it was excellently written and wholeheartedly agree with basically all of this. And... What did I reply at TSC a few weeks ago? Ah, here: ...you made me want to get SPM.

[Frieza2000]

I commend you for using the assignment to write something relevant and interesting to yourself and others. I've heard this discussion a million times so I can't say I read anything new, except for this line: "Mario’s games tell simple stories but in a sophisticated way, whereas Sonic’s attempt to make use of sophisticated stories but fall short on their telling." I'd never thought about it, but that's very true. Starting with SA2 the pacing and presentation of the story aren't up to the cinematic style they're going for, while Mario's little skits are written brilliantly.

But as an English buff, I have to smack you a few times. This is probably useless now that you've graduated, but if you ever feel the need to do something like this again and want to sound professional keep these in mind:

-It's disorganized. You follow a general outline, but wander almost constantly. The biggest example is in your conclusion when you bring up Brawl and Sonic Chronicles, never directly tying them to your thesis, to ultimately say nothing more about them than "the result should also prove interesting."
-This is almost more of a report than an essay. You make a lot of observations about both series, but you rarely assert an idea or a judgment. For instance, you use the model of the Hero's Story to express that Mario represented the industry's status quo and Sonic its rebel. That's a nice approach, but you never really draw conclusions about that fact.
-Chill with the parenthetical notes. To me they're usually a sign that you didn't take the time to organize your thoughts into fluid sentences. Seriously, there are so many that I had trouble concentrating and most of them are irrelevant to the subject they interrupt. We don't need to know that it was Eggman who broke the Master Emerald, or that he used to be called Robotnik, or that Tomb Raider receives excess academic attention, or that the special stages use Mode 7. Sometimes it's ok to assume your readers know something, or to let them reference it themselves, or to just omit it, to keep your work focused.
-There are spelling errors. And not the innocent kind that professionals make every so often, the kind that are underlined in bright red when reading through the .doc file. What happened?

[Crowbar]

Really? I just checked through and the only really bad mistake it picked up was "hon-human". The rest that wasn't names or in quotes consisted of "spiney", "backstory", "subseries", and "hoverboard", which I'd consider pretty inoffensive. Unless improper hyphenisation is worse than I think. (I also remember seeing at least one other typo somewhere else a while ago, Word's spelling and grammar check misses it though)

I do agree with your other points, however, especially regarding the parenthetical notes. It's actually a general bad habit of mine.
The reason I couldn't really say much more on Brawl or Chronicles was because, well, there was nothing more I could say, at that point we knew basically nothing about the SSE or Chronicles' storyline (with the latter we still don't). I felt that it was necessary to mention them, but, given the lack of information, I could only do so as I did, in the conclusion. Otherwise it would've just been alot of speculation. I do see what you're saying otherwise, though. Thanks alot for the feedback.

[Frieza2000]

Glad to encourage a fellow scholar of the contemporary!

Looking closer, I notice that almost all of the spelling errors that my machine highlights involve the replacement of a Z with an S.

civilisation=civilization (you spelled this one both ways in different places)
theorise=theorize
underemphasised=underemphasized (should probably be 2 words, actually)
generalised=generalized
characterisation=characterization
realised=realized
criticised=criticized
recognised=recognized
prioritise=prioritize

I guess it's a regional thing programmed into MS Word. I know that colour, favour, and chequered are ok over there, but I've never heard of a British aversion to the letter Z.

[Crowbar]

Yeah, we spell all those words with an "s" over here (though I'll give you civilization). I thought that claiming to be an "English buff" you'd have known about that!

[Frieza2000]

Your French-inspired spellings have humbled and educated me. Welcome aboard.

[Ritz]

I didn't get any fancy pedantic grammar circle jerking initiation ceremony when I joined the board.

I feel neglected and inadequate.

[Rob-Bert]

Me neither. Let's head down to the bar and drink our sorrows away.

[DackAttac]

I didn't either. But PWB did start a topic in my honor. That was kinda bitchin'.

Hey, whatever happened to him?

[Crowbar]

Not to be a bitch, but if you're going to post in the topic could you at least skim the essay? Please? Even if it's just to tell me you think it's stupid and I'm stupid for writing it.

(also hi DackAttac, I used to go by the embarassing name Super_Sonic_SSJ on tSf years ago, long time no see)

[Ritz]

I didn't either. But PWB did start a topic in my honor. That was kinda bitchin'.

Hey, whatever happened to him?

Same thing that happened to Baba, Popcorn, Light Speed, Grant, chriscaffee, etc.


Oh. So that's what's missing.

Not to be a bitch, but if you're going to post in the topic could you at least skim the essay? Please? Even if it's just to tell me you think it's stupid and I'm stupid for writing it.

I read it. It was good. Not particularly informative, of course, but well written nonetheless. I might plagiarize it one day.

[DackAttac]

Point taken. I read it coherently. And I have a shockingly long post to reply to it with.

The heartbreaker really is talking about shaking off game clichés and being more creative. It's not the first time I've heard this. I've attended panels through my alma mater on game music and audio, about how it should be integrated more craftily, so you don't have those pounding string pulses that go right to your adrenal gland while solving a puzzle with no time limit. Visually and aurally, there's a lot I take issue with, and a lot of it was brought up. Some creative vision and innovation, but what really scares me to death (and makes me feel like hypocrite for believing these things whilst being a Sonic fan), is that Sonic Team/Sega/Dimps/whoever's making Sonic games these days, seem to be light years away from getting their ideas into a game properly, much less bettering those ideas.

If there was something I'd disagree with, it's how much was sacrificed when they gave Sonic dialog, just because it was given to him. I'll admit that they've never been compelling lines or deliveries, but it seems Sonic's whole role from his very inception was to be a punky do-gooder vigilante with an edge. I don't think his lines took anything away what they were saying without words. Mario doesn't have any traits that can't be put under the "hero" archetype. I agree that he's the perfect blank slate without being too generic, and that he's a better avatar. But my friend wrote a similar psychological paper on this little sub-topic you touched on, only in movies. That we connect with these main characters because they are portrayed as the main characters and the most likable, but also because we see ourselves as those roles, even though they have different faces, different bodies, different attitudes... everything. And maybe that explains why I watch Burn Notice every week and feel pumped afterwards; because on some level I feel like I just did a bunch of cool spy shit. But my point is, that these are actors with faces and attitudes their own, and it doesn't stop this phenomenon.

There's something, even if I don't feel as rebellious as Sonic is portrayed, intimate in any game where you control a main character running through a level. It's just you and the music and the environment and your thoughts, and this entity on the screen that moves based on your whims. Maybe I don't "feel like" I'm Sonic, but I do feel like I'm the left half of his brain. And quite frankly, I wouldn't make a terribly good lead character. Especially not in every game I own. If the lead character is faceless and meant to be a total blank slate, after awhile I stop believing it. I start to think, "OK, what's my motivation here? OK, the female supporting lead is flirting with me, what did I do to deserve that? I haven't done anything. She calls me noble, but I'm really just slouching on my recliner drinking vitaminwater and listening to Reel Big Fish because the temp agency hasn't called in over a damn week." And that's the risk you run with a lack of a good cast of characters, leading role included: a lack of immersion. If I'm not even thinking about what's going on outside the video game, then they've done their job better, and having such a lovable character as Sonic, lovable for his iconic status, cute look and attitude, being the main character. I'm in his head because I want to be, not because he's just doing whatever I tell him to do via joystick.

And you bring up controlling six different characters in SA1 was a contradiction, but even on paper they were contradictory. Who beat the shit out of Chaos 4, Sonic or Knuckles? Who found the silver Chaos Emerald, Sonic or Tails? And was it in the glitzy vault or the dingy sewers? The plot wasn't coherent at times, but I think that's kind of what kept the game from getting "tied up". Like in SA2, when it got tied up in space because the plot they came up with had a lot to do with space. Neither plot was perfect, but SA1's brought about less scrutiny since the plot was merely a cutscene to get your fired up and want to accomplish the next goal without having an existential crisis from lack of immersion such as my last paragraph illustrated. I think you quoted someone (was it 1Up? Becaused damned if I'm hunting down the quote) that all you really need for plot are interesting meat hooks—even crude ones—to hang the gameplay on stylishly and practically. Which is why I still refuse to throw a hissy fit about the Werehog in Unleashed.

(And you have a lot of balls to fess up to using that screen name. This one's much better. Who doesn't like crow bars?)

[G.Silver]

Was there a problem with levels being in space? It's a pretty standard game cliche that they could have arrived at without any story at all (it's not like Sonic hasn't been there before).

I'm unable to read this because I don't have Word. Any chance of a version that doesn't freak Wordpad out?

[Isuka]

Go with AbiWord.

I only found it funny that you used Galaxy's and Sonic 2K6's promotional art for the characters instead of the in-game models when doing the comparison with their respective first in-game incarnations, but it's just a very minor quibble.

[Crowbar]

That's funny, the .doc opens fine in Wordpad for me. .rtf might work, but you lose the footnotes and all the illustrations (unless you want a 80MB file).

Actually I just tried saving it with the "Save as webpage" option in word and it seems to work, so here you go. The formatting is pretty broken, the images are lower quality, and the footnotes are all right at the end, but it's there.

[EDIT] Regarding the above, it's kinda hard to cleanly rip a nice game model image from generally low-to-mid-res screenshots. Also I'd argue that promotional art is just as much an aspect of how they're portrayed as in-game graphics (one I wanted to devote some space to but sadly couldn't).

[EDIT2] Oh wait, I guess I could've used original promotional art in both cases.

[FlashTHD]

[EDIT] Regarding the above, it's kinda hard to cleanly rip a nice game model image from generally low-to-mid-res screenshots. Also I'd argue that promotional art is just as much an aspect of how they're portrayed as in-game graphics (one I wanted to devote some space to but sadly couldn't).

[EDIT2] Oh wait, I guess I could've used original promotional art in both cases.

Yeah, so bookmark this and save yourself tons of hassle in photoshop.

[DackAttac]

Was there a problem with levels being in space? It's a pretty standard game cliche that they could have arrived at without any story at all (it's not like Sonic hasn't been there before).

I didn't have a problem with levels being in space, I had a problem with seven levels being in space.

[MiraiTails]

Same thing that happened to Baba, Popcorn, Light Speed, Grant, chriscaffee, etc.

And what happened to them? They lost interest or free time to post?

[Cuckooguy]

Everyone came here to look forward to GG's witty writing but he doesn't do that anymore.

I think it started when Sega died. If I was GG!, I'd probably cut off the Sonic Museum from the current console generation. That is, finish the pages of the Sonic Advances, Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic Heroes, Sonic Riders, and Gems Collection. Then never write about another Sonic game again, because it's all going to go downhill from there and the pages will become more excruciating and a drag to write. Or I might make the cutoff point earlier and do only the games up to the Dreamcast games. Then close the book on the Sonic Museum and find something more enjoyable to write about or create. Those are the kinds of projects I prefer to do: ones that have an end. After all, what's the point if you don't enjoy it anymore? Machismoism?

There are also times when you work on a project and you stop enjoying it, so that's why I like to designate an end point and reach it to make the project complete.

[DackAttac]

Because we all hang out here because we're just loony in love with current Sonic games.