PlanetDreamcast | Features | The Creators of Sonic

Sonic Week: Day 4 - The Creators of Sonic A "big up" to the people behind the hog. - by Reojojo Sonic the Hedgehog has been a Sega icon since his introduction in 1991. He's appeared in tons of games over several different consoles. He's touched our lives like no other hedgehog ever has. So we've decided that it was time to show him exactly how much he means to us. There's no doubt in any gamer's mind that Sonic the Hedgehog is one of the most well-known and important mascot characters ever created. In a time when happy, Italian plumbers ruled the land, it took a spiky hedgehog with attitude to really stir things up. But Sonic didn't come from out of nowhere. He was masterminded by some of the fabulous folks at Sega. Today, we'll be taking a look at those individuals responsible for the wonderful Sonic the Hedgehog. The Creators of Sonic the Hedgehog The man, the myth, the legend... Yuji Naka, director of Sonic Team. Back in 1990, Sega and the Master System had just been defeated at the hands of Nintendo and their powerhouse, the Nintendo Entertainment System. Deciding to give it another shot, they had launched the Genesis a year earlier and things were going fairly well. The system was home to numerous arcade ports such as Altered Beast and Golden Axe which were selling systems like crazy. A few exclusive titles, such as Mickey Mouse's Castle of Illusion were also giving gamers something great to play. The Genesis was selling, but not well enough to defeat the oncoming monster that was the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Its release was quickly approaching and promised among other things, a new Mario game that would surely sell systems. Sega needed a killer-ap and something that could compete with the all-powerful Mario. Hayao Nakayama, the President of Sega, wanted a new mascot for the console. In essence, he wanted something that would be to Sega what Mickey Mouse is to Disney. A great mascot and a great game were necessary for the Genesis. Two men were assigned the task: Yuji Naka and Naoto Ohshima were to create what would soon be called "Project Sonic." First, let's take a look at Yuji Naka. He first got involved with computers because of the "Yellow Magic Orchestra," a Japanese band popularized in the 80's that used computers as musical instruments. Though he couldn't play his instrument of choice, the synthesizer, an interest in computers was sparked inside him. His love for computers introduced him to videogames. And as I'm sure ever gamer knows, playing games almost always makes you wish you were creating them as well. Naka-san carried that torch all the way to Sega, where he took a job as an assistant programmer on several Master System and Genesis titles. He was then chosen as lead programmer/designer for "Project Sonic." And the rest, as they say, is history. He has worked, in some form, on every Sonic game, whether it be as a programmer, executive producer, or something completely different. He's also worked on some other prominent games for Sega such as Space Harrier, the Phantasy Star series, and NiGHTS into Dreams. He's currently heading up production at Sonic Team. Naka-san is about to break-it-down, on the mic... Boyeee! Naoto Ohshima was the head artist for Sonic the Hedgehog, and he also pened the story which has drilled its way into our hearts. He is still currently with Sonic Team, but often works on different projects than Yuji Naka. He was originally an artist and graphic designer that got into videogames in much the same way as Yuji Naka did: from playing them and working with computers as medium for artwork. Ohshima seems to have been overshadowed by Naka, but he's still an important team member. Unfortunately, very little is known of him know. Let me speak for a bit about the creation of the original Sonic the Hedgehog. In the beginning, there were quite a few features planned that never made it to the final game. First off, instead of rolling up into a ball and jumping on enemies, the attack that made him famous, Sonic was going to pick up all sorts of objects from his surroundings and throw them, much in the style of Super Mario Bros. 2. The idea was canned because the designers decided that a simple, one-button interface would be preferable. Finding objects, picking them up, and throwing them would be too time-consuming and frusterating for novice players. Another little known fact, is that Sonic the Hedgehog was colored blue because the color symbolized that of the Sega logo, just as both the Nintendo logo and Mario are colored red. The final day of Sonic Week here at PlanetDreamcast is tomorrow. Which console will be the next home for Sonic? What is Sonic Team up to right now? Come back tomorrow as we take a look at what the future holds for our favorite hedgehog. Choose a day of Sonic Week coverage: Day 1 - The Games of Sonic (1991 - 1994) Day 2 - The Games of Sonic (1995 - Present/Unreleased) Day 3 - Sonic Merchandise Day 5 - The Future of Sonic Special thanks goes too our hosted site, Shadow of a Hedgehog, for most of the media and some great info.