Hardy LIVE! Let's Talk about Sonic!
Video
Hardy LIVE! Let's Talk about Sonic!
Jersey Jack launched Sonic the Hedgehog and it is awesome! Let's talk about it.
Kineticist’s take
TL;DR
Cary Hardy analyzes Jersey Jack's Sonic pinball announcement, gameplay mechanics, and design decisions.
Synopsis
Cary Hardy streams live reaction and detailed gameplay analysis of the newly announced Sonic pinball machine by Jersey Jack Pinball. He discusses the brief teaser trailer, his hands-on experience with the game, design choices including the upper playfield and loop shot mechanics, art direction concerns, and tier pricing ($AE/$SE/$CE). Hardy expresses enthusiasm for the theme as a lifelong Sonic fan while offering critical feedback on theme integration and artwork execution.
Highlights
- The Sonic teaser trailer was designed for social media retention and to create FOMO rather than tell a comprehensive story
- Sonic's upper playfield takes up approximately 50% of the playfield space but is designed to be constantly challenging to keep the ball in play
- The Sonic loop uses adaptive magnet technology that detects ball speed via optos to assist shots that don't quite reach the ramp
- Licensing restrictions prevent Jersey Jack from using the classic Sega startup sound/logo because it's only licensed for products Sega manufactures directly
- Christopher Franchi was originally signed to create custom artwork for Sonic but was restricted to only manipulating Sega's provided assets
- A gameplay stream for Sonic is scheduled for Thursday
- Steve Ritchie beat the first level/zone of Sonic during Cary Hardy playtest session
- The first inline drop target ricochets back down the middle if forehanded but is safer to backhand
Notable quotes
“Sonic is a dream theme for me...this is something that speaks to me. I am a Sonic fan kind of guy, alright?”
“I was originally signed on to do the Art for Sonic. I was then told I could only manipulate Sega's assets art. Yeah, I pulled it.”
“This is something that needs to grab your attention immediately and hold it for the next minute or so...it's turned into retention.”
“It's just going to be time. Time will ultimately tell what that's going to look like [regarding the plexi scratching]”
“I think Black Knight Sword of Black Knight Sword of Rage (Pro) is the way to go...Black Knight 2K is definitely all right flipper.”
Entities
- Jersey Jack Pinball· company
- Sega· company
- Black Knight 2000· game
- Black Knight Sword of Rage (Pro)· game
- Harry Potter (Jersey Jack Pinball)· game
- Sonic (Jersey Jack Pinball)· game
- Pinside· organization
- Cary Hardy· person
- Christopher Franchi· person
- Ralph· person
- Steve Ritchie· person
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