Following its release several months ago, the launch of the Sonic the Hedgehog title Sonic Mania proved that the Blue Blur still holds a dear place in many gamers’ hearts, as the retro-styled platformer managed to become the highest-rated game in the series in over a decade. Now, in an additional bid to prove that people have never stopped being enamored by the “Fastest Thing Alive”, a fan-made creation is in the works that would let players build their own levels inspired by the original releases, and the team behind the project has put out a demo of the tech in action.
As seen below in the example video for the Sonic the Hedgehog fan project dubbed Sonic Maker, the engine behind the tech shows off how potential players will be able to use the software to edit simple shapes that will represent the platform areas in a typical Sonic level, with textures of stages such as the Green Hill Zone then being laid over the structures. What’s more is that the project would also allow fans to add items such as springs throughout the level at their discretion.
Once fans finish their rough layouts of the levels they would want to play through in Sonic Maker, they can then test whether or not it’s viably constructed by using the “Debug Collision View” feature to see if Sonic can actually traverse throughout the stage without any trouble. According to the tech example, the physics found within Sonic Maker are “basically” accurate to the Sega Genesis iterations of the old-school Sonic the Hedgehog titles.
Taking all of this into consideration, while Sonic Maker definitely appears to be a fun and fantastic venture that would surely provide fans of the franchise with a feature they’ve always wanted in a Sonic the Hedgehog game – that is, the ability to craft their own levels – one can only hope that the project makes its way to completion. After all, the team behind Sonic Maker is currently using Sega’s IP without its permission, which leaves the door open to it potentially being shut down by copyright lawyers.
The Sonic the Hedgehog fan project Sonic Maker is currently still in the works.
Source: Sonic Maker – YouTube
