Sonic Extreme
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''Sonic Extreme'' was a
prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...
video game created by Vision Scape Interactive in May 2003. Proposed as a
spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...
to
Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
's ''
Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformers mo ...
'' series, ''Sonic Extreme'' featured
Sonic Sonic or Sonics may refer to: Companies *Sonic Drive-In, an American drive-in fast-food restaurant chain *Sonic (ISP), an Internet provider and CLEC, serving more than 100 California communities *Sonic Foundry, a computer software company whic ...
and
Shadow A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, o ...
riding hoverboards in a Green Hill Zone-themed open world, with gameplay likened to '' Tony Hawk's Pro Skater''. It featured three gameplay modes, which included searching for keys and Chaos Emeralds and fighting or racing another player. Vision Scape created the prototype while it made cutscenes for '' Sonic Heroes'' (2003); it was developed on the
Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...
with intent to
port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
it to the
GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...
and
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
. The prototype was assembled using the RenderWare
game engine A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games and generally includes relevant libraries and support programs. The "engine" terminology is similar to the term "software engine" used in the software i ...
and assets from prior Vision Scape and ''Sonic'' games. Vision Scape showed ''Sonic Extreme'' to
Sonic Team is a video game developer owned by the Japanese video game company Sega as part of its Sega CS Research and Development No. 2 division. Sonic Team is best known for the long-running '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' series and games such as '' Nights ...
head
Yuji Naka , credited in some games as YU2, is a Japanese video game programmer, video game designer, designer and video game producer, producer. He is the former head of the Sega studio Sonic Team, where he was the lead programmer of the original ''Sonic t ...
, who was impressed and asked for a
software design description A software design description (a.k.a. software design document or SDD; just design document; also Software Design Specification) is a representation of a software design that is to be used for recording design information, addressing various de ...
to be submitted to Sega. However, Sega never responded to Vision Scape after the document was turned in. While the game never came to fruition, it may have served as the basis for Sonic Team's '' Sonic Riders'' (2006), which features similar gameplay concepts. The ''Extreme'' prototype publicly surfaced in May 2011, when gameplay footage was uploaded to
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. Journalists reacted negatively and expressed relief it was never released.


Premise

''Sonic Extreme'' was an
extreme sports Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. Extreme tourism overl ...
video game in which the player controlled a character riding a hoverboard. It could have featured multiple playable characters from the ''
Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformers mo ...
'' series, but the prototype only featured
Sonic Sonic or Sonics may refer to: Companies *Sonic Drive-In, an American drive-in fast-food restaurant chain *Sonic (ISP), an Internet provider and CLEC, serving more than 100 California communities *Sonic Foundry, a computer software company whic ...
and
Shadow A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, o ...
. ''
Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two toge ...
'' and '' Digital Trends'' compared its gameplay to '' Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater'': the player was placed in an open world with rings, crates, boost pads, ramps,
half-pipe A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, skating, and scooter riding. Overview The structure resembles a cross-section of a swimming pool, essentially two concave ramp ...
s, and rails, and could perform tricks to boost their score. The prototype featured three game modes: "Mission", "Combat", and "Race". The "Mission" mode was
single-player A single-player video game is a video game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session. A single-player game is usually a game that can only be played by one person, while "single-player mode" is usuall ...
and involved exploring the environment to collect a key that gave access to a room with a Chaos Emerald. Collecting the emerald returned the player to the
title screen A title sequence (also called an opening sequence or intro) is the method by which films or television show, television programmes present their title and key filmmaking, production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound (often a ...
. "Combat" was a split-screen
multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...
mode in which players would attack each other with weapons such as rocket launchers, mines, and grenades. "Race" pitted players against each other in a race to the end of a level.


Development

''Sonic Extreme'' was developed by Vision Scape Interactive, a
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
-based studio known for its work on the shoot 'em up '' SeaBlade'' for the
Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...
and the
skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a ...
game ''
Tech Deck A fingerboard is a scaled-down replica of a skateboard that a person "rides" with their fingers, rather than their feet. A fingerboard is typically long with width ranging from , with graphics, trucks and plastic or ball-bearing wheels, like a ...
: Bare Knuckle Grind'' for
Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
. While developing ''Bare Knuckle Grind'', Vision Scape decided to use its
game engine A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games and generally includes relevant libraries and support programs. The "engine" terminology is similar to the term "software engine" used in the software i ...
—created using the RenderWare framework—in other skateboarding games. The first attempt was with a game based on the American animated television series ''
Rocket Power ''Rocket Power'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky and Gábor Csupó, the creators of ''Rugrats''. The series aired on Nickelodeon from August 16, 1999 to July 30, 2004. Premise ''Rocket Power'' revolves around t ...
'' that would have been published by
THQ THQ Inc. was an American video game company based in Agoura Hills, California. It was founded in April 1990 by Jack Friedman, originally in Calabasas, and became a public company the following year through a reverse merger takeover. Initial ...
for the
GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...
, Xbox, and
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
, but this game was canceled due to THQ's financial problems. As a number of the staff had backgrounds in
animation Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...
,
Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
hired Vision Scape to produce cutscenes for
Sonic Team is a video game developer owned by the Japanese video game company Sega as part of its Sega CS Research and Development No. 2 division. Sonic Team is best known for the long-running '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' series and games such as '' Nights ...
's game '' Sonic Heroes'' (2003). Vision Scape cofounder Mark McDonald decided to pitch a spinoff that used the ''Bare Knuckle Grind'' engine with the ''Sonic''
intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...
(IP). The prototype was developed over the course of a week in May 2003 without Sega's knowledge. It was created on the Xbox because of Vision Scape's experience with the platform, with intent to
port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
it to the GameCube and PlayStation 2. The team retooled ''Bare Knuckle Grind'' to resemble ''Sonic'' games; for example, the world was based on Green Hill Zone and included traditional ''Sonic'' elements such as rings and boost pads. Vision Scape's deal with Sega for ''Sonic Heroes'' also gave them access to assets from ''Sonic'' games. The studio took models of Sonic and Shadow and repurposed them to ride the hoverboards. Promotional artwork from '' Sonic Adventure'' and ''
Sonic Adventure 2 is a platform video game developed by Sonic Team USA and published by Sega. It was the final ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' game for the Dreamcast after Sega left the home console market. It features two Conflict between good and evil, good-vs-evil stor ...
'' was used for the loading and title screens. Sounds and music were ripped from ''Sonic Adventure 2''. McDonald held a meeting with Sonic Team head
Yuji Naka , credited in some games as YU2, is a Japanese video game programmer, video game designer, designer and video game producer, producer. He is the former head of the Sega studio Sonic Team, where he was the lead programmer of the original ''Sonic t ...
and showed him the prototype. According to McDonald, Naka was impressed and enthusiastic, and said the project would move forward as a collaboration between Sonic Team and Vision Scape. At Naka's request, Vision Scape produced a
software design description A software design description (a.k.a. software design document or SDD; just design document; also Software Design Specification) is a representation of a software design that is to be used for recording design information, addressing various de ...
for a full ''Sonic Extreme'' and its budget; the studio management believed they had secured the deal. However, Sega did not respond to Vision Scape and ended its communications with the studio after it completed the ''Sonic Heroes'' cutscenes, despite repeated attempts by Vision Scape's agent for correspondence. McDonald did not take Sega's silence personally, assuming it had its own plans. Ultimately, ''Sonic Extreme'' never came to fruition.


Aftermath


''Sonic Riders'' and Vision Scape's closure

In September 2005, Sega announced '' Sonic Riders'', a new ''Sonic'' game developed by Sonic Team. Vision Scape staff were stunned by the resemblances ''Sonic Riders'' bore to ''Sonic Extreme'', with characters riding hoverboards and performing tricks through worlds inspired by past ''Sonic'' games. Video game historian Liam Robertson noted that, in addition to the hoverboarding, ''Sonic Extreme''s game modes were present in ''Sonic Riders'', although heavily modified. McDonald believed that Sonic Team took Vision Scape's concept before going in a different direction, which he thinks explains Sega's silence. Vision Scape considered taking legal action, but McDonald's agent informed him the
non-disclosure agreement A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is a legal contract or part of a contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but wish ...
the studio signed during the ''Sonic Heroes'' development gave Sega ownership of anything they made using a Sega IP. Vision Scape closed in 2006. McDonald ordered the staff to dispose of their development hardware and a number
software development kit A software development kit (SDK) is a collection of software development tools in one installable package. They facilitate the creation of applications by having a compiler, debugger and sometimes a software framework. They are normally specific to ...
s were taken to a recycling plant. However, the ''Sonic Extreme'' prototype survived and was traded between collectors.


Rediscovery and reception

''Sonic Extreme'' was publicly revealed in May 2011, when a
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user, "ProtonX3", released videos demonstrating the environments and modes. The footage was poorly received by
video game journalist Video game journalism is a branch of journalism concerned with the reporting and discussion of video games, typically based on a core "reveal–preview–review" cycle. With the prevalence and rise of independent media online, online publicati ...
s. ''
Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...
'' and ''
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'' thought ''Sonic Extreme'' looked "predictably" and "compellingly" awful, respectively, and ''
GamesRadar ''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', ''Edge'' and '' Computer ...
'' joked it "prov donce again that slapping the word 'extreme' onto any popular franchise, activity or consumer good is a surefire way to guarantee that it will be anything but." The game also elicited commentary on Sega's quality control process; ''Game Informer'' and ''
Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...
'' expressed relief that it was never released, but questioned why Sega had continued to release other poorly-received ''Sonic'' games, such as ''
Shadow the Hedgehog is a fictional character appearing in Sega's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise. Shadow was created by Takashi Iizuka and Shiro Maekawa, and first made his debut in ''Sonic Adventure 2'' (2001). Although this was intended to be his only appearan ...
'', ''Sonic Riders'' and its sequels, and ''
Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformers mo ...
'' (2006). In May 2017, ''
Did You Know Gaming? ''Did You Know Gaming?'' (abbreviated ''DYKG'') is a video game–focused blog and web series which launched in May 2012. The site features video content focusing on video game related trivia and facts, with occasional journalistic investigations ...
'' dedicated an episode of its series ''Unseen64'' to ''Sonic Extreme''. Former members of Vision Scape, including McDonald, were interviewed for the video, while research was provided by Andrew Borman, a video game preservationist and the owner of the prototype. After the video's release, ''
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'' was positive, saying "''Extreme'' looks like it could've actually been a lot of fun" and favorably compared its battle mode to ''
Mario Kart 8 is a 2014 kart racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. It features the '' Mario Kart'' series' game mechanics, in which players drive go-karts using ''Mario'' franchise characters in various race formats. Items placed ...
''s.


References


External links


''Sonic Extreme''
on ''Unseen64'' {{Sonic the Hedgehog Sonic the Hedgehog video games Cancelled Xbox games