Fan outrage gone right: the Sonic redesign

Now, was that really so hard? The recent Sonic trailer shows off his brilliant, brand new (but more true to the original) design and gives us a lot more Robotnik. This second trailer maybe gives too much of the film away, but most trailers do nowadays, and what I can see makes me happy. Though unfortunately, the redesign opens up some interesting questions related to fan outrage. Do fans always know what is best, should shouting loudly get things done and what does this mean for industry ‘crunch’?

Most recently we have seen fan outrage aimed at Gamefreak using the hashtag #gamefreaklied due to minor performance issues in Pokémon Sword and Shield. Ever since they revealed that the full roster of Pokémon would not be available in the new games, fans have been acting as if the end is nigh. Fans were also so outraged with the ending of Mass Effect 3 a patch was released with a new one! I know I myself am guilty of anger towards publishers and developers but normally this is directed at EA and their anti-consumer policies or Rockstar and their imbalanced GTA Online. In these instances, I am not angry due to perceived laziness, but to a genuine disregard for customer satisfaction. But for many people online, anything can set them off.

As a game fan, I am in love with the redesign; it is fun, cartoony, and true to form. Though, when the Sonic redesign was announced many people on Twitter were concerned about crunch, forcing animators to work long hours to ‘fix’ the film before its release. Fortunately, the Sonic film has been delayed until February next year, which should mean there is not too much additional stress in store for the film’s animators. The film’s director, Jeff Fowler, tweeted ‘Taking a little more time to make Sonic just right.  #novfxartistswereharmedinthemakingofthismovie‘

Fans are increasingly aware of the hard work and effort that these digital projects entail

As someone who hopes to one day work in either the games or film industry, this is great news to me! Crunch is a serious industry problem and often seems to be caused by corporate greed and harms the developers, artists, and writers who are also the ones who take the brunt of the blame for fan displeasure, but fans do not always know what is best for a piece of art. I love the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman, and I have noticed differences between the books and the new BBC series, but they make sense due to the change in medium. They help with pacing and grab viewers’ attention and while yes, they would have ruined the books, they help make the show better TV. 

What the hell do my ramblings have to do with Sonic? While most people with the gift of sight will acknowledge the redesign is infinitely better as it drags Sonic from the depths of the uncanny valley, it’s important to remember that you aren’t just screaming at a screen. Fans are increasingly aware of the hard work and effort that these digital projects entail,  Naughty Dog delayed The Last of Us Part II in order to deliver the best product they can, and everyone applauded them for it, but plenty of unnecessary fan outrage still exists. Real, hard-working people have to deal with the consequences of your unhappiness, just keep that in mind next time you don’t agree with an artistic decision.