Hey everyone, another double upload today because WordPress was having errors uploading files again. The first episode was for Warcraft: Orcs and Humans, the first in the long running Warcraft series, and the second is Sonic the Hedgehog, the even longer running series about speedy blue hedgehogs!
4/6 – Sonic the Hedgehog.
Hello and welcome. My name is Katosepe and I’ll be your host for today’s Video Game of the Day.
Today’s game is the first in Sega’s flagship franchise, Sonic the Hedgehog. The first game was released on the Sega Genesis by the newly formed Sonic Team in 1991.
While many consider Sonic to be synonymous with Sega, the popular blue hedgehog didn’t actually come into being until 3 years after the Sega Genesis was released in Japan and a year after the Game Gear was released. Before this, Sega had tried a number of concepts for a system mascot. Alex Kidd was a popular choice due to his popularity on the Master System but he just couldn’t compete with Mario as much as Sega wanted.
An internal competition was held for Sega employees to create the next mascot. One of the top choices was a round, egg-shaped man with goggles sporting a large mustache. This character would go on to become Dr. Robotnik, or Eggman, the primary villain of Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic would be created by Sega artist Naoto Ohshima, who went on vacation to New York and polled people on the street if they preferred Sonic or his concept art of a character who would become Mighty the Armadillo, first appearing in SegaSonic the Hedgehog.
While the character was being designed, Sega approached the lead programmer of Phantasy Star to create a gameplay prototype. This programmer was Yuji Naka, who would go on to create every Sonic game on the Genesis. His prototype involved a non-descript ball rolling around levels very quickly, showing off the processing power of the Genesis hardware. Sega loved the prototype and made Yuji Naka lead on the project.
Sonic the Hedgehog was originally designed to contrast with Mario, making something distinct and exciting in order to compete. Thus, instead of Mario’s linear levels, Sonic the Hedgehog was given complex, layered levels for players to explore. The concept was that more skilled players could stay higher up in the level but if players fall, they can still complete levels near the bottom, although at a slower pace. This encourage replaying the game to improve a player’s skills and get through levels faster.
Sonic the Hedgehog released to rave reviews, with many calling it groundbreaking and revolutionary in the gaming industry. Many credit Sonic the Hedgehog with helping to boost Sega’s popularity to really compete with Nintendo. In North America, Sega of America switched the pack-in title from Altered Beast to Sonic the Hedgehog, allowing customers who previously received Altered Beast to mail in for a copy of Sonic the Hedgehog. This push sold over 15 million Genesis consoles and has made Sonic a household name to this day.
Did you like this episode of Video Game of the Day? Leave us a review on Amazon! Let the world know what you thought and help us grow. We also have full transcripts and links to social media on videogameoftheday.com. Check back here tomorrow for another Video Game of the Day.
4/5 – Warcraft Orcs and Humans
Hello and welcome. My name is Katosepe and I’ll be your host for today’s Video Game of the Day.
Today’s game is the start of one of the most influential franchises in gaming history, Warcraft: Orcs and Humans. Warcraft was developed and published by Blizzard and released on MS-DOS in 1994.
Developers at Blizzard Entertainment were inspired by our previously discussed Herzog Zwei as well as Westwood Studio’s Dune 2, and decided to make a real-time strategy of their own. While the high-fantasy setting has clear nods to Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series, the designer has said the story came about after developing The Lost Vikings. He wanted to see what would happen if two groups of these vikings were to meet and clash.
Warcraft’s storyline involve the human world of Azeroth being invaded by Orcs, a species from another world called Draenor. After an almost catastrophic invasion by the orcs, the humans managed to push the orcs back through their portal, back into their own world. After a 15 year truce, a warlord amongst the orcs has decided to restart the invasion in full, seeking to take over Azeroth.
Warcraft became popular for adding a level of diversity to the burgeoning RTS genre. Instead of simply wiping out the opponents base, Warcraft’s single player added a variety of new mission objectives such as rebuild a destroyed base, kill a VIP, or succeed with only a limited number of troops. Warcraft also put a focus on multiplayer battles, allowing players to fight over the internet in cross-platform play between DOS and the later Mac version.
Warcraft would go on to make two RTS sequels and a number of expansions for those games before releasing World of Warcraft, easily the biggest and most influential MMORPG in gaming history. Since Warcraft 3, Blizzard has not returned the franchise to it’s RTS roots but did create Starcraft 2 and it’s two expansions, the last of which released in 2015.
Did you like this episode of Video Game of the Day? Leave us a review on Amazon! Let the world know what you thought and help us grow. We also have full transcripts and links to social media on videogameoftheday.com. Check back here tomorrow for another Video Game of the Day.
Music Provided By:
In Love by FSM Team feat. < e s c p > | https://www.free-stock-music.com/artist.fsm-team.html
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Video Game of the Day 