Game Developer Sega Reveals Crossover Project With Cave

[Blackbird]

Pasting this article over, because it's quite exciting! I don't know about you guys, but I'm stoked.


Game Developer Sega Reveals Crossover Project With Cave - Joint Effort for Upcoming Title "Battle GarEggman"

Joining us today to explain more about the game are Takashi Iizuka, lead producer of smash hit Sonic Colors and Sega's esteemed Sonic Team, and Tsuneki Ikeda, Cave coding guru. Our correspondent Ryuuichi Naruhodo-san inquires about this surprising announcement.

Naruhodo-san: "Thank you for joining us today, Iizuka-san, Ikeda-san."

Ikeda: "Thank you for having us."

Iizuka: "The pleasure is mine."

Naruhodo-san: "Going to the obvious question first - why?"

Iizuka: "*chuckles* Yes, there is that. I think Ikeda-san will...?"

Ikeda: "Yes. You may be surprised, but many of us here [at Cave] are actually fans of Sega. We have been actively planning to collaborate with Sega for some time, but it was a matter of finding the right project. We had many resources engaged in arcade shooting titles, but with our [Cave's] recent movement towards platform-based games, it seemed like it was finally a good time."

Naruhodo-san: "Interesting. And Sega was prepared to collaborate as well?"

Iizuka: "Cave approached us with the premise for the game," Iizuka explains.

Ikeda: "Playing a Sonic game, I always wondered - why do the robotics always pop off -" Ikeda makes a motion as if popping open a jack-in-the-box, "harmlessly from animals that Robotnik has captured, when he could make them cyborgs? We sat down and wrote a premise around that."

Iizuka: "Contrary to Sonic canon, Cave planned to present Eggman as a sympathetic character. He's taller, more gentlemanly, with a more dignified bearing. More like a mad scientist than an egg shaped man. It is revealed that Eggman has been robotizing animals so that he can compile research data for a more lifelike artifical intelligence. However, he secretly loves the animals, so he cannot bring himself to permanently incorporate the robotics." Iizuka pauses, "We liked it. We wanted to build on it some more."

Naruhodo-san: "Cave's premise intrigued Sega? Could you tell me more about the plot?"

Iizuka: "Just a little bit," Iizuka smiles. "Eggman has spent time reflecting on his past defeats. He decides that the reason he cannot defeat his archnemesis, Sonic, is because he doesn't have enough willpower and guts - in short, it comes down to spirit." Iizuka gives a nod to Ikeda. "To increase his manly spirit, he uses the artifical intelligence data he has collected for many years to create a robot daughter."

Naruhodo-san: "Ah! I see! This is the GarEggman. It is a truly a man's romance to create a robot daughter."

Ikeda: "The daughter wakes up to a crash of thunder, just like Frankenstein's creation. It is a mad scientist's romance." Ikeda adds.

Naruhodo-san: "And this daughter will be an important character?"

Ikeda: "It would not be a collaboration without Cave's characters, as well. Death Smiles has seen great popular success because of the characters, so we wanted to include a character like that in this game. It is very likely that we will see an element daughter in a child-like form."

Naruhodo-san: "A.I is a recent fan favorite."

Ikeda: "I couldn't say any more," Ikeda smiles.

Naruhodo-san: "Did you originally plan for the game to be entitled GarEggman? I now understand the meaning, but that title..."

Ikeda: "We were worried about the title," Ikeda concedes. "We weren't sure Yagawa-san would go for it, but it fit well, so we wanted to try."

Iizuka: "However, when we contacted Yagawa-san for permission, he took strongly to the idea."

Ikeda: "We were both surprised." Ikeda nods.

Naruhodo-san: "Going back to what you mentioned earlier, could I take it that Sonic is actually the villain?"

Ikeda: "Not quite."

Iizuka: "Everything doesn't go as planned when Robotnik's daughter is created. It is true the experiment is a success, but a malfunction occurs in Robotnik's lab. His failed inventions and discarded robots also animate. Resenting Robotnik, they seize his lab and cause complete chaos, consuming massive amounts of electrical power!"

Ikeda: "His rank with the power company increases uncontrollably, no matter what he does!" Ikeda points up.

Naruhodo-san: "Sentient robots seeking revenge. It sounds scary for a Sonic game. What are they like?"

Ikeda: "We're working with Sega on that," Ikeda pauses, "but we may see a certain angry bee, and it is also possible that Robotnik was reverse engineering some robots from a certain arms company. The Colonel would certainly take an interest in some malfunctioning robots. It's being discussed."

Naruhodo-san: "Cave is known for having intimidating villains and somewhat grim storytelling. With Cave's villains potentially making an appearance here, is Sega concerned that the game will become too grim?"

Iizuka: "It does sound a bit dark," Iizuka concedes, "but Sonic canon is not without darker elements. The comic especially had dark parts to it. We'll keep the tone a bit more like the Sonic games, but darker elements are not unheard of in the Sonic franchise," Iizuka explains.

Naruhodo-san: "Will Sonic be in this game, since Sonic's not the villain?"

Iizuka: "The rogue robots damage the environment and cause havok for the animals, too. When Robotnik begs Sonic to save his power bill, Sonic becomes his temporary ally - for now." Iizuka laughs.

Naruhodo-san: "Could you tell us a little bit about the gameplay? Sega is known for making platformers, while Cave is well known for making arcade shooters."

Iizuka: "We're evaluating our options right now."

Ikeda: "There has been a lot of discussion about a hybrid game, using Robotnik's inventions as the craft, with other platforming sections on foot," Ikeda adds. "We talked a lot about using Sonic's signature Super Emerald transformation to power up. Like DaiFukkatsu's Hyper mode."

Iizuka: "I think the 7 Emeralds will neatly occupy bomb slots. Robotnik might fire a Chaos [Emerald] Beam. But you'll need to collect rings to use it, and since they are constantly spent for the power bill..."

Izuka: "You'll need to collect rings constantly," Izuka adds.

Naruhodo-san: "Any ideas about what platform the game will be on, or when it will be released?"

Ikeda: "It's a little early to speculate about a release date, but we are exploring arcade platforms, with an eye towards eventual home console releases."

Naruhodo-san: "Thank you for your time, gentlemen. Anything else you'd like to add?"

Iizuka and Ikeda: "Please look forward to our game!"

[KidQuaalude]

"Game Developer Sega"

My sides are splitting!

[TVG]

Furry/lolicon crossover, I'm so excited.

[Nick420]

April fools?

[hipgnosis]

I think we've had enough of these fools already.

[Nick420]

yeah i just read down the threads. Gradius 6 lol! if only :/