There are lots of game franchises that we’ve thought would be good fits for VR and honestly Sonic was never one of them. But this looks super fun! The Sonic VR game is called Virtua Sonic and it’s in development from a very well-known modder and Sonic fan-game creator, SuperSonic68.
Watch 3:28 seconds of glorious blue blur speed in first-person VR right here:
Growing up I was a Sega Genesis kid. My brothers had the NES and SNES, which I got to use some, but the Genesis was the first console in our house that was considered mine so it has a special place in my heart. As a result, so too does Sonic. There are very few Sonic games I dislike, even of the 3D ones.
Needless to say, when I saw the footage for Virtua Sonic I got incredibly excited. Since this is a fan-made project the production values aren’t very high, animations are stiff, and it doesn’t really look like something that could be realistically released on consumer VR headsets. But all that being said — it looks extremely fun for what it is. And yes, you can turn off the nose at the bottom of your peripheral vision if you want.
In the YouTube video’s description there are more details about the goal of the project:
“This project’s goal is to push the boundaries of what sorts of experiences are capable in virtual reality, showcasing the potential of the medium as it pertains to high-speed action games.
In my research, I have discovered that it is not necessarily motion itself that gives players motion sickness, but a lack of expectation of how that motion is going to behave. For example: a roller coaster VR experience is completely out of the player’s control. They have no say in what they do and when things happen to them. Similarly, if a VR motion system moves a player in a way that they don’t expect, that can also disorient them. As such, so long as the player feels in control of themselves at all times, motion sickness should cease to be a hindrance to the player.”
The trailer was created to promote the game which will make its debut at SAGE 2020, the Sonic Amateur Games Expo. Yes, fan-made Sonic games have their own expo.
Keep an eye on SuperSonic68’s YouTube channel for more details on Virtua Sonic. It’s being designed to support all major PC VR headsets.
