"Both games are games that have meme hooks," Batha says. His resume includes the development of "Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator," a gay dad dating game that sold lust but actually gave players a thoughtful game about romance as an adult and parenting. Thankfully, Batha knew a thing or two about making games with attention-grabbing titles with hidden sincerity. We figured those good intentions, plus how much fun the headline would be, would get everyone on board." We really cared a lot going into this, and we knew we weren't going to make something stupid and inauthentic, like downplaying the importance of Sonic and his friends. "This was a pretty good one, as long as it isn't something that makes people very upset. "We knew it was a strong concept, just in terms of what is an effective social media move," Batha says. Even the most recent Sonic game - last year's "Sonic Frontiers" - tweaked the formula, allowing for multiple play styles and placing the character in more open, abstract worlds. It's worth noting, of course, that Sega has experimented with Sonic over the years, taking the character beyond his ultra-fast, run, roll and jump roots. The idea, says Batha, was born at the premiere of the 2020 "Sonic the Hedgehog" film, when talking with Katie Chrzanowski and Justin Thormann of Sega's social media team, who helped push the concept to Sonic's stewards at Sega. Because Sonic just being dead wraps us into a corner." "That allowed us to keep a lot more intrigue," Batha says. Setting the game amid a birthday party allowed the team to play with is-he-or-isn't-he dead tension, while also delivering on the promise that Sonic would be killed - or play-killed. Thus, the "Knives Out"-like game is afoot. Amy thinks it's all part of the game-within-a-game, but there are allusions to the idea that Sonic is actually hurt. We learn, before reaching the opening credit scene, that Sonic is dead. It's largely a simple, conversation-focused game. "The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog" is part "Murder on the Orient Express" and part nod to the "Phoenix Wright" legal detective games, a visual novel in which we explore various rooms on the train and interrogate Sonic's pals with the evidence we find by clicking on it. The conceit: Sonic's pal Amy Rose is throwing herself a birthday party aboard a murder-mystery party train. And it does so by toying with one of the most popular video game characters ever created. The game manages to be a family-friendly mystery adventure with a few grand ideas sandwiched into about two hours of play time - likely more, if you, like me, struggle with the run-and-jump minigames. It also has some things to say about the parameters we negotiate with our profession and how we treat those in the service industry. "The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog" is a relatively earnest game about friendships and boundaries, the ones we set - or fail to set - with those who are close to us. Developed in relative secrecy over the last few years, "The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog," available for free, turned out to be more than a clever, joke-ready title. "The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog" was surprise-released on March 31 for PCs and Macs. "We would have meetings together: 'Who killed Sonic? How did any of this happen?' We knew that the headline was 'Sonic is dead,' but how did any of this happen?" says Pasadena-based game developer Greg Batha of the early gatherings he had with a small team that developed the game. It started as a title that was meant to be an April Fools' joke: "The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog." The team behind the funny idea had a hook, but did they have a game?
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