E3 06: Sonic Wild Fire Q&A

LOS ANGELES--Announced earlier this morning, Sonic Wild Fire is a Wii-exclusive action game in which you'll get to control Sega's blue mascot simply by tilting Nintendo's revolutionary new controller. Very few details on the game have been released at this time, which is why we took some time out during our hectic pre-E3 schedule to probe the game's producer, Yojiro Ogawa, for more information.

GameSpot: When did development on the game start? How much did you know about the Wii hardware and controller at that time?

Yojiro Ogawa: Exact date of starting the project we can't disclose, but not very long ago! That's actually a difficult question to answer! We had similar information to what information had been released publicly.

GS: How are you taking advantage of the Wii hardware?

YO: The controller is very unique, but also very simple, so we wanted to develop in a manner that complemented this--unique but simple. We want the players to touch the controller as much as possible, but still wanted to focus on making the experience with the controller simple.

GS: Where did the inspiration for the story come from?

YO: We wanted to show the world inside books--filled with adventures, monsters, etc. So we focused on books that children read, but adults also are familiar with. We wanted to create something completely different for Sonic, an entirely new adventure to the Sonic world.

GS: How did you settle on the way players would use the controller?

YO: The Wii's main concept is to be accessible for the whole family. With this controller, the team could have made things very complicated, but we wanted to stay on board with Nintendo's original concept--making it easy to use for the entire family. So we settled on a simple but original use of the controller.

GS: Did you settle on the controls before or after you came up with a game premise?

YO: The game concept and story came first, then we worked on the use of the controller.

GS: Where did the inspiration for the setting and action in the Wii game come from?

YO: We had three inspirations: we wanted players to experience a new and different type of adventure; second, we wanted to revolutionize Sonic himself; and third, after playing many popular game titles, I wanted to figure what was truly fun about these games, and what about them makes them appealing. I used these ideas as the inspiration for this title.

GS: What other Sonic characters will we see in the game? Will any be playable?

YO: You'll see some familiar characters, but in a different light. There will be new adventures of course, but Sonic will be the hero of the story.

GS: What kind of multiplayer options will the game offer?

YO: There will be multiplayer options so people can play with friends and family, but we are still investigating these options. We expect people to want to play quite a bit with their friends!

GS: What's been the biggest challenge in developing the game?

YO: The biggest challenge is how to actually synchronize the Sonic speed with the new controller--to experience the fun and speed of Sonic utilizing an entirely new instrument, through the controller.

GS: What are your thoughts on the Wii hardware and controller now that you've worked on the platform?

YO: When the DS came out, players were really excited about the new style of gameplay; the Wii is the same, offering a totally new way to play games, and we are exited to use these new features in innovating Sonic. The new controller can do a lot of fun things, but for Sonic, we just want to focus on one--controlling Sonic's speed up and down inclinations through new environments, in a manner that anyone can enjoy.

GS: Thanks for your time.