Stardust Speedway 049 - End of the Semester and Getting down to Buisness

Well; it has finally come and I am excited. The end of the First Semester and I think I have deserved a bit of a rest for the moment anywhey. Now that most of my Main Project work has been completed; I can get down to finally writing my Dissertation and getting it completed.

Now the last problem which I have encountered along the research stage is due to the inclusion of Individualism; I have had to research and find two titles which display this social system successfully. Now the previous two research topics were easy to find games for as I knew the games well and knew they would support my argument well; but to find games that display elements of Individualism in a medium where it is always the story scenario of the Good Guy VS The Bad Guy and the Good Side always helps each other out. It did take me a while but I think I have cracked it and found some good examples of Individualism.

TITLE ONE: No More Heroes (Wii; 2008)

Now this title took a while on the Research stage of things as I stumbled across the title towards the end of today. Now this is one of my favourite games on the Wii and a great title as not only does it show elements of Individualism; but a great parody of the games industry in general. It is a shame it was overlooked on the console and even though it was not picked up by many players of the console; it is a worthy research title and created by a very creative games designer; Suda 51 (A.K.A Goichi Suda)

TITLE TWO: Street Fighter 4 (PS3, Xbox 360 PC; 2009)

This was the harder choice of the research titles as my original thoughts were many games within the Fighting Genre all has the same themes; a player could choose one of the game's many characters and play through their story; slowly defeating other characters randomly selected by the game and thrown to the player to defeat in order to progress and complete the game. There were many choices such as Dead Or Alive; Killer Instinct; Mortal Kombat; Tekken and Virtua Fighter to name a few but I felt that Street Fighter series (and its latest incarnation in Street Fighter 4) was the most respected game within the genre and the best examples that I would like to portray within my Dissertation Research.

I think these titles will add a good level of research and material which can back up my materials within my essay. I have gone for two titles for this section of my research as I have done two for the other areas and it would be unfare and unbalanced to include anymore within this section as it could show that I favour Individualism over capitalism and communism

Stardust Speedway 048 - I am doing this task on My Own (Introducting Individualism into Project)

Well today was the final drop in session for the dissertation was in today and I have had a lot of good feedback from both of the tutors which were in the drop in session. During the session; we discussed the potential for expanding my Dissertation into Individualism as well as it provides an alternative from both the Capitalist and Communist sides.

I have a small amount of research for this already as the Iain Smedley essay which I found which talks about Sonic the Hedgehog as an Individualist Character can be used within this section also; but I am going to extend my research period for another week which allows me to find some information about Individualism

It is nearly done and I can get to write it next week which I am looking forward to a lot of the time at the moment.

Stardust Speedway 047 - (Reading List: Capitalism: A Graphic Guide by Dan Cryan; Sharron Shatil and Piero)

Well; this is it; the last piece of research for this dissertation and the end of the research which I have been doing since May. This was not going to go in as I have only just picked this book up from the Borders closing down sale (RIP) called Capitalism: A Graphic Guide.

This book is a detailed history of the entire history of Capitalism and has provided a good read; I thought that it would be going over old ground but has provided me with more information than before and also it is like a comic book which for a geeky person like myself is a good thing.

The current plan at the moment is that I am going to start writing my Dissertation

Stardust Speedway 046 - Proposed Essay Layout

Well; it has been leading up to this being created for the final meeting; the final plan of study and the first proposed essay layout for my dissertation. I have put the document on my mediafire account and I would like to hear peoples feedback about this layout.


The layout document can be found at:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/20mm4jmymtz/Stardust Speedway - Plan Of Study (Version 1.3).doc

Stardust Speedway 045 - Reading List: (The Motorcycle Diarys by Che Guevara)

Well; the time has come for my third Dissertation Meeting and I am going over everything with a fine tooth come for tomorrows meeting. I have planned to have my first Essay Draft planned and complete for tonight so the adding of new material begins.

The next piece of research that I have added was reccomended to me by a friend and has become my latest read of choice. The book in question is The Motorcycle Diary's by Che Guevara.

Everytime I read an essay about Communism; the name Che Guevara come up again and again and for good reason he is the single most influential and successful Marxist in existence and his famous picture taken by Alberto Corda has become one of the most recognised pictures in History; so this book will help me find out more about this legendary figurehead.

Stardust Speedway 044 - Anne Allison Details

I have been using an essay by Anne Allison over the last few months in my research which discusses Pokemon within a Capitalist Viewpoint; but the only problem that I have had was that there was no details of the author on the paper and I could not find anything about her until today.

My tutor Tamara said that I should type her name into Google Scholar and it turned out that she has wrote a few essays about Pokemon and Japanese Culture in General and this webpage details her work and what she is doing in more detail.

The URL for the page is:

http://fds.duke.edu/db/aas/CA/faculty/anne.allison

So I am going to list these details down on my research bar so that I can give credit to the essay and use it further in my research.

Stardust Speedway 043 - Reading List (Game On - The History and Culture of Video Games by Various Authors)

Recently I have been looking more at the culture of videogames and I have found a few good books on the subject which I found on Ebay for not much money. The first book is called Game On: The History and Culture of Video Games and is more a collection of individual book/journal entrys about various aspects of video games and has been a good read so far.

Some journal entrys which have been highlighted for this project was one about Pokemon wrote by Masuyama (First name not given) but I am note sure if it will become a valid contribution yet so will put it on here for now anywhey.

Stardust Speedway 042 - DIGRA and IDGA Research Sites

Well; I have been looking on the internet over the last few days as well as being sent a few links which I will be researching over the next few days.

The links are DiGRA (Digital Games Research Association) and IGDA (International Games Development Association).

The one problem that I have had during my research was that there was not enough official journals/websites in which I could back up my research/writing with so I hope this will be the first step into finding some good infomation for my dissertation.

Stardust Speedway 041 - More games for the pile (Red Faction)

Well; I have been looking for a second video game title which I can add to my research which can examine possible Communist themes within Video Games which will be used as a flipside argument to the Capitalist based games I have been researching such as Sonic the Hedgehog and the Pokemon franchise.

So the next title within my research series is going to be Red Faction on the Play Station 2. I have been looking at these titles for a long time and I think I have found enough examples for it to be a valid contribution to my research.

I have also found some documentation on red Fraction and will be adding this to the research table on the side of the blog later today; the only problem I have now is to find a copy for the Playstation 2 which will work. Fingers Crossed.

Stardust Speedway 040 - Quick Heads Up for Tomorrow

I just wanted to give a quick heads up about what changes I am going to do for my research this afternoon when I get back from Uni. As my second meeting is tomorrow and I want to show Tamara the changes I have done within my Research So far. I am going to be trimming the fat so to speak and get rid of anything that I will not need for my dissertation within the foreseeable future.

Also I am going to write my new plan of study which has changed a bit from the original so I will post that on here for people to read also.

I hope people will like the changes I will do this afternoon and see where this project goes next.

Stardust Speedway 039 - Advanced Research Lecture and New Research Items

Well; it has been a long time since I have wrote a proper update on the blog, so I wanted to tell people how the research is going at the moment.

Well today, I went to the Advanced Research Skills session in the Adelphi Library and was very informative. They showed me how to access not only Athens which I was already using but other services and also the fact that as the Manchester Univeristys are part of NWEL I could go into any number of different university Librarys and look at their material as well which can be a real advantage to us doing this research.

I have also been reading a lot of The Gamer's Quarter at the moment and I have found a lot of useful supplements within them, which I will be updating to the blog over the next few days, so hope you can read my opinions of them.

So there will be more posts within the next few days to update my research and I will be altering the layout of the blog a bit more as well to make it easier to read so I hope you will enjoy that too.

Stardust Speedway 038 - I Choose You, Pokemon Blue

I have been thinking about this for a long time and when researching other Dissertations within the Library; I have found out something.

There are no Dissertation projects within the Uni Library that feature a singe game series as their subject; if the author wanted to cover one subject they would look at several examples from their research and look at the examples from them; so from now on I am not going to look exclusively at Sonic the Hedgehog titles, but it would be the main call for video game based research as I have the most research for this series.

But for the latest entry; I have decided to go back to my gaming roots and replay one of my favourite game ever; Pokemon Blue. This is a classic example of Video Game capitalism and should be a good example to use within the project.

Stardust Speedway 037 - Researching More Video Game Titles

While I have been looking at other possible research titles for the project; I have found 2 that I am going to notedown on the blog that I think would be a good example of capitalist themes within other video games.

So here are the 2 that I have thought of so far:-

The Final Fantasy Series - Now I have been thinking of this for a while while playing a few of the older games in the series; but the idea of this does come back Everytime I play my current title (Final Fantasy 9), but the whole Idea of this game is to go through an adventure and gather items along your quest which would help you reach your goal.

Now if I use Final Fantasy 8 for an example; the main characters in the players party can pay to have their weapons fixed and upgraded via the use of the scrapyard feature which is gained when you collect the guardian Force (Summon in other FF games) Doomtrain which negates the point of the game as you can pay the game to upgrade your characters for you so the player does not have to go through the usual grind of levelling up your character.

Also the player can steal items and even additional GF summons (including the most powerful EDEN) from other characters and enemy characters as well to use for their own purpose and to create more victorys which in turn would create more GIL for them to spend.

Katamari Series - Now I am not going to highlight one title imparticular because they are all basically the same and have the same mechanics; but it is a worthy note to make.

The aim of the game is to create new planets/stars/islands for the king of the cosmos by using a small ball and rolling items into it and making it slowly bigger as you collect more and slightly larger items within the particular level; you would have a small target to reach within the time limit and the more you roll, the more items you will get at the end of the level.

The more points; you get the more items you unlock within the game itself. So the more items you take within the level and turn into a planet/star/island for the king; the more you would get back in return.

I have found a few essays to back up this argument already; so they will be followed on the blog soon; but I will play these titles again over the weekend and see if their a valid contribution to the project.

Stardust Speedway 036 - Wave 2 Research: Journals and Other Odditys

Well; I have done some initial Wave 2 research over the last few days which started with me doing a small Brainstorm within my notebook and has now developed into a small list of research documents which is a good start for the project.

Now it would have taken too long to do a seperate blog entry for each item like I have been doing as normal; so I am going to accumulate all this research in this single entry. So I hope you enjoy and look at these as well:-

Journals - One thing that my tutor Tamara said would be good to look at would be some more journals which would look at the current world of the subjects I am looking at for this project; so I have found four which could be interesting including Game Studies, Loading, Game Culture and Eludamos. But I am also going to look at The Gamer's Quarter as well; which I have been reading since Year 2.

Blogs - Now I have been using blogs for under a year and I find them to be a great source of personal views for all of the different subjects that I will cover; so I am going to look at blogs in my research as well. This will be including the Guardian's own Game Culture Blog which I didn't know existed until half an hour ago of writing this entry so its more of a bonus.

Documentary's and More Films - When looking at films and some potential documentarys that I could be using; I found one about Capitalism that is being created by Michael Moore which will be great to watch if released over here. Might have to watch it online. I have also considered including more films in the research including the excellent King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters which is about two Donkey Kong players trying to out play each other and achieve the highest score possible; which could be good research to contribute to the writing.

So that is what I have found so far; and I am going to research it all now and see if there is anything that I can use

Stardust Speedway 035 - Reading List (The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels)

Well; due to advice by my Tutor Tamara; I have been looking at both the culture surrounding the subjects my Dissertation is based on and also looking at the flipsides of the arguments as well.

So the next entry in the Reading list and the start of Wave 2 of my research is by reading the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.

Now this document was the birth of the entire Communism party when it was first written and published in 1848 so is the most ideal document to read when looking at the flipside/counter argument to Capitalism.

So I am going to sit back and read this now while doing some more research

Stardust Speedway 034 - Dissertation Meeting Feedback and Wave 2 Incoming

Well; this morning was the first Dissertation meeting this morning with my Dissertation tutor, Tamara and overall everything went well.

I showed her my current version of my research plan, which is at Version 1.1 and she liked the look of it so far; but needs a bit of re-arranging about and further research like looking at more broader topics within the gaming and real world. She also suggested looking at more Journals as well.

So from this post onward; the first wave of research has been completed and I am going to move onto Wave 2.

I have had a few ideas on the way home from Uni this afternoon ranging from sub-researching Communism to provide a contrast the capitalism which would include looking at further figureheads such as Karl Marx and his inclusion of the Communist Manifesto and looking at gaming journals such as The Gamer's Quarter (Where is Issue 9?) to look at the culture of videogames as well.

So here we go again and prepare for a large change to the blog and lets see where we go within the Research world this time

Stardust Speedway 033 - Plan of Study (Version 1.0)

Well; this has been tinkered with a lot over the course of the day; but I am finally happy with the document and decided to share it with readers of the Blog.

This is the proposed Plan of Study and will be changed during the course of the project's development; but it is a start anywhey.

The file can be found at the following URL:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/mljfoxmjfvz/Stardust Speedway - Plan Of Study (Version 1.0).pdf

Stardust Speedway 032 - The All Important Question

Well; it is the time within the Research that I propose the all important question; The question that I will be trying to answer during the course of this Dissertation project.

So here it is; the following is the Question I will be trying to answer during the project:-

"Are there capitalist Themes within the Sonic The Hedgehog Series?"

Now there have been so many titles within the Sonic series ranging from the original 2d Side scrolling games to Spin Off titles such as Sonic and the Black Knight and Sonic and Mario at the Olympic Games; so to cover the original titles is probably the best thing to do while trying to answer this question.

Stardust Speedway 031 - Reading List (The Cultural Politics of Pokemon Capitaism by Anne Allison)

Now I am not sure about this one at this point of the project as It has nothing to do with Sonic The Hedgehog; but the one thing that I do like about this essay is that it sees capitalism within the whole Pokemon Franchise and sees how it started and became the phenomenon that is has become.

Now the plan for this is that I am going to read it a few times once again and see if it could be used; but I am going to put it in for now in the reading list.

The Link for the essay is at the following URL:

http://web.mit.edu/cms/Events/mit2/Abstracts/AnneAllison.pdf

Stardust Speedway 030 - Delicious Bookmarks for Project

To keep an ongoing set of links ready for my Bibliography; I have put all the internet links that I have currently used for the project within a Delicious Bookmarks account so that people can look at them for themselves and see what they think of my chosen resources.

The page is at the following URL:-

http://delicious.com/Lukeyboy101

Not only can I access them from my Google Phone using the Beelicious Application; but also through the plug-in for Mozilla Firefox as well, all of which I highly recommend as they can bookmark and allow access from anywhere you go which as a Student is very good.

Stardust Speedway 029 - Owning The Stardust Speedway - Disscussion Flowchart (Version 0.0)

Well; this was originally going to be an actual flowchart created using my flow chart software (Dia; great piece of open source software) this afternoon; but the software would not open for me for some unknown reason so I didn't actually materialise.

But to show the progress of this Flowchart to accompany my Spider Diagram in the previous blog post; I have posted the original sketching from my Oxford Reporters Pad being held up using a beer bottle with a treasure map in it (Alcopopular: Version 3; highly reccomended purchase).

So I hope you like it and watch it progress into a better diagram in the days to come.

Stardust Speedway 028 - Owning The Stardust Speeway : Project Spider Diagram (Version 1.1)

Well; since my first wave of research is near enough finished and both my notebooks have been wrote and re-wrote (Spilled Coke on the First Lot), I have now started the project Spider Diagram which will help me identify what areas of my research will link up with each other and the relationships that each piece of information would share.

I have created this diagram using a great piece of Mindmap software called ConceptDraw MINDMAP Pro 5 to create this diagram and at the moment has all of the current Sonic Infomation that I have is in the Diagram on the right hand side and I am going to put the Capitalism Research that I have found in the next version of the diagram.

So I am going to keep on top of the diagram as it will help the research and help me connect the topics which I would need to cover during the writing of the final product.

Stardust Speedway 027 - Post Mortum Report (Sonic The Hedgehog CD)

Platform: Playstation 2 (As part of Sonic Gems Collection)
Completion Time: 2 Hours 38 Minutes
Total Score from Playthrough: 340,620
Time Stones Gained: Three

Initial Thoughts Of Sonic The Hedgehog CD

This was one title that has always alluded me because to get hold of a working Mega CD Unit which was the right model for your Mega Drive console and also a working copy of the Game which at the current time are going for over £50 for a good model. So I had to find the next best thing (without downloading anything illegal like ROM files) which was buying the Sonic Gems Collection of which Sonic CD is part off, although its the PC Port of the European version which in the Sonic Community is not the best version of the game.

But I knew nothing about the title when originally playing it, I didn't know what sort of Sonic game to expect, but as it was voted the best Sonic game ever made by Screwattack.com, it must be good.

Interesting Points Discovered

1. Sonic The Hedgehog Remixed - There are six levels within this game which doesn't sound a lot compared to Sonic 2 which has nine all together but as there are four different versions of each level, the final total of levels within this single game is 24 which makes it the largest game within the Sonic Series.

The unique mechanic with this title is that Sonic has travelled to Little Planet deep within the forests of Mobius and goes into the planet to Stop Robotnik steeling the planets most precious resource; The time stones which have the power to change the course of history and ultimately stretch Robotnik's power to where Sonic cannot reach; the Future.

So Sonic has to guide himself through this unknown world, which when looked at a little bit closer are each combinations of two levels from both Sonic 1 and Sonic 2 to create this new level. This is rather a unique way to create the new levels for this game and is almost like a tribute to these two games as it was released before Sonic The Hedgehog 3.

One example of this finding can be found with the Tidal Tempest level which when looked closely with other levels in the first 2 Sonic games, it can be seen that its a combination of the LABYRINTH Zone and MARBLE Zone from Sonic 1 or HILL TOP and AQUATIC RUIN Zone from Sonic 2.

2. Family Ties - This is the first game that will feature two characters that will stick around with Sonic deep into the series and beyond into new titles, these characters are Metal Sonic and Amy Rose. Now this game does not feature Tails so might suggest that it is set before Sonic 2, so Amy Rose can be considered to be Sonic's first companion within the series. He finds her at the beginning of the second level in the game; Collision Chaos and love hearts are hovering above her head to say that she fancies him and follows him around this section of level much like Tails does within Sonic 2.

But before the level can continue, she is taken by Robotnik's latest creation Metal Sonic who is identical to Sonic in every way, but a mechanical version of him which also provides his greatest challenge yet and one that he cannot afford to give up on. But also within the Sonic The Hedgehog Film (Please See Blog For Details) He has a mental bond with Sonic and he is considered his twin brother by Robotnik as he is like him in every way.

So even though he has brought himself up and doesn't have any parents; he starts to build up his family of similar characters which will be carried over to other titles in the series; so this is a crucial point within the Sonic Universe.

3. No Rings....No Service - This was a very strange thing to find within a Sonic game and could be considered to be an Easter Egg within the game itself, but a very interesting one indeed. At any part of the game, even during the final boss battle which is very interesting indeed as you think Sonic would keep on playing during that part. But if the player keeps Sonic perfectly still for approximately 3 Minutes during the gameplay, Sonic will tell the player "I'm out of here" and then he jumps off the screen into the abyss, taking all his lives with him and the Game Over screen appears out of nowhere and takes the game back into the Start Screen.

Now this element of the game is very strange as Sonic is always been portrayed as the White Knight of Mobius compared to Robotnik as the Dark Knight, always being there to stop his plans and protect his friends and new found family from danger. But this is the first time that he cannot be bothered with his work, even though he knows that this is Robotnik's most dangerous scheme yet, so if the player does not continue to help Sonic get to the end of the level racking up points and collecting rings along the way; he will just go away and do something else. So has this always been his mindset during the course of the games, is he just in it for the money???

4. 88 Miles Per Hour- As discussed before, the main mechanic of this game is that Sonic can time travel back in that particular levels time frame and Sonic can change back what Robotnik has left in the past e.g Badniks Portal and Metal Sonic Projector. The only way that he can go back in time is hit these lampposts which say Past and Future and run at Sonic's trademark speed* to hit the time warp and jumping back into that time zone.

(*Maybe that is the reason why Robotnik created Metal Sonic, a product that can recreate Sonic's level of Speed and jump back and forth in time)

This is a great mechanic to have in a Sonic game and does effect the player and urges them to get the good ending of the title, for one reason. If the player goes into the past of the level, they can see what it once was usually very green and natural. While if the future if unchanged by Sonic, the world has turned into a dark and damp world that is overrun with Badniks and all sources of Currency have been taken for Robotnik's personal gain. Also the music goes from its normal jingle type rhythm to a dark and sinister theme, to symbolise the evil that has spread over the land.

This could urge the player to get the good ending of the game once again as even if he defeats Robotnik at the end of the game; it will not go back to normal; the timelines will not return to normal and Robotnik's evil will still remain making it one hell of a challenge compared to previous Sonic Games.

Concluding Thoughts

I rearly enjoyed this title, you can tell that a lot of time and care has been put into this game by Sonic Team to make this game the most challenging yet, but it is also the most revealing as it details a lot of Sonic's personality and sets a large chunk of his future story lines in the form of Metal Sonic and Amy Rose.

There might not be a lot here in the themes of Capitalism (rings collection, Time Stone Collection) but it is an important title when looking at the character of Sonic and what is true intentions are within his world.

Stardust Speedway 026 - Post Mortum Report (Sonic The Hedgehog 2)

Platform: Sega Mega Drive (Version 1 Model)
Completion Time: 1 Hour 37 Minutes
Total Score from Playthrough: 220,320
Chaos Emerelds Gained: Seven

Initial Thoughts Of Sonic The Hedgehog 2

I have got to admit this before starting this blog entry; This is one of my favourite games ever, I know this game like the back of my hand and I can complete the game in under 1 hour if played quickly; but for this play through, I played the game slowly enough to take notice of anything which could be useful for the project.

Also, for this game I am playing the title on its original platform, The Sega Mega Drive. I originally wanted to play all of the chosen research titles (Apart from Sonic CD) on their original platforms to get the popper experience that Sega and Sonic Team wanted to achieve during the time of release, but on reflection playing these games on Compilation Disks such as Sonic Gems Collection and Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection so that I can go back to specific levels in any of these games for further examination (Especially Spring Yard Zone for more scoring combinations)

Interesting Points Discovered

1. Möbius 2.0 - As a big Sonic Fan, I do know as the player that the first two titles of the series are set on the Planet of Mobius, but when compared to the levels of the first game, you can see these original levels have been evolved by Sonic Team in this game. This might indicate the passage of time which has passed between the two titles and also how Robotnik redesigned his Zones to try and capture Sonic and stop him in his tracks.

The following is a list of levels which show the evolution of Mobius from the first game to the second:-

SONIC 1 Levels/////////SONIC 2 Levels

Green Hill Zone (Into) Emerald Hill Zone

Scrap Brain Zone (Into) Chemical Plant Zone

Labyrinth Zone (Into) Aquatic Ruin Zone

Spring Yard Zone (Into) Casino Nights Zone

Marble Zone (Into) Hill Top Zone

Marble Zone (Into) Mystic Cave Zone

Scrap Brain Zone (Into) Metropolis Zone

Warps of Confusion (Special Stage) (Into) Sky Chase Zone

Final Zone (Into) Death Egg Zone

(* Oil Ocean and Wing Fortress Zones are like nothing featured in Sonic 1 and are exclusive to this title)

2. The Rainbow is Complete - Within the Wing Fortress Zone's Special Stage (The Hardest One in the Game) lies the fabled 7th Chaos Emerald which makes its first appearance in the series and is the most important emerald of the collection as it negates the evil energy of the remaining Six and makes them into a force of Good instead of evil.

Now within the official storyline, both Dr Kintobor and Sonic were creating the 7th Emereld to negate the evil powers of the six others, but the experiment went wrong releasing the evil energy back into the world and changing Dr Kintobor into Dr Robotnik, making him evil in the process. Now it was said that the 7th did not exist but Robotnik must have found a way to create the Emereld without the use of Sonic to power his machinery and hide it within this special stage on one of the hardest levels in the game.

When Sonic collects this emerald with the other Six, He can completely defeat Robotnik and turn into his alter ego; Super Sonic (Hints of Dragonball Z here me thinks)

3. Return of the Pinball Wizard

This recouring theme started within Spring Yard Zone (In Sonic 1) in which elements of a classic pinball table are scattered within the zone itself and can be used to Sonic's Advantage e.g using a pinball flipper to jump higher in the air than usual. These themes can be found once more within the Casino Nights Zone but is also taken a step further with the Slot Machine elements that can be found. Not only can Sonic gain extra points/rings in these slot machines, but these elements when looking at the entire level map can be seen as a bonus pocket in a Pinball Table which is very interesting in a game such as Sonic and is taken further in Sonic Spinball.

Concluding Thoughts

I have always loved this game and everything about it, especially the ending where you think Robotnik won the war against Sonic with him dying in the atmosphere above Mobius (Sorry for the Spoiler), but when looking at the game even closer and looking at the entire level maps which I didn't know existed until the research taken for this project you can see this game in a very different light.

I only noticed the extended Pinball themes in the Casino Nights Zone in more detail since playing this run-through (Especially when looking at the level maps) that have been brought from Spring Yard and this specific element will be very useful during the project as a Pinball machine is one vary early example of a capitalist device within the entertainment industry as the first recorded Pinball Machine created goes back to 1931.

Stardust Speedway 025 - Refining My Research

Well after a few months research; I have finally got all of my Sonic research done and dusted. I will update the blog momentarily with all of my game post mortem reports and what findings I have found.

But there have been two changes; I have removed Sonic 3 and Sonic Adventure from the dissertation research list as I feel that both of these games main research topics have been covered in great detail by the games that precessed it so they have been removed so that I am not going over old ground with this.

Also I have made a lot of notes in my Sonic Notebook which I will be able to use so this has been a worth while phase of my research project, now it is on to Capitalism

Stardust Speedway 024 - The Two Notebook Technique

I have had a lot of problems sorting out information that I have researched over the course of this project; So I have quoted a dissertation help book and have started to use some of their research techniques to make this Dissertation research go a bit smoothly.

So I am currently using two notebooks for my research topics; one dedicated for Sonic the Hedgehog related topics and the second dedicated for Capitalism research; doing this method I hope will make research and information gathering a bit better.

Stardust Speedway 023 - Game Post Mortum Report (Sonic Spinball)

Platform: Playstation 3
Completion Time: 2 Hours 47 Minutes
Total Score from Playthrough: 36,500,725
Chaos Emerelds Gained: Seven

Initial Thoughts Of Sonic Spinball

Even though I have played a lot of Sonic titles during my years as a gamer; This was one that eluded me; but is is a good title in its own ways. The basics of the story is that Sonic is trying to defeating Dr Robotnik who has taken over Mt. Möbius and is using its lava to house his new version of the Robotasizor; the machine which turns animals of the forest into his badniks. But he has to battle his way through Robotnik's Pinball defence system to stop his rivals plans.

But this is nothing like any Sonic game been played previously and breaks a lot of the common rules that are normally featured within Sonic Games. So I am expecting a lot of changes to accomidate the pinball theme of this game.

Interesting Points Discovered

1. All about the points - This game is all about point gathering and nothing else; it is a typical pinball game and plays like a very accurate one as well. Points can be gathered from doing the littlest tasks such as gathering rings (12,500 points each)and collecting Chaos Emeralds (500,000 a piece).

2. Bulletproof Gameplay - Sonic is basically indestructable in this game; the only way he can be killed is if he falls beyond the flippers at the bottom of the table or hit some toxic waste/lava depending on which level you are at (Toxic Caves or Lava Powerhouse). Enemies cannot defeat him; he can just automatically jump off them as it is a pinball table and boss characters just move him further down the table and not actually stop him from coming back up.

3. Breaking The DNA - Before this research started; I stated what I thought made up a traditional Sonic Game and called these three points; The Sonic Series DNA. Now one of the points that I stated was collecting items such as Golden Rings and Chaos Emeralds which is still in this game; but instead of protecting Sonic during his battles against Robotnik; they just add to the score at the end of the level which breaks this rule.

4. Robotnik's Secret Stash - One common theme within the Sonic games is that within each level there is a bonus item which can be collected such as the Chaos Emeralds and in Sonic CD The Time Stones; these are spread out over the space of the title and are not usually out together so closely before.

5. The Seven Chaos Emeralds + 11 more in this one

There are three on the first level alone; with an additional three on the next and five on the last; these are suppose to be the stabilisers for Robotnik's complex and keep the site up and running without anything going wrong; but that makes 11 in total and in any other Sonic game there are Seven (Eight including the Master Emerald) but why haven't these emeralds been talked of before and who created them. But also if these emeralds are not counted from the original Seven, then there would be 18 emeralds so where have these come from also?

Concluding Thoughts

This is a very weird title for Sonic to be in as it just feels as Sonic has been plastered on top of this title; but this was created by Sega technical institute and Sonic Team themselves so it has their seal of approval on it as it was created by them. Also this game is all about point scoring which is one element of the other games but there was some sort of challenge in the other Sonic games but I feel there is no challenge in this title; it feels a bit to easy to rack up all these points and beat Robotnik.

It is a good title in my opinion though and a good comparison to other Sonic titles as a flipside/counter argument; but it is not of much of a challenge as Sonic 2 or Sonic CD* is.

(*Especially Stardust Speedway which is one of the hardest zones in any Sonic game I have encountered)

Stardust Speedway 022 - Internet Links (Level Maps for Sonic Games)

During some more research today; I have found a good little webpage that has the level maps for various Sonic Games which can come in handy during the research to highlight specific parts of the levels during my dissertation.

It is one particular part of a huge Sonic Fan Site but is worth highlighting during this part of the research.

The Link is as follows:-

http://www.soniccenter.org/maps/?url=maps

Stardust Speedway 021 - Reading List (Awsome Sega Mega Drive Secrets by J.Douglas Arnold)

The second book that I am entering into the official reading list tonight is Awesome Mega Drive Secrets by J.Douglas Arnold.

Now this is another book that I have accumulated over the years and it has a lot of Sonic secrets in this book and while reading it today while the council fitted a new kitchen; I was having a quick read of it and thought that there would be a lot of useful information that could be carried over.

So that makes five for now; with some more to follow hopefully

Stardust Speedway 020 - Reading List (Stay Sonic: The Official SEGA Handbook - Mike Pattenden)

The latest entry in my Dissertation Reading List is Stay Sonic - The Official SEGA Handbook by Mike Pattenden.

Now I have had a copy of this book since it came out and have been looking for my copy for years as it has been lost among many of my belongings; and now that its been the Bank Holiday spring clean at my house; I have finally found it and at a good time as well.

This is basically a printed version of the Production Bible that I discovered a few months ago with a few more details and lots of pictures as well; so it will come in handy for later on in the project.

Stardust Speedway 019 - Catching up with the Blue One

Well; Hello again people of the Blog. I am back on the blog and back to work on my dissertation research. I have taken a few weeks off while I sort out other stuff and I am back on the case now.

The research will return to normal and I have lots of stuff to update and fill in so I hope that you can catch up with it all (I think I will when I read it all)

So I hope you will enjoy it all and happy reading

Stardust Speedway 018 - Reading List (Sonic The Hedgehog - Production Bible from SEGA of America)

I have only just discovered that this was not in my reading list and not sure why it has taken this long to do that, but here it is.

This is the second draft of the Sonic The Hedgehog bible from 1991 for use exclusively for Sega during the development of the game, so how I have got a cop I do not know.

It contains the full back story of Sonic the hedgehog for the original title and lots of useful information for the dissertation.

Stardust Speedway 017 - Screenshots will be coming

This is just a small note about how I will be backing up my findings from each game and using them within my dissertation.

I have purchased a copy of Sonic Mega Collection for my laptop; which contains every title from the mega drive era that I am going to use apart from Sonic CD; which I got a free copy from via fileshare.

I am going to replay my breakthrough and take screenshots of various parts of the game to back up my research such as the rings scattering in the shape of a larger ring when Sonic Gets attacked and the enemy multiplayer that I found during the Spring Yard Zone especially in Sonic 1.

So now that's sorted out, I can continue with the Sonic Research. I do know that the blog has only contained Sonic research at the moment; but I am doing each subject seperatly at the moment to aid confusion so please bare with me as it will be coming.

Stardust Speedway 016 - Away in Angel Island ATM

Well; at this point of my research. I am currently playing through the only Sonic Game that I have never played before (On my 360 once again) and I am vary drawn into this title at the moment.

This is a title (apart from Sonic CD) that you can tell the series has evolved slightly and it also shows how Sonic Team pushed the Mega Drive to its limits compared to the first title.

One note that I can give is that the gameplay is not broken up as much as with other Sonic games; but seems to stream as one big level which is a very interesting mechanic to understand when looking at the points collection elements in a whole.

But one I have finished Sonic 2 and completed this game as well; both sets of Post Mortem Reports will be published.

Stardust Speedway 015 - A Small Hiccup and a small addition

Whilst researching the series in a bit more detail and looking at a few more titles in more detail; I have decided to make a small change to my research agenda which was the addition of a fifth research title.

So I am going to add Sonic The Hedgehog 3 to my research for one important reason; the inclusion of the master emereld. Now according to the storyline; The Master Emereld is the ultimate form of the chaos emerelds and a worthy piece of swag for a point collecting super sonic hedgehog like Sonic.

Also, this is one title that I have never completed of the Sonic series and I think that it would be a worthy addition to my research.

Stardust Speedway 014 - Sonic 1 (Post Mortum Game Report)

Well; I have finished my research on the first Sonic title this afternoon and I have got several pages of relevent infomation that will come in handy for my dissertation; but as well as this I am going to write a Post Mortum Report about the game and tell you a few interesting elements that I have found during my playthrough and also what I have interpeted from the game itself.

Platform: Xbox 360
Completion Time: 1 Hour 22 Minutes (Using the Xnox 360's save function so that I can go back to essential levels in the future for future reference)
Total Score from Playthrough: 145,350
Chaos Emerelds Gained: Three

*Now I have to note that I have played the title on the Xbox 360; I would have liked to play the game on the original platform (The Mega Drive/Genesis) but I could not find all the essential cables and my copy of the game itself so I thought this would be a good substitute insted.

Initial Thoughts Of Sonic 1

Well going into my several hundereth runthrough of the title; I thought it would only take me a few hours at least to get through; but before I have only played the game to complete it in the quickest time and collect all of the chaos emerelds, but this would be the first time that I have played the game for analysis only, So I suppose that why it would take so long to complete a runthrough.

Interesting Points Discovered

1. Money in the Bank on some level. Analysing the layout of the game itself; I have discovered that a few of the levels have been created as filer levels only to connect the more important levels with the rest of the game without disrupting the flow of the fast gameplay. I have broken down the levels using this formula as follows and a reason why

Relevent Levels

Green Hill Zone - The Beggining Level of the game so would be an important level, but also there are more rings on this level than any other in the game as is 125 rings just on the first level alone.

Labarynth Zone - The mid-point of the game and a very difficult level for Sonic as most of the level is submerged under water and as Sonic cannot swim (according to the games design document and instruction manual) makes the gameplay very difficult as one wrong move can instantly kill Sonic. Also this is the only level where you don't fight against Dr Robotnik, but you race against him to escape the level.

Scrap Brain Zone and Final Zone - One very large and extreamly complex level, suited to the home of Dr Robotnik. This level is actually spread over two levels with the final zone taking place at the end of the Scrap Brain Zone. Also Dr Robotnik pulls out one last trick and places you straight back into the Labarynth Zone within Act 3.

Filler Levels

Marble Zone
Spring Yard Zone
Star Light Zone

I feel this levels are only for filler because the player doesn't have any real threat against Sonic and if played correctly can be used to rack up the scores and gain several chaos emerelds without having to do much work.

2. Loss of Rings = BIG SIGN. I did notice one thing that was very interesting which was if Sonic gathers up a large ammount of rings above the ammount of 50, they will scatter over the screen in the shape of a large ring, which is a sort of signal to the player that they have lost their rings and they will need more rings in order to play through; more experienced players would not need rings but they would collect them to increase their score at the end of the level.

3. Badnik Multiplyer. If you do the timing correctly and in the right level (Spring Yard Zone is particulary good for this) when Sonic destroys the badniks and destroys another one straight away, their score for destroying them will double up everytime which is easy points in the long run of the game.

4. Missing Emereld - Reward 1 Life. As the player goes through the game; they can collect some or all of the Chaos Emerelds, but there are only six in the game while in every other Sonic game after Sonic 1 have seven to resemble the colours of the rainbow (and what do you find at the bottom of the rainbow?) it does state that Dr Kintobor (Dr Robotnik after an accident in his laboratory with Sonic) was working on the seventh emereld; but if he can create large pieces of machinery and turn animals into robots; what is stopping him creating the seventh?

5. Aladdin's Cave down in Spring Yard. In every nook and cranny of the levels; there are several different places that Sonic can access that hold lots of treasure like extra rings, extra lives and item boxes that will help him throughout the level and there aremor eof these throughout the game (if you know where to look) giving the player more chances to gather more scores

Concluding Thoughts

I didn't think that there wasn't much about this game that I didn't know about as it has been out for almost 18 years; but one you play them enough and stop to notice what is around them; there are a lot of items and relevent points than be brought up for discussion and more chances to rack up the points and now I will never play this game in a different way again

Stardust Speedway 013 - Spring Yard is only for show

Now; during my research of Sonic 1, I did come over a few problems. I thought that I could research this game in a few days and get a good grounding on the best elements and relevent levels of this title.

But it is taking longer than I thought; So this might take a while longer than planned; but is worth it in the long run. What I have found out so far is that this particular Sonic title has the relevent levels and also the filler levels which just join up these relevent levels with each other and I am affraid that my favourite level in this game (Spring Yard Zone) is one of these filler levels.

I have come to this conclusion because a lot more relevent infomation and events happen within these levels while the others are just there for ring gathering and score gaining. Also some of the more deadlier opponents in the game appear in the levels I have highlighted as relevent.

But I hope to bring you a full report tomorrow when I have worte up my notes for the title and have a think about what points I can bring forward from the gameplay session.

Stardust Speedway 012 - And Were Finally Off To A Start

Well; Tomorrow will mark the beginning of my first wave of research for this project; what I intended to do at the beginning of the project was do some light research and get some initial research materials together that could be used for the project.

Now I feel; I have got enough to start with; I am going to start the research properly and am going to keep the research well planned to ensure that I cover everything I need to cover.

So; I have planned and broken down my initial research items into different weeks so they all get enough coverage that they will need. So the following is what I am going to do for WEEK ONE of this initial research.

GAME OF THE WEEK : Sonic The Hedgehog (SEGA, 1991)

BOOK OF THE WEEK : Capitalism - A Very Short Introduction (James Fulture)

FILM OF THE WEEK : Sonic The Hedgehog - The Film (1999)

I am going to do a post mortum report of each title and note what inportant elements could be used within my reportand most importantly what I thought of the titles and their importance within the project.

So this is it; I hope you will enjoy the ride now it is underway and lets make this project a good one and worth all the input that is going to be put into it

Stardust Speedway 011 - Reading List (Sonic The Hedgehog as a Individualist Hero by Iain Smedley)

After a bit of research on the internet (Once Again); I have turned up a small Journal entry from an Magazine called Campainer in the USA by a man called Iain Smedley. He discusses the effect that Video Games had on the early 90s and how it affected culture in various ways such as Sales for a company or how they joined the Playground together in a mutual hobby.

But it also discusses how Sonic (and also characters like Mario) are the individualist hero; how they work by themselves and answer to nobody; but at the same time in the game for themselves.

I have decided to include this within the research because it does discuss some valid points when talking about the character and also how individualism is heavily connected with Capitalism as they both focus on the individuals rights.

The link to the essay is as follows:-

http://www.libertarian.co.uk/lapubs/cultn/cultn033.pdf

Stardust Speedway 010 - Now Showing At A Cinema Near You

Now this part of my research has took a long time to find and I have always wanted to watch this film since I saw the advert in CVG magazine during the late 90s; and now I have found a working copy that I can watch (Without Importing It).

The film in question that I am talking about is the Sonic the Hedgehog film from 1999 and is a 60 minute anime cartoon from Japan that is set during the events of Sonic CD. I have always wanted to see this and found a VHS copy in a charity shop for 50p.

I nearly didn't buy it as only walking past the shop and only saw the copy in the corner of my eye; so I am helping a charity and also watch something I have always wanted to see. I have always spared watching it on youtube as I didn't want to spoil the view of the film by seeing the word buffering on the screen or watching a loading bar getting gradually higher just as the film is getting good.

I have decided to include the film with my research as it features one of the more important characters Metal Sonic in the film and wanted to review the film to get a better picture of the character (as he is only seen properly within the end of the Stardust Speedway stage of the game)

So I am getting the popcorn ready and I am going to see what all the fuss is about

Stardust Speedway 009 - Researching On The Move and Power-Ups

During my free periods from my Teacher Training at the moment; I have been using my Google G1 Phone and some newly downloaded apps to carry out some more research for the project while I am free from lessons.

I have downloaded a Mega Drive Emulator for my G1 phone called Gensoid which allows me to play Sonic 1, Sonic 2 and Sonic Spinball and write down some notes during gameplay. So I will be still researching these titles during the break from uni work.

Just Keeping you updated with everything; but still can't find my dreamcast so Sonic Adventure will be delayed until my room is clear.

Stardust Speedway 008 - Pause Menu

Just wanted to update people about what is happening about the project; I am currently in my final week in my Students Accociate position and this is taking up all of my free time at the moment.

But I am still doing some reading and have been playing my copies of Sonic 1 and 2 on my Xbox 360 (Lukeyboy2209 if you want to add) and making some notes on each game (watch out for some notes about two levels imparticular; Casino Nights and Spring Yard) so I will update when I have finished everything.

Stardust Speedway 007 - Jumping Into The Next Gen (A Bit Too Late)

Now; the selection of titles I have chosen for this research have only been from one generation of consoles and inparticular one console which is the Sega Mega Drive (and its add on; The Sega CD) now this could be down to the fact that I am a Mega Drive fan boy at heart; but also is that because all of the titles that I want to use for this project are all older titles.

So for this reason I am adding two more additional titles to the research; this late addition for the research list will let me view the series within a different light and also see if the series has advanced.

The first title is (SUPRISE) another Mega Drive title; but I think that it is an important title when I did some more research; the title that I am refering to is Sonic Spinball. This Mega Drive title puts Sonic into a gaint pinball machine and allows players to play a game of pinball; which dumbed down is all about point scoring and item collection (like extra balls) but this game does break the Sonic DNA slighly which I will discuss in the games post mortom report I will do in a future post.

The Second title is Sonic Adventure for The Dreamcast; now I initially didn't think of including any of the more modern titles within the Sonic Series as I think that they break the Sonic DNA for the series too much with the inclusion of more characters and weird tie ins with fairy tales like in the more modern titles; but this title is the only one that I though of that did not change the original formula of a Sonic Game that I am trying to research in depth; so I am going to include this title as well.

This will give me five games to draw points from and to research further; this should give me a broader vision of what the Soinc series is trying to achieve and I think that this list includes the best Sonic titles for the job without having to look at Sonic and The Black Knight.

Stardust Speedway 006 - Reading List (Capitalism: The Unknown Idea by Ayn Rand)

Well I have nearly finished my first book of my reading list and I now have a basic grasp of Capitalism (in some form) So I am going to jump into another book as quick as I can and this has been highly reccomended by various people.

Now, I have read Altus Shrugged by Ayn Rand which took me a long time and alot of determination to do before the release of Bioshock to get more of an understanding of the game; but her opinions of the society that the characters live in can be seen within various points of the book. So I have decided to read this collection of essays about Capitalism and various other themes to get a more deeper understanding of the subject.

So once it has come from Amazon; let the reading begin.

Stardust Speedway 005 - A Late Entry and Personal Reviews

I have decided to include the original Sonic The Hedgehog title within my game research; as when replaying the title. Some of the elements that I am trying to uncover are more visable within this game and also it was the first title; so I would have to look at it and then I could compare it to the other two titles that I am looking at which are Sonic CD and Sonic The Hedgehog 2.

Also I have started to replay all of these titles; and when I have played each title a few times each; I am going to write up a small post mortum report to discuss what elements I have found within each title.

(I can breath now I have got that miniture rant out of my system) :)

Stardust Speedway 004 - In The Beginning; There was a hedgehog from Nebraska

Well; I also have been researching on the internet and I have found some interesting documents which ended up being the original concept documents that Sonic Team used to create the original title.

Not the series; has come an extreamly long way since these days; but they are a rearly good read.

You can find the link at the following address

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=352814

Stardust Speedway 003 - Reading List (Capitalism - A Very Short Introduction)

Well; I do watch a lot of topical news quizes such as Have I Got News For You and Mock The Week and I do live in a Capitlist society; but I still do not understand the subject to a full extent. So I went out this morning and bought the following book (Capitalism - A Very Short Introduction) bu James Fulcher.

Now when you look at the title; you cannot have a very short introduction to a vast subject; but this series of books are very detailed and I have used them before when researching subjects like Terrorism with my Paper on Resident Evil: Code Veronica X. So I am going to use this book as a starting point for my research and see where it goes from there.

Also; I have nearly finished my playthrough of Sonic CD for the project and I am going to write up a games post mortem report to discuss what I found within the game (as long as I get past the Wacky Workbench level)

Stardust Speedway 002 - Retro All The Way, I Say

Well, thinking about the project last night and also what comments were left on my blog; I have decided on the sonic titles that I am going to focus on; now before making this position; I have been digging up all of my Sonic titles and playing them for a while to see what title would be best.

Now after my conclusions (and several hours of hard gameplay); I have decided to focus on two titles; the first being the namesake of the project; Sonic CD. This is my favourite Sonic The Hedgehog game for so many reasons (but this is for another time); but I think that its the iconic time travel mechanic which allows Sonic to travel into the past and future of his current location; but if he doesn't destroy any of Robotnik's machinery; it will be an evil future where Robotnik rules the entire world and the opposite effect when Sonic destroys a piece of machinery and goes into a good future. I like the way that if you don't destroy Robotnik's machines; it will always be a bad future; but why is the game like this is What I want to know. Also the inclusion of a Metal Sonic; the character that I am labeling a Captialist Figure that now has a Doppleganger; what was Robitnik trying to achieve by creating him?

Now the second title is Sonic The Hedgehog 2; the first title that includes Tails (Sonic's Sidekick) and another favourite title of mine. The main element that intrigues me about the title is the games final level; The Death Egg.

Robotnik's "Ultimate Weapon" which is exaclty like the Death Star; but also the inclusion of Super Sonic; Sonic's alter ego that he can only turn into when he has collected all of the Chaos Emerelds from Robotnik; but when he does he turns into an unbeatable speed machine that is twice as fast as normal sonic and can beat anything. But the downside is his power drains Sonic's Golden Rings Collection; so to keep this power; he must collect these items of value to stay invinsible.

Now I know that these tiles are retro titles; but the newer titles do not focus more on the colelction of items than the older titles does; more about speed and acrobatic set pieces. SO for now these are my two titles; but when I have done some further reading I could add some more titles and even include some that are not Sonic titles.

Now; I am going to play a bit more Sonic CD and enjoy the animated cutscenes.

Stardust Speedway 001 - Looking at Sonic in a different light

Hello; my name is Luke Bale and I am currently studying Bsc (Hons) Comnputer and Video Games at the University of Salford. I am just about to entry my third year and starting to research the topic for my 3rd year dissertation.

Now I have already thought of an idea for this Dissertation blog; which was called Rage On The Streets and that was going to focus on the Streets of Rage game and how they portray Gang culture. But I have had a change of heart about the topic as this project is all about doing something that I am interested in and it gives me time to research deeper into one of my favourite game series; the Sonic The Hedgehog games.

Now I am not going to include the latest titles at the moment as I do not feel that they are the same games as the ones created within the Mid 90s, but I will look at thse titles in the future of the project.

Now I have called the essay; Owning The Stardust Speedway. The inspiration of this title is a famous level from the Sonic CD game where you fight against Metal Sonic; but I want to look at the games and Sonic The Hedgehog himself imparticular as a figure for Capitalism and see what capitalist elements are within the titles such as collecting golden rings and searching for the rare Chaos Emerelds which give Sonic the power to turn into Super Sonic.

Not only does this project give me the chance to play two of my favourite games; Sonic The Hedgehog 2 and Sonic CD once again; but explore elements of the game that I did not initially think when playing them for the first time.

I hope you like the research and enjoy reading these blog entrys; I will enjoy the game playing and also finding out about how the Capitalist system works in details.