On Thursday, we did an interview with the project manager on Sonic Free Riders, David Allen. It’s a short interview, but it may give you some insight on the game.

My main question to ask on this, is this an all new Riders game, or is this a Kinect adaption of a previous Riders title?

There are some elements and some stages from the previous games, but obviously, controlling the game and some of the content is different.

What’s the newest additions to this game besides the control scheme?

That’s a very good question. I don’t think I can answer that right now unfortunately.

Will there be any new characters in this game that haven’t been in previous Riders games?

Only the same characters from the previous games.

Are the mechanics similar to the previous games or all they all new?

It does take elements from both of them of course, but with the Kinect, it’s a completely different ballgame.

When’s the game due out??

We haven’t set a date yet, but it will be in time for Holiday 2010.

That makes four Sonic games for this Christmas.

(Laughs) We’re keeping real busy, yea. Busy year. We haven’t set a date because we had to wait for Microsoft to settle their dates out for Kinect.

How long has this game been in production?

I don’t know the answer to that unfortunately, because I’m new to this project and have only been on it for two weeks.

Will the game have online multiplayer?

It will have multiplayer yes. I can’t say how many it will accommodate right now.

Will it be a retail release?

Yes, it will be a packaged product.

Okay guys, I’m officially confused. Wasn’t it announced as an Arcade title? I wonder which it is?

NOTE: We have this in video form, but the audio is so poor and hard to hear due to the loudness that is E3, (I was yelling too!) that we’re just gonna have to transcribe it. I may still put up the video later if we can clean up the audio. By the way, I wanna say that Aaron couldn’t have been a nicer guy. He puts up with a lot of heat on the forums, but always comes off very classy. Also, you can thank Nuckles87 for the Mine Kart question.

Hello folks, I’m here at Alton Towers. (Points to Sonic 4 backdrop) Just kidding! We’re at the Sonic 4 area here at the Sega booth. With me is Sega Rep, Aaron Webber. Who many of you may know as RubyEclipse. Aaron, how’s it going today?

Aaron – Pretty well. It’s been a really busy day as it was yesterday with a lot of people playing Sonic 4. It’s great though because for many, it’s their first time getting their hands on it.

Now, Sonic 4 has been a controversial game with many people loving it or loathing it on some forums. There does seem to have been some improvements on the physics I myself, have been enjoyed what I played so far and it is up for IGN’s nomination for best platformer at E3. Can you tell me what kind of improvements they’ll be making to this game?

Aaron – It’s actually much more than just physics. There’s a lot we haven’t announced yet or talked about as far as changes we are making to this game. We’ll be revealing some of those soon, but I just want to say that physics will be just a small piece of it. Now, with regard to your comment about the fans, I think there’s truth that no matter what kind of Sonic game we make, no matter what it entails, no matter what it’s expected to be, they’ll be people who love it and they’ll be people who hate it. No matter what kind of game you make, there will always be people in that spectrum and you have to accept and understand that.

We understand that no matter what we do, no matter what improvements we make they’ll still be people out there that are like “You know what? Those eyes are not black, ergo it’s not cool with me” The physics might be perfect. The game might be feeling like classic Sonic. But because the eyes are different, they might feel it’s different. We understand that people will always have difference of opinions, but when it comes down to it, they don’t say those things because they’re angry or negative people, but the reason they are so passionate is because they really love Sonic and the franchise and they love the memories and nostalgia they had growing up with the Genesis games. I think that’s the reason why they are so passionate whether they are for it or against it. So, regardless where they sit on that spectrum, if it’s because of that passion, then it’s very respectful.

Is there anything you can currently tell us about what to expect in Episode 2?

Aaron – We haven’t officially announced episode 2 at this point, so I can’t really talk about a game we haven’t announced yet. We did call it episode one for a reason though, so there is more we’ll be able to talk about Sonic 4 in the future.

Is there anything you can tell us about the exclusive iPhone levels coming out?

Aaron – The iPhone levels are definitely designed to take advantage of the accelerometer and motion controls. I know a lot of stuff’s been out there, (in regards to leaked videos) I know a lot of people have seen some stuff, but it’s not the final version of the game. So I think in many ways, having Sonic 4 at E3 is a good chance for us to let them know that just because you saw something that you think is final doesn’t mean it’s final. Somethings that are touchy on console controls work much better on a motion control setting.

When I first saw Sonic 4 in motion, I thought it would make a great portable game myself. But as far as leaked videos go, from my own experience, it’s one thing to see it. It’s another thing to actually sit down and play it. It’s a much better game than they might expect. Is there anything you can tell us about the controversial Mine Kart level?

Aaron – (Laughs) That level I know was very controversial when it got out there. One was probably because of the design of the level and two because it was actually unfinished. So people might look at it and say “this isn’t what we were expecting”. It’s kind of like, when you look at a building being built. You don’t look at the framing and say “Well, where’s the air conditioning?” That was something people were obviously frustrated about because they saw what was not completed and they judged it based on that.

That’s kinda how I felt about Casino zone act 2. It’s obviously unfinished and feels like it’s there as possibly a placement holder.

Aaron – In many cases, it’s things that we test out. So at times it’s like “How would this play on a console? How would this feel?” and in many cases we got some fantastic feedback. In many ways, regardless of what some guy on a forum might have said, regardless of how controversial things may have been, that any change we make because of that is for the better.

Thanks so much for your time.

Aaron – You’re welcome.

Two fat, sweaty men got to talk to the head of Sonic Team.

Although we were running very late and exhausted (fat men were not meant to run!), we got a chance to interview Sonic Team’s head guy, Takashi Iizuka. We once again apologize to Sega for our lateness. Dang traffic.

The interview was focused solely on Sonic Colors for the Wii. He played two levels for us. One from Tropical Resort and another from Sweet Mountain. At the end of his game session, it was time for questions.  We were short on time, so we were only able to get a few questions in.

SS – Is this game made with just children in mind, or more for a general audience?

Iizuka – Of course, we are putting in kid friendly elements, but it’s not just for kids. The are some challenging elements put in as well.

SS – Who are the music composers for the Wii and DS versions?

Iizuka –  There’s not one composer. It’s the Sega Sound Team. It’s pretty much the same people who worked on Sonic Unleashed.

SS – What was the inspiration behind this game?

Iizuka – First we wanted to work with what was successful in the past. Like Sonic Unleashed’s daytime game play and add the Wisp Color powers to give it more variety.

SS – What was the decision behind making this Wii/DS exclusive?

Iizuka – It’s difficult to get into details. We basically used Sonic Rush and Sonic Unleashed Wii as models for the game play.

SS – What is the length of the game, in hours?

Iizuka – The game’s still in development, but in previous Sonic games, there would be an act 1 and act 2 of a zone. In this case,  for each of these worlds there are several stages. Also, once you get more color powers from other worlds, you can go back to older levels and find new paths to access. It also depends on how dedicated you are to finding all the items in the game.

SS – Is this game made from the ground up, or does it use any previous assets?

Iizuka –  Completely new as far as art and engine. Obviously, the game play is inspired by Sonic Unleashed.

SS – When is the game due?

Iizuka – This holiday season.

SS – What is the little Robotnik ship flying around the planets?

Iizuka – (Laughs) Sorry, we can’t talk about that yet.

SS – Last question,  any chance of a new NiGHTS or Burning Rangers game?

Iizuka – (Laughs) We can’t talk about that right now.

SS – Thank you so much for your time. .

Iizuka – You’re welcome.