Copernicus

Interesting.
Are you always going to be advertising Archie-Sonic stuff in the news?

1. Are you happy with the current progress of the comic?

No. When I look at how much time has passed in all the years Ian has been writing the comic, the story hasn't gone very far. The pace has slowed to a crawl, so I don't feel like the comic is progressing at all. The only sense of progress I get is the fact people are living in Mobotropolis instead of Knothole.

2. If Ian does decide to go through with his decision to kill Sally, what will be your initial reaction in terms of being a fan of the comic?

It won't change if I'm a fan of the comic. The quality of the content of the comic has been all over the place through its run, this'll just be another "what the bleep were they thinking" moment for me. I've stopped reading the comic before and picked it up again, and that is one possible reoccurring future for as long as the comic runs.

3. Do you believe Ian is doing a good job as writer?

No. I find him sloppy. Every once in a while he writes dialog I don't understand, paneling that doesn't convey action clearly, or uses confusing scene changes. But that's really the editor's fault for not finding possible problems and correcting them. I don't think they need to replace Ian, even though I don't agree with the direction he has taken the comic. If I was editor I would keep Ian as writer, I'd just make sure he didn't screw anything up.

4. With all the changes happening within the Sonic comic over the years, do you think it should be considered non-canon as part of the original Satam series?

It is correct to consider Archie Sonic not part of SatAM. I don't even believe Archie Sonic is canon with Archie Sonic. Each writer has written their own Sonic comic within Archie Sonic, so there is no canon or continuity. Don't let the continuous numbering and reuse of the same title for the comic mislead you.

5. What changes do you believe need to be made within the comic in your honest opinion?

The editor needs to make sure that the story telling is clear, regardless if it is the dialog, paneling, or page turns. Do what's best for the story, even if that means not having a pointless fight scene. Have more writers and artists on the comic. I like the variety. The comic shouldn't be allowed to stagnate with story telling or art. Don't be afraid to start a different comic and discontinue old ones. Sonic Universe is a good example of this. Churning out Sonic the Hedgehog with continuous numbering regardless of how different it is from itself would be a bad example. If I was Archie I would have at least given Sonic the Hedgehog volume numbering (Gallagher isn't the same volume as Penders which isn't the same volume as Flynn). Archie should be more concerned with producing a quality and coherent comic than having the "longest running video game licensed comic ever" award.

Who is playing video games is misleading. As far as people under the age of 30, more men play video games than women. In the older community more women play video games than men. Video games are marketed towards a target audience, such as 18-25 year old men, so you shouldn't be surprised when you notice mostly people of a target audience playing a game. If you want to encounter more female gamers you need to hang out with women 40-60 years old. Unless you hate casual games.

As far as design, if you want to attract a broader audience you should make it cuter. That's something I did with my first commercial video game, F-Copernicus 1. I could have made it more targeted to the core audience, but I chose to use animals for characters and reduce frustration through applying no-death gaming concepts.

Instead of making women like games you want to play, how about making games women like to play?

Do you blame Michael Eisner for the success? Jeffrey Katzenberg was also at Disney at the "2nd golden age" as some put it. Seeing how things tanked after Katzenberg left I usually blame the success on Katzenberg rather than Eisner.

Trying to test the new delete button...