Sonic the Hedgehog Level Creator, also known as Sonic Level Creator,[4] Sonic Level Editor[1] or Sonic the Hedgehog Level Player,[5] was a platform level editor video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It was developed by Mediatonic and released under the PlaySega web service in September 2009.
The game became unplayable after the closure of PlaySega in June 2011.
Overview[]
A level being created in the level editor.
Sonic the Hedgehog Level Creator allowed users to create, play, and share custom levels for the original Sonic the Hedgehog. While all users of PlaySega were able to play levels, paying VIP members of the service were able to access the built-in level editor.[1][4]
Upon starting the level editor, users were prompted to name their level and choose a size for it, with the options being small, medium, or large.[6][7] The editor displayed a grid interface. Users could add a variety of objects to the grid to populate their level, including terrain such as loops and slopes, collectibles such as Rings and Item Boxes, common gimmicks such as Springs and the mandatory Goal Plate, and hazards such as spikes and Badniks. The level editor had drag and drop, copy and paste, zoom, and undo tools that allowed users to quickly build their levels.[4] After the construction of a level was completed, the level editor compressed it into a binary data format of Sonic the Hedgehog and saved it on the PlaySega sever.[4]
Gameplay of a user-made level.
Published levels were then playable by other PlaySega users via a Flash port of Sonic the Hedgehog.[1][4] Based on their times and scores upon completing levels, players were rewarded with shares of PlaySega Rings, the virtual currency of the website.[6][4]
Controls[]
| Button formation | Movement | |
|---|---|---|
| Keyboard | Gamepad | |
| [←]/[→] |  left/right
|
Move |
| [↑] |  up
|
Look up |
| [↓] | down
|
Look down |
| [↓] while moving | down while moving
|
Spin Attack |
| [SPACE] |  / /
|
Spin Jump |
Objects[]
Items[]
Gimmicks and obstacles[]
Characters[]
Playable characters[]
Non-playable characters[]
Enemies[]
Soundtrack[]
| Name | Artist | Length | Music track |
|---|---|---|---|
| Title screen | James Vincent | 0:09 | |
| Level | 1:10 | ||
| Level cleared | 0:07 | ||
| 1-Up | 0:04 | ||
| Invincible | 0:12 |
Trivia[]
- Despite the extensive customization, the level editor software was limited to the same gem-themed scenery and tune, regardless of the level.
- The game had several issues with physics, such as Sonic occasionally getting stuck in walls whilst rolling through tunnels and falling out of loops when approaching them in a Spin Attack.
- Despite sprites of other Animals being present in the game's files, the Ricky is the only Animal that appears in gameplay.
- There was a rare glitch present where the environment scenery would switch to Green Hill Zone when testing in the level editor.[8]
Notes[]
- ↑ While not credited in the game itself, James Vincent's name appears in the metadata of the game's audio tracks.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Croft, Paul (15 September 2009). Sonic Level Editor Launches!. Mediatonic. Archived from the original on 10 August 2012. Retrieved on 15 October 2020.
- ↑ Sega release official Sonic zone creator tool online!. Zone: 0 (13 September 2009). Retrieved on 16 October 2020.
- ↑ PlaySega website, Sonic the Hedgehog Level Creator.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Sonic Level Creator. Mediatonic. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved on 7 December 2020.
- ↑ Play Games. PlaySega. Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved on 7 December 2020.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Sonic the Hedgehog Level Creator, "Start a new level" game screen
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog Level Creator, "Select Map Size" game screen.
- ↑ SpeedStarTMQ (24 April 2011). Sonic Level Creator Glitch. YouTube. Retrieved on 20 January 2021.
External links[]
- Official website (closed)
| Playable characters | Sonic | |
|---|---|---|
| Non-playable characters | Animals (Ricky) | |
| Enemies | Buzz Bomber | Chopper | Crabmeat | Moto Bug | Newtron | |
| Moves/Techniques | Look down | Spin Jump | Spin Attack | |
| Gimmicks and obstacles | Goal Plate | Spikes | Spring | Star Post | |
| Items | Ring | Item Box (1-Up, Invincible, Power Sneakers, Shield, Super Ring) | |
| Other | Loop | Time Over | Tunnel | |
| V·T·E | Category | ||