Happy Birthday, Zone: 0!
Thursday, 30th August 2007, 4:55pm (UTC), 0 Comments
Update: Page Reply feature added to all pages in the Sonic 1 and 2 guides, allowing visitor submission of extra info.
That's right, one pleasant summer's evening, three years ago to this day, I decided to sit down and write about Green Hill Zone, after spending the previous few weeks throwing around an idea in my head about the ultimate online reference guide for all Sonic levels. Granted, it took only three hours and it wasn't immediately as detailed or accurate as it is today, but the foundation was laid, and the remaining Sonic 1 levels followed shortly, all within the space of just over a week! Three years on, and here is that resource, and though its really only just started to break out of text documents on my computer and onto the interweb, it is already far more detailed and impressive that I could ever have imagined it would be. How the hell that one idea has survived to this day, through all the potential pit-falls and reasons for me to give up, and now with my enthusiasm for it fully intact, I have absolutely no idea, but you can bet your ass I'm sticking with it!

I don't let anniversaries like this go by unnoticed, so to celebrate, I've gone and launched the Zone: 0 Page Reply system. Journey to any page within the Sonic 1 and what's currently available of the Sonic 2 guides, and you'll find a pair of outlined boxes at the top and bottom, which link you to a pop-up window filled with.. well, at the moment, not much, but it will be filled with dozens of comments left by loyal Zone: 0 followers (who will also materialise in due time). They'll be talking about extra bits and pieces of info that I've missed from that particular page, maybe asking me inane questions that would probably have been answered on the page if they'd looked hard enough, and hopefully a touch of debate here and there about the level in question. Dunno what kind of debates those would be, but I'm sure they'd be darn fascinating. I'm hoping that over time, regular visitors will make themselves known through that system and my blog comments, and one day a proper Zone: 0 forum may emerge with a ready made community to use it. A real nice forum, where the matters of level and game design are discussed in a friendly atmosphere, but only between knowledgeable and devoted Sonicologists.

Unfortunately, Casino Night is still not ready, and both act maps still need completing. It's all those darn bumpers and flippers all over the place. As I mentioned last time, my eyes have given up on me recently and decided to hurt unbearably, sometimes all day long, and especially when I try and look at a computer screen. Given that my life isn't much without being able to receive visuals through some sort of screen that's in front of me, this has proved to be highly inconvenient. Got new glasses yesterday though, which are a massive improvement, and I don't have to squint to try and see anything anymore, which I reckon was what the problem was. The pain is still a bit on and off but I'm hoping it'll go completely very soon, and I can get on with things. Being idle sucks.

So, realistically, expect us to hit those glitzy slots sometime next week, all being well (though it may not be). Then I might have a little break to get a few other non-Zone:0 things sorted, like heading back to uni. And then we've got Sonic Rush Adventure to look forward to! Start practicing that piratey accent now. I don't need to, I talk like that all the time.

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