Welcome to the Overview sub-section of the Information
section of Concept: "Mobius." If this is the first time you've
surfed Concept: "Mobius," then I am encouraging you to stay
on this page and read its contents before getting to the rest of site.
This section will give you the lowdown on what all sub-sections of the
Information section contain. So let's skip the pleasantries
and hop right to it!
Let's start things out with a brief summary dealing with the purpose
of this particular section of the site. The problem is, there's not
much to say, really! This section of the site centers solely on raw
data concerning the fanbase and official media. The Information section
of the site, to put it simply, is the part of the site that serves a
purpose similar to most other informational Sonic sites: data on the
games, character profiles, editorials, etc., etc.
However,
our information regarding said topics focuses more on the outlook of
the fanbase, and we also try to go as indepth as possible. The Plothole
Speculation sub-section of the site offers editorials of a nature
clearly unheard of with most other Sonic sites, as it focuses on topics
disputed rigorously across the entire community to benefit the storyline.
Concept: "Mobius'" Information section excavates the official
aspects of the Sonic universe in a way no other site does: with a distinctive
class of depth and from the viewpoint of the fan. Read on to learn what
each sub-section offers!
Sonic
Fandom »
Sonic
fandom… when you think of it, you think of a marginally scarce
fanbase community that thrives solely on the internet. Well, you are
absolutely right. It is pretty much impossible for a person to be an
avid fan of Sonic the Hedgehog in his/her real life and actually
stay that way. It's not like anime, video games or music. Sonic
the Hedgehog is what is called a sleeper hit. A sleeper
hit is something that is by no means mainstream popularity, yet always
has a dedicated fanbase deep in the woodwork. Magic: The Gathering,
Dungeons and Dragons, and Dance Dance Revolution are very good examples
of sleeper hits. They are not allover the news, yet they are still fairly
popular. Even Pokémon has reduced itself to sleeper hit status
over the past few years when most people think it has completely died.
Sonic the Hedgehog
is by no means an exception. It is, however, a low class sleeper hit.
It's impossible for a person with no access to the internet or richly
updated sources to actually maintain a prolonged, enthusiastic interest
in something like Sonic the Hedgehog. The only way a person can stay
interested in it without the internet is if they had at least 3-5 other
RL friends that liked it equally as much. So always know this: the internet
plays an exceptionally large to all-out MAJOR role in any true Sonic
fan's life. However, if you are reading this and you're a major Sonic
fan… you undoubtedly know this.
Most fans
leave their knowledge of the Sonic fanbase right there. I, however,
decided to delve into the subject myself. The Sonic fanbase community,
like any other consolidated faction dedicated to their enthusiasm of
a certain icon or pop culture media, has its own types (I like to call
them "breeds") of fans that favor specific sects or separate
dimensions of Sonic more so than others. These sects are also divided
among the type of talent the fan has. Unfortunately, many of the different
breeds absolutely despise other types. The Sonic game researchers hate
the visionaries, artists and fanfiction writers, while the Sonic Team
Extremists hate the SOA Archie/SatAM/AoStH extremists. I laugh at their
squabbling, and I find it amusing that they carry on such long, drawn
out arguments over a 3 foot tall, blue hedgehog whose games are actually
targeted primarily to 10 year olds. They are unaware that in spite of
their slightly different tastes, they still have a common interest —
Sonic. That's what this sub-section of Concept: "Mobius" is
for.
The Sonic
Fandom section delves into the Sonic fanbase and gives a detailed analysis
of all general breeds of Sonic fans and includes their habits, clichés,
and what they like and dislike. With this section, I aim to give the
Sonic fan a good idea of what they are dealing with, to give newcomer
fans a nice layout of the Sonic fanbase community, and perhaps cause
the more extreme examples of the breeds that read this to repent to
a much higher level of sanity and intelligence.
Game Relations
»
A
section describing each Sonic game is pretty much a commodity for any
Sonic the Hedgehog fansite, and this one is no different. Concept: "Mobius'"
Game Relations sub-section delves into all plotline-applicable (ones
that can be considered part of the ongoing game continuity) Sonic games
and gives detailed information on their statistics. Be aware, no imagery
lurks around these parts. This sub-section is pretty much nothing but
raw data.
REAL
Character Profiles »
The
Sonic characters as seen in the games are shrouded in mystery. Yet they're
still as cool as all get out. What is known about them? Do they even
have a background? If so, what is it? Where were they all born? How
old are they? What are their DOBs? Perhaps these questions may never
be answered, while on the opposite end, maybe someday, Sonic Team will
repent and perform a breakthrough; introducing Sonic anew with an indepth
world and creative atmosphere while sticking to his original and awesome
attitude, and to the environment of the games we have come to love.
But until then, most profiles of the characters as seen in the game
storyline offered online are generally devoid of any information, but
most of all, devoid of the true info. Lots of profiles that go unusually
indepth are basing a lot of the things such as age, weight, height,
IQ, etc., etc. off of speculation. (I'd know, I've done it once with
my old RPG group's site, and I sucked at it.) A lot of these statistics
are now officially documented thanks to the new character profiles at
the official Sonic Channel website by Sega of Japan. Back then, most
people had to guess a lot of the attributes of the official characters.
However,
other bits of trivia remain to be confirmed officially or given
full detail.
This sub-section
of the site gives you the true reference profiles of
all Sonic Team characters from the games, from Sonic the Hedgehog to
Ray the Flying Squirrel. These profiles give you the factual answers
to their attributes; a lot of them being unknown. A lot of these profiles,
in fact, will contain little to barely any information… but what
they do contain are the facts. Highly accurate speculation will also
be offered on fields that could be guessed, but are truly unknown. Fields
that were also once speculated by fans will be pointed out, along with
statistics fans made up that were false. The Sonic fanbase is responsible
for a lot of mysteries in Sonic the Hedgehog, since they start so many
rumors that were so widely speculated that they have grown into beliefs.
You'd be surprised how potent the credibility of a mere rumor can be,
and how its effect lingers.
Plothole
Speculation »
In
the "Official" Storyline sub-section, the major plotholes
of the Sonic Team storyline are introduced. Believe it or not, some
of those major plotholes break up and fragment into a lot of smaller,
easier-to-solve plotholes. This section is dedicated solely to the large
multitude of plotholes (large and small) the original Sonic Team storyline
has accumulated over the past years. The Plothole Speculation sub-section
scopes out most, if not all of the plotholes in the Sonic Team storyline
and gives a variety of sensible solutions on how to perhaps fill the
plothole in a way that will still stick to the storyline. Solutions
accomodating the pure game storyline and the Sonic X-canon game storyline
will be offered for those who believe whichever. This sub-section is
mostly for visionaries or fanfic writers that are trying to piece together
the original Sonic Team storyline for their creation or story.
The Fancharacter
»
The
fancharacter… by far one of the most common sites to run into
in the online Sonic fanbase. Almost all Sonic fans have or at least
once had a fancharacter. The only exceptions are huge Sonic Team extremists
or Sonic researchers. Pretty much everyone else has their own little
addition to the population of Sonic's world. Sonic researchers and big-time
Sonic Team purists usually look down upon fan characters and anybody
who owns them since they will "never get their stupid creation
noticed by the higher ups, so making them is pointless. " This
is true. No fan character has been noticed by Sonic Team. But that's
not to say that getting your precious creation into the games is impossible.
But just like getting into the acting business, you need to know the
right people. Of course, your character also must look like and have
the attributes of something you'd see in a Sonic game. It's obviously
not something to try pursuing, not to mention it is not the point I
am trying to make.
Anybody
who is against a fancharacter is unaware of the imagination's potency
and urge to become part of what it favors. A fancharacter is a fan's
exploit of their love for Sonic, molded into their own little personification
of themselves in a "Sonicized" interface. That is the standardized
fancharacter, at least. A true visionary would go outside the bounds
of their own personality and self-expression and make good, original
fancharacters that are unique and required thought to create. Standard
fancharacters are basically just the creators of the character, except
given a Sonic makeover.
Being a
visionary and concept artist, I completely understand the allegations
of fancharacters and their purpose. In fact, I own three myself. But
over the years, I have begun concentrating more and more on making my
fancharacters original, creative, and unique in comparison to the official
characters, yet still retain that Sonic feel, you know what I mean?
It is the dramatic increase of the standard fancharacter that is killing
off the creativity, and the positive imaginative influence that the
Sonic fanbase once had. That is what this sub-section is for. This sub-section
will teach you how to make an original and creative Sonic fancharacter
that is actually worthy of respect by a true visionary, and will give
you the dos and donts on what to apply to their aptitude and overall
chic. Afterall, fancharacters are a force that cannot be stopped. So
why try to stop them all together when you can actually teach people
how to make a good one?
The
Science of Sonic »
Although it is impossible to imagine
the concept, science has a hand in everything ever created. It is because
it is impossible for humans to even think outside the terms of the laws
the universe has put upon us and even when we think we do, we are still
contained by the laws of science. We are just putting some of our own
concepts that change the outline of natural occurences.
What I mean by this is that while we might think we are
making things up, they are based on things that in the back our minds
we could have imaged because they somehow seem possible to
us. A beautiful example of the opposite of this concept is four dimensional
space. Humans, living in a three dimensional object space world have
no trouble imagining and seeing anything in one dimension (a line),
two dimensions (cartoons, 2D Sonic games, etc) and three dimensionals
(real life, whether to you that is the physical universe or the picture
your PlayStation 2 puts on your TV Screen). However, try to imagine
a four dimensional object giving the basis.
Why do I bring this up? Sonic the Hedgehog
is a concept that, just like everything else, is viewed through the
prism of science, and what I aim to do is to break down the techniques,
the physical beings and some of the anomalies of the robotics and boards
and attempt to explain them scientifically. I will use equations and
concepts, and try my best to keep the science as real as possible before
adding one or two assumed "facts" that seem to be basely necessary.
But these facts are still according to science, they are just things
that we have not observed, though it would be entirely possible that
they exist.
Brought to you by Concept: "Mobius"
staffer Jer, the Science of Sonic sub-section of Concept: "Mobius"
will justify all of the odd anomolies and scientific plotholes seen
in the games, and shed some light upon some of the physics-defying things
we've seen our heroes do in the games.
