This is a reupload of our interview with Chris Southall, former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at SEGA HARDlight and now a Director at Sumo Digital, the studio responsible for several Sonic racing games, including Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing (2010), Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing Transformed (2012) and Team Sonic Racing (2019).
On our former website, Epicplay, before its recent transition into a gaming social network, I spoke with Chris Southall, a sports and fine-wine enthusiast living in the United Kingdom and, oh... at the time, Director of “that SEGA studio” that helped the company reach a current total of 1.5 billion units sold and downloads for its mascot's games. Five hundred million of those units came from downloads of its title Sonic Dash for iOS and Android alone.
That is no ordinary achievement. SEGA HARDlight has earned one of the industry's coveted spotlights when it comes to games developed for smartphones, both through statistics demonstrating product profitability and popularity with the general public, bringing more new people to discover SEGA's classic gaming franchises every day.
With the release of Sonic Forces: Speed Battle for smartphones, we reviewed the game ahead of launch at SEGA's invitation and were also able to speak with Chris Southall, who led the entire project. It is worth remembering that the studio also produced the PC port of Sonic Forces, which was released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. Here is our interview:
Interview with Chris Southall
Jean Felipe: “Speed Battle” was part of a line of Sonic releases alongside games such as Sonic Mania and Sonic Forces, released for consoles and PC. Did the idea for Speed Battle actually arise to accompany those titles, or did it only receive the name “Forces” later? Is there any indirect connection with the story of those other releases?
Chris Southall: As soon as we discovered that our new engine would work perfectly for a game in the franchise, we contacted Sonic Team, and that was when the connection between our prototype and Sonic Forces happened. Although they are very different, since the console experience is predominantly a solo adventure while the mobile game is focused exclusively on multiplayer, both share the same universe, where Dr. Eggman and a powerful new villain have destroyed the world and Sonic and his friends are fighting to save it. Sonic Forces: Speed Battle also features characters and elements from the console game, but the core game and its progression are quite unique.
JF: This was a major leap for the franchise on smartphones after the tremendous success of Sonic Dash, which was downloaded millions of times on the Play Store alone. How did the idea of releasing a competitive online hedgehog game emerge?
CS: It was a year and a half before launch: we thought it would be good to work on a real-time mobile multiplayer title. Mobile technology had evolved a great deal, both in devices and networks, so we were eager to conduct some new tests. We created a prototype in July 2016 that proved to work as we expected. We began working around the game style that would fit this technology perfectly and thought a racing game would work well. Thanks to our history with Sonic Dash and Sonic Dash 2, we thought including it in the Sonic franchise would be a perfect match. I met with Sonic Team, and they ultimately let us make the game happen!
JF: As a racing game with item collection, challenges and enemies throughout the environments, it is also close to series such as All-Stars Racing and Mario Kart. Do you believe the competitive element will keep people playing it even longer than other SEGA HARDlight titles?
CS: We are very happy to see that Sonic Dash was released years ago and still has hundreds of thousands of players every day. It is a unique case, and you have to admit that is a very long time for a mobile title. With Sonic Forces: Speed Battle, we wanted to work on something different and make the most of today's technology. Competition does not work for everyone, but it works for a very large number of people. Our testing during the iOS and Android releases shows that we can expect the same future for Sonic Forces: Speed Battle. Believe me, we have many plans for this title!
JF: What was your favorite new feature in this smartphone version of Sonic Forces?
CS: My favorite feature is definitely real-time player-versus-player competition; we continue to have a great deal of fun competing against one another here at the studio. That said, we are also big fans of the large range of characters, and we will continue working to make it larger and add character abilities and items over time — that is part of what makes the real-time matches so entertaining.
JF: You translated the game fully into Portuguese. I imagine the Brazilian audience for your games must be large. If I am right, how large is it currently?
CS: You are right, we receive many downloads from Brazil for our games, and we are absolutely grateful for that. At the moment, without giving you a number, I can say that Brazil ranks fourth for downloads on iOS devices. That will probably change. Sonic is extremely popular in your country and could reach third or even second place! Thank you so much for your love, Brazil!
JF: Has SEGA HARDlight collaborated on other hedgehog games before? And, following from that, how did your previous experiences with the character help you with Sonic Forces: Speed Battle?
CS: We have several employees who, over the years, worked in some capacity on various Sonic games at SEGA, from Unleashed and Generations to All-Stars Racing. We therefore learned a great deal about Sonic, which helps us do justice to the original content we create. And, of course, we had a great deal of help and feedback from Sonic Team, and that also made a major difference.
JF: Given that you have many future plans for the game, could you give us a brief example?
CS: We have long-term plans for Sonic Forces: Speed Battle. We are naturally planning to add more characters regularly, as well as new tracks. But there are new plans for the game's systems and for providing more features intended to improve the way our community enjoys it. I simply cannot talk about that, but keep an eye out for the regular updates that are coming!
JF: The game is very stable considering its premise. What was the greatest challenge SEGA HARDlight encountered while developing Sonic Forces: Speed Battle?
CS: We have developed considerable expertise in server-based titles over the years, but Speed Battle is definitely the greatest challenge we have faced so far. We are still working hard to ensure people have the best online experience — network conditions on mobile phones and Wi-Fi vary tremendously, and some are beyond our control. We focus on how we match people, as well as where and how our server technology operates, to ensure that each person has the best possible experience.
JF: Balance is important in competitive games. What distinctive features did you bring to Speed Battle to strengthen that competitive play?
CS: The main thing we wanted was to have real people playing in real time. Once we made sure the game experience was entertaining, we spent a great deal of time balancing the characters and items to give people a close, exciting race in any match they entered. We view the launch as only the beginning of the process — as people play, we make sure that adjustments and additions to the game add to the fun and competitiveness.
JF: Do you want to take competitive Sonic Forces on smartphones to another level? For example, with live tournaments on livestreams, periodic competitions for fans and so on?
CS: Yes. That is part of our medium- and long-term plans. At the moment, we are adjusting the game to offer players the best possible experience and ensure it becomes perfectly balanced. Then we will work on how to make the competition increasingly fierce!
JF: Chris Southall, it was an honor to speak with you. Do you have any final words for Brazilian Sonic fans and users of your games?
CS: When we launched Sonic Dash, we were delighted to see how popular the game became in Brazil — this time, with Speed Battle, we watched what was happening in Brazil with great interest, and we seem to be off to a good start. We truly appreciate the audience we have in Brazil and look forward to presenting more of our games to you. Perhaps we can even find an excuse to visit you. It is a place I have always wanted to see!
