Unpopular Opinion: IDW Characters Should be Introduced as New Characters
I know I’m gonna be hated for this. But, I don’t think IDW characters should randomly appear in the game with the comic continuity applied to them.
Anyway… Why don’t I want IDW characters to retain their comic history? There’s a few reasons:
Comics in general aren’t popular. Marvel and DC (the most popular publishers) don’t even retain the same number of audience they used to, despite it being easier than ever to read their material. IDW is nowhere as popular as them. So, the audience for this comic is incredibly niche.
If gamers have no idea these characters exist and they appear and act as if they have established relationships with the main cast, it’s gonna confuse the player. This makes it more confusing if they reference events in the comics. In theory, this is less of a problem for characters with a simple history; like Tangle.
But, what of Surge or Starline? Characters that have more complex histories that can’t be explained in paragraph without feeling like you missed required reading?
“Then they can read the comic.”
Having your gamers pickup an entirely different media to understand new characters that have been absent in the games (besides that mobile game) is unreasonable.
“They can just not reference stuff in the comic then…”
If we’re not referencing the comic, then why not introduce them as new characters? They’ll still be in the game and the player won’t be confused or feel compelled to get into media they may not be interested in.
I feel even Sonic Team may be hesitant to include them for this very reason (or their answer would’ve been more definitive). But, I think this would be the best choice moving forward.
I know I’m gonna be hated for this. But, I don’t think IDW characters should randomly appear in the game with the comic continuity applied to them.
Anyway… Why don’t I want IDW characters to retain their comic history? There’s a few reasons:
Comics in general aren’t popular. Marvel and DC (the most popular publishers) don’t even retain the same number of audience they used to, despite it being easier than ever to read their material. IDW is nowhere as popular as them. So, the audience for this comic is incredibly niche.
If gamers have no idea these characters exist and they appear and act as if they have established relationships with the main cast, it’s gonna confuse the player. This makes it more confusing if they reference events in the comics. In theory, this is less of a problem for characters with a simple history; like Tangle.
But, what of Surge or Starline? Characters that have more complex histories that can’t be explained in paragraph without feeling like you missed required reading?
“Then they can read the comic.”
Having your gamers pickup an entirely different media to understand new characters that have been absent in the games (besides that mobile game) is unreasonable.
“They can just not reference stuff in the comic then…”
If we’re not referencing the comic, then why not introduce them as new characters? They’ll still be in the game and the player won’t be confused or feel compelled to get into media they may not be interested in.
I feel even Sonic Team may be hesitant to include them for this very reason (or their answer would’ve been more definitive). But, I think this would be the best choice moving forward.