Sonic Dreams Collection

***Sonic Dreams Collection*** is a Microsoft Windows and macOS PC *Sonic the Hedgehog* fan game from indie development group Arcane Kids. Released in August 2015, it presents itself as a collection of four rediscovered prototype *Sonic* games for the Sega Dreamcast, and is a surreal perspective on themes of personal identity within the Sonic fanbase.

Gameplay in *Sonic Dreams Collection* encourages exploration beyond the boundaries of the intended play area, including going so far as requiring players dig through the file structure of the game itself to unlock its full functionality. It also features a significant amount of community interaction, both through the sharing of user-created content to Twitter and through the upload of *Eggman Origin* rankings to the extant website Chao Garden.

## Description

```
IN 2013 hacker supergroup “Arcane Kid$” acquired a SEGA DREAMCAST developer kit from ebay.com. Deep in the filescape they unearthed a note from the director of MJSTUDIO, a “message in a bottle” detailing the work of SEGA’s top secret studio which was re-invisioning the future of video gaming.

The Arcane Kid$ salvaged FOUR playable prototypes, some concept art, and countless top-secret SEGA files.

“SEGA squandered MJSTUDIO’s gift to the world… and dissed Sonic fans globally… by burying these games” Arcane Kid$ spokesperson Jo says.

“It’s time to set them free.” Arcane Kid$ has granted HEDGEHOG EXPOSED exclusive rights to what they call the “Sonic Dreams Collection”
```

## Story

*Sonic Dreams Collection* presents itself as a four game collection of prototype *Sonic the Hedgehog* games, programmed by fictional developer MJSTUDIO for early Dreamcast development hardware but ultimately left unfinished and unreleased. Later in 2013, the independent game development group Arcane Kids purchased a Dreamcast development kit off eBay which contained these previously-unknown titles. The four games were then updated for compatibility with modern systems and leaked through the equally-fictional Sonic fangroup HEDGEHOG EXPOSED as *Sonic Dreams Collection*.

## Gameplay

Each game in *Sonic Dreams Collection* features a different gameplay style, often encouraging player exploration that pushes beyond the boundaries of the intended play area. Much of the content in *Sonic Movie Maker* can only be discovered by purposefully exploiting a physics glitch, with players later acquiring the ability to destabilize the programming of the very levels themselves. Another, *Eggman Origin*, is initially inaccessible due to lack of online fictional servers, and can only be played by opening the game’s file structure and running the hidden program SegaNet.

*Sonic Dreams Collection's* most striking content touches on themes of personal identity within the Sonic fanbase. Most notable is the game's use of vore (an erotic fetish for swallowing, or being swallowed by, an entire person whole) as a means of progression towards "ascending" to the game's completion, loosely interpreting the fanbase's original characters as a longing desire to become symbolically reborn as that character - only to have the process repeat endlessly.

## Production credits

* **Developers:** Arjun Prakash, Ben Esposito, Jacob Knipfing, Russell Honor, Tom Astle, Yuliy Vigdorchik
* **Composer:** torahhorse

## History

### Development

*Main article: Sonic Dreams Collection/Development*.
*Sonic Dreams Collection*’s games were developed separately during game development collective Glitch City's "Sonic is My Boyfriend" event for Valentine's Day of 2015. Created by former Electronic Arts employee and indie game creator Arjun Prakash as a surreal "Sonic the Hedgehog-romance-based game jam", it was here that Prakash also created the collection’s central game, *Sonic Movie Maker*. Afterward, Prakash decided to merge his game with two games created by Arcane Kids members at the same event, *Make My Sonic* and *My Roommate Sonic*, to form *Sonic Dreams Collection*. Development lasted for another three months, progressing through weekly Glitch City sessions with the help of other contributors.

According to designer Ben Esposito, the development team treated the game as a work of art. They conceived and designed it to “celebrate and satirize the modern Sonic fandom, which is known for its peculiarities.” The title references the names of game compilations such as *Sonic Mega Collection* and *Sonic Gems Collection*.

The game's unique musical presentation was composed by torahhorse, the alias of Arcane Kids co-founder Ben Esposito. A feverish mixture of classic vgm, frantic nightcore, and sparkling Dreamcast-era sounds, the soundtrack was composed to further emphasize the game’s theme of uncanny nostalgia. Esposito’s sound design incorporates elements associated with vaporware and forgotten programming, such as the rubbery squeaks of turn-of-the-millennium computer applications, and the randomly-pitched tocking of on-screen text from early virtual reality software.

### Prerelease

*Sonic Dreams Collection* was initially prereleased to members of Arcane Kids’ newsletter through the email 5 / hedgehog ~e x p o s e d~. The email contained a link to the website HEDGEHOG EXPOSED 2015© (the game's official website), which hosted a download of *Sonic Dreams Collection* protected with the password ”grandpa”. In the following few days, the password was removed and the download became publicly available.

### Release

Arcane Kids helped to fuel the explorative nature of their game design by directly interacting with the community. On several occasions, an anonymous poster (thought to be one of the developers) participated in community discussions on the game, providing both fuel for further investigations into the game's mystery and some insight into the development process along the way. The poster hints at playing *Sonic Dreams Collection* in Windows' Compatibility Mode, and investigating differences between v1.0.0 and v1.0.1. To date, no differences have been found using either method.

Despite his significant contributions, Prakash did not receive much credit for his involvement, and upon the day of the game’s release posted an open letter to Arcane Kids accusing them of perpetuating systemic racism among game developers of color. The next day, Arcane Kids issued an apology, acknowledging Prakash’s statements and clarifying that while these issues were caused by miscommunication, the insight would aid in creating more open and communicative development environments in the future. The game was also immediately updated the following day to add a development credit to Prakash on the main menu, and to remove “@arcanekids” from the default Sonic Movie Maker tweet.

### Legacy

*The game is meant as a response to feverish Sonic fandom, a continent of the internet reserved for a community personally invested in Sega’s trademark. But it’s not a negative reaction. It’s pop art.*

*Zack Kotzer at Killscreen*
*Sonic Dreams Collection* gained instant notoriety for its strange content and fictional premise, with a variety of news outlets commenting on the its overall absurdity and the game growing popular with YouTube Let's Play channels. According to Arcane Kids member Ben Esposito, the game's release also generated a good amount of hate within the Sonic fanbase, particularly from long-time fans who saw the game as a personal attack. Not long after, the official Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter curiously began addressing its followers in an odd and derisive tone, calling attention to the series' more embarrassing moments. While likely coincidental, Esposito says the unfortunate timing resulted in a particularly-strong backlash from the community. However, as time has progressed, *Sonic Dreams Collection* has generally seen mixed to positive reviews and an appreciative cult following.

Unfortunately, the current macOS release of *Sonic Dreams Collection* has not been updated for compatibility with current systems and has been rendered unplayable on modern Mac hardware.

## Versions

### 1.0.1

Released August 11, 2015. Download: (Windows, macOS)

1. Removed “@arcanekids” from default *Sonic Movie Maker* tweet.
2. Added cyborgDino credit to main menu.

### 1.0.0

Released August 10th, 2015. Download: (Windows, macOS)

## Technical information

*Main article: Sonic Dreams Collection/Technical information*.
## External links

* HEDGEHOG EXPOSED 2015©
* Download (Windows)
* Download (macOS)
* *Confessions of an online prankster: A good laugh with Ben Esposito* article by Zack Kotzer at *Kill Screen* (Wayback Machine)
* *Game of the year: Sonic Dreams Collection* article by Jordan Minor at *Geek.com* (Wayback Machine)
* *Underground LA Sonic the Hedgehog parties are exactly what you think they are* article by Zeus Tipado at *Stoned Gamer* (Wayback Machine)

## References

1. ↑ https://pastebin.com/iZ1fWFp7
2. ↑ https://pastebin.com/iZ1fWFp7
3. ↑ https://sonic-dreams-collection.fandom.com/wiki/Interview:\_Ben\_Esposito\_(2016-06-14)\_by\_Kill\_Screen
4. ↑ https://cargocollective.com/jacobk
5. ↑ https://sonic-dreams-collection.fandom.com/wiki/Interview:\_Ben\_Esposito\_(2016-06-14)\_by\_Kill\_Screen
6. ↑ https://arcanekids.bandcamp.com/album/sonic-dreams-collection-ost
7. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20150813021122/http://thestonedgamer.com/opinions/item/487-underground-la-sonic-the-hedgehog-parties-are-exactly-what-you-think-they-are/487-underground-la-sonic-the-hedgehog-parties-are-exactly-what-you-think-they-are
8. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20211010141512/https://nodontdie.com/arjun-prakash
9. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20210822030412/https://killscreen.com/previously/articles/good-laugh-ben-esposito/
10. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20180612140837/https://www.geek.com/games/game-of-the-year-sonic-dreams-collection-1683222/
11. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3VBlZ9bSqA
12. ↑ https://hedgehog.exposed/
13. ↑ https://sonic-dreams-collection.fandom.com/wiki/File:Rare\_footage.jpg
14. ↑ https://sonic-dreams-collection.fandom.com/wiki/File:1439476571011.png
15. ↑ https://sonic-dreams-collection.fandom.com/wiki/File:1439476571011.png
16. ↑ https://pastebin.com/875rMdeL
17. ↑ https://pastebin.com/iZ1fWFp7
18. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20210822030412/https://killscreen.com/previously/articles/good-laugh-ben-esposito/
19. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20210822030412/https://killscreen.com/previously/articles/good-laugh-ben-esposito/
20. ↑ https://pastebin.com/iZ1fWFp7
21. ↑ https://pastebin.com/iZ1fWFp7
22. ↑ https://pastebin.com/iZ1fWFp7