Sega Stardust
Speed into the realm of retro Sonic environments!
Summary
Sega Stardust is a multi-part project that is composed of video art and motion graphic mockup pieces that are centered around the vibrant nature of old Sonic game titles such as Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Knuckles' Chaotix, and Sonic CD. Two of the most prominent demos featured within this project present an aesthetic music mix animation project based on Sonic CD and a visual transition demo for a menu mockup of a conceptual arcade-inspired Sonic title. The visual wonder, intensity, and rhythm of the menu mockup demo mimics that of older arcade titles such as Windjammers, Sega Super GT, and Cyberbots Full Metal Madness. All of the components of this project can be viewed through the Sega Stardust YouTube Playlist where Arcmaevotix is home to the original versions and Nehrpsyznet is home to the remade versions.

Process
Since Sega Stardust is primarily structured around bringing to life the bold and vivid environments and experiences that can be found within classic Sonic games and classic arcade games, the initial planning stages were somewhat difficult as the R&D process included watching, analyzing, and playing games that sometimes either were more difficult to get running on modern machines, had little information about them, or had a very thin amount of documentation concerning the sources of inspiration for the graphic design, video mapping, and visual direction seen in said works that were being researched. "Planet of Time", the music mix tribute to Sonic CD, was created to capture the unique soundscape and landscape of the title, blending together various libraries of sprite work with original sprites to re-create the surface of Mobius in 16-bit form. Music was curated and mixed based on research into the genres and albums surrounding not only Sonic CD, but other classic era Sonic games such as Sonic Superstars and Sonic Mania. Many of the animation techniques that were used in the Planet of Time project came from "Can Your Genesis Do This?" which was designed to explore the intense animation effects seen in older arcade titles from companies such as NEO GEO, Capcom, Sega, etc. Parallel zoning, slated lumas, dithering, matte forms, stacked fades, and more were the subject of study in assembling the menu demo.

Reflection
Sega Stardust was key in me furthering my understanding of motion graphics, the language of animation, effect mixing, and visual logic, and the programming of animated sequences in regards to space, light, color, and digital values. Being able to combine this exploration in motion with my love for music mixing and music remixing was even more exciting as I acquired better comprehension about the relationship between the sounds and visuals of a scene. This project was one of the biggest stepping stones that helped me tremendously in further learning about audio and graphics for projects that came later on relating to game design, UI / UX design, and even software development. Many of the lessons learned in this project became incredibly useful in the realization of the remade version of the Sonic Ages pitch that put motion graphic work and environmental sound mixing on full display.
