 emphasized to make him look sleeker , and he was given the ability to spin while jumping ( so attacking and jumping could be controlled with one button ) . The new character was originally named " Mr. Needlemouse " , but the eight @-@ member AM8 changed his name to " Sonic " and their studios to Sonic Team . Ideas proposed to flesh out the character included placing him in a rock band , giving him vampire fangs , and giving him a human girlfriend named Madonna , but Sega of America scrapped these ideas to keep his identity simple . Sega of America also expressed concerns that most Americans would not know what a hedgehog is and initially proposed a full @-@ scale recreation of the character , but compromised with Sonic Team to simply make design changes . The antagonist ended up being named " Dr. Eggman " in Japan and " Dr. Robotnik " in other regions as a result of a dispute between Sega 's American and Japanese divisions .   = = = Programming and prototyping = = =   With a satisfying protagonist completed , Sega turned to esteemed programmer Yuji Naka , who had impressed them through his work on Phantasy Star and the Genesis port of Ghouls ' n Ghosts . The gameplay originated with a tech demo by Naka , who developed an algorithm allowing a sprite to move smoothly on a curve by determining its position with a dot matrix . Naka 's prototype was a platform game with a fast @-@ moving character rolling in a ball through a long , winding tube , and this concept was fleshed out with Ohshima 's character designs and levels by designer Hirokazu Yasuhara . Yasuhara originally intended to work on the game for three months due to the delay of his planned move to the United States by the outbreak of the Gulf War , but was engrossed in the project for nearly a year . His designs for levels were intended to attract both hardcore and casual gamers by integrating occasional challenging set pieces into the mostly accessible level design . The game 's color scheme was influenced by the work of pop artist Eizin Suzuki , and the aesthetics of Green Hill were influenced by the geography of California .   In designing the game mechanics , Naka was inspired by Shigeru Miyamoto , whose games he had enjoyed playing years earlier . Admiring the simplicity of Miyamoto 's mechanics in complex environments , Naka decided that Sonic would be controlled with only a directional pad for movement and a single button for jumping . He also wanted his creation to be more action @-@ oriented than the Mario series ; while playing Super Mario Bros. , he had wondered why the levels could not be cleared more quickly . Due to the need to demonstrate the Genesis ' technological prowess , the developing game underwent extensive testing and redesign , a process taking over six months . The developers ' efforts were rewarded ; according to Yuji Naka , the game had the fastest @-@ ever character speed in a video game and a rotation effect in the special stages that was considered impossible on the console . The team intended to add a two @-@ player mode displayed via split @-@ screen , but Naka 's programming knowledge was insufficient to implement this feature . However , such a mode would later appear in sequel Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ( 1992 ) , where the second player would control Sonic 's best friend Miles " Tails " Prower . Naka , Oshima , and Yasuhara worked 19 hours a day on the project for several months .   Naka 's relationship with Sega of Japan was tenuous during this time ; he received little credit for his involvement in the game . He left the company shortly after the game 's release , although Sega of America hired him later . Before leaving , however , he defied Sega of Japan 's prohibition of developer credits by displaying a few names in black text on a black background , identifiable only by looking at the game 's code .   = = = Music = = =   The music for Sonic the Hedgehog was composed and produced by Masato Nakamura , bassist and lead songwriter of the J @-@ pop band Dreams Come True . The game uses onboard Yamaha YM2612 and SN76489 programmable sound generators to produce a variety of stereo sound effects and music . It was originally intended to have a sound test menu with animations of Sonic breakdancing to the music of a " Sonic Band " of Sharps Chicken on guitar , Max Monkey on bass , Mach Rabbit on drums , and Vector the Crocodile on keyboard . The playable Vector became a recurring character in the series , also appearing in Knuckles ' Chaotix , Sonic Heroes , and Sonic Free Riders . The development schedule scrapped the feature , and Yuji Naka replaced the test with the " Se @-@ ga ! " chant used in TV commercials ( which reportedly used one @-@ eighth of the memory of the four @-@ megabit cartridge ) .   On October 19 , 2011 , twenty years after the game 's release , a
Ġemphasized Ġto Ġmake Ġhim Ġlook Ġsle eker Ġ, Ġand Ġhe Ġwas Ġgiven Ġthe Ġability Ġto Ġspin Ġwhile Ġjumping Ġ( Ġso Ġattacking Ġand Ġjumping Ġcould Ġbe Ġcontrolled Ġwith Ġone Ġbutton Ġ) Ġ. ĠThe Ġnew Ġcharacter Ġwas Ġoriginally Ġnamed Ġ" ĠMr . ĠNeed lem ouse Ġ" Ġ, Ġbut Ġthe Ġeight Ġ@ - @ Ġmember ĠAM 8 Ġchanged Ġhis Ġname Ġto Ġ" ĠSonic Ġ" Ġand Ġtheir Ġstudios Ġto ĠSonic ĠTeam Ġ. ĠIdeas Ġproposed Ġto Ġflesh Ġout Ġthe Ġcharacter Ġincluded Ġplacing Ġhim Ġin Ġa Ġrock Ġband Ġ, Ġgiving Ġhim Ġvampire Ġf angs Ġ, Ġand Ġgiving Ġhim Ġa Ġhuman Ġgirlfriend Ġnamed ĠMadonna Ġ, Ġbut ĠSega Ġof ĠAmerica Ġscrapped Ġthese Ġideas Ġto Ġkeep Ġhis Ġidentity Ġsimple Ġ. ĠSega Ġof ĠAmerica Ġalso Ġexpressed Ġconcerns Ġthat Ġmost ĠAmericans Ġwould Ġnot Ġknow Ġwhat Ġa Ġhedge hog Ġis Ġand Ġinitially Ġproposed Ġa Ġfull Ġ@ - @ Ġscale Ġrecreation Ġof Ġthe Ġcharacter Ġ, Ġbut Ġcompromised Ġwith ĠSonic ĠTeam Ġto Ġsimply Ġmake Ġdesign Ġchanges Ġ. ĠThe Ġantagonist Ġended Ġup Ġbeing Ġnamed Ġ" ĠDr . ĠEgg man Ġ" Ġin ĠJapan Ġand Ġ" ĠDr . ĠRobot nik Ġ" Ġin Ġother Ġregions Ġas Ġa Ġresult Ġof Ġa Ġdispute Ġbetween ĠSega Ġ' s ĠAmerican Ġand ĠJapanese Ġdivisions Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠProgramming Ġand Ġprototyp ing Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠWith Ġa Ġsatisfying Ġprotagonist Ġcompleted Ġ, ĠSega Ġturned Ġto Ġesteemed Ġprogrammer ĠYu ji ĠN aka Ġ, Ġwho Ġhad Ġimpressed Ġthem Ġthrough Ġhis Ġwork Ġon ĠPh antasy ĠStar Ġand Ġthe ĠGenesis Ġport Ġof ĠGh ouls Ġ' Ġn ĠGhosts Ġ. ĠThe Ġgameplay Ġoriginated Ġwith Ġa Ġtech Ġdemo Ġby ĠN aka Ġ, Ġwho Ġdeveloped Ġan Ġalgorithm Ġallowing Ġa Ġsprite Ġto Ġmove Ġsmoothly Ġon Ġa Ġcurve Ġby Ġdetermining Ġits Ġposition Ġwith Ġa Ġdot Ġmatrix Ġ. ĠN aka Ġ' s Ġprototype Ġwas Ġa Ġplatform Ġgame Ġwith Ġa Ġfast Ġ@ - @ Ġmoving Ġcharacter Ġrolling Ġin Ġa Ġball Ġthrough Ġa Ġlong Ġ, Ġwinding Ġtube Ġ, Ġand Ġthis Ġconcept Ġwas Ġfl es hed Ġout Ġwith ĠOh sh ima Ġ' s Ġcharacter Ġdesigns Ġand Ġlevels Ġby Ġdesigner ĠHiro k az u ĠYas uh ara Ġ. ĠYas uh ara Ġoriginally Ġintended Ġto Ġwork Ġon Ġthe Ġgame Ġfor Ġthree Ġmonths Ġdue Ġto Ġthe Ġdelay Ġof Ġhis Ġplanned Ġmove Ġto Ġthe ĠUnited ĠStates Ġby Ġthe Ġoutbreak Ġof Ġthe ĠGulf ĠWar Ġ, Ġbut Ġwas Ġeng ross ed Ġin Ġthe Ġproject Ġfor Ġnearly Ġa Ġyear Ġ. ĠHis Ġdesigns Ġfor Ġlevels Ġwere Ġintended Ġto Ġattract Ġboth Ġhardcore Ġand Ġcasual Ġgamers Ġby Ġintegrating Ġoccasional Ġchallenging Ġset Ġpieces Ġinto Ġthe Ġmostly Ġaccessible Ġlevel Ġdesign Ġ. ĠThe Ġgame Ġ' s Ġcolor Ġscheme Ġwas Ġinfluenced Ġby Ġthe Ġwork Ġof Ġpop Ġartist ĠE iz in ĠSuzuki Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġaesthetics Ġof ĠGreen ĠHill Ġwere Ġinfluenced Ġby Ġthe Ġgeography Ġof ĠCalifornia Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġdesigning Ġthe Ġgame Ġmechanics Ġ, ĠN aka Ġwas Ġinspired Ġby ĠSh iger u ĠMiy amoto Ġ, Ġwhose Ġgames Ġhe Ġhad Ġenjoyed Ġplaying Ġyears Ġearlier Ġ. ĠAd m iring Ġthe Ġsimplicity Ġof ĠMiy amoto Ġ' s Ġmechanics Ġin Ġcomplex Ġenvironments Ġ, ĠN aka Ġdecided Ġthat ĠSonic Ġwould Ġbe Ġcontrolled Ġwith Ġonly Ġa Ġdirectional Ġpad Ġfor Ġmovement Ġand Ġa Ġsingle Ġbutton Ġfor Ġjumping Ġ. ĠHe Ġalso Ġwanted Ġhis Ġcreation Ġto Ġbe Ġmore Ġaction Ġ@ - @ Ġoriented Ġthan Ġthe ĠMario Ġseries Ġ; Ġwhile Ġplaying ĠSuper ĠMario ĠBros . Ġ, Ġhe Ġhad Ġwondered Ġwhy Ġthe Ġlevels Ġcould Ġnot Ġbe Ġcleared Ġmore Ġquickly Ġ. ĠDue Ġto Ġthe Ġneed Ġto Ġdemonstrate Ġthe ĠGenesis Ġ' Ġtechnological Ġprowess Ġ, Ġthe Ġdeveloping Ġgame Ġunderwent Ġextensive Ġtesting Ġand Ġredesign Ġ, Ġa Ġprocess Ġtaking Ġover Ġsix Ġmonths Ġ. ĠThe Ġdevelopers Ġ' Ġefforts Ġwere Ġrewarded Ġ; Ġaccording Ġto ĠYu ji ĠN aka Ġ, Ġthe Ġgame Ġhad Ġthe Ġfastest Ġ@ - @ Ġever Ġcharacter Ġspeed Ġin Ġa Ġvideo Ġgame Ġand Ġa Ġrotation Ġeffect Ġin Ġthe Ġspecial Ġstages Ġthat Ġwas Ġconsidered Ġimpossible Ġon Ġthe Ġconsole Ġ. ĠThe Ġteam Ġintended Ġto Ġadd Ġa Ġtwo Ġ@ - @ Ġplayer Ġmode Ġdisplayed Ġvia Ġsplit Ġ@ - @ Ġscreen Ġ, Ġbut ĠN aka Ġ' s Ġprogramming Ġknowledge Ġwas Ġinsufficient Ġto Ġimplement Ġthis Ġfeature Ġ. ĠHowever Ġ, Ġsuch Ġa Ġmode Ġwould Ġlater Ġappear Ġin Ġsequel ĠSonic Ġthe ĠHedge hog Ġ2 Ġ( Ġ1992 Ġ) Ġ, Ġwhere Ġthe Ġsecond Ġplayer Ġwould Ġcontrol ĠSonic Ġ' s Ġbest Ġfriend ĠMiles Ġ" ĠT ails Ġ" ĠP rower Ġ. ĠN aka Ġ, ĠOsh ima Ġ, Ġand ĠYas uh ara Ġworked Ġ19 Ġhours Ġa Ġday Ġon Ġthe Ġproject Ġfor Ġseveral Ġmonths Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠN aka Ġ' s Ġrelationship Ġwith ĠSega Ġof ĠJapan Ġwas Ġten uous Ġduring Ġthis Ġtime Ġ; Ġhe Ġreceived Ġlittle Ġcredit Ġfor Ġhis Ġinvolvement Ġin Ġthe Ġgame Ġ. ĠHe Ġleft Ġthe Ġcompany Ġshortly Ġafter Ġthe Ġgame Ġ' s Ġrelease Ġ, Ġalthough ĠSega Ġof ĠAmerica Ġhired Ġhim Ġlater Ġ. ĠBefore Ġleaving Ġ, Ġhowever Ġ, Ġhe Ġdefied ĠSega Ġof ĠJapan Ġ' s Ġprohibition Ġof Ġdeveloper Ġcredits Ġby Ġdisplaying Ġa Ġfew Ġnames Ġin Ġblack Ġtext Ġon Ġa Ġblack Ġbackground Ġ, Ġidentifiable Ġonly Ġby Ġlooking Ġat Ġthe Ġgame Ġ' s Ġcode Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠMusic Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġmusic Ġfor ĠSonic Ġthe ĠHedge hog Ġwas Ġcomposed Ġand Ġproduced Ġby ĠMas ato ĠNak amura Ġ, Ġbass ist Ġand Ġlead Ġsong writer Ġof Ġthe ĠJ Ġ@ - @ Ġpop Ġband ĠDreams ĠCome ĠTrue Ġ. ĠThe Ġgame Ġuses Ġonboard ĠYamaha ĠY M 26 12 Ġand ĠSN 7 64 89 Ġprogram mable Ġsound Ġgenerators Ġto Ġproduce Ġa Ġvariety Ġof Ġstereo Ġsound Ġeffects Ġand Ġmusic Ġ. ĠIt Ġwas Ġoriginally Ġintended Ġto Ġhave Ġa Ġsound Ġtest Ġmenu Ġwith Ġanimations Ġof ĠSonic Ġbreak d ancing Ġto Ġthe Ġmusic Ġof Ġa Ġ" ĠSonic ĠBand Ġ" Ġof ĠShar ps ĠChicken Ġon Ġguitar Ġ, ĠMax ĠMonkey Ġon Ġbass Ġ, ĠMach ĠRabbit Ġon Ġdrums Ġ, Ġand ĠVector Ġthe ĠCro cod ile Ġon Ġkeyboard Ġ. ĠThe Ġplayable ĠVector Ġbecame Ġa Ġrecurring Ġcharacter Ġin Ġthe Ġseries Ġ, Ġalso Ġappearing Ġin ĠKn uckles Ġ' ĠCha ot ix Ġ, ĠSonic ĠHeroes Ġ, Ġand ĠSonic ĠFree ĠRiders Ġ. ĠThe Ġdevelopment Ġschedule Ġscrapped Ġthe Ġfeature Ġ, Ġand ĠYu ji ĠN aka Ġreplaced Ġthe Ġtest Ġwith Ġthe Ġ" ĠSe Ġ@ - @ Ġga Ġ! Ġ" Ġchant Ġused Ġin ĠTV Ġcommercials Ġ( Ġwhich Ġreportedly Ġused Ġone Ġ@ - @ Ġeighth Ġof Ġthe Ġmemory Ġof Ġthe Ġfour Ġ@ - @ Ġmeg abit Ġcartridge Ġ) Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠOn ĠOctober Ġ19 Ġ, Ġ2011 Ġ, Ġtwenty Ġyears Ġafter Ġthe Ġgame Ġ' s Ġrelease Ġ, Ġa