Shadow Generations Ad Mockup

As part of my speculative work, I produced a mock advertisement for the game Shadow X Sonic Generations. It is a game and brand I'm familiar with, so I did my best to represent what I think they stand for. I am not a designer, but I attempted to create a visual here because the Sonic series has such a distinct look.

I began with this idea of 'chaos'. Those familiar with the Sonic series know that this word comes up a lot! My first thought was Shadow's Chaos Control ability, where he can bend time and space by using a Chaos Emerald. Chaos Emeralds have appeared since the very first Sonic the Hedgehog and have been hugely important to the lore. Moreover, their role was expanded in Sonic Adventure, where they were the catalyst for a war; this game also introduced the Chao and their protector, Chaos. Already, the word 'chaos' was screaming importance to me, so I had to include it.

The epiphany hit me that instead of 'Chaos Control' you could 'control the chaos', which is a perfect theme for Shadow's Campaign in Sonic x Shadow Generations. Throughout the game, you acquire new abilities bestowed by Black Doom, and it's a struggle for Shadow to harness this new power without succumbing to the evil of Black Doom. This idea of controlling the chaos was perfect to me as it refers to Shadow—both his classic Chaos Control ability and his new efforts to control the chaos in his mind—and references series lore—the Chao, the Chaos Emeralds, and the character of Chaos.

The idea of becoming the ultimate life form is again another reference to Shadow's history. He was created to be the Ultimate Life Form. This is something that has been referenced constantly since his first appearance, so I felt it had to be included. Not only this, but the game is about unlocking Shadow's true power; he is becoming the ultimate version of himself.

For new players, the phrasing just alludes to the idea of gaining power. You could have never heard of the Sonic series, read this advertisement and think, "This is about becoming more powerful." Although I am not a designer, I chose to include an image of one of Shadow's new forms; I chose his wing form because it shows that yes, it is a Shadow game, but something new is at play. His other forms are complete transformations, and I wanted him to be recognisable on the image.

I added a Chaos Emerald in his hand to add a bit of familiarity. He doesn't actually use them in this game, but Sonic does in his campaign. Since both campaigns are part of Sonic X Shadow Generations, I felt I should represent Sonic's story in some way. It's not a huge representation, as the ad is clearly Shadow-centric, but I think it ties things together nicely. Plus, Shadow has historically had possession of the yellow gem. Additionally, most of the marketing for this game has been centred on Shadow's campaign, since Sonic's is just a remaster, so it felt more topical to go this route.