With the huge popularity of services like Nexus mods, fan modding communities are bigger than ever. In fact, an upcoming indie platformer called Go! Go! PogoGirl was born in one such group. The Sonic Amateur Games Expo hosts an annual drive where users will post their own creations to the site. Usually, these posts are level hacks or short little game ideas, invariably inspired by SEGA's breakout series. Go! Go! PogoGirl is not just a Sonic clone, by any means. While it may be inspired by the Sonic games, its polish and unique bouncing mechanic really set it apart, and the beaming enthusiasm of the SAGE forums shines through the entire product.
Without groups like SAGE and the Sonic Hacking Contest, Andrej Preradovic's Go! Go! PogoGirl might not be the same game it is today. Speaking to Game ZXC in an interview, Preradovic talked in depth about his deep love for and involvement with those forums. Although he's sometimes been an infrequent user of the site, he found it a really useful way to communicate with Sonic fans and get his game noticed. Modding communities like SAGE and Nexus are fantastic places for independent games to blossom, and often prove invaluable as marketing tools as well.
The Go! Go! PogoGirl Developer's History With Fan Modding
Funnily enough, Preradovic's obsession with creating games predated even internet fan forums. Games like The Forgotten City that used to be mods tend to build off a really popular base game (in that case, Skyrim), and the design process for Go! Go! PogoGirl began to some degree back when its developer was a young child.
Apparently, he used to "draw Sonic levels on paper" back in school, drafting relatively complex little puzzles for the fuzzy blue speedster. This hobby took on more complex forms over the years. "I started with the Sonic fan games back in high school," said Preradovic, remarking that he also "started doing programming in my own time just for fun" around that time.
One of the most wonderful things about the best classic games is that they have inspired so many exciting independent voices in gaming, and Sonic is obviously no different in this regard.
After thinking "right, I'm going to try and make a living out of this," the next step was to figure out where to harness this creative energy.
"It is kind of how I started making games. Ages ago, when this Sonic fan gaming thing was really kicking off, I stumbled across it. As a Sonic fan with internet access, it was bound to happen eventually. So, I just started making my own fan games. I would make a level, get bored, and move on to the next project."
Fan forums, although they can be really toxic for developers like Paradox Interactive, can be a great way to hone programming skills. Thanks to these forums, Preradovic learned which softwares were needed at a time "before even Game Maker was popular." Even when he wasn't involved in it further than "posting a couple of demos," the entire process and community was "still fun."
What Is the Sonic Amateur Game Expo?
The Sonic Amateur Games Expo is where Preradovic made the jump from Sonic fan tributes to his own original property. According to Preradovic, creators would use tools like Multimedia Fusion and The Games Factory to craft not just extra level packs, but sometimes entirely new games (which were often still based in the Sonic universe).
Perusing the "games" section of the site, it's a mix of unofficial remakes (including Rayman, Mega Man, and Frogger 2), bizarre Five Nights at Freddy's/Sonic crossovers, and of course, plenty of Sonic level packs.
What's Go! Go! PogoGirl Doing On a Sonic Games Site?
With all that said, it might seem curious that a game like Go! Go! PogoGirl would find its way onto the site. There is, however, underneath all of the fan creations, a section called "Original Games." As one might expect, it's absolutely flush with games just like Go! Go! PogoGirl. Like The Forgotten City's time loops, each of these games bring fun twists or mechanics to the conceits of classic 80s/90s platformers.
Back in 2020, Preradovic noticed this trend as he turned his eye towards fully-fledged independent game development.
"When it was time to make my own proper games, I realized that SAGE (the Sonic Amateur Games Expo) actually had a lot of games that weren’t just Sonic hacks. I was like ‘y’know what? My game fits in here, it’s fast paced, it’s very 90s, it looks a hell of a lot like Sonic, so I’m just going to submit it!’"
If the reception that Go! Go! PogoGirl has received is anything to go by, then Preradovic has been proved entirely correct. Apparently, commenters felt that Preradovic had really nailed the "90s feeling" that the community loved. All told, Go! Go! PogoGirl's demo has proved really popular among fans, and looks to be a faithful, but original, play on those brilliant classic platformers.