StarDrop, who made the fan game Sonic and the Fallen Star, just posted a dev blog video about their next game, Sonic and the Moon Facility:
They say level design was Fallen Star’s biggest criticism, so they’re putting a particular emphasis on level design for Moon Facility.
Maybe I should give Fallen Star another look anyway. I noticed in this interview about it
that they said they were inspired by the Sonic Before the Sequel and Sonic After the Sequel fan games; maybe I should give those another look, too. : D
Update:
Tried Fallen Star again, first levels are boring and the boss fights are annoying, so, eh, I’ll wait for Moon Facility.
Before the Sequel and After the Sequel seem promising. They’re from 2012 and 2013 and run in 640x480, but there are later revamps by other authors that run them in high res
I couldn’t get the swf OR revamped wmv cutscenes to work, so I deleted them which frees up like a gig of space. : P
Their original Brazilian developer, LakeFeperd, who went on to make the Sonic-like (but rather eye-flashy 8o) “Spark the Electric Jester” games
and is now working on a futuristic racing game
made two more Sonic fan games related to the “Sequel” games: “Sonic Before the Sequel Aftermath,” which became a prototype for and is included in the download of “Sonic Chrono Adventure” (Sonic Chrono Adventure - Download page), which people call a Metroidvania–and like Metroid, I found myself lost and confused in it, so I suppose that’s accurate. ; D