Exclusive Tom Payne interview: New details about Sonic 2 and Sega Technical

Ashley Rojas has conducted a new interview with Sega Technical Institute artist Tom Payne, most known for his role as one of three American artists assigned to Sonic the Hedgehog 2. In this interview, Tom reveals never-before-heard development information, including being brought onto the project, new details on Genocide City Zone, memories about working with his Japanese coworkers, and even how the dinosaur enemies later placed in Hidden Palace Zone came from his first week at the studio. He also expands on his contributions to titles like Sonic Spinball and Spinny & Spike, later recounting his career after leaving Sega and up to the present day.

So Cerny gave me a Genesis and Kid Chameleon and Sonic and said, “Go home for the weekend and just play these and come back with some drawings of ideas for new enemies and a level or two.” I was like, “All right.” So that’s what I did. And of course, the thing I came back with – I had dinosaurs, and this level I did was all an underwater thing. He’s like, “Yeah, the underwater level is my least favorite.” And then I heard, “There are no dinosaurs in the Sonic universe” or something. And I was like, “Okay.” I never got explained why that is true, but apparently they’re not.

Read the interview on Sega Retro

Ashley Rojas B-Bomb Interview SEGA Technical Institute Sonic 2 Sonic Spinball Spinny & Spike Tom Payne