SAGE 2009: Tom Payne Confirmed as Guest

Artist Worked on Sonic 2, Spinball

TSSZ News has confirmed that Tom Payne, who was involved in two classic Sonic releases, will be a guest at the 2009 Sonic Amateur Games Expo.

Payne was a zone artist for Sonic 2, and contributed art toward Sonic Spinball.  Payne then moved on to LucasArts, where he was an artist and eventually moved up to game designer for several Star Wars titles of the mid and late 1990s.

Though exact details of when he will be chatting with SAGE participants haven’t yet been set in stone, Payne’s appearance may be a prime opportunity for Sonic researchers to dive in deeper regarding the secrets of Sonic 2.  Payne’s appearance may serve as a means to gain key insight as to the lost levels of the game, such as Hidden Palace Zone and Genocide City.  That latter lost level was one Payne worked on, according to the Sonic Retro wiki, before it eventually became the third act of Sonic 2′s Metropolis Zone.

We are working to confirm the presence of another major name in classic Sonic history that may also make an appearance at SAGE.  That information will be passed along as soon as we get word.