This is the example for the January 2011 Bitmob Writing Challenge, called Picture Text. In this prompt, you’ll write three types of image captions: a 140-character short caption, a long caption of 50-100 words, and a 500-word description. For a full rundown of this prompt, click here. If you need help or inspiration, check out the article below, based on an image from Sonic Colors. 

Short Caption

Wisps are cute, marketable creatures that make Sonic Colors a better game. I'm serious.

Long Caption 

Wisp power-ups are the big new addition to Sonic Colors. These aliens give Sonic the ability to reach new areas and clear stages faster, but they also add more variety to the game’s jumping puzzles. By using the Cyan Wisp, Sonic can turn into a laser and bounce off of these diamonds.

Description

Pictured is Sonic the Hedgehog in the middle of a high-speed sequence from Sonic Colors, his latest game for the Nintendo Wii. Sonic has just zapped through a series of diamonds using the game’s big new mechanic, Wisps. By filling up the meter at the bottom left of the screen, Sonic can use Wisps to turn himself into a laser (as seen above), drill through stages, and launch himself into the sky.

What are Wisps? They are the jellyfish-like aliens in the capsule below him. These creatures may look like an excuse to sell tie-in plush dolls, but Wisps are actually the successors to the shield items from Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Back then, shields gave Sonic extra abilities like double jumps and resistance to drowning.

While Wisps don’t protect Sonic like shields did, they do let him use shortcuts and reach areas he couldn’t alone. More importantly, they add more variety to the game’s jumping puzzles.  

This screenshot, however, is about pure speed. Now that he's past those diamonds, Sonic will land on the rail and grind through the loop without stopping. At this point all the player has to do is hold right on the directional pad and Sonic will get through this part easily.

These segments are here for a reason. Sonic games have always had methodical platforming sections where the pace slows down to that of other platformers. But Sonic isn’t Mario; he’s the fastest thing alive. Sonic is nothing without these segments that show off his speed and give players a visceral sense of momentum.

You’ll notice that this screen is zoomed out much more than the recent Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 and older Sonic games. This perspective combats one of the biggest issues with post-Genesis Sonic games: constantly getting killed by blind jumps and poor camera angles.

Did I mention Earth in the background? Sonic Colors takes place in a theme park in outer space. Is this setting a little too close to the Super Mario Galaxy series to be original? Yeah. But to be fair, a common setting in the series is the futuristic city at night. The first game’s Star Light Zone and Sonic 2’s Casino Night Zone are good examples. Eggman’s theme park also has shades of the Death Egg, another series staple. These levels are also among the franchise’s best, so it’s hard to come down on Sega for basing an entire game around this theme.  

Lastly, note that image comes from the game’s first level, Tropical Resort. The palm trees reveal another tie to older games, like the Green Hill Zone and other opening areas in Sonic history. While Sonic 4 was billed as the return to the franchise's glory days, this combination of the new and familiar makes Sonic Colors feel like the continuation of the series that we’ve been waiting for.