Thank goodness for people with time on their hands to create stuff like this. Open Source Sonic the Hedgehog game. Can we tap into the brain power of folks who can do this sort of thing and solve all the problems of the world? That would be good.

prostheticknowledge:

Open Sonic

An open source Sonic The Hedgehog game engine that includes tools to create your own levels (and even use your own graphics):

Open Sonic is an open-source game based on the “Sonic the Hedgehog” universe. It introduces a different style of gameplay called cooperative play, in which it’s possible to control 3 characters simultaneously. Unlike most similar games, Open Sonic provides a greater level of interaction between the player and the levels. It’s more than just a jump’n’run; the user must come up with some strategy in order to get through the levels.

Open Sonic is available for Windows and Linux.

The engine has been used to create non-Sonic games, such as Shinobi Densetsu, a ninja platform game, and Mechanical Marathon, which plays like Sonic, but redrawn with MS-Paint quality graphics.

More information can be found here