[mentski]

Apologies if this has been mentioned anywhere else here, because I didn't see it:

http://www.kickstart...collected-works

Well worth 30 quid of anybody's money... Almost tempted to plump up £250 for the Oshima limited print of Sonic and Robotnik.

This post has been edited by mentski: 12 November 2013 - 05:34 AM

[Black Squirrel]

Shame it's a book. I get the feeling if we upped our game a bit it could have been a Sega Retro production, but I suppose you can't win everything.

[Kiddo Cabbusses]

So, how nerdy can this get?

Japanese Sega Channel BIOS ROM was recently ROM dumped, I bet that'd make for good discussion. :E

[Jayextee]

I'm loving the shit out of that rejected joypad design. I want a 6-button variant.

[Sploit]

Backed the £250 tier as I really want the print!

[mentski]

Funded with 27 days to go... I wonder if he'll add stretch goals?

The more pre-production/prototype art and info he gets, the better.

I always love to see the behind the scenes stuff of how things came to be, that's why I've lurked here for so many years.

[Master Emerald]

£250 for the special edition?

Wtf. Oshima could have stuck a pencil in his ass and drawn a picture that way and it STILL wouldn't be that expensive.

[Meat Miracle]

Black Squirrel, on 12 November 2013 - 06:57 AM, said:

Shame it's a book. I get the feeling if we upped our game a bit it could have been a Sega Retro production, but I suppose you can't win everything.

The book is supposed to have a lot of technical archives, design instructions, etc. straight from Sega archives. I doubt you could get all of that. Heck, I'm surprised that Sega still has them.

Will this book be up for sale once the kickstarter ends by the way, or can it only be bought by backing the kickstarter? I'd quite like to see the technical info it might have.

[Jason]

Considering their previous Kickstarter-funded book is up for sale on their website, I think you'll be safe not jumping on the Kickstarter right away. If I were into these coffee table books, I'd certainly want one.

[Black Squirrel]

Meat Miracle, on 12 November 2013 - 06:57 PM, said:

Black Squirrel, on 12 November 2013 - 06:57 AM, said:

Shame it's a book. I get the feeling if we upped our game a bit it could have been a Sega Retro production, but I suppose you can't win everything.

The book is supposed to have a lot of technical archives, design instructions, etc. straight from Sega archives. I doubt you could get all of that. Heck, I'm surprised that Sega still has them.

Like I said, we'd have to up our game. But I think if it's possible for someone to get this information printed it has to be possible to put it online. The latter's probably a lot easier too, but hey.

[Meat Miracle]

Personally I'd prefer if they'd release them digitally, perhaps as a stretch goal, because scanning 300 pages would be a bitch (that is, if it even fits in a standard scanner - I've come across comics I bought for scanning and they used a bigger form factor making them completely unscannable, except with an A3 scanner which are VERY expensive).

[Miles Prower]

Update

Quote

Project Update #1: This Book Has Blast Processing!
Posted by Darren Wall ♥ Like

Hello Mega Drive/Genesis fanciers! Welcome to the SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works Kickstarter campaign. Over the past 48 hours I have completely failed to do anything but gape, unblinking in wonder as we thundered towards - and past - our £30,000 goal. I am staggered and gushingly appreciative at your enthusiasm for this idea.

So, despite this being the first update, I can confirm that this sleek black book will be landing on your doorstep next year! I accept my role as designer and editor with the steely determination of Joe Musashi, the quiet strength of Gilius Thunderhead and the really-quite-pallid complexion of Chakan: The Forever Man.

This is a subject matter which I am extremely passionate about. Games like The Super Shinobi/The Revenge of Shinobi, Golden Axe and Comix Zone are imprinted on my memory as some of the most visceral, stylish and fun games ever created. I started Read-Only Memory last year with the aim of creating beautiful and historically valuable books that document great moments in gaming history, and I am incredibly excited to be embarking on this journey with you. SEGA asked us to pitch for this project on the strength of our first book (a history of Britsoft legends Sensible Software) and we were granted a license.

The license - which is installed on a special rotating plinth in my flat - allows us to produce a book focussed on first party games, first party hardware, SEGA archive material and perhaps most excitingly, it has allowed us to conduct interviews with 20 original SEGA developers. We are also permitted to include some interviews with other developers who produced first party games.

I want this book to feel like a stroll around a SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis exhibition, with production artwork, in-game graphics and design documents meticulously presented as never before. Alongside all of this will be a 10,000 word history of the console and a comprehensive directory of detailed 'in-conversations' with the key SEGA developers hosted by our award-winning author Keith Stuart. As well as all of this, there will be specially commissioned photographs of selected hardware, a guide to SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis logotypes and a look at the hardware designs that were passed up in favour of the aerodynamic onyx box we all know and love. Basically, it's going to be plenty big and mighty good!

So, allow me to lift the lid on just a smattering of the specific things you'll be leafing through next year in a handy bullet-pointed guide...

As mentioned, we have in our possession the complete design document for Bare Knuckle/Streets of Rage. Entirely hand-written, it details the mechanics of combat and player interaction using a series of matrices and stick-diagrams. We will be asking our translator to decipher it and will assess the best way to present this on the page.

We have shown an abandoned controller design on the Kickstarter page. I'm excited to say there will actually be four different alternate concepts included in the book.

I'm about to receive some development artwork from Comix Zone developer (and backer!) Peter Morawiec. I've also been promised some Vectorman and Vectorman 2 production materials this week from an artist who worked on the franchise.

SEGA have provided us with a huge number of pencil drawings from Monster World IV, showing character animations, player actions and boss designs.

And I could just go on like that! Alongside all of the production artwork will be level maps, sprites and panoramic screens from some of the best SEGA games to soothe your eyes like a bubbling ToeJam & Earl jacuzzi.

I'm going to stick a square of paper over the Kickstarter totaliser on my monitor now and dive into some page planning. You'll hear more from me very soon with news of how the book is coming together, along with a look at some new archive material and details of what has been uncovered in our massive haul of exclusive SEGA interviews.

I'd really love to encourage plenty of communication during the project, so do say hello and leave a comment - please look at the list of featured games we're including and let me know any parts you'd like to see featured, let us know what you'd like Keith to touch upon in his history of the console that he might not have already or just let us know what it is about the Mega Drive/Genesis that makes you all hot and bothered. If you need to contact me directly just drop me a line at darren\\at///readonlymemory.vg

In my next update I'll be asking if anybody can help us track down the last few elusive US developers Keith has yet to speak to... We're hoping the project will have caught their attention by then and they can make some time to join our roster of interviewees.

Until then, please do follow Read-Only Memory on Twitter for daily updates on the project and other video game-related noises.

Thank you for making this happen. I hope to make a book you will really treasure.

[Black Squirrel]

Meat Miracle, on 13 November 2013 - 07:42 AM, said:

Personally I'd prefer if they'd release them digitally, perhaps as a stretch goal, because scanning 300 pages would be a bitch (that is, if it even fits in a standard scanner - I've come across comics I bought for scanning and they used a bigger form factor making them completely unscannable, except with an A3 scanner which are VERY expensive).

There are specially crafted book scanners designed specifically to handle this sort of thing. You can even get ones which turn the pages for you

though I use the term "get" lightly because they're hella expensive, probably not reliable and the best results seem to involve making them yourself (although you never have to worry about material to work with)

it's a mess