I'm writing a book that might interest some people here: Legends of 16-Bit Game Development: A History of Treasure and the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis This is based on extensive research I've done in Japanese, and the book is full of new information on the history of Treasure that (in my opinion) is really exciting. You can read an excerpt here: Hideyuki Suganami and the Birth of Seven Force The book is currently on Kickstarter, so if you're interested, please support it! I can't make this a reality without a lot of help. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rasterscroll/legends-of-16-bit-game-development
Thanks for announcing the book here!! Looking at the Kickstarter page I will surely love the book (already contributed!), and if you hadn't announced it here I would probably never have known. I'm not the biggest Treasure fan (I still have to play many of their games), but Dynamite Headdy and Gradius V are two of my favorite games ever and I like a lot Gunstar Heroes, Guardian Heroes and Ikaruga. I played through McDonald's Treasure Land last week thanks to your announcement (which is actually a cool game for a license game), and I plan to play someday through Alien Soldier. Good luck getting enough funds and thanks for writing this book!!
Thanks! One of the things I like about Treasure's games is that, for the most part, they are so full of creative ideas and concepts. Dynamite Headdy is just on a whole other plane of existence compared to a lot of games from the time. One of the reasons I wanted to write this book is to really delve into the ideas and people behind the games.
Backed as much as I could. I'm particularly grateful you're going into (and have previously explored over at Mega Drive Shock) the business and management aspects, as this stuff is usually glossed over. Dynamite Headdy is great, yeah. That was the first Treasure game I played. I think what really stands out about the studio isn't just the creativity or technical expertise, but both of those things coupled with a willingness to experiment with designs that may not necessarily work (and sometimes don't). That along with what was happening in Nobuya Nakazato's team back at Konami were some of the highlights of that era for me, and one of the things I really miss now.
Yeah, in addition to the creative aspects, I'm really interested in the business side of things. There's this romantic vision of the game industry back then - a small group of 4-6 people in their mid-20s, working around the clock to create a game that generates millions of dollars in profit and is played by kids around the world. But it wasn't always smooth sailing, and it took a heck of a lot of work and luck to make possible. Here's an awesome bit of Treasure history that I just translated: the original note and sketch that Suganami sent to Sega describing the Alien Soldier cover. The final cover was drawn by Sega's artist Jun Satoh, who also created several other iconic Sega covers, including Shadow Dancer, Golden Axe II, and Ax Battler. One of the interesting finds here is that Suganami drew a character called "Lambda Bunny" in his sketch, but this character was not included in the game. There is a conspicuous gap on the final cover art where the character would have been. Oh, and just a reminder, if you're interested in supporting content like this, please back the book on Kickstarter! We're at 71% with just 10 days to go: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rasterscroll/legends-of-16-bit-game-development
The book has been funded! Thank you all for your support. Here's the update: With just a few days left in the campaign, Legends of 16-Bit Game Development has been fully funded! I want to thank everyone for their support. I am also excited to announce that Mega Drive developer and all-around expert Sik (@plutiedev and plutiedev.com) will be working as a technical consultant on the project. Sik is the developer behind the recent mode 7 style Mega Drive game Arkagis Revolution, which saw a global commercial release, as well as other Mega Drive games including the fun Miniplanets. If you've ever browsed any Sega development forums online, you've probably seen his helpful posts and tutorials. One of the points of focus of the book will be on the technical aspects of Treasure's games (and Mega Drive games in general), directed at a general audience who may not be very familiar with the inner workings of the console. The book will include a beginner-oriented introduction to the hardware (its architecture, how the VDP works, and so on) as well as a general overview of the development process as it was in the early 1990s (workflow, software tools, development hardware, and more). I have often wished there was a true start-at-the-basics guide to the console, something that is easy-to-understand yet informative enough to help develop a greater appreciation for the kinds of techniques that developers made use of and the challenges they faced (and I'm extremely grateful that plutiedev.com is working towards that!). Although the technical focus in the book will be directed at a general audience, I think there will be plenty to keep more advanced readers interested as well, particularly when it comes to analyzing the creative ways that Treasure applied different techniques. Sik will be helping me to ensure that the technical details in these sections are as accurate as possible. Because I want the book to be as comprehensive as possible, I am also delving deep into the history of Sega in Japan at the time. I have uncovered some more unpublished, untranslated speeches / writings of Sega president Hayao Nakayama (see my previous translation of one of his speeches here) that provide incredible insight into the state of the company at its peak. Volumes have (literally) been written about Hayao Nakayama, but very little has been made accessible in English, so I want try to paint a clear picture of what was going through his mind when he sat down with Treasure founder Masato Maegawa over Chinese food and, on a whim, decided to sign on the unproven developer on a very lucrative second-party contract. Treasure's relationship with Sega was vital for it becoming the development company that it did, and I think any Sega fan will find this focus in the book informative and fascinating. There are still a few days left in the campaign, so if you know anyone who might be interested or have access to any online groups that might find it relevant, please share it with them! In particular, the companion guide, featuring a vast quantity of translated content about Treasure, will only be available as a reward in this campaign and should not be missed. Thank you! John Harrison
Woo! Glad that this got fully funded as I would've been really sad if I you never got a chance to complete / I never got a chance to read it all.
Congratulations!! I'm glad you are writing about the business and development side too. I've many books and Retro Gamer magazines, but most of them just focus on titles and gameplay instead of that side. Part of the problem is my lazyness over getting them in spanish instead of trying english ones. So far the best by far have been "The Ultimate History of Video Games", but it focus too much on the US side, and usually the coolest games came from Japan. There are many awesome games that didn't get released here... While I started gaming with a MSX and a Master System later, the Mega Drive was the console that really made me love videogames. And while Sonic the Hedgehod was THE game, and I got Dynamite Headdy really later, after having played many more games, I've always thought is one of the best titles on the system and has aged really well. I've replayed it too many times, but I still come back after some time. Thanks again for writing this book!
Thanks everyone! KMetalmind: Yes, a lot of my desire to do this was driven by the absurdly little (accurate) info available in English about the Japanese game industry from the time. For anyone still on the fence, there are less than 72 hours to get in on the book and KS exclusive companion booklet! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rasterscroll/legends-of-16-bit-game-development (from Beep! MD 10/93)
It's the final countdown! Just 24 HOURS remain to get in on the book! Become a backer and get your copy first, as well as get access to the exclusive companion booklet. And thank you to everyone who has already supported it! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rasterscroll/legends-of-16-bit-game-development
