Interview

Swingin’ Report Show #74: Drift Stage – Interview with Super Systems Softworks

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The SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show returns for 2015, featuring brand new interviews with talented people connected to and inspired by SEGA! On our 74th show we’re joined by Super Systems Softworks, developers of the 80s and 90s inspired racer Drift Stage. Chase Pettit (Programmer), Charles Blanchard (Art), and Hugh Myrone (Music) talk about the genesis of the project, their inspirations, and their plans for the final version of the game. We also take a trip down memory lane, talking about our favorite and least favorite racing games, as well as memories of SEGA-AM2’s classic OutRun.

Visit Drift Stage’s Kickstarter page, give the demo a try – and if you like what you see, back the game!
Demo: supersystems.itch.io/driftstagealpha
Official Site: driftstagegame.com

[Download] [RSS] [iTunes] [Archive]

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SEGAbits at E3 Interview: Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F 2nd Interview with Producer Sam Mullen

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Sam Mullen, Localization Producer for SEGA, joined us for an interview at E3 2014 to discuss Hatsune Miku Project Diva F 2nd and our hopes for future Western releases of SEGA’s Japanese titles. Hatsune Miku Project Diva f 2nd is due out Fall 2014 for the Playstation 3 and Vita. We’re especially looking forward to the title, as we gave the original game for the Vita a well deserved “A” grade.

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SEGAbits at E3 Interview: Sonic Boom Producer Stephen Frost

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Our E3 coverage continues with an interview with Sonic Boom Producer Stephen Frost! Stephen was nice enough to sit down on the final day of the expo to answer our questions about the upcoming Wii U and 3DS games Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal. Developed by Big Red Button Entertainment (Wii U) and Sanzaru Games (3DS), both titles are due out November 2014.

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Convention Report: SEGAbits visits MomoCon 2014 – Hatsune Miku, Sonic the Hedgehog, & SEGA’s history

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Hello SEGAbits readers and followers! Kori-Maru here back from Atlanta, Georgia to bring you SEGA coverage from MomoCon, one of the fastest growing all ages conventions in Georgia where anime and gaming collide. This also marks the very first time SEGA attended MomoCon to promote Hatsune Miku Project Diva F 2nd. Just to be prepared for the convention, I decided to cosplay as Akira Yuki from the Virtua Fighter series in his VF2 attire. Be sure to hit the jump for videos from the SEGA panels, pictures, and a video interview with Aaron Webber and Sam Mullen as we discuss about SEGA and Hatsune Miku Project Diva F 2nd.

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Segalization’s Q&A with UDON Entertainment Available for Viewing!

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It’s finally here! Our Q&A with UDON’s Matt Moylan is available for viewing at Segalization. Click here to check out the informative Q&A session on UDON’s work with a variety of SEGA properties.

I’d like to thank Segalization contributor SuperSonicEX for reaching out to UDON, Matt Moylan, Stacy King and the rest of UDON for being willing to participate, SEGAbits and its readers for their participation in this effort by submitting their own questions, and my fellow Segalization colleagues for their help in making the final article possible.

We hope you enjoy reading the Q&A!

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Interview: Scott West, Hardlight Studio Senior Designer of Crazy Taxi City Rush

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SEGAbits: Hi Scott, thank you for answering our questions about the upcoming mobile game Crazy Taxi City Rush! What is your role at SEGA, and what is your favorite SEGA game?

Scott West: Hi there, I’m a Senior Designer at Hardlight Studios. As for favourite SEGA game, it would be impossible to name just one! I’d have to break it down into favourites throughout the course of the Consoles that I grew up with. From the Mega Drive days, I spent my childhood playing the likes of Golden Axe, Sonic, Streets of Rage and Outrun. Then on the Saturn it was Burning Rangers and Virtua Fighter 2 then of course the Dreamcast and House of the Dead, Jet Set Radio and Shenmue! That’s not to mention the hours I spent sinking into the Arcades on games like Rad Mobile and Crazy Taxi!

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Interview with “Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works” creator Darren Wall

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In November of last year, Darren Wall, graphic designer and art director at Read-Only Memory, took to Kickstarter in an effort to fund a book that was to be “the ultimate retrospective of the SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis”. Dubbed a “documentary art book”, Darren had the official license from SEGA, including access to the company’s archives and staff from both past and present. The only thing left to to obtain was the funds to make the project a reality.

This part was probably the easiest step of the project, as in less than 48 hours the team had met their £30,000 goal, and by the end of the campaign they earned £98,725! Prior to the end of the campaign, Darren joined George and I for a Swingin’ Report Show interview to discuss his plans for the book. It is now five months later, and Darren is nearing completion of the project with only SEGA’s approval and printing remaining. We caught up with Darren in a written interview, as well as another podcast which you can listen to tomorrow. Darren was even nice enough to give us some exclusive content from the upcoming book: design documents from the development of the original Streets of Rage!

After the break, check out the full interview as well as the cool exclusives from Read-Only Memory and SEGA.

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Interview: Ron Gilbert, industry legend and Director of The Cave

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Continuing our The Cave coverage, which we will hereby refer to as “The SEGAbits 2013 Cave In” (or not) we have an interview with Ron Gilbert provided to us by SEGA. Double Fine’s The Cave, available on several digital platforms and releasing to iOS on October 3rd with enhanced touchscreen controls, is an adventure game in the vein of the LucasArts classic Maniac Mansion. Ron Gilbert is the man behind many LucasArts classics as well as the The Cave.

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Summer of Sonic 2013 – Takashi Iizuka Interview

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Over the past few years the Sonic series has hit a bit of a renaissance, with Colours and Generations achieving relative success critically as well as commercially. Typically, just as this turnaround is achieved, the newest game shows signs of radical change to the 3D Sonic formula that had finally gained acceptance. Sonic Lost World’s new design is the kind of decision that means it’s always interesting to chat to Takashi Iizuka, the man at the top of Sonic Team today and the public face of the team. He’s always cheery and approachable, but you can never quite predict the answers you’ll get from him. Read on to find out Iizuka’s take on the limitations of Sonic’s previous 3D outings, what inspired the new design of Sonic Lost World and his view of differences between working in the USA and Japan!

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Interview: Sam Mullen on Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F

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Here I am (tall, fat and handsome) with Sam Mullen, localization producer on Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F. The surprise hit at the Sega Arcade during San Diego Comic con last week. Despite a demo being readily available on PS3, there always was a big crowd for this game. Sometimes as big as Sonic Lost World (or more)! I ask some of the questions fans have been wanting to know. Will all the songs be included? What about DLC? Watch and find out.

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E3: Company of Heroes 2 Q & A

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Sorry about not doing a transcript, but my time has been very limited as of late. So I either put this up as a YouTube video, or delay it a few more days. I felt it was getting too close to release date and needed to go up right away. Here I talk with Company of Heroes 2 lead animator Brett Pascal, talking everything about the game, the move to Sega and what has happened to some of their other IP’s. Enjoy!

Company of Heroes 2 will be out this Tuesday, June 25.

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E3 interview: Producer Omar Woodley (Castle of Illusion)

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Purple Shigs, Purrrple shiiigs! A royal hue shines upon me as I talk to the producer of Castle of Illusion, Omar Woodley, about what went into remaking this classic platformer. Also, you get to hear my “lovely” singing voice. By “lovely”, I mean you’ll want to stab your ears out with a pencil.

Sorry if it seems to cut off quickly, but Nux’s camera ran out of juice.

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E3 2012: Aliens: Colonial Marines interview with Design Director John Mulkey

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Recently, SEGA of America announced big changes in the way they publish their games. From now on, they will only publish what they feel are AAA titles. Sega then, must be really happy with Gearbox’s upcoming release of Aliens: Colonial Marines as it has been given a big push as of late. Despite several delays, the game seems to be coming together nicely. Yesterday, we got to talk with design director John Mulkey about the upcoming game based on the blockbuster franchise.

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