Hidden Levels Ep. 6: Segagaga

Key takeaways

Video game development is an art form that reflects the personal experiences and creative expressions of its creators.
The competitive nature of the console wars in the 90s led to significant stress and challenges for developers, which influenced their work.
Segagaga serves as a unique commentary on the video game industry, working within the context of SEGA's tumultuous history and the absurdities of game creation.
Timing can be crucial for the reception of creative works; Segagaga's release coincided with SEGA's exit from the hardware business, transforming it into a poignant reflection on the company's legacy.

Summary

The Background of SEGA and the Console Wars

The episode dives into the history of SEGA during its time in the console wars, particularly in the 1990s, exploring the challenges they faced against rivals like Nintendo and Sony. Tez Okano, a SEGA developer, plays a central role as he shares his experiences witnessing SEGA's struggles with the SEGA CD, the 32X, and the Saturn—products that failed to make a significant impact in the market. The pressure and intensity of working at SEGA are emphasized, with developers enduring long hours and relentless deadlines.

Creation of Segagaga

Tez Okano ultimately turned his chaotic work environment into a unique and humorous game named Segagaga. This game is a self-parody reflecting the absurd realities of video game development during the height of SEGA's turmoil. Players engage in a mix of role-playing and management simulation, recruiting former SEGA employees, now depicted as mutants, to save the company from its competitors, particularly the fictional DOGMA Corporation representing Sony.

A Meta Commentary on Game Development

Segagaga cleverly incorporates real-life elements of game creation, showcasing the struggles developers face, the dynamic of team building, and the absurdities present during game production. Specific gameplay mechanics draw on actual quotes and humor from Okano's work experiences, making the game feel genuine despite its exaggerated context. The game's narrative functions as both a parody of SEGA's situation and a memorial of an era in gaming history.

The Impact of Timing and Legacy

Finished in 2001 just before SEGA exited the console business, Segagaga's release became a bittersweet reminder of the company's past failures amidst the rise of the PlayStation 2. As Okano reflects on his game, he notes how it captured the essence of his experiences at SEGA, blending humor with heartfelt acknowledgments of the challenges encountered by game creators. The episode highlights how creativity thrives even in chaotic environments.

Show notes

The final episode of Hidden Levels explores the story of SEGA developer Tez Okano and the bizarre, meta-game he created: Segagaga.

Okano joined SEGA in 1992, witnessing firsthand the company's tumultuous experience in the "console wars" against Nintendo and Sony.

In the mid-1990s, SEGA struggled to make hardware that kept up with its rivals. The SEGA CD, the 32X, and the Saturn were all commercial failures. For Okano and many developers at SEGA, the console wars were both an exciting time to be in the video game business but also an intense and stressful time. They worked long hours, slept at their desks, and faced relentless deadlines. And so Okano decided to turn the chaotic nature of his professional life into a low-budget, self-parodying game about making video games at SEGA.

In Segagaga, the player is a young developer tasked with saving SEGA's market share from the rival DOGMA Corporation (a stand-in for Sony/PlayStation). The gameplay is a mix of a role-playing game (RPG) and a management simulator, where you recruit demoralized, mutant-like SEGA employees by convincing them to join your team for the lowest salary possible.

The gameplay reflects the absurd reality of game development. Players can spend a long time creating an original, hit game or they can quickly make a bunch of trashy titles (or shovelware) that barely keeps the company afloat. Okano even told us that the insults characters used in "battles" were actual quotes he heard in the office.

The game was finished in 2001, just as the highly anticipated Sony PlayStation 2 was effectively dooming SEGA's Dreamcast. As game journalist Simon Parkin notes, Segagaga was released only two weeks before SEGA exited the console business entirely. This timing transformed the game from a self-parody into a memorial for a dying era, inviting players to literally defeat SEGA's failed consoles as bosses.

Though Okano’s bizarre proposal was initially met with laughter by executives, the game ultimately got made and, in a strange twist, benefited from the company's decision to stop making video game hardware. Even in the face of industry chaos, some creators simply can't help but pour their love and energy into making games.

Credits

This episode was produced by Jayson De Leon and edited by Meg Cramer. Mix by Martín Gonzalez. Fact-checking by Graham Hacia. Original music by Swan Real and Paul Vaitkus. Jocelyne Allen helped translate and interpret our interview with Tez Okano (truly the best).

Special thanks to Lewis Cox and Tom Charnock over at The Dreamcast Junkyard. Their insight on SEGA, the Dreamcast, and Segagaga was extremely helpful in the making this story. Additional thanks to Adam Kuplowsky and 17 Bit’s Jake Kazdal.

Simon Parkin has a book about the history of the Dreamcast called Sega Dreamcast: Collected Works. It’s rich and beautiful and has even more details about Segagaga that we could not fit into this story.

Tez Okano would like to thank the small team that supported Segagaga. Especially Hisao Oguchi, Tadashi Takezaki, and Taku Sasahara.

Hidden Levels is a production of 99% Invisible and WBUR's Endless Thread. The Managing Producer for Hidden Levels is Chris Berube. The series was created by Ben Brock Johnson. Series theme by Swan Real and Paul Vaitkus. Series art by Aaron Nestor.