Tech

Great Moments In Video Gaming: The Dreamcast

Created & Written by: Jerry Bonner; Animation & Design by: Matt Garafalo; Technical Wizardry by: Joel Young; Narration by: George Filip; Music by: Blitz

This animated short was originally created back in March to be part of our “family” gaming show, GAME TIME! The basic idea behind the “‘Great Moments in Video Gaming” segment was to take a fun and/or historical glance back at the people, technology and ideas that shaped the interactive entertainment industry into what it is today. Important lessons are proffered during the course of these segment(s) but nothing is forced – everything is presented in an entertaining manner, much like “Sesame Street” or “The Electric Company,” so the viewers are learning without really knowing it…and (hopefully) having a good time doing it! The last thing we want to do is to be heavy handed or hit people over the head with what we are doing.

Initially, the Dreamcast wasn’t going to be the topic of our “pilot” piece. Since this was our debut show I, naturally, wanted to start at the beginning, so the 1961, MIT developed SPACEWAR! (considered by many to be the first, “true” video game) was my original choice of topic. But, after knocking it about for a bit, SPACEWAR! seemed somewhat obscure and not “sexy” enough of a subject for the pilot episode. So, after some additional thought on the matter, Sega’s Dreamcast was ultimately chosen as the topic for the big, GAME TIME! kickoff. And, with the help of my talented co-conspirators, I think the final result turned out to be a more than fitting “Swan Song” for Sega’s last hurrah in the console hardware market.

Looking back, it’s hard to believe that 10 years have passed since 9/9/99. So much has happened to us as a nation, and to me personally, since that day. I won’t get into a laundry list of everything here, as it isn’t really pertinent, but I do vividly recall all the hype and hubbub surrounding the DC’s numerically savvy launch date. I wasn’t silly (or brave…) enough to get my Dreamcast on that first day, as I’m not a huge fan of sleeping outside on cold concrete or waiting in deathly looooong lines. I did, however, manage to score one about month later at a KB Toy store of all places. And I fell in love with that little, white machine as soon as I unboxed it and fired up my first gridiron battles of NFL 2K, then handed out several, chop-sockey beatdowns in Soul Calibur and topped my evening off by collecting an overabundance of gold rings in Sonic Adventure. Good, good times.

Since I was the defacto gamer in my family AND just dropped a pretty substantial amount of cash on the system (plus the games), my initial opinion of the Dreamcast was somewhat biased. I mean, I HAD to love it, right? I couldn’t justify the purchase otherwise. So, I took my alabaster baby (with that adorable, red curly-Q) over to my brother’s house that weekend to gauge his reaction and (tried) to get an unprejudiced estimation of the system as a whole. It was at this moment when I fully understood the power of the Dreamcast and the true “generational leap” that this system was.

As the intro/demo of Soul Calibur played on my brother’s TV, his eyes widened to almost comical proportions and his jaw grew slack. The only awestruck words he could manage were, “Holy shit, this is better than the arcades…”

True dat, my brother. True dat.

Please enjoy the video. I can truthfully say that it was a labor of love and a blast to make. Hopefully, we’ll get to do more at some point…

VIVA LA DREAMCAST!

~ Jerry Bonner

Jerry Bonner is a writer and journalist whose work has appeared in GQ, EGM, 1UP, What They Play, Yahoo!, Ars Technica, Game Focus Canada, Geeks of Doom and Game Stooge. He also worked for the ESRB (Entertainment Software Ratings Board) for a time as the Senior Game Content Rater. He currently lives in Southern New Jersey with his wife and four children.

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