Post a Comment On: The Dreamcast Junkyard

[Image]We love to feature guest articles here at the Junkyard, and are always keen to hear from readers who would like to submit something for publication. Here, Laurence Goodchild (aka Lozzdude) takes a look at the burgeoning commercial indie scene that has furnished the Sega Dreamcast with some of the finest examples of independently developed games on any system. Lozz, over to you...When Sega pulled the plug on the Dreamcast in 2001, few would have predicted that our beloved little white box would still be pushing out new titles 20 years later. Flicking through the pages of the multitude of gaming magazines that were vying for market share at the time, readers were presented with a journalistic consensus that the Dreamcast was well and truly dead (note: for younger members of the audience, magazines were bounded sheets of paper with writing and artwork printed on them).Of course, by industry standards, this assessment was bang on the money. The gaming reporters may well have known that a trickle of official releases would continue to see the light of day for a few more years, or had an inkling that a sizeable portion of the Dreamcast’s enthusiastic fanbase would continue to support homebrew projects, some of which could conceivably be released in physical form on a small scale. In the terms of reference that mattered to the industry and the wider public though (revenue, profit, audience size), the writing had already been on the wall for some time.[Image]Where it all began...Although by these standards the Dreamcast's new releases are still undoubtedly small fry, the commercial Dreamcast indie scene has been through an astounding boom in recent years; one which is becoming hard to ignore. The tongue-in-cheek opinion shared amongst Dreamcast fanatics for many years that "the Dreamcast is a current gen console" is getting less and less absurd by the day. What began with the release of Cryptic Allusion’s Feet of Fury in 2003 (more info here) has snowballed to a point where 14 indie games were released in 2021. Furthermore, there are as many as 30 Dreamcast games forecast for release on a commercial basis in 2022 and beyond - a figure that is edging close to the 50 or so officially licenced releases seen in Europe in 2001, and which far outstrips the 9 released in 2002.Of course, the rocketing quantity of releases doesn’t single-handedly uphold the claim that we’re in a “golden age” for the Dreamcast indie scene, but there are many other signs that accompany this trend. For one, the variety of games available is wider than ever, putting to rest the persistent trope that all the Dreamcast indie scene has to offer is shooters (which to be fair, had some validity in the mid to late noughties). Everything from platformers, fighters, puzzlers, RPGs, racers, and visual novels are finding a home on a professionally printed Dreamcast-compatible MIL-CD these days. Furthermore, there has been a diversification of contributors who are throwing their hats into the ring. Longstanding Dreamcast developers with a mountain of credibility stored up, such as Senile Team, are thankfully still here, but they have also been joined by a new wave of developers and publishers that are rapidly earning their stripes, including the likes of PixelHeart/JoshProd, LowTek Games, RetroSumus, The Bit Station, and WAVE Game Studios to name but a few.What really adds weight to the hypothesis that the Dreamcast indie scene is entering a golden age though is the quality of many of the games - something which is undeniably more subjective and harder to pin down, but which will be recognised by many. Throughout the lifespan of the commercial Dreamcast indie scene there have always been standout titles, such as Wind & Water Puzzle Battles (2008) or Sturmwind (2013), which drew worthy praise at the time. Dreamcast enthusiasts would often wait in anticipation for years at a time for these gems; games that had clearly benefitted from the great care and attention to detail of their developers. Yet in 2020 and 2021 we were spoiled rotten with the release of three extraordinarily good titles in Intrepid Izzy, Xenocider and Xeno Crisis. These have all been extensively reviewed elsewhere too, so I won’t pour out my adoration here. Suffice it to say that they each set a high standard which others should be aiming for.[Image]Three of the recent 'big' indie releases on DreamcastSo, what exactly is driving this boom? Through the highly scientific method of poking around the internet, chatting with fellow devout Dreamcast fans, and mulling it over whilst munching on Hula Hoops, here's "what I reckon."First and foremost, there is a longstanding healthy demand for commercial indie releases. Folks are willing to part with their cold hard cash for these games, and fundamentally that is what makes it viable for them to be released, especially in a physical format. Many indie games that see the light of day in a commercial form on the DC are undoubtedly labours of love and have had countless hours of voluntary or underpaid labour poured into them. Yet, however much these development costs can be kept in check, and no matter how much cheaper printing a CD is compared to producing another medium (such as a cartridge), it still requires funding, and so a reasonable level of demand is essential. Sales vary heavily from game to game, but it isn’t unusual to hear of indie Dreamcast releases selling over a thousand units, while those that sell well have the capability of reaching far beyond this over the course of their shelf life. For example, we know that Intrepid Izzy rapidly sold out its initial 700 copy print run within weeks of its release date, while the numbers shown on the PixelHeart website imply that a game such as Arcade Racing Legends has sold 2,500 copies of its PAL variation alone to-date. To put this into perspective, Radilgy, one of few final officially licensed Dreamcast games, was purported to have a print run of just 4,000 copies. When you add highly priced collectors’ editions into the mix - something that a section of the Dreamcast scene’s sizeable ‘adult-with-disposable-income’ demographic keenly buy into - then breaking even is a realistic, though not guaranteed, goal.[Image]Arcade Racing LegendsOn the other side of the coin, there are many factors that help facilitate the supply of games. Front and centre is the fact that Sega have thus far been very liberal (touch wood!) in their stance on the Dreamcast indie scene. Perhaps there is just no valid business rationale for them to dedicate resources to making things difficult (as opposed to genuine goodwill), but a laissez-faire attitude from multinational corporations under circumstances such as these is not always a given. Pair this with the Dreamcast’s capability to play games pressed to regular CDs without modification, and the relative ease of developing games for the console when compared to other platforms (often cited by developers in their DCJY interviews), and we have the foundations of the whole commercial indie scene.
Another duo of intertwined factors which are perhaps more pertinent now than in the early days are the possibility of multi-platform releases, and the feasibility of ports. Although there is nothing quite like getting a genuine exclusive, the reality is that planning for the Dreamcast to be one of many platforms that a game releases on allows developers the opportunity to reach a broader audience and potentially secure a little extra income. This is now the default operating model for the majority of contemporary indie Dreamcast releases, most of which don’t necessarily look out of place on Steam or a current-gen console’s virtual store thanks to the rehabilitation of small-scale 2D games and pixelart which has occurred over the last decade or so. And where would we be without ports?[Image]4x4 Jam was ported from the Sony PSPA hearty chunk (indeed probably a majority) of recent Dreamcast indie releases are ports of games that started out on the NES, Neo-Geo, PC or even PSP (see 4x4 Jam). Whilst some ports require greater intervention for them to run smoothly, many of those from the NES and Neo-Geo are in essence often little more than ROMs being emulated on the Dreamcast. These types of Dreamcast releases certainly aren’t to everyone’s tastes, but when they are executed with care and are reasonably priced, they can be crowd pleasers.Last, but far from least, is the dedication and applied skill of the developers themselves. While the low(er) barriers to entry and potential for financial viability are factors that act as draws, chances are that what is fundamentally motivating many of them to put their efforts into creating Dreamcast indie releases is a fondness for the console and its fanbase. So, all’s cushdy in the indie Dreamcast scene where game development is a breeze, and punters are desperate to part with cash from their overflowing wallets, right? Well no, not quite. There are undoubtedly some black marks on the record-book and challenges that need to be contended with.[Image]There's still hope we'll eventually see Sl@ve on DreamcastAlthough a vast number of Dreamcast indie games make it into the hands of paying customers, there are also plenty that have got stuck in limbo, disappear off the face of the earth, or have been received with disappointment. Jay Townsend's Sl@ve, originally revealed in 2014, has been stalled in development hell for the last few years of its gestation, but to their credit the publisher Goat Store has been forthcoming with refunds for pre-orders. Those who have backed other games, such as Elysian Shadows or Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs whose developers have seemingly received substantial sums of money and gone silent after delivering nothing, have not been so fortunate. The Textorcist reached the hands of those who pre-ordered it within the space of 6-months from its announcement to release, yet players quickly realised that the game was awash with bugs that rendered it virtually unplayable, a nightmare scenario that seemingly arose from inadequate testing of the final product (replacement discs are reportedly due shortly). These experiences are not unique to the Dreamcast indie scene by any means, but bad news travels fast within our niche community, and so when Dreamcast enthusiasts get their fingers burnt it can damage trust and heighten cynicism, potentially dampening the prospects for future releases. Developmental agonies and downright unethical behaviour aside, there are also some bumps in the road that even the most proficient developers can face. With so many new titles hitting the shelves of the (now mostly virtual) shops, we could hit a point where the market becomes oversaturated. If this results in the better-quality games winning out (the "cream rising to the top" as Macho Man Randy Savage would put it), then that would arguably be fair, but there is also a risk of decent games from talented developers getting lost in the crowd, failing to pick up momentum despite their underlying quality.[Image]Taken after a particularly strenuous Samba de Amigo sessionFortunately the establishment of well-oiled publishing houses and distribution networks may lessen the likelihood of this, but these are not comprehensive in their coverage, and there is already a precedent of talented developers leaving the scene (such as Orion and NG:DEV Team) and promising titles failing to raise sufficient funding (In the Line of Fire). Another challenge that developers are beginning to grapple with is the provision of digital versions of their games, something which is necessitated by the unrelenting rise of Optical Disc Emulators (ODEs) as a preferred choice amongst Dreamcast owners. The vast majority of those who are looking to play these games are probably sensitive to the need to materially support indie developers, yet the ease of piracy when it comes to digital Dreamcast releases could be a worry. [Image]Elysian Shadows promised so much, yet delivered nothingDespite these difficulties, the indie Dreamcast scene has reached a remarkable status today, one which may justify the definition of a "golden age." Dreamcast enthusiasts are blessed to have a bountiful platter of new commercial indie games to choose from, complementing the nostalgic back catalogue of officially licensed titles as well as innumerable non-commercial homebrew projects - something which warrants an article of its own. The opportunity to receive a big hit of serotonin that accompanies the ripping of cellophane off a brand-new game is something which we are now running into on a frequent basis.Things could get better still if we begin to receive indie releases with online gaming capabilities (is a "platinum age" a thing?!), or come crashing down if we have to endure many more Drascula’s (OK, this may be a tad hyperbolic). For now, let’s appreciate the games we have been blessed with, and keep an eye on DCJY to see what is coming down the line.Once again, huge thanks to Lozz for this excellent review of the commercial Dreamcast indie scene. If you'd like to to submit something for publication, please feel free to get in touch via our Discord or Twitter.