The SEGA Fans Chronicles official thread

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The SEGA Fans Chronicles official thread

Post by KC »

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Hey there, people! Welcome to the official SEGA Fans Chronicles thread!
Here I'll be posting every interview (or "chapter") featured in the main site. I'll use this to post news about this feature and I'll be keeping a close look on your comments and suggestions.

This is a new weekly feature of our site, where we'll be spotlighting the most remarkable SEGA fans. And by now you're thinking we're only talking about the most well-known members of the SEGA community. If you are, you're wrong. The purpose of SFC is to highlight the biggest SEGA fans out there, wherever they are and whoever they are. If you think you've got what it takes to be featured on SFC or know of someone who does, just let me know.

I'm talking about writers, artists, musicians, Youtube channels, fangame makers... Whatever you think it's worth mentioning, just let me know. We'll focus more on the people that make the SEGA Community. For example, if we were to interview an admin of a SEGA fansite, the focus would be on said admin and not so much on the site. What makes that person a SEGA fan? When and how did it all start? We want to keep this personal and give you the chance to get to know some remarkable people.

If you want to get in touch, just use this thread, post a comment on the blog post below every chapter of SFC, e-mail me at kc[dot]radiosega[at]gmail[dot]com, PM me or use Twitter (@DJLuis_KC).

Thank you to Nemain of Sonic Wrecks fame for the awesome banner art!

I'll be posting the first chapter below, shortly.
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Post by KC »

Here's an excert of the interview. Go to the main site for the full version.
RadioSEGA: Hello TRiPPY! We appreciate you took some time off your busy schedule to talk to us! For those out there who don't know who you are (the one person that's been living under a rock, that is!), can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
TRiPPY: I'm a Scottish crazy red haired old lady who likes to draw artwork of purple flying jesters and the occasional blue hedgehog. I own a fan website called NiGHTSintoDreams.com which I've had the pleasure of running since 1999. I first starting building the website on my Dreamcast browser, it was my first experience with the internet. Built on dreams!... and dodgy hand coded HTML. I'm a bit of a jack of all trades - Artist, designer, writer, admin, singer, gamer. But I try to focus mainly on my artwork these days. I live in London with my lovely boyfriend and co-admin DiGi. Together we try to cause as much trouble as possible in a completely constructive manner!

RS: We all know you're a NiGHTS fan, which makes you obviously a SEGA fan. When did your love for SEGA start and why?
T: Well when I was a kid I was going through some massively rough times. We were homeless for a few years, so I had plenty of reasons to give myself happy distractions. My first gaming 'system' was actually a C64 with the amazing tape deck... but one day I visited my cousin's house and she had a Mega Drive and Sonic 1 playing in the bedroom. I was instantly hooked on the sharp bright colors, the music and how everything appeared to be so sparkly. I associated SEGA with a lot of my happy memories and it kind of grew from there the older I got. My brother started to bring these Sonic comics home with him from school. (...) SEGA-wise though my absolute point of no return was when I first seen Knuckles in Sonic The Comic and on the box art for Sonic 3. After that I was a hardcore raging fangirl and drew nothing but Knuckles art for years, haha! What went wrong... ah yeah 1996 happened.

RS: What's your favourite SEGA console?
T: I know it will sound biased coming from me but Saturn all the way. For me it symbolizes pure creative talent. Imagination. Experimenting. So many amazing original IPs started on that system. I've had my Saturn since it was released and it's the one console that I still play the most to this day. I mean with games like Panzer Dragoon, Burning Rangers, Fighters Megamix, Parodius, Guardian Heroes, Sonic Jam and that one game with the flying thing, I was spoiled for choice. I love my Saturn. Games always felt so absorbing and exciting.

RS: Should I ask what your favourite SEGA game is?
T: Yes, you should. It's NiGHTS into Dreams. Learn it well mortal! >:[
But Bayonetta, PSO and Shenmue come in after that. God I love PSO so hard! It's a game that makes my choice in shoes totally trendy.

RS: Your work on NiD.com is remarkable! And you've been able to raise awareness of NiGHTS. In fact, one of your campaigns managed to get SEGA's attention and got our favourite jester in All-Stars Racing. Want to tell us about that and how it felt to be a part of something so huge?
T: Thanks! Though to be fair I can get a bit lazy with it. That's what happens when you only have 2.5 games over 16 years. It becomes a lot more about the community than content based things. Though all this rumour mill stuff recently has got me working on the site again. The NiGHTS fandom goes through periods of hibernation then comes back out again and tends to create a lot of noise. This is what happened with All-Stars Racing a few years back. We were incredibly large trolls and caused a bit of a fuss involving kitkats and bonfires. The NiGHTS lot might seem a bit hardcore at times but we only ever try to be polite and useful about it. We love our community and NiGHTS very much so feel obligated to protect and promote it. Let's be honest here, campaigns normally start because DiGi gets angry about something. This is the catalyst for all mischief and ends up snowballing into huge huge things. With All-Stars Racing we really wanted NiGHTS to be represented in the game because we believed he was just as worthy as the other classic SEGA characters that had shown up. It upset us a bit. So we made a lot of noise about it and ended up getting the attentions of the people who matter. Magic was done and we had a happy outcome with NiGHTS being added to the game very very late on as the games official flag waver. Our site had an exclusive character reveal image with the Producer explaining why NiGHTS had been included in the game, directly because of the fans. It spread like wildfire online with all the main gaming news websites reporting on our successful campaign outcome. I felt very proud. We recognize that doing that for us was a huge task and a half (especially how I understand it these days working in the industry myself) so we are still massively grateful to everyone involved. We do so love us a bit of SUMO [Digital] and SEGA. In the rare instances when companies connect to the fans like that in such a personal way it always makes me love what I do more.

RS: NiGHTS turns 16 today! Are you celebrating in any special way?
T: By hopefully having the greatest sleep in a week tonight.

RS: I am also a big fan of your art. How long have you been drawing?
T: I've been drawing since around the age of six. Art has always been the thing I enjoy doing the most. I love giving life to little characters and creating universes for them to play in. Art i believe is down to practise and a decent imagination. You can draw anything if you can focus enough. The hardest part of art is forcing yourself to sit in one spot for hours on end. Get that out of the way and you're good to go.

RS: You're currently working on a comic entitled "NiGHTS: Descent into Dreams", and we've already posted a feature about it here on RadioSEGA. Can you tell us about the story?
T: Well, I won't give too much away yet, but what's been seen so far is only a small introduction based in reality. The main bulk of the comic to follow will be based on the official elements of the stories and characters. Both NiGHTS into Dreams and Journey of Dreams. I want to lace together the entire timeline and inject a lot of real fan experiences in there. But more about that later...
Essentially I want this NiGHTS comic to be my gift to every fan who ever cared in some shape or form for NiGHTS. I hope there will be something in there for everyone to enjoy.

RS: What made you think of, and start work on, this NiGHTS comic?
T: A little bit of inspiration, a pinch of frustration, the need to be able to explain myself and a big heap of encouragement. I felt it was time to finally properly do that one comic I'd always wanted to do. I wanted to show the people I look up to what my experience with NiGHTS was and why the fans mean so much to me. It's very much a labour of love.

RS: You are currently working for SEGA, if I'm not mistaken. How does it feel to work for the company you've admired for such a long time?
T: The greatest feeling you will ever know if you're a diehard like me. It means the world to me. I mean when I first started it was great, but over time it became even better because of the people. The strength, humour and dedication I've seen in the company, I've never seen anywhere else before. It really is a dream come true. The day you get your name tag is the best day. Your next best day is when you first see your name scroll down a credits screen for a Sonic game. The third is something you'd have to figure out for yourself :)

KC Edit: And now I have figured it out. See conclusion of the article.

RS: As you know, RadioSEGA is, above all, about the music, so... If you we’re going to a desert island and could only take one soundtrack to any SEGA game with you, what would it be and why?
T: Phantasy Star Online. It has so many different moods to it. Soaring beautiful melodies and ambience that can get stuck in your head very easily. I'd take it so I could play it when EVIL SHARKS attack. My island life would be 12% less miserable then.

RS: Apart from being a SEGA/NiGHTS fan, are there any other hobbies or interests you'd like to share with us?
T: Well me and DiGi have our own self published comic book called Engelbaum (www.imagni.com) which is the other main project that I work on behind the scenes. (...)

RS: Again, thank you so much for being a part of the first edition of the SEGA Fans Chronicles! Much success to all your current and future projects! We hope to keep hearing from you in the future, which I know we will because you won't let us forget NiGHTS!
T: Damn straight!
Thanks for listening to my rambles.
Keep on dreaming guys~

And little did I know that on the day this interview was to be published, SEGA would announce the release of NiGHTS into Dreams HD! Indeed, TRiPPY didn't let us forget NiGHTS. The NiD15 campaign, started by TRiPPY and DiGi last year to promote the release of an HD port of the first NiGHTS game, has finally paid off as SEGA announced said port is coming out on Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network and PC Digital Download this fall.

Until next week when we write a new chapter in the SEGA Fans Chronicles!
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Post by Whooa21 »

From the Main page:

WOW That was huge!!!
Well done, looking forward to the next one!
And again, happy birthday Nights!!
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Post by Quills on Wheels »

This is really cool. A little sonic fan in the back of my head is screaming at me to do this... but I'm... I'm just too shy.

Besides, I'm no good. I haven't made a fan website, nor anything else that seems special in any way. I have my not-so-big sonic collection but even that's useless.

Again, that little sonic fan inside me wants to do this... but nah...
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Post by Twinny »

I like this concept of interviewing: highlighting those fan regardless of popularity or merit and the like. I can name some folks but they're all too busy or don't even know who I am...
Radio:SEGA: Gang Since October 2010

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Post by KC »

mtwinny wrote:I like this concept of interviewing: highlighting those fan regardless of popularity or merit and the like. I can name some folks but they're all too busy or don't even know who I am...
That's exactly the point. Expect some unknown people and sites in the future!
About the ones you're thinking, how about suggesting them anyway? As long as I have a way to contact them and they are really interesting, I'll try to talk to them! ;)
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Post by KC »

Hello there! Here's an excerpt of this week's interview. For the full version, go the main page.

CHAPTER II: TAGGSTA
RadioSEGA: Hey there, Sean! Thanks for taking some time to talk to us. I found your blog a few weeks ago and immediately wanted to interview you and give the rest of the world the chance to know your love for OutRun. Can you start by telling us a bit about yourself?
Taggsta: My name is Sean Tagg and I run the OutRun 1986 blog (http://outrun86.wordpress.com). I'm 38, was born in England but currently reside in Australia with my wife and our two boys (one aged 4 and the other 12 weeks old). My hobbies/likes include Japanese retro games, sunshine, blue skies, Ferraris, palm trees, Xbox360, building arcade machines, blogging and researching OutRun. :)

RS: When did your love for SEGA start and why?
T: My love for SEGA started as a kid in the late 70's and 80's. I spent my spare time standing on milk crates playing SEGA arcade machines at my local fish and chip shop, newsagents and amusement center . Some of my favorite SEGA memories in the early days were playing machines like Wonderboy, Choplifter, Shinobi, Golden Axe and Altered Beast.
Each year our family holiday would be a trip to Wales and Blackpool, during the 80's all of the latest arcades were there to be played.
This is where my love for SEGA's larger arcade machines started.
Playing games like OutRun, Space Harrier, Afterburner, Enduro Racer, Hang-On and the R360 G-Loc was a great thrill that you couldn't get anywhere else. As a kid I got a real buzz out of playing these moving cabinets... It was fun to show off your skills to onlookers and see how long that 50 pence could last!

RS: What's your favourite SEGA console? Or is it an Arcade system?
T: I used to buy Japanese consoles and games from a local company importer in Stoke-on-Trent (UK) called Console Concepts. I had most of the Japanese Sega consoles and games before they were ever or never released in the U.K.
It's difficult for me to pick between the Japanese Mega Drive, Saturn and Dreamcast as my favourite games like OutRun, Shenmue & Super Shinobi to name a few span across all of them.

RS: Now for an obvious one: Favourite SEGA game?
T: OutRun... surprise, surprise!
The arcade would be my choice, second best would be the stand alone console version for the Japanese Saturn as it has options for arrange mode music and smooth mode scaling at 60hz.


RS: Tell us about your blog. When did it start and what gave you the inspiration to do something like this?
T: My blog only started at the end of May this year.
I wanted to create a site that would focus mainly on my favourite machine, the original 1986 OutRun arcade, it also touches on OutRun's arcade sequels. I've tried to stay away from spin-offs like OutRun Europa, etc, as they don't really interest me.
There are some good OutRun sites and blogs out there that cover areas of the game but they are rarely updated.
I wanted to create a site that has everything there is to know about arcade OutRun, somewhere for OutRun fans to go where there's information, pictures, music and videos all on one site.

RS: What can we expect to find in OutRun 1986?
T: Everything OutRun related. My blog is in its early days but it has pages covering arcade machine variations and rarities, flyers, route videos, music, merchandise, custom built projects from mini machines to building full size replicas from scratch, OutRun appearances in movies and events and fan art.
You will also find some fun stuff too like the video of dancing Flag man from the start line in OutRun.


RS: One thing I noticed about your blog is the constant updates. I've known many dedicated sites/blogs that feel like people add content once a year. That's not your case at all! Where do you go to find so much stuff?
T: During the first month of getting the blog up and running I was spending at least 15 hours plus a week searching the net for OutRun related content, so the blog expanded pretty quickly.
I'm pretty happy with the visiting numbers. So far there's been over 2000 hits from 32 different countries. I think if you keep adding interesting stuff regularly, fans of OutRun will come back for more.
Other sources of OutRun info come from mine and a friends collection of OutRun games, merchandise and the original arcade machines.

RS: You're also a fan of Yu Suzuki, right? Did you ever get the chance to meet him in person?
T: I have always been a fan of Yu Suzuki's games but unfortunately I have not met him. Maybe one day… It would be nice to meet him or at least have him view my site!

RS: So... If you had the chance to get a sequel to one of his masterpieces, would you choose Shenmue 3 or OutRun 3?
T: I think I'd better say Shenmue 3... or I'll get hate mail lol. I fully support the following there is for Shenmue 3... the story needs an ending :) . I finished the first 2 games in Japanese... and probably spent far too much time in the Shenmue 'You arcade'. [KC Edit: Haven't we all, my friend? Haven't we all?]
I would like to see OutRun 3 but not until there's a big jump to the next generation consoles.

RS: I understand you've been to the Game Masters Exhibit in Melbourne recently. What was your favourite part of this?
T: I only really went to the Game Masters exhibit to really see the Yu Suzuki section, it was a great display of his work and I got chance to ride on the old Hang-On machine again and play arcade Virtua Fighter. Unfortunately OutRun was broken :(
There were plenty of other classic non-SEGA arcade machines there like PACMAN, Scramble, Space Invaders and Asteroids. If you're in Melbourne and like retro games it's a good day out.


RS: Now for our mandatory music question! If you were going to a desert island and could only take one soundtrack to any SEGA game with you, what would it be and why?
T: Could I take the 20th Anniversary box set of OutRun?? 11 CDs should last a while :)

RS: Apart from your love for SEGA, how do you spend your free time? Any other hobbies or interests worth mentioning?
T: I mostly spend my free time with my wife and two kids exploring the sights of Melbourne as we've recently moved to Australia from the U.K.
When I do get a minute though I like to build arcade machines. I've made a fully coin operated Bubble Bubble arcade machine from scratch and have a custom Galaga table top machine.

RS: Thanks so much for talking to us, Sean! It's been a real pleasure to find out more about a truly remarkable SEGA fan! Now, if you'll excuse me, it's kind of hot around these parts, so I'm going to take a Magical Sound Shower while listening to the sound of a Splash Wave... Relaxing! :)
T: Thanks for the chance to be interviewed and congratulations on RadioSEGA, it's a great website :)
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Post by OUTRUN 86 »

Thanks again for the Q&A guys, I will be following all of the SEGA FAN CHRONICALS in the future. :)
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Post by KC »

OUTRUN 86 wrote:Thanks again for the Q&A guys, I will be following all of the SEGA FAN CHRONICALS in the future. :)
Thank YOU, sir! It's been a pleasure! :)
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Post by Twinny »

Okay, I think I found a good candidate, but not sure. she goes by the name of Sheyla_mn on Twitter. She does work on "Projecto Sega Brasil," a project on getting together many fan-created SEGA sites (like this one she wanted to work with when she contacted me thru Twitter) for the benefit of support the non-English-speaking SEGA community.

Hope that helps!
Radio:SEGA: Gang Since October 2010

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