Sewer Shark Wiki
After filming for Sewer Shark was completed, and two months prior to the 1989 release, Hasbro abandoned the project because the projected US$299 price was deemed uncompetitive against the well established and much cheaper Nintendo Entertainment System. Zito purchased the rights to the games and stored everything in a Rhode Island warehouse.
From Sega Retro
| Sewer Shark | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| System(s):Sega Mega-CD | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Publisher:Sony Imagesoft | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Developer:Digital Pictures | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Genre:Shoot-'em-Up | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of players:1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BBFC |
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Sewer Shark is a Sega Mega-CD game. It relies heavily on full motion video.
The game was a launch title in North America, and later on in the console's lifespan Sewer Shark was distributed as a pack-in game with the Mega-CD console in certain regions.
- 2History
- 7Technical information
Gameplay
'Sewer Shark is a simple on-the-rails shoot-'em-up game where player, piloting a customised 'sewer shark' vehicle named 'Hole Hawg', is tasked with cleaning up a large sewer network by shooting various creatures. Despite being labeled as the 'sewer jockey' (pilot) most of the game involves aiming a target reticule with the D-Pad, and firing a 'gattling gun' with .
Only limited control is given to the Hole Hawg's movements - if travelling over an intersection, holding and using the D-Pad allows the sewer shark to turn 90 degrees in another direction, assuming there is a tunnel to travel down. There is no specific route in Sewer Shark, and the game rarely dictates that you travel in a certain direction, however failing to react to a turn can cause the Hole Hawg to crash and the game end.
The Hole Hawg cannot be damaged during normal play (save for the 'scorpion' enemies which appear in the latter half), however 'energy' depletes over time, requiring the player to visit charging stations. Instead, the game is played for points, with navigation robot 'Catfish' sometimes recommending directions towards more infested routes (and who has to detonate hydrogen-filled areas). Your co-pilot, 'Ghost' also shouts at advice at you, and is also a feature of full motion video cutscenes which break up the action.
A set of full motion clips is used to simulate travelling through the sewers, and remain constant throughout the game, however as time progresses, the player's calling sign is 'upgraded' (Dogmeat, Ratbreath, Exterminator, Beachbum) and the music changes. Enemies are a mixture of creatures baked into the full motion video and sprites overlaid on the screen. All in-game music is generated by the Sega Mega Drive's audio chips, as opposed to higher quality audio streamed off the CD-ROM. Stories untold yard.
The game will finish after roughly 40 minutes of play, with the plot resolving itself regardless of the player's actions.
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History
Development
As with Night Trap, Sewer Shark was originally intended for release on Hasbro's cancelled Control-Vision (codenamed NEMO) console - a system that used VHS cassettes as opposed to ROM cartridges. Digital Pictures subsequently picked up the rights to bring the project to the Mega-CD.
On the Control-Vision, Sewer Shark, like Night Trap used four separate video streams which are read simultaneously, allowing for the game to react without the need noticeable loading of data. To achieve this on the Mega-CD, all of the footage was compressed using a bespoke video codec, meaning most of the game is viewed with a border. Night Trap uses similar technology, as does the later produced Prize Fighter.
Release
In North America, 100,000 copies of the Mega-CD game were sold prior to being packed-in with the console[8].
Legacy
Following its Mega-CD launch, Digital Pictures ported the game to the 3DO platform for release in 1994. While gameplay remains largely unchanged, the 3DO version renders at a higher resolution in more colours, bringing the footage closer to the intended VHS quality.
Production credits
- Cast:
- Ghost: David Underwood
- Stenchler: Roberty Costanza
- Falco: Kari G. Payton
- Girl Friday: Stevie Sterling
- Voice of Catfish: Robert Weaver
- Production Coordinator: Craig Boyajian
- Tunnel Music Composed by: Mark Mothersbaugh
- Tunnel Music Orchestrated and Arranged by:Mark Miller
- Incidental Music Composed by: Tom Ferguson, Jay Ferguson
- Sound Effects: Jason Scher, Mark Miller
- Sound: Robert Weaver
- Motion Control Puppets: Chiodo Bros. Productions
- Effects Supervisor: Peter Donen
- Executive Producer: Bob Shepherd
- Producer: Jo Ann Knox
- Production Coordinator: Geri Robert
- Staff Production Coordinator: Michael Yost
- Assistant Director: Harry Wypich
- Director of Photography: Bob Collins
- Assistant Camera: Gary Andertin
- Gaffer: Bob Jason
- Key Grip: Mark Kuramoto
- Script Supervisor: Morgan
- Chief Model Maker: Tom Pahk
- Prototype Engineer: Mike Sorensen
- Sound Mixer: Susan Chong
- Boom Operator: Eric Carr
- Home Economist: Barbara Gray
- Stylist: Debbie Shine
- Production Designer: Jack McAdams
- Casting: Sandra Merrill
- Production Assistants: Jeff Fridlund, Holly Fernandez
- Production Accountant: Debbie Nikkel
- Bookkeeper: Adele Zager
- Production Coordinator: Hunter Johnson
- Production Assistant: Loke Lani Lau
- Electrician: Jim Rosel
- Best Boys: Jim Takahashi, Phil Miller
- Grip: Roger Thompson
- Optical Supervisor: Roger Dorney
- Editorial Supervisor: Dennis Kelly
- Editors: Michael Jackson, Peter Beyt, Tom Sing
- Assistant Editor: Joe Bateman
- Paintbox/Harry Designer: Vikki North
- Film to Tape Colorist: Lyle Hellman
- Assistant Colorist: Earl Williams
- Product Manager: Rich Robinson
- Tester: Nathan Rose
- Chairman of the Board: Martin Erlichman
- Legal Counsel:
- Business Affairs: Barry Tyerman, Armstrong & Hirsch
- Intellectual Property: David Hayes, Fenwick & West
- Additional Programming: Steve DeFrisco, Ken Soohoo
- Testers: David Pier, Matt Kellner
- Production Assistants: Dena Maheras, Malia Lewis
- V.P. Engineering: Mark Klein
- Director, Computer Graphics: Lode Coen
- Computer Graphic Animation: Cuyler Gee
- Interface Design: Joshua Solomon
- Production Accountant: Anne Flautt Read
- The events and characters depicted in this photoplay are fictitous. Any similarity to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
- Ownership of this interactive U-Direct™ motion picture is protected by copyright, patent, and other applicable laws. Any unauthorized duplication, distribution, or exhibition of this interactive U-Direct motion picture could result in criminal prosecution as well as civil liability.
- Filmed in Hollywood, California and on location at Sunset Beach, North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii.
- Sewer Shark, Ratigator, Zerk, and Crazy Looking Thing are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc.
- U-Direct is a trademark of Digital Pictures, Inc.
- Portions © 1992 Sega
- © 1992 Digital Pictures, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
- Source: In-game credits
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Magazine articles
- Main article: Sewer Shark/Magazine articles.
Promotional material
Print advert in Sega Visions (US) #10: 'November/December 1992' (1992-xx-xx)also published in:
- Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #41: 'December 1992' (1992-xx-xx)[9]
- Sega Visions (US) #11: 'February/March 1993' (199x-xx-xx)[10]
also published in:
- Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #43: 'February 1993' (199x-xx-xx)[11]
- Sega Visions (US) #11: 'February/March 1993' (199x-xx-xx)[12]
Physical scans
| Sega Retro Average | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| 72 | |
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| Based on 15 reviews | |
| Mega-CD, US |
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| Mega-CD, US (console pack-in) |
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| Mega-CD, US (console pack-in; alt) |
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| Mega-CD, EU |
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Technical information
ROM dump status
| System | Hash | Size | Build Date | Source | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ? | 489,947,472 | CD (EU) | T-93015-50 | ||
| ✔ | 489,594,672 | CD (US) | T-6201 |
References
- ↑GamePro, 'September 1992' (US; 1992-xx-xx), page 154
- ↑ 2.02.1Computer & Video Games, 'July 1993' (UK; 1993-06-15), page 107
- ↑Mega, 'April 1993' (UK; 1993-03-18), page 43
- ↑Sega Zone, 'May 1993' (UK; 1993-xx-xx), page 54
- ↑File:SelectRound FR 02.pdf, page 2
- ↑ 6.06.1Video Games, '9/93' (DE; 1993-08-25), page 43
- ↑Video Game, 'Outubro 1993' (BR; 1993-xx-xx), page 6
- ↑Game Players, 'Vol. 6 No. 11 November 1993' (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 22
- ↑Electronic Gaming Monthly, 'December 1992' (US; 1992-xx-xx), page 206
- ↑Sega Visions, 'February/March 1993' (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 78
- ↑Electronic Gaming Monthly, 'February 1993' (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 89
- ↑Sega Visions, 'February/March 1993' (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 2
- ↑Computer & Video Games, 'April 1993' (UK; 1993-03-15), page 20-22 (20)
- ↑GamePro, 'February 1993' (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 58 (60)
- ↑GamesMaster, 'May 1993' (UK; 1993-04-19), page 26
- ↑Mean Machines Sega, 'April 1993' (UK; 1993-03-26), page 78-80 (78)
- ↑Sega Force, 'May 1993' (UK; 1993-04-01), page 86-89 (86)
The Control-Vision (originally codenamed NEMO)[1] is an unreleased video game console developed by Tom Zito. It is notable for using VHS tapes rather than ROM cartridges, prompting the creation of game content which survived on into much more advanced CD-ROM platforms.
History[edit]
Originally codenamed 'NEMO', initial development began in 1985 and was supported by Nolan Bushnell's company Axlon. The team, which included Apple Computer co-founder Steve Wozniak[2], created a prototype which used a modified ColecoVision console to combine interactive images with a video stream transmitted through a cable. As a storage medium, Nemo employed VHS tapes that contain computer data alongside a grid of multiple tracks of video and audio that could be switched between[3]
To take the project beyond prototype status, they searched for a partner who would fund further development. The Hasbro toy company agreed to invest $7 million in exchange for the video game rights to the technology.
Three short trial games were finished by the middle of 1986: Scene of the Crime, a four-minute interactive mystery; Bottom of the Ninth Inning, a baseball game; and an interactive music video for the song 'You Might Think' by The Cars. The next step was the interactive movie Night Trap. In 1987, Zito created the second full-size game named Sewer Shark, in one month's filming time and at a cost of $3 million.[3]
After filming for Sewer Shark was completed, and two months prior to the 1989 release, Hasbro abandoned the project because the projected US$299 price was deemed uncompetitive against the well established and much cheaper Nintendo Entertainment System.[3] Zito purchased the rights to the games and stored everything in a Rhode Island warehouse.
Legacy[edit]
It wasn't until the early 1990s that the CD-ROM became an affordable storage medium for video game consoles, enabling full motion video (FMV) games at home. Sega was looking for content for the 1992 introduction of the Sega CD accessory. They contacted Zito, who created versions of Sewer Shark and Night Trap for Sega CD through his Digital Pictures company. Ports to other systems would follow.
Footage of a presentation of a NEMO prototype to Hasbro executives can be found in the Sega CD version of Night Trap when entering a cheat code. This footage is from December 1986, recorded in Pawtucket, Rhode Island (the hometown of Hasbro). Lawrence H. Bernstein, working for Milton Bradley Company at that time, plays Scene of the Crime, the prototype of Night Trap. A playable version of Scene of the Crime can be found in Night Trap: 25th Anniversary Edition.
See also[edit]
- Action Max, a VHS-based games system which was released
- View-Master Interactive Vision, another VHS based game system
References[edit]
- ^Vinciguerra, Rev. Robert A. 'Where are they now? Nolan Bushnell's Axlon'. The Rev. Rob Times. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
- ^'A UC Berkeley Degree Is Now the Apple of Steve Wozniak's Eye'. Los Angeles Times. May 14, 1986. ISSN0458-3035. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
- ^ abcPlunkett, Luke (March 28, 2011). 'Only In The 80's Would They Put Video Games On A VHS Tape'. Kotaku. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
- Notes
- Kent, Steven L. (2002). The Ultimate History of Video Games: The Story Behind the Craze that Touched our Lives and Changed the World. New York: Random House International. ISBN978-0-7615-3643-7. OCLC59416169.:271-276:453-455
External links[edit]
- VHS: The Future of Gaming at GameSpy
- YouTube video of the hidden scene in the Sega CD game Night Trap (Read 2011-10-27)