Vectorman

Last updated
Vectorman
Vectorman cover.jpg
North American cover art
Developer(s) BlueSky Software
Publisher(s) Sega
Producer(s) Jerry Markota
Jenny Cleary
Designer(s) Rich Karpp
Mark Lorenzen
Composer(s) Jon Holland
Platform(s) Sega Genesis
Release
  • NA: October 24, 1995
  • EU: November 30, 1995
Genre(s) Platform
Mode(s) Single-player

Vectorman is a 2D action platformer video game developed by BlueSky Software and published by Sega. The game was released for the Sega Genesis in late 1995 in North America and Europe. It was considered a critical and commercial success, achieving its dual goal of retaining interest in the aging Sega Genesis platform in face of the increasingly popular new technology of the next generation of video game consoles and providing competition to industry competitor Nintendo's popular Donkey Kong Country video game. In subsequent decades, the game was re-released across many Sega-themed video game compilations, and on its own across the Wii Virtual Console, Steam, and the Sega Forever line of mobile game releases. A sequel, Vectorman 2 , was released in 1996, but despite several abandoned attempts at making a Vectorman 3 , no further games have been released.

Contents

Gameplay

Gameplay screenshot MD Vectorman.png
Gameplay screenshot

The game plays as a 2D action platformer. [1] The player maneuvers the main character, Vectorman through levels by running and jumping, and attacking enemies through projectile attacks, similar to games such as Gunstar Heroes , Contra , and Mega Man . [1] [2] [3] The game consists of 16 levels. [1] The goal is generally to traverse from point A to point B in a level within the time limit, though levels are large and open-ended, offering multiple different paths to be taken to complete it. [1] By default, Vectorman is equipped with the ability to shoot out "laser pulses" in eight main directions. [1] A large emphasis is put on item collection. [3] Collecting powerups throughout levels allow him to change weapons, such as drills or bombs that can attack enemies or alter terrain. [1] Collecting "multipliers" may also be collected to increase damage dealt by attacks; for example, collecting a 2X multiplier leads attacks to cause double the damage. [3] Other powerups allow Vectorman to change forms and alter his means of maneuvering through levels; a helicopter form allows him to fly, while a vehicular-shaped transformation give him extra speed. [1] A life bar of four orbs monitors Vectorman's health; taking damage from enemies or harmful terrains lowers health, while collecting "health orbs" restore it. [3] If all health is lost, a life is lost and progress through the level is reset, causing the player to start over. [3] The game allows for the switching to an easier difficulty level upon the failure of a level, at no cost to the player other than berating them with a message calling them "lame". [1]

Plot

The game takes place in a future where the Earth has been largely destroyed by humans through pollution. [2] Humanity temporarily migrates to distant outerspace while they leave "orbots" - a portmanteau of "orbs" and "robots" [4] - to clean up the planet while they're away. [3] Raster, one of the higher-level supervisory robots, is accidentally connected to a nuclear warhead missile, which radically alters his behavior, transforming him into a tyrannical overlord. Now known by the name "WarHead", he gains control of all robots and plans to declare war on humanity upon their return. [3] One robot, Vectorman, had been off on a mission in outerspace, does not fall under his control, and upon seeing what is happening, decides to put a stop to Warhead's plans. [3]

Development and release

BlueSky Software's development relationship with Sega began in the early 1990s. After successfully developing and releasing Starflight and Joe Montana Football in 1991, BlueSky Software signed an exclusivity contract to develop video games for their Sega Genesis platform. [5] Sega won the bid for the rights to develop the official video game adaption of the film Jurassic Park , and chose BlueSky Software as the primary developer. [6] [3] Sega published two of their Jurassic Park games; a video game adaption of the original Jurassic Park film released in 1993, and a sequel game, Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition , the following year, both for the Sega Genesis. [3] After completion of the two games, Sega turned to them to create a game centered around pre-rendered 3D models in its levels and character designs, as an answer to Nintendo's popular 1994 release Donkey Kong Country . [3] [7] Vectorman originally started as a 3D tech demo created by tools programmer Karl Robillard, inspired by vector ball demos for the Amiga. [8] While Sega had been finding success with the Genesis platform in the early 1990s, by 1995, they had lost momentum; Donkey Kong Country was a huge hit, while the launches of the Sega 32x and the Sega Saturn had not gone well. [9] Different branches of Sega had different views of how to proceed; Sega of Japan preferred to emphasize development on the Saturn, while North America, who had seen far more success with the Genesis, desired to focus on developing for the large Genesis userbase, with Vectorman scheduled to be one of its major titles for 1995. [9]

The game featured a relatively smooth and quick development cycle because of their extensive experience of developing games for the Genesis. [10] Vectorman introduced the Genesis programming technique referred to by Sega as "Vector Piece Animation". [11] It was used to blend animations smoothly together, and also enabled the game to run at 60 frames per second. [10] Rather than the typical singular character sprite, Vectorman's body consists of 23 individual sprites programmed to move in unison. [11] According to designer Rich Karpp, Sega had very little involvement with the game until the end of development. [10] Many ideas were tweaked and changed over the course of development. Initially all characters were composed entirely of spheres, but as development progressed, the designers ended up using other shapes for the characters as well, feeling the characters were too abstract, and lacked recognizable forms without it. [10] [7] [4] The "sphere-only" character approach characters would have allowed for more varied perspectives and scaling, including the changing of viewpoints, but this was eliminated upon the creation of more detailed character models. [7] [4] With the emphasis on smooth animations, the team had worked on the idea of having more "windup" and "aiming" type animations while shooting, but the added delay in action from the extra animations hampered the game's playability, and the idea was scrapped. [7] [4] Vectorman's character model went through many changes as well, and was not finalized until late into development. [5] The game's villain, Warhead, was originally named Raster; the dynamic of Vectorman versus Raster would have mirrored how vector graphics are the opposite of raster graphics. At least one stage was cut during development, in which Vectorman rode a horizontally aligned wicker rocket on a track, with scrolling columns used to make the rocket rotate rather than simply follow a straight path. Karpp said that the level had a unique look but was not fun to play because Vectorman could not freely explore and the lack of room to maneuver made it difficult to line up shots at flying enemies. [10] For the moving flags on the first level, the team referenced video footage of the flags on top of BlueSky's building during a windy day to make the animation look believable. [8]

The game's music was composed by Jon Holland, a musician and filmmaker who was relatively new to video game soundtrack composing. [7] [4] The techno soundtrack was inspired by the works of Kraftwerk, Orbital, and The Prodigy, as well as Goa mixes. [8] Holland attempted to create a "rhythmic" and almost "danceable" electronic sound to the music, though he lamented that it was difficult to achieve the sound he was aiming for with the Genesis sound chip. [7] [4] The resulting soundtrack was described as "slower and moodier" than most platformer games from the 16-bit era. [7] A year after the game's release, the game's soundtrack was released under the name Sega Tunes: Vectorman CD, featuring higher sound quality arrangements of the songs originally aimed for by Holland. [3]

The game was released on the Sega Genesis on October 24, 1995 in North America and on November 30, 1995 in Europe, with a marketing budget of $12 million. [12] [13] The game did not release on the Genesis in Japan, and wasn't released at all until over five years later, when it was included on the PC Windows release of the Sega Smash Pack . [3] The game wasn't released further until the mid-2000s, after Sega became a third-party video game developer, and the game appeared on a number of Sega-themed game compilations. It appeared on Sonic Gems Collection (2005), [14] Sega Genesis Collection (2006), [15] and Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection (2009). [16] The game was also re-released on various digital download services, including the Wii Virtual Console in 2008, [1] [17] on Steam in 2010, [18] and as part of the Sega Forever service in 2018. [19] In 2019, the game was included on the Sega Genesis Mini console. [20]

Reception

The game was a commercial success in the US, with it being one of the best-selling video games of the 1995 holiday season. [21] Vectorman sold 500,000 copies in the US by the end of the year, making it among Sega's top selling games of the year, though short of Nintendo's concurrent holiday, Donkey Kong Country 2 , which moved 900,000 copies. [21] Much like Donkey Kong Country series of games on the SNES, Vectorman on the Genesis was seen as a successful effort to retain interest in aging 16-bit consoles at a time when consumer interest was increasingly moving towards more advanced technology. [1] Publications noted that the game's graphic's were comparable to early-generation PlayStation 1 games being released around the same time period. [2] [1] Video Games: The Ultimate Gaming Magazine gave the game a score of 9 out of 10, praising the graphics, describing the game variety and ingenuity as "nothing short of breathtaking", and concluding that "if developers keep on pumping stuff like this out, then it'll be a cold day in hell before 16-bit is dead and buried." [22] GamePro gave it a rave review, stating that "your jaw will hang open in amazement at what Vectorman does with the 16-bit Genesis engine. This platform game comes on with great guns, a morphing hero, and diverse, well-detailed levels." They also praised the simple controls, advanced graphics, and sound effects, and scored it a 5/5 in graphics, control, and FunFactor and a 4.5/5 in sound. [23] Both Electronic Gaming Monthly and GamePro awarded it Best Genesis Game of 1995. [24] [25] The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the first Vectorman a score of 8.25 out of 10, unanimously praising the advanced graphics and animation, large levels with numerous hidden areas, strong audio, and ability to change into different forms. [26]

In a retrospective by Hardcore Gaming 101, it was concluded that Vectorman was "...one of the Genesis' best hidden gems, a great platformer that, while having a few faults of its own, manages to aurally out-do Donkey Kong Country in almost everyway while staying unique and memorable to this day, with the titles commercial and critical success gracefully backing up such claims." [3]

Legacy

In 1996, a sequel, Vectorman 2 was released for the Sega Genesis. During the same year, Sega of America entered into a deal with Los Angeles-based Ideal Entertainment for the motion picture, television and merchandising rights to the first game, though no television or film ever entered development. [27] Multiple attempts at making a Vectorman 3 were made in the late 1990s and early 2000s, though all were cancelled by Sega prior to release. [28]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nintendo 64</span> Home video game console

The Nintendo 64 (N64) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, in North America on September 29, 1996, and in Europe and Australia on March 1, 1997. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was the last major home console to use cartridges as its primary storage format until the Nintendo Switch in 2017. As a fifth-generation console, the Nintendo 64 primarily competed with Sony's PlayStation and the Sega Saturn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Nintendo Entertainment System</span> Home video game console

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Oceania and 1993 in South America. In Japan, it is called the Super Famicom (SFC). In South Korea, it is called the Super Comboy and was distributed by Hyundai Electronics. The system was released in Brazil on August 30, 1993, by Playtronic. In Russia and CIS, the system was distributed by Steepler from 1994 until 1996. Although each version is essentially the same, several forms of regional lockout prevent cartridges for one version from being used in other versions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Platformer</span> Video game genre

A platformer is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels with uneven terrain and suspended platforms of varying height that require jumping and climbing to traverse. Other acrobatic maneuvers may factor into the gameplay, such as swinging from vines or grappling hooks, jumping off walls, gliding through the air, or bouncing from springboards or trampolines.

<i>Earthworm Jim</i> (video game) 1994 video game

Earthworm Jim is a 1994 run and gun platform game developed by Shiny Entertainment, featuring an earthworm named Jim, who wears a robotic suit and battles the forces of evil. The game was released for the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo Entertainment System, before being subsequently ported to several other video game consoles.

<i>Donkey Kong Country</i> 1994 video game

Donkey Kong Country is a 1994 platform game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It is a reboot of Nintendo's Donkey Kong franchise and follows the gorilla Donkey Kong and his nephew Diddy Kong as they set out to recover their stolen banana hoard from the crocodile King K. Rool and his army, the Kremlings. The single-player traverses 40 side-scrolling levels as they jump between platforms and avoid obstacles. They collect items, ride minecarts and animals, defeat enemies and bosses, and find secret bonus stages. In multiplayer modes, two players work cooperatively or race each other.

<i>Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddys Kong Quest</i> 1995 video game

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest is a 1995 platform game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It was released on 21 November 1995 in Japan, 4 December in North America, and 14 December in Europe. It is the second installment of the Donkey Kong Country series and the sequel to Donkey Kong Country (1994).

<i>Ristar</i> 1995 video game

Ristar is a 1995 platform game developed and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis. The game stars an anthropomorphic cartoon star who uses his hands and long, stretchable arms to both move and fight enemies. Reception for the game was generally positive, but the game's initial release was overshadowed due to the imminent ending of the Genesis's lifecycle and the succession of the Sega Saturn and other fifth generation video game consoles.

In the history of video games, the fourth generation of video game consoles, more commonly referred to as the 16-bit era, began on October 30, 1987, with the Japanese release of NEC Home Electronics' PC Engine. Though NEC released the first console of this era, sales were mostly dominated by the rivalry between Sega and Nintendo across most markets: the Sega Mega Drive and the Super Nintendo. Cartridge-based handheld game consoles became prominent during this time, such as the Nintendo Game Boy, Atari Lynx, Sega Game Gear and TurboExpress.

<i>Sonic 3D Blast</i> 1996 video game

Sonic 3D Blast, known in Europe and Japan as Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island, is a 1996 platform game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series for the Sega Genesis and Sega Saturn. As Sonic the Hedgehog, the player embarks on a journey to save the Flickies, birds enslaved by Doctor Robotnik. The player must guide Sonic through a series of themed levels to collect Flickies and defeat Robotnik. Though it retains game mechanics from prior Sonic games, Sonic 3D Blast is differentiated by its 2D isometric perspective, with pre-rendered 3D models converted into sprites.

<i>Sonic & Knuckles</i> 1994 video game

Sonic & Knuckles is a 1994 platform game developed and published by Sega. Players control Sonic the Hedgehog or Knuckles the Echidna in their quests to save Angel Island; Sonic tries to stop Doctor Robotnik from re-launching his orbital weapon, the Death Egg, while Knuckles scuffles with Robotnik's minion, EggRobo. Like previous Sonic games, players traverse side-scrolling levels at high speeds while collecting rings and defeating enemies.

<i>Earthworm Jim 2</i> 1995 video game

Earthworm Jim 2 is a 1995 run and gun platform video game and the sequel to Earthworm Jim, and the second and final game in the Earthworm Jim series developed by original creators Doug TenNapel, David Perry and Shiny Entertainment. It was released in late 1995 and early 1996 depending on region and video game console, initially being released for the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo Entertainment System, before being ported to other platforms.

<i>Donkey Kong</i> (1981 video game) 1981 video game

Donkey Kong is a 1981 arcade video game developed and published by Nintendo. As Mario, the player runs and jumps on platforms and climbs ladders to ascend a construction site and rescue Pauline from a giant gorilla, Donkey Kong. It is the first game in the Donkey Kong series and Mario's first appearance in a video game.

<i>Flashback</i> (1992 video game) 1992 video game

Flashback, released as Flashback: The Quest for Identity in the United States, is a 1992 science fiction cinematic platform game developed by Delphine Software of France and published by U.S. Gold in the United States and Europe, and Sunsoft in Japan.

<i>Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure</i> 1994 video game

Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure is a side-scrolling action-platform video game developed by Activision in conjunction with Kroyer Films and originally published in North America and Europe in 1994. The fourth installment in the Pitfall! franchise, players assume the role of Pitfall Harry Junior as he embarks on a journey through the Mayan jungles of Central America in an attempt to rescue Pitfall Harry, his father and the protagonist of previous entries in the series, from the evil Mayan warrior spirit named Zakelua. Its gameplay mainly consists of action and platforming mixed with stage-based exploration using a main six-button configuration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sega Genesis</span> Home video game console

The Sega Genesis, known as the Mega Drive outside North America, is a 16-bit fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released it in 1988 in Japan as the Mega Drive, and in 1989 in North America as the Genesis. In 1990, it was distributed as the Mega Drive by Virgin Mastertronic in Europe, Ozisoft in Australasia, and Tectoy in Brazil. In South Korea, it was distributed by Samsung Electronics as the Super Gam*Boy and later the Super Aladdin Boy.

<i>Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow</i> 1995 video game

Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow – originally released as Donald in Maui Mallard – is a platforming video game developed and published by Disney Interactive Studios. The game was released in Europe on December 8, 1995, and in Brazil in spring 1997 for the Sega Mega Drive. It was also ported by Eurocom Entertainment Software to the SNES and released in North America in January 1997, in Europe mostly in autumn 1996, and in Japan on December 20, 1996. A Microsoft Windows port was released in North America in November 1996. It was ported one last time to the Game Boy by Bonsai Entertainment Corp., released in North America in August 1998.

<i>Vectorman 2</i> 1996 video game

Vectorman 2 is a 2D action platformer developed by BlueSky Software and published by Sega. Released one year after the original Vectorman, the game retains the game's core gameplay while expanding its mechanics. Multiple attempts to create a Vectorman 3 were proposed to Sega, with none of them coming to fruition.

<i>Disneys Aladdin</i> (Sega Genesis video game) 1993 video game

Disney's Aladdin is a platform game based on the 1992 film of the same name developed by Virgin Games USA. The game was released by Sega for the Sega Genesis on October 19, 1993 as one of several games based on the film, including another game that was released in the same month by Capcom for the Super NES.

In the video game industry, a console war describes the competition between two or more video game console manufacturers in trying to achieve better consumer sales through more advanced console technology, an improved selection of video games, and general marketing around their consoles. While console manufacturers are generally always trying to out-perform other manufacturers in sales, these console wars engage in more direct tactics to compare their offerings directly against their competitors or to disparage the competition in contrast to their own, and thus the marketing efforts have tended to escalate in back-and-forth pushes.

Vectorman 3 is a cancelled third entry in the Vectorman series of video games published by Sega. At least three separate attempts have been made public; Vectorman 3/Vectorman Ultra for the Sega Saturn, Vectorman Neo for the Sega Dreamcast, and simply Vectorman, as a series reboot for the PlayStation 2. All three were rejected and cancelled by Sega, and no third entry has been released to date.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Vectorman Review". 22 September 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 "Review: Vectorman (Virtual Console / Sega Mega Drive)". 6 April 2007.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Vectorman – Hardcore Gaming 101".
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Interview - BlueSky Software".
  5. 1 2 "Sega-16 – Interview: Richard Karpp (BlueSky Software Programmer)".
  6. ↑ "The Next Level: Sega's Plans for World Domination". Wired.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Game music of the day: Vectorman". 30 September 2010.
  8. 1 2 3 Carroll, Tom (June 19, 2021). "Vectorman Is Still An Original Climate Activist At 25". The Game of Nerds. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  9. 1 2 "'VectorMan' Review – Nothing to Fear but Sphere Itself – TouchArcade". 22 June 2018.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 "Sega Forever: Rich Karpp on Vectorman". Sega.com. June 20, 2018. Archived from the original on August 16, 2019.
  11. 1 2 The Whizz (January 1996). "Sega Vectors in on Better Genesis Programming". GamePro . No. 88. IDG. p. 28.
  12. ↑ Carlton, Jim (November 23, 1995). "Fans remain loyal to 16-bit machines". Hartford Courant . p. 79. Retrieved December 27, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Sega begins 24-hour countdown to "Vectormania"; $160,000 in cash and prizes at stake as VectorMan, Sega's most advanced, challenging Genesis game ever hits store shelves tomorrow, Oct. 24 | Business Wire | Find Articles". February 19, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-02-19.
  14. ↑ "Sonic Gems Collection". 19 August 2005.
  15. ↑ "Sega Genesis Collection Review".
  16. ↑ "Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection Review". 12 February 2009.
  17. ↑ "Two WiiWare Games and Two Virtual Console Games Added to Wii Shop Channel". Nintendo . Nintendo of America. 2008-09-22. Archived from the original on June 22, 2018. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
  18. ↑ "Vectorman". Metacritic .
  19. ↑ "Vectorman, possibly the best Genesis game, is now available on Sega Forever". 21 June 2018.
  20. ↑ "Sega Genesis Mini proves Sega is ready to take its legacy seriously". Polygon . 14 August 2019.
  21. 1 2 Chapman, Paul (January 19, 1996). "16-bit systems show surprising strength". The Province . p. 86. Retrieved December 28, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ "Vectorman Review". Video Games: The Ultimate Gaming Magazine. No. 82. L.F.P., Inc. November 1995. p. 89.
  23. ↑ "ProReview: Vectorman". GamePro . No. 76. IDG. November 1995. pp. 70–71.
  24. ↑ "Electronic Gaming Monthly's Buyer's Guide". Electronic Gaming Monthly . 1996.
  25. ↑ "Editor's Choice Awards 1995". GamePro . No. 79. IDG. February 1996. p. 26.
  26. ↑ "Review Crew: Vectorman" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 76. Sendai Publishing. November 1995. p. 42.
  27. ↑ "SEGA Central". Archived from the original on 1996-12-20.
  28. ↑ https://www.pressreader.com/uk/retro-gamer/20220929/283596699156308 – via PressReader.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.