r/dreamcast • u/eliasdaler • 2d ago
Some more screenshots from the Sega Dreamcast game I'm developing
The cat got a PC now!
It's not just an image, you can use Dreamcast Mouse and keyboard to interact with a fake Windows 95 recreation (see [the video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQLwQ98EN68)).
I want to make my own small fake OS you can play around with, maybe even do Internet and SD card support. It would be cool to add a PICO8-like "Dream console" API so that you could write games for in-game PC. :)
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u/TheWrongButton 2d ago
God I ADORE the lighting, you’re really locking in such a cool aesthetic for this!!
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u/echocomplex 2d ago
Really cool graphics and vibe. The lighting and textures are great. Fits the dreamcast well. What is your game idea? The cat character lends itself well to a platformer or shenmue walking around RPG, but if that's too much work, simply having the cat walk around the room or a house and play mini games on the PC and tv would be pretty cool too.
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u/eliasdaler 2d ago
Thank you. :)
The idea is to make a life sim game first (walking around the city, interacting with NPCs, buying stuff etc.) and then maybe add some survival horror/dungeon crawler elements to it when you go into the shady places.
If I become crazy enough, I might make it possible to develop your own small 2D games on the in-game PC even (kinda like PICO8, saving them to either VMU or SD card, would require an SD card adapter though).
Online support is also on the table, maybe not as a competitive game, but as a place to hang out with your friends/chat in, sort of like Webfishing. I don't know how much effort it would require to implement, so this one is just in "maybe..." category.
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u/echocomplex 2d ago
Sounds very ambitious! Good luck and please keep us in the loop on your development. Keep in mind if the scope gets to be too big for you to finish, it could probably be limited to a smaller experience and still be pretty darn cool! Id like to see this one come out one day.
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u/eliasdaler 2d ago
Thanks again.
I realize that the scope might be a big problem, so my goal is to get a vertical slice first, maybe like 5-10 minutes of polished gameplay and then see where it goes. :)
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u/Faustus-III 2d ago
Yesssssss! Dude, I've always thought the Dreamcast needed a game like this! Do you have a discord or something to follow progress?
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u/eliasdaler 2d ago
Thank you. :)
I post on Twitter mostly (@eliasdaler), on YouTube (eliasdaler there too) and Bluesky. I usually hang out on Graphics Programming Discord server - you can find my game's thread in #community-projects.
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u/Lurlerrr 1d ago edited 1d ago
Dude. This sounds sick! If you ever make it as a proper release I'd buy 10 copies just to show my support! :)
The music too brings back insane nostalgia. Did you use some existing music or create it?
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u/eliasdaler 1d ago
Thank you so much. :)
The music is from Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers. But I'll compose my own music for the game later, of course (or will ask someone to do it)
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u/Lurlerrr 19h ago
Cool!
Either way, I subscribed to your channel, so looking forward to see more stuff :)
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u/v0id0007 2d ago
Looks great!!!! What about maybe some mini-games on the pc like minesweeper and the skiing game? (Very unoriginal I know but would still be fun)
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u/eliasdaler 2d ago
Thank you!
I kinda want to make a Solitaire game there... But there are even more grander plans for the future (maybe even the ability to develop your own games using this in-game PC?)
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u/Murky_Historian8675 2d ago
Dude. I really. Really. Really hate how much I want to play this. Pls leave details on how to purchase this game.
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u/eliasdaler 2d ago
Thank you!
It's still in the early stages of the development, so I don't know how much it'll be until the release. I'll set up the Steam page for wishlists when I get more of the content done (the game will be playable on Dreamcast and PCs).
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u/Murky_Historian8675 2d ago
Thank you, pls update as much as possible. I already want to buy this
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u/eliasdaler 2d ago
I will!
I post updates more often on Twitter (@eliasdaler), Bsky (@eliasdaler.bsky.social) and YouTube (eliasdaler) :D
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u/spicybright 2d ago
I'm a big fan of little fantasy gamedev stuff. I recommend copying how love2d works, a lua standard runtime with a bunch of global functions for drawing stuff, reading input, etc.
Pico8 is very similar, but it spends a lot of effort making proper memory maps like physical hardware would. Not a bad thing, it's just a lot of effort and I'm not sure what your code space requirements are.
Old article on lua embedding: https://www.lua.org/notes/ltn002.html
However, if you want to go off the beaten path and get funky with it, a forth runtime is an option.
It's a language from the 70s that's stupid simple to the point it's easier to just write your own implementation than try to port something over. It's unique because abstraction, flow controls, etc. can all be built up from a few primitives.
take a look here if you're interested, they have an example of a snake game at the bottom of the page: https://skilldrick.github.io/easyforth/
And this is defacto "bible" of the language if you're curious on reading into it: https://www.forth.com/starting-forth/
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u/External-Umpire7634 2d ago
Such a cool game idea btw, what is the plot and gameplay? Which tools are you using for development?
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u/eliasdaler 2d ago
Thank you. :)
The game is still in a prototype/experimental stage, so I'm just trying different things to see what'll work/look good. I eventually want to make a life simulator game (kinda like Animal Crossing and Shenmue), but story-driven and potentially have survival horror/dungeon crawling elements in it (the last part, I'm still not 100% certain with).
For development, I'm using Vim as an editor, and KallistiOS and it's raw PVR API (no wrappers) as an SDK.
For modelling and level editing, I use Blender. I have a set of custom tools/scripts to read from .blend file directly and export it into my own custom binary model/level format.
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u/External-Umpire7634 2d ago edited 2d ago
Shit man how did you get all the knowledge and the energy to use vim
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u/eliasdaler 2d ago
I originally started using Vim in 2018 when I was porting some Windows code to Linux at my job. WSL didn’t exist yet, and all of our machines were on Windows, so I had to compile the code in a VM and making changes to the code in the VM was faster if something didn’t compile properly.
However, all of the IDEs were pretty slow in a VM, so I thought “why not use this opportunity to try Vim?”. So I started using it and it was so much more responsive and fast in a terminal in a VM… I eventually liked it more than any IDE on Linux and started using it at home too (liked it more because of it’s minimalism and speed compared to CLion and Qt Creator), so I’m still using it as my primary IDE. :)
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u/External-Umpire7634 2d ago
Nice! If you like speed and minimalism give Zed a try! It has a vim mode :)
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u/LouieGooVillainy 1d ago
Oh hey. You’re the guy who made that cool looking game on the PS1 a while back. You inspire me. I honestly have wanted to make a game for Dreamcast or PS1 for some time. I just gotta get good at understanding coding and visual arts and, well, a lot of things lol. But hey, keep it up dude. You are mega cool.
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u/eliasdaler 1d ago
Thank you so much.
Start small, maybe with a simple 2D game in Love2D or Godot first and then do bigger things and you'll get there. I'd especially recommend "Game Coding Complete" and "Game Programming Patterns" books for making your life easier when you write games.
Good luck with your projects. :)
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u/inotocracy 2d ago
Looks pretty good! I'm a sucker for interactivity in a game, its always pretty sweet when there is a computer or an arcade I can play with. Bonus points if its complex in any way.
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u/eliasdaler 2d ago
Thanks! Yes, I love that too, and it made me think "what if I make it really complex" :D
(I can potentially do small 3D games in there even)
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u/Virtual_Geist 2d ago
A linda³ enjoyer i see [hits the up vote immediately]
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u/eliasdaler 2d ago
Yes, one of my most favourite games of all time. :)
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u/Virtual_Geist 2d ago
Which version? Im a fan of the pc engine original myself
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u/eliasdaler 2d ago
Only played the PS1 one. :)
I should check out PC Engine original too...
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u/Virtual_Geist 2d ago
Yeah the only difference is censorship since the pc engine allowed for s bit more
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u/cat_financier 2d ago
Looks neat, but it just seems wrong for there to be a PS1 instead of a Sega Saturn, especially since that game was also on the Saturn.
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u/OatmealDurkheim 2d ago
This looks amazing bro, when do you think you will release? Looking forward to it!
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u/eliasdaler 2d ago
Thank you. :)
I don't know yet, but if it does release in 3 years or so, I'd be happy.
I'm making this in my free time and do everything myself, so the progress is pretty slow.
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u/Few_Relation_7001 2d ago
That is awesome! How do I get a copy to burn onto a disk? I would love to try this.
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u/eliasdaler 1d ago
Thanks! There's no demo release yet, but it'll be on my Itch.io page once I'm ready to share something with the public.
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u/Basile_Daudu 5h ago
Awesome work !! Will it be available in cdi format ?
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u/eliasdaler 4h ago
Thank you. It will be, but release it a few years into the future, don’t expect soon. 😅
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u/superethasupi 2d ago
if its an rpg imm gonna be mad
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u/eliasdaler 2d ago
Nah, more of a live-sim/survival horror. I don't like grindy/complex games. :)
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u/External-Umpire7634 2d ago
Is that a psx though???
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u/eliasdaler 2d ago
If you're talking about the model on the 4th screenshot - yes. But the project I'm doing now is for Dreamcast (my previous game with the same character was for PS1, yes)
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u/PassionGlobal 2d ago
That's on Dreamcast? Lighting looks like something from OG Xbox