Funding the Junkyard - Patreon and Merch Announcement!

We have one big double whammy update coming your way today: All systems are go on our brand new Patreon, and we have an awesome new range of Dreamcast Junkyard merchandise launching too!

We are frequently asked by fans of the blog and podcast how they can help support The Dreamcast Junkyard with its operating costs, and for a while now, you've had two options: a BuyMeACoffee page for one-off donations, and a small collection of merchandise that’s been available since 2015. The Junkyard team have rocked these classic tees at their fair share of gaming conventions, but the roster of available designs hasn’t been updated for quite some time. 

Tom Yukawa modelling one of our original t-shirt designs. Timeless.

With our production values improving all the time on the website and podcast alike, and the persistence of that pesky phenomenon called "inflation", our monthly operating costs have increased too. So, to help keep the lights on whilst also ensuring that the Junkyard remains a 100% independent, not-for-profit, ad-free initiative, we thought it was high time to get a Patreon set up to allow for donations on a monthly recurring basis, and give our merchandise a refresh ahead of the site's 20th anniversary in 2025.

Patreon

I won't rabbit on too much here about the Patreon, as I'm certain you are more than aware of what one is; not to mention Lozz has gone to a lot of effort to summarise the ins-and-outs of it in a new dedicated section of the website (which is linked to below!) 

What’s important to stress, however, is that our aim with this Patreon is to solely cover our operating costs, and we will manage our Patreon in a way that is in accordance with this. This means we won't be producing any exclusive content for patrons, as we don't wish for anyone to be excluded from anything that the Junkyard produces. However, we are planning to have a semi-regular Q&A for patrons to take part in, and our answers will be presented on future episodes of the DreamPod.

Click here to go to our Patreon.

Click here for more information and a FAQ on our Patreon.

Merch

We decided it was time to break our merchandise dry-spell and do so in style. That's why we chose to collaborate with one of our favourite artists from the SEGA fan community, Kopke, and his illustration/graphic design studio "From Ashes to Fire", to produce some truly epic new designs. 

The first of the two new designs available features a colourful cast of iconic Dreamcast characters, while the other is a clean new re-design of the Junkyard's logo. If my ADHD allows me enough executive function to do so, I endeavour to update our website and socials to incorporate this new design. For now though, you can enjoy rocking this new art on t-shirts, hoodies and long-sleeve shirts. There's even mugs and stickers available too. Buy a DCJY mug for work and watch your colleague's eyes glaze over as you answer the question "what is The Dreamcast Junkyard?"

We also opted to change our merch provider to Fourthwall, which means higher-quality products for all. We tried quite a few providers before landing on Fourthwall, and a big thanks goes out to KC of The Sega Lounge for pointing us in the right direction.

You can find our new merch range here.

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So there you have it, new Patreon and merch! If you can't commit to monthly payments, the Buy me a Coffee page will remain up for one-off donations. We will also keep the old merch page up for those who still want to grab some of those classic Junkyard designs Tom put together.

That's all now. As always, we are grateful to everyone who supports the Junkyard, regardless of whether that is monetarily, or just reading our articles and listening to the podcast. The dream never dies!

In White 1999: The Time D2's Laura Appeared as a Model in a Japanese Fashion Magazine

Kenji Eno seemed to look at game design differently to other developers. If you've played his major Dreamcast outing D2, you'll know exactly what I mean. He was always pushing the boundaries of what made a game a game. Something he very much championed was the idea of a 'digital actress.' It's a bit of an odd concept to explain, but perhaps the most modern equivalent we have is the likes of Hatsune Miku, a fictional character that has transcended her original source material (as the mascot for a piece of music software) to become a celebrity in her own right, crossing over into other forms of media, almost like she's following some kind of real world career path. 

Laura, created by Kenji Eno, was very similar. She's a familiar face we see in Eno's D trilogy, but in each game she 'plays' a completely different character, in the same way real-life actors play different roles in movies. In D, she is Laura Harris; in Enemy Zero, she is Laura Lewis; and in D2, she is Laura Parton. Despite sharing a similar-looking character model, they are all different characters who are involved in completely separate storylines.

Laura Harris (top left), Laura Lewis (bottom left), Laura Parton (right)

Being the creative genius he was, Kenji Eno's vision for Laura did not end at games. Prior to the release of D2 in Japan, Laura modelled clothes designed by Japanese fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto in the August 1999 issue (no. 268) of the Japanese fashion magazine High Fashion (or simply "HF"). Not only was she included within the issue's pages, she was featured slap-bang on the cover too. 

I can't imagine how stressful it must have been for many hard-working fashion models back in 1999 to have a precious front cover spot pinched from them by a 3D-rendered Dreamcast woman. Below are all the covers of High Fashion from January 1997 to December 1999 (source). Laura definitely stands out amongst the other mortals - a definite case of "one of these things is not like the others".

Video game characters modelling clothes isn't unheard of these days, though. In the last decade, we've seen Final Fantasy XIII-2's troupe of characters model a range for Prada in Summer 2012, while the game's main character Lightning did a virtual shoot for Louis Vuitton in 2016. But this photoshoot of Laura could potentially be one of the first instances of this odd concept to ever occur. 

• Related: DreamPod 88 featuring Video Game Esoterica

I was so intrigued, I tracked down this issue with the promise to myself that I'd document it here for the enjoyment of all who love the more esoteric side of Dreamcast lore, and as an extension, the legacy of Kenji Eno and D2. So here we go. I present to you issue 268 of High Fashion magazine. Feel free to click on any of the scans if you want to view a larger version of them.

Get Festive With These Dreamcast Christmas Jumpers

Looking for something to wear to the office Christmas party that belies your affection for the greatest console ever created? Want to effortlessly exude a level of festive swagger and style that transcends all cultures and language barriers? Want a garment so decadent in design that you'll still look like the coolest mofo on the block while you sit there unable to move after stuffing your disgusting bloated face with a metric tonne of chocolate and turkey on Christmas Day? Then look no further than this Dreamcast-themed Christmas jumper design from Coto7.

Available in a range of colours (and also several different garment types, including hoodies and varsity jackets), the 'All I want for Christmas...is a Sega Dreamcast' apparel is perfect for showing the rest of the world which way your gaming bread is buttered. The design is screen printed rather than embroidered (and appears to be the standard Dreamcast stock image ripped from Google), but the £20 price tag isn't overly extortionate and Coto7 offers free shipping on all UK orders and reasonable shipping to other arts of the world.

These are available in a range of sizes, and in mens, womens and childrens styles. Check out the 'All I want for Christmas...is a Sega Dreamcast' at Coto7 or on Amazon.

Will you be sporting one of these at festive events over the annual period of commercial greed and overindulgence? Let us know in the comments, in our Facebook group or on Twitter.

Damascus Apparel Releases Limited Edition Dreamcast Shirt

Damascus Apparel is a clothing brand based in San Diego, and is a huge name in the alternative and EDM (Electronic Dance Music) scenes. Damascus has been in business since 2009 and since then has become one of the largest and well known producers of clothing and accessories tailored to meet the needs of its community. Why am I telling you this? Because they've just released a limited edition Dreamcast t-shirt. We've featured apparel, jackets and shirts here at the Junkyard on many occasions but this is the first time we've seen a relatively niche, underground - and widely respected - clothing manufacturer incorporate the Dreamcast into one of its products.

Taking a look at the Damascus website, it's clear that the offerings may not be to everyone's tastes, but what they do they do well. I was actually pretty intrigued to know more about the EDM scene after learning about Damascus, and there are a few interviews on various scene-specific magazine websites (here, here and here) that I would recommend giving a read. The Dreamcast t-shirt itself mixes a Dreamcast logo and a Sonic render with other symbols and designs which are a consistent theme in Damascus's clothing. Oh, and a whopping great dragon. Honestly, I can't see myself wearing it because I'm more of a Hawaiian shirt kinda guy, but I'm pretty sure there are plenty of people out there who would snap this up in a heartbeat.

The Dreamcast shirt is limited to just 99 copies (is that the right word?) and costs $45 plus shipping. Head over to the Damascus website here for further information.