Showing posts with label Halloween. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Halloween. Show all posts

Dashy no Blast - Halloween-themed Dreamcast Demo released!

It's spooky month, people. While I personally have made little to no effort to acknowledge it whatsoever this year (I literally put a pumpkin emoji in my Twitter name, and that's it); retro game developer Voxel definitely has with a brand new demo just in time for All Hallow's Eve...

Voxel is no stranger when it comes to developing for the Dreamcast, as evidenced by his previous projects, such as proof of concepts RUINS and Unfungused Game

Voxel's latest project, Dashy no Blast, is a Halloween-themed 3D multi-directional shooter where you take control of a witch flying around on a broomstick shooting an assortment of fiendish ghoulies. 3D graphics in Dreamcast projects are always a welcome sight, and Dashy no Blast is looking really good visually, especially coupled with the spooky aesthetic. Voxel says he's been working on this game's engine for a while, which leverages "the powerful open source KallistiOS and GLdc libraries."

While the game doesn't currently support twin sticks, the left stick is used to move, and holding the right trigger will lock on to an enemy, in a similar vein to Cannon Spike. Basically, Dashy no Blast is like if Cotton met Cannon Spike, and I'm totally here for it.
Getting Jersey Devil vibes from these pumpkin heads... Anyone remember Jersey Devil? No one?

While Dashy no Blast is just a pre-alpha with one level for now, Voxel has asked on Twitter for people to let him know what they think, as he's "seeking as much input as possible before deciding on the future direction of this game." I know for certain I'd definitely love to see more. A game like this could definitely be a perfect candidate for an indie release once it's complete. If you give Dashy no Blast a go and like what you play, please let Voxel know!

To play Dashy no Blast, just download the .cdi from the itch.io page. It is playable on real hardware (VGA only) and emulators. Happy Halloween!

Spooky Happenings In Ready 2 Rumble

One of the most interesting and useful components of the Dreamcast's operating system is that it features an internal calendar and clock function. While this may seem pretty standard today, back in the late 1990s this wasn't the case, with many preceding platforms (and even contemporary hardware, such as the N64) eschewing such features at a system level. The Dreamcast was by no means the first console to employ an internal clock and calendar, but I'd wager it was the first one to make meaningful use of it in a way that actually had any significant importance in gameplay.

Games like Metropolis Street Racer use the clock to set the time of day in the various cities, while Seaman uses it to help dictate the incubation time of your grotesque, aquatic man-faced mutants. One other nice little feature that the internal clock and calendar allowed for, was time-sensitive bonuses and two particular titles make interesting (albeit minor) visual alterations should you set the date to 31st October, All Hallows' Eve.

If you fire up Midway's Ready 2 Rumble on this most macabre of dates, you'll notice some extra spooky spectators in among the cheering fans during the bouts:
See? It doesn't end there though, for if you fire up the sequel Ready 2 Rumble: Round 2 you'll be treated to a fairly grotesque new canvas in the ring - one which is again adorned with a quartet of skellingtons, along with the ambiguous text 'Plays well with others. Well, most of the time':
There are plenty of other downloadable bonuses for Dreamcast games (see Sonic Adventure for the main ones), and plenty of Halloween and horror themed games and levels within said games, but we thought it was worth giving this fairly obscure little bonus an airing on this most spooky of days.

Found any more? Let us know in the comments, in our Facebook group or on Twitter. Pumpkin Hill doesn't count, by the way.