Good morning, or whatever time of day it may be in your dimension!

The Dreamcast Junkyard's Tom Charnock interviewed yours truly and it's well worth a read, if I do say so myself. Tom is an expert on all things Dreamcast, as well as a skilled interviewer.

Read the interview on The Dreamcast Junkyard!

New stuff is being added to Intrepid Izzy every day. In a recent update, Izzy's repertoire was extended with a powerful new move: the uppercut.

As a finisher, this powerful upward blow disintegrates enemies into a fountain of fruity gore.


The uppercut can also be activated directly, by pressing up+attack. If your enemies think they have the advantage by taking the high ground, they have another think coming!


Smash them into the ceiling for double damage!


The katana wielded when wearing the ninja costume adds even more range and power, reducing those vile mutant kiwifruit to slices.

Hey there, space cats!

So far most footage of Intrepid Izzy was taken from the HD version, running on a PC. But let's take a closer look at the Dreamcast version today.

Here's a video of the game running on the actual hardware, recorded this very morning:


For those of you who are interested in the technical details, this is how it was done:

• Using a nifty tool, all the game data from the HD original was scaled down by 50%, and the bit depth of the images reduced from 32 to 16. So all the levels and characters and such are still exactly the same, just smaller and with fewer colours.
  
• The Dreamcast is running a tool that allows it to load the game and the data files from a PC via a network cable. It doesn't load quite as fast as it would from a CD or GD, but it saves a lot of time burning CD-R's.
  
• This TV has a VGA port, so the Dreamcast was simply connected via a VGA box. No upscaler was used.
  
• The game is running at a resolution of 640x480 pixels, and the frame rate is a stable 60 frames per second. Sadly this video doesn't have such a high frame rate, but trust me, this game is running super smoothly!

Because a video can only say so much, here's a screenshot so you can see exactly what the game looks like on the Dreamcast, down to the last pixel:

On account of the reduced bit depth of the images, a banding effect is visible in the water. There are tricks to counteract that, but that is a detail that will have to wait until much later.

As always, thank you for reading and come again!

Hello again!

If there's one thing a platform game cannot do without, it must obviously be its namesake: platforms. To make sure Intrepid Izzy has a wide range of them, that part of the engine was reprogrammed over the past week. Let's take a look at some of the results now.

Here's a platform that's attached to a rail. Or so it appears - it's not really attached to the rail, it's actually following an invisible path that was defined in the level editor. Paths can have any shape or size. The image of the rail is really just a visual cue for the player.


The following platform reacts to being stepped on, moving in the opposite direction each time. Again, to avoid confusion, a visual cue is provided in the form of a spiral-shaped logo on the platform.

This is of course only one of many ways in which a platform may behave. Others may for example collapse when stepped on, or move to a certain location when a switch is activated.

And finally, here's a slightly more complex example. By combining several elements, we've created a situation where timing is critical!


Thanks for reading, and until next time!

Hello dear readers!

As promised, here is the first real dev log entry about Intrepid Izzy. The idea is that we'll discuss some of the reasoning that made this game what it is, and reveal some features along the way. Today we'll be talking about a feature that you probably didn't know about yet, which is costumes.

Upgrade by costume
Costumes are the primary means to upgrade Izzy's abilities. Each provides her with a unique set of abilities, which are required in order to progress through the game. For example, in her default attire, Izzy's special ability is a fireball. Wearing the vampire costume, she can change into a bat for a limited time, and it also lets her collect health and spirit power from defeated enemies. Dressed as a ninja, she uses powerful sword attacks, double jumps and wall jumps.



There are other costumes as well, but let's not spoil the surprise just yet.

Design considerations
As you can see, Intrepid Izzy is not your standard metroidvania. Rather than cumulatively adding new abilities to your character one by one, the costumes provide abilities in specific combinations - and obviously you can't wear them all at once. This doesn't make the game any easier to develop, but it does offer some advantages:

• You don't have to start the game with a completely nerfed character. Izzy can do moves like slidings and fireballs right from the start, so you don't have to feel underpowered.
  
• The control scheme can remain simple. In some games that employ the cumulative upgrade system, you have to deal with ever more exotic button combinations. The combinations of Izzy's abilities are selected to be easy to control, so you never have to tie your fingers in a knot.
  
• Dressing up your character is fun!

We hope you've enjoyed this little insight into the ideas behind the game, and that you'll be back for more!

If you've been here before, you'll have noticed it before you even read the first letter of this article: our website has a new design.

It's not just a new lick of paint, though. It's functional as well! For example, our website should now be much more accessible on mobile devices. And social media links have been added for your convenience. By the way, we also have a Twitter account now!

You may also notice that the "news" page has been renamed to "dev log". That should better reflect the nature of this page in the near future: more updates about game development. Expect the first entry about Intrepid Izzy soon!

Good news!

The PAL version in the original blue Dreamcast boxes has been released.
The game can be ordered via the site en.rushongame.com

Today we are proud to announce our latest project: Intrepid Izzy!



Intrepid Izzy is a 2D action adventure platformer or "metroidvania", currently in development by Senile Team. Mixing platforming with beat-'em-up and RPG elements, the titular character must jump, fight and puzzle her way through various imaginative, colourful worlds.

A lot of time and attention was spent on developing the visual style of the game. The crisp and cartoony HD graphics come to life thanks to bright, warm colours and smooth animations.

The game is being developed on PC (Windows), and a Dreamcast version is also in the works (though obviously not in HD). Additional platforms are also being looked into.

Click here for more information and screenshots!

Amazing! We've only just announced Rush Rush Rally Reloaded, and we have another announcement coming up already!

First I have to get one thing out of the way, though: it's not Age of the Beast. Incase you didn't know, Age of the Beast was a project we started soon after the release of our firstborn, the moddable beat 'em up engine called Beats of Rage. But we stepped into the same traps as so many other indie developers - we announced it prematurely and watched it grow over our heads. I suppose this is a natural part of growing up for a game deloper. It has certainly taught us a lot.

Although Age of the Beast had to clear the field in favour of other projects, we did pour a lot of work and love into it, and we would like to share some of the results with you now.

Here is an early animation:


In a later iteration, the resolution was doubled, and sprites became much more detailed:


And finally, here are some animated sprites:



I hope you'll agree that clearly, these were all lovingly crafted. But we also had other ideas that we loved. Ideas for projects that were much more manageable than the gargantuan Age of the Beast. And of one of those, I will now show you a little teaser:



Check out our next news post to find out more!

Today, we are proud to announce the release of Rush Rush Rally Reloaded, an updated version of the celebrated Rush Rush Rally Racing.

It comes in two versions: one in a DVD case with Japanese styling, and one in an official PAL Dreamcast case! The former is already available, and the latter can be pre-ordered via Rushongame.com.

An article on the Dreamcast Junkyard provides many details on this release and how it came to be, as well as 4 other upcoming Dreamcast re-releases!

Oh, and also we have a Facebook page now, if that's what you're into.