Anyone who’s cast even a cursory glance over the world of game-prototype-hunting (I know it sounds like a very niche field, but trust me when I say it is tremendously well-staffed) this year will be aware that the Dreamcast has featured very heavily. Betas, demos, even concept art portfolios of canned titles have surfaced over the months, with us even seeing the release of new (!!) Dreamcast software like Intrepid Izzy. Many times have I had to check my watch to ensure I didn’t accidentally step into a wormhole a while back. That Subway I ate at in March did seem mighty suspicious, thinking on it.
The trend continues, then, because as TheDreamcastJunkyard reports (no prizes for guessing what that site specialises in) another prototype has cropped up. It’s called ‘Panic World’, and it’s a title that apparently nobody has ever heard of, making it of some value to collectors and enthusiasts. The find “comes courtesy of Mike Mika, the studio head at the California-based game studio Digital Eclipse.” Mike Tweeted a string of posts that “we presume came about as a result of him looking through a treasure trove of SEGA stuff.” Pretty par for the course so far, but it was one Tweet in particular that got everyone’s schnozzes a-sniffin’. Check it out below:
“Much speculation occurred as a result,” states the report. “Was it somehow related to Hello Kitty: Garden Panic? Maybe the unreleased SEGA puzzler Aqua Panic? Many people hoped it was some kind of sequel to the trippy-as-hell point-and-click title Panic! for SEGA CD. Basically, we were all pretty eager for Mike to answer his own question for us.” That’s understandable, especially considering that big ‘SEGA CONFIDENTIAL’ label slapped on the disc. Statute of limitations, lads! Can’t touch us now!
“Luckily, Mike had a System Disc 2, which would allow him to boot the GD-R up on a normal Dreamcast. A few hours later, Panic World was unveiled to the world, for the first time ever.” And just what was this mystery title? “Turns out Panic World was a 2D puzzle game (in the vein of something like Tetris Attack) that Digital Eclipse had been developing for Dreamcast and that had reached the prototype phase.” Mike went on to share some screenshots, one of which is of the title screen:
More screengrabs, as well as a bit of gameplay, can be found on Mike’s Twitter, linked earlier in the article. All told, this is certainly yet another riveting find by the omnipresent Dreamcast community, and I can’t wait to see what gets dredged up from obscurity next.
What do you think of this prototype? Does it look like something you might have enjoyed back in the day? Let us know!
Via, TheDreamcastJunkyard
