Stieg Hedlund is among the elite among PC developers, having developed the hugely popular Diablo II and Starcraft. He also spent a few years at the Sega Technical Institute, where he worked on games like Comix Zone. We recently had a chance to chat with him, and he had a lot of interesting things to say about everything from a Comix Zone sequel to the story behind the highly underrated Ooze.
Author: Ken Horowitz
Interview: Mark Cerny (Founder of STI)
Mark Cerny, aside from being an arcade legend, was also the founder and head of the Sega Technical Institute, a domestic development group at Sega that released such innovative titles as Comix Zone and The Ooze. Oh, and it was responsible for a little game called Sonic The Hedgehog 2.
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Echoes from the Past
Star Trek has been a television staple for more than three decades, and its run in gaming is almost as impressive. Echoes from the Past was Sega’s attempt at bringing the Next Generation to the Genesis, and while not a bad game per se, it definitely had its flaws.
Fantasia
Based on one of Disney’s most memorable films, Fantasia fails to capture any of its magic. The poor controls, vague objectives, and repetitive gameplay make this one of Mickey’s poorer adventures. It’s best to leave this one and just watch the movie. You’ll enjoy it more.
Interview: Ken Balthaser (SOA Senior VP of Product Dev.)
When Ken Balthaser arrived at Sega, the Genesis had yet to be launched. As the company frantically geared up for its second stab at the American market, he quickly had to adjust to his new role as Head of Product Development, a role he held until 1995. During his tenure, he oversaw the releases of such controversial games as Fantasia, Buster Douglas “Knockout” Boxing, and Joe Montana II: Sports Talk Football.
