99% Invisible

Episode: Hidden Levels #6: Segagaga
Host: Roman Mars
Date: October 24, 2025

Overview

The final installment of the "Hidden Levels" mini-series dives into the story of Segagaga, an obscure, meta, and hilarious video game developed for the Sega Dreamcast. The episode explores how this game emerged from the personal anxieties and experiences of its creator, Tez Okano, during Sega’s chaotic late-90s “console wars,” and serves as both a self-parody and a memorial to Sega's tumultuous hardware history. Through interviews, meta-commentary, and firsthand accounts, the episode examines how video games become art, the emotional and professional rollercoaster of the industry, and the lasting significance of creative resilience.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Video Games as Art (02:21–06:21)

• Ben and Roman discuss the argument that video games are a legitimate art form, drawing parallels to film and literature.
  Quote:
  "Video games are absolutely art. They have beautiful visions that bring worlds alive for people. They teach people how to think. They change your perspective." — Roman Mars (02:40)
• Example of Hideo Kojima, creator of Metal Gear, as an auteur infusing personal vision into games (e.g., Solid Snake inspired by Snake Plissken from Escape from New York).
• Death Stranding as an example of artful, auteur-driven game design—where the game’s premise is a courier delivering packages, raising questions on isolation, meaning, and the post-apocalyptic.

Meeting Tez Okano—Origins and Inspirations (06:31–11:08)

• Jason De Leon introduces Tez Okano, highlighting his rural upbringing and early fascination with games, especially after experiencing Space Invaders. Quote:
  "Some people might only see an 11x5 grid of pixelated aliens when they play Space Invaders. But Okano saw a whole new world." — Jason De Leon (07:47)
• Okano’s love for MSX games, early attempts at humorous and unconventional designs (e.g., Saladman), and how this led to his job at Sega. Quote:
  "I love, love, love MSX. It's burned into my brain making games like that." — Tez Okano (09:04)

Sega’s Golden Age and Crisis (11:21–15:44)

• Entry into Sega during its Genesis heyday, the rise of the "Console Wars" against Nintendo, and the seismic shift to 3D graphics.
• Okano’s sadness at the industry’s move away from pixel art: Quote:
  "I got into games because I like pixel art. But by the time I got my start in this industry, the world of pixels was already on its way out." — Tez Okano (11:08)
• Recount of Sega’s technical and strategic missteps: Sega CD, 32X, and the Saturn’s 3D shortcomings.
• Sony’s PlayStation and Nintendo 64 take over the market; Sega’s Dreamcast represents bold innovation but also desperation. Quote:
  "The mandate was to be original, to make games and create experiences that people had never seen before." — Jason De Leon (15:44)

Sega’s Underdog Era – The Dreamcast Years (15:44–18:26)

• Internal push for wild experimentation—“do whatever you wanted”—at Sega during the Dreamcast development.
• Okano’s previous commercial failures, need to work with minimal budget, and relentless work conditions: developers sleeping at desks, showering at the office, learning new 3D techniques.

The Genesis of Segagaga (18:26–21:26)

• Okano’s inspiration: What if a game was about making games, specifically about making Sega games during the console wars?
• Initial pitch to Sega executives is seen as a joke, but Okano’s persistence pays off. Sega eventually greenlights the project as a low-risk, low-budget experiment. Quote:
  "I was like, no, I was serious the other day. Like I was being for real. This is not a joke." — Tez Okano (20:17)

Inside Segagaga – Meta, Absurdist Game Design (21:40–28:39)

• Gameplay explained by Existence DC:
  • Players are cast as an earnest Sega developer, tasked with reclaiming market share from “Dogma Corporation” (a stand-in for Sony PlayStation).
  • Potential teammates have been mutated by workplace stress—some reduced to pixelated blobs, some actual Sega employees with blurred faces.
  • Gameplay mixes 3D environments with 2D sprites and pixel art, showcasing Okano’s devotion to older styles.
  • Team-building involves “insult battles,” based on real workplace banter: Quote:
    "All of the like attacks in the game where there's the fighting, those are all like, lines, actual things that people in the office were saying... the whole game is basically just real life." — Tez Okano (25:14)
  • Deadlines, “more realistic deadlines,” random mishaps (e.g. viruses, walkouts)—all parodies of real game development obstacles.
  • Interludes include puppet show cutscenes, filmed with real coworkers.
  • The game becomes a vehicle for catharsis and biting industry satire, poking fun at everything Sega “hates.”

Sega’s Collapse and Segagaga’s Strange Timing (29:22–31:44)

• Dreamcast launch initially succeeds, but the impending PlayStation 2 (and its infamous "Emotion Engine" marketing) kills Sega’s momentum.
• Sega exits the hardware business in 2001; Segagaga, bizarrely, becomes one of its last games—an accidental requiem for Sega’s console era. Quote:
  "The timing is extraordinary. Completely prescient and weird. Okano sort of has proven to be a little bit prophetic with all of that." — Simon Parkin (31:31)
• With no promotion budget, Okano dons a custom SGG mask to do his own guerrilla marketing in Akihabara.

Segagaga as Parody, Memorial, and Celebration (33:00–35:33)

• In-game Easter eggs allow players to battle Sega’s failed consoles (Sega CD, 32X, Saturn), as a literal fight with Sega’s history. Quote:
  "Sega Gaga is like a practical joke of a game. You know, it's poking fun of the things we made. It's self deprecating warts and all. But like, I love games, you know, like I'm really proud of my work as a game creator." — Tez Okano (34:00)
• Final message: The struggle to create is worth it even when the work falls short or goes unrecognized. The real victory is bringing something weird, personal, and passionate into the world.

Reflections and Series Wrap-Up (37:22–End)

• Roman and Ben reflect on the project’s exploration of video games as art, culture, and industry. Quote:
  "Every pixel, every decision, every piece of design came out of someone's brain and it tells you so much about their values, what's important to them. What's important to the gamer." — Roman Mars (37:39)
• Acknowledgment that video games are not just influential but inherently worthy of study, a “rich text.”
• Closing camaraderie and banter about gaming, “couch co-op,” and appreciation for human creativity in the face of industry challenges.

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• "I am so excited for this because I think this might be the first final boss I've ever encountered. Like, I've never reached the part of the video game that you actually hit the final boss." — Roman Mars (02:07)
• "People know the PlayStation 2 is coming... it runs on something called an emotion engine, which is a great piece of marketing." — Simon Parkin (29:22)
• "I spent two years in that drunken state working on this game." — Tez Okano (21:43)
• "With SEGA Gaga, I did everything that SEGA hates. So the concept of the game was everything that SEGA hates... which was the beauty of it." — Tez Okano (28:11)
• "The moral of the story is that, you know, in the game's ending, the character decides to keep making games even after he's seen how challenging it could be." — Simon Parkin (34:19)
• "You and your team turned an idea into something that people can experience, maybe even enjoy. And in Okano's world, that is a cause for celebration." — Jason De Leon (35:05)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:21 – Are Video Games Art? / Kojima discussion
• 06:31 – Tez Okano’s early life, inspirations, pixel art roots
• 11:21 – Sega’s shift to 3D, industry upheaval, console wars
• 15:44 – Dreamcast years: freedom, desperation, experimentation
• 18:26 – Okano’s pitch and perseverance with Segagaga
• 21:40 – Segagaga gameplay, meta elements, and satire
• 29:22 – The PlayStation 2's arrival and Sega’s hardware exit
• 31:31 – Segagaga’s legacy as Sega’s swan song
• 33:00 – Segagaga as inside joke, memorial, and celebration
• 37:22 – Wrap-up: video games as art, creative resilience

Episode Takeaway

Segagaga stands as a bizarre, loving, and self-critical tribute to Sega’s lost console era, encapsulating the anxieties, humor, and undying creative spirit of those who make games. Its existence—and the circumstances that made it possible—highlights not just the power of video games as cultural artifacts, but also the unpredictable, deeply human process behind their creation.