Roger Deforest Interview |
Roger himself
Secret Scout source code
Did you know that Secret Scout was originally going to be named "Lee Majors Game"? Its true. Color Dreams never got a license to do so, so they changed it to Secret Scout.
The great adventure game Secret Scout. A very puzzling game, but a fun game too. If you start up the game you have a chance of getting two different sounds at the start.
Roger Deforest's never released wonder. Free Fall was created in 1995. Roger created it while he was doing free lance art work for Color Dreams. Free Fall was later turned into Fish Fall, which was ultimatly releaed on the Sunday Funday cart.
Roger's other unreleased game for PC, Hell Raiser.
The box art for Secret Scout. This game wasn't widely distributed.
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Yes it is true. I got in touch with Roger Deforest, one of the workers at Color Dreams. I must have forgot to tell him that I run this site, for when I first e-mailed him he was puzzeled. He didn't remember that his name appeared as "Roger Deforest" in the old CD games, and he thought maybe I was Nintendo trying to track him down to sue. Definatly not the case. I explained and he told me alot about Color Dreams.
RD: Let's see, I designed and programmed a game called Free Fall which later was
turned into Fish Fall for Wisdom Tree. They put a religious spin on it and changed the graphics, but I never saw their final version. I also did some
artwork for Frantic Fruit, King Neptune's Adventure, and some others which I
forget now. Hey, it's been over 10 years! But I did do some graphics for Hellraiser, which was never released. I still have the graphics if you're interested in putting them on your site. I don't think Color Dreams owns them. The title screen came out kinda cool, but some of the monsters are just okay. It's mostly nostalgic for me, and good for a laugh! Oh yeah, I did music for one of the religious games...either Bible Adventures, Moses, or Joshua. I've put it all behind me!
TWZ: What was your favorite Color Dreams game?
RD: I really liked Crystal Mines which was a game designed and programmed by Ken Beckett. That one is still fun to play to this day. I've seen emulated versions of it on the net. I also liked Bible Adventures because it was a concept that had never been explored in video games before...scenarious from the Bible turned into challenging and educational video games. It was quite revolutionary in that aspect. I remember when the owner presented us with the idea of making religious games. He was so excited with his idea. And he convinced us it'd be BIG. Well I guess he made loads of money from it. Now I wish I had thought of it!
TWZ: What year did you start working at Color Dreams?
RD: I only worked there for about 6 months in 1990. It was right after they changed from Bunch games into Color Dreams. After I was fired (cuz I wouldn't copy the Japanese style of video game graphics), I was a freelance artist and tester for them for a couple of years. That's when I made Secret Scout and Free Fall on my own time.
TWZ: Did you work on videogames before/after Color Dreams?
RD: Color Dreams was my first job in the video game world. Little did I
know I'd
be trapped in the game industry for several more years. After Wisdom
Tree, I
worked for Mindcraft Software as a game designer/tester. I co-designed
Strike Squad with a couple other guys, both of whom worked at Color
Dreams
also. Working on Strike Squad was probably the most fun I've ever had
in the
video games business. After Mindcraft folded in 1993, I moved to San
Francisco and got a job at Sega as a game tester. I worked there for
about 3
years. That was a lot of fun, but frustrating because it was difficult
to
move out of the test department and into game designing which is what I
most
wanted to do. The only real option for me was to move into the
producers'
circle, and I wasn't interested in producing. So after Sega laid off me
(and
99% of the other testers), I got a job as a tester at Sony Computer
Entertainment (this would be 1997 now). I hated working there for many
reasons I won't go into now. But I worked with some good people there
and we
had our share of fun. I started looking for another job and got let go
because I stopped coming into work, basically. Oh well. After that I
ended
up doubling my income at an interactive television start-up company in
Alameda, CA. I thought about getting back into games, but knew I'd have
to
start somewhere as a tester again and work my way up, so I talked
myself out
of it. So now I work in video and film production here in Fresno, CA. I
do
lighting and grip work for tv commercials, music videos, industrial
films,
and I worked on a feature film over the summer. Anyway, this is the
path I
was MEANT to take, not video games. Although I sure do love playing
them!
TWZ: Did you work on any games that went unreleased? Speaking of that, do you know anything about the rumored Hell Raiser cart that went unreleased?
RD: I began designing 3D Noah's Ark which we were gonna release for the
SNES. I
don't think it ever came out. And I worked on Hellraiser which you know
never was released. They had the rights to make the game for several
years
and just sat on it. I don't know why. We were gonna use the Wolfenstein
3D
engine for the game. I remember that the progammer on Hellraiser got
the
graphics in and the monsters working. It was all very bare bones stuff,
but
it was getting there and looked like it'd be fun. And then it was
abandoned
again for other titles. I don't think those guys at Color Dreams make
games
anymore. They make web cams under a different name. I'm sure you've
talked
to them already (I'm not mentioning any names for respect of their
privacy).
Well, that was kinda fun! It sorta made me feel like a celebrity! Now I
shall go back to my normal, boring life. Actually I don't miss working
in
the video game industry. It seems like it should be cool, but I guess I
just
don't fit in. Oh well. I'll just keep on playing them for fun...not for
money.
RD: Ahhh, it's like strolling down memory lane! Thanks for jogging my
memory on
"Maggots"! I completely forgot that I programmed that game and did the
graphics. It's probably best that it was never released. "Maggots" was
Dan
Lawton's idea. The humor of the game fit my own personality so I
offered to
make it. I think I moved on to Mindcraft before I finished it. I was
also
developing a game called "Gil" that never really got past the graphics
stage. It was cool cuz it used larger than normal sprites, so the
character
and enemies were big, but you couldn't have that many on screen. I had
this
guy jumping around on some platforms dodging things. Vance really liked
the
concept and saw the potential. I can't remember why I abandoned it but
it
looked cool anyway. I'd be honored if you added "Gil" to the unreleased
list.
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