Hidden Levels Ep. 6: Segagaga

11 snips

Oct 24, 2025

Guest

Simon Parkin

Jason DeLeon, a producer and reporter, leads us into the captivating realm of SEGA's past with veteran developer Tez Okano. Tez shares his journey through the tumultuous console wars and the genesis of his quirky meta-game, Segagaga. The gameplay cleverly mirrors the chaotic reality of game development. Simon Parkin, a game journalist, enriches the discussion by shedding light on SEGA’s historical hurdles and the Dreamcast era. Together, they explore Segagaga's humorous critique of the industry and its heartfelt tribute to game creators' passion.

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ANECDOTE

From Country Boy To Sega Developer

Tez Okano grew up in rural Japan and found escape in video games, especially Space Invaders.
That childhood passion drove him to study game design and build MSX games like Saladman, which led to a job at Sega.

INSIGHT

3D Shift Sank Pixel Artists

Sega thrived on bold challenges but struggled when the industry shifted to 3D.
The move to 3D forced pixel artists to adapt or risk obsolescence during the mid-90s console wars.

ANECDOTE

Sega's Hardware Misfires

Sega repeatedly launched ill-fated hardware like the Sega CD and 32X that failed to capture audiences.
These missteps culminated with the Saturn, which was technically poor at 3D and alienated customers as PlayStation rose.

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The final episode of Hidden Levels explores the story of SEGA developer Tez Okano and the bizarre, meta-game he created: Segagaga.

Okano joined SEGA in 1992, witnessing firsthand the company's tumultuous experience in the "console wars" against Nintendo and Sony.

In the mid-1990s, SEGA struggled to make hardware that kept up with its rivals. The SEGA CD, the 32X, and the Saturn were all commercial failures. For Okano and many developers at SEGA, the console wars were both an exciting time to be in the video game business but also an intense and stressful time. They worked long hours, slept at their desks, and faced relentless deadlines. And so Okano decided to turn the chaotic nature of his professional life into a low-budget, self-parodying game about making video games at SEGA.

In Segagaga, the player is a young developer tasked with saving SEGA's market share from the rival DOGMA Corporation (a stand-in for Sony/PlayStation). The gameplay is a mix of a role-playing game (RPG) and a management simulator, where you recruit demoralized, mutant-like SEGA employees by convincing them to join your team for the lowest salary possible.

The gameplay reflects the absurd reality of game development. Players can spend a long time creating an original, hit game or they can quickly make a bunch of trashy titles (or shovelware) that barely keeps the company afloat. Okano even told us that the insults characters used in "battles" were actual quotes he heard in the office.

The game was finished in 2001, just as the highly anticipated Sony PlayStation 2 was effectively dooming SEGA's Dreamcast. As game journalist Simon Parkin notes, Segagaga was released only two weeks before SEGA exited the console business entirely. This timing transformed the game from a self-parody into a memorial for a dying era, inviting players to literally defeat SEGA's failed consoles as bosses.

Though Okano’s bizarre proposal was initially met with laughter by executives, the game ultimately got made and, in a strange twist, benefited from the company's decision to stop making video game hardware. Even in the face of industry chaos, some creators simply can't help but pour their love and energy into making games.

Credits

This episode was produced by Jayson De Leon and edited by Meg Cramer. Mix by Martín Gonzalez. Fact-checking by Graham Hacia. Original music by Swan Real and Paul Vaitkus. Jocelyne Allen helped translate and interpret our interview with Tez Okano (truly the best).

Special thanks to Lewis Cox and Tom Charnock over at The Dreamcast Junkyard. Their insight on SEGA, the Dreamcast, and Segagaga was extremely helpful in the making this story. Additional thanks to Adam Kuplowsky and 17 Bit’s Jake Kazdal.

Simon Parkin has a book about the history of the Dreamcast called Sega Dreamcast: Collected Works. It’s rich and beautiful and has even more details about Segagaga that we could not fit into this story.

Tez Okano would like to thank the small team that supported Segagaga. Especially Hisao Oguchi, Tadashi Takezaki, and Taku Sasahara.

Hidden Levels is a production of 99% Invisible and WBUR's Endless Thread. The Managing Producer for Hidden Levels is Chris Berube. The series was created by Ben Brock Johnson. Series theme by Swan Real and Paul Vaitkus. Series art by Aaron Nestor.