Garfield: Caught in the Act/Development

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Garfield: Caught in the Act development
Missed release date(s):

The Sega Mega Drive and Sega Game Gear versions of Garfield: Caught in the Act were developed simultaneously by Sega InterActive and Novotrade, respectively. Both are built around the same core concepts, but were developed independently, with only the Sega management layer being shared between the two. The Garfield project came into existence due to the rise of licensed platform games in the early 1990s, with Disney's Aladdin believed to have set the standard for others to follow[1].

Mega Drive development had begun with Steven Lashower as the lead programmer, but development issues led to the game being rebooted over the Christmas period of 1994 (leading to several months of work being scrapped), with Michael Fernie now on lead programmer duties[1] (Lashower was not credited in the final game). Garfield was built on an engine that Sega InterActive had already developed, and aside from the animations which came directly from Paws, everything was handled in-house[1].

While Garfield: Caught in the Act had been thoroughly planned out with extensive documentation, many of the original plans were sidelined as they often proved not to be fun[1][2]. The highest profile case of this was a train segment of the Catsablanca level, which although existed in the game for a very long time (to the point where it even features on the North American retail box), was not considered satisfactory for the end product[1][3].

Other levels in various stages of completion included a Robin Hood-style stage ("Slobbin Hood"), a viking-themed level set in winter ("Bonehead the Barbarian"), a level set in space ("Alien Landscape") and a stage which took place in ancient Rome. Slobbin Hood and Bonehead the Barbarian made it into the Game Gear game, but were axed from the Mega Drive version, while all that remains of the Mega Drive Alien Landscape are some unused code routines. In addition to time restraints, some levels are thought to have been cut due to limitations on cartridge space a constant battle for the developers[3]. Reportedly, a total of 43 different stages were planned for the game[2].

Alien Landscape, the only stage created by Petra Evers, was inspired by a lava lamp[3]. The level was reportedly finished for the Mega Drive, but instead became an exclusive level for the PC version (made by a mostly different team at Sega). There was also a scrapped, pseudo-3D minigame where the player picked up cheese in a mouse hole[3].

The marketing team at Sega demanded that Count Slobula's Castle become the first stage of the Mega Drive game instead of the originally intended Cave Cat 3,000,000 BC (which is the first stage in other versions)[3]. Michael Fernie considers this to be one of the weaker stages, and likely put off players from seeing the rest of the game[3].

Garfield creator Jim Davis appeared at E3 1995 to help promote the game. Special invites were granted to have a "lasagna lunch", with Davis also providing autographs[3][2].

On the Mega Drive, Garfield: Caught in the Act was thought to have been "finished" in the summer of 1995, but was not released until November, possibly so that it could coincide with the Game Gear game's launch (which finished some weeks later). Much of the Mega Drive team left Sega to pursue other projects and the Sega InterActive division was closed shortly afterwards.

However, despite not having the original team on board, some of the scrapped levels from the Mega Drive version were touched up and given a release through Garfield: The Lost Levels, a Sega Channel-exclusive game. Details on The Lost Levels's contents remain a mystery, as the game was neither preserved nor ever re-released.

Gallery

  • Meeting notes

Prototype screenshots

Mega Drive version

  • An older heads-up display, where Garfield's health is indicated by the number of Zs.

  • Despite appearing on the back of the North American box, this train segment of Catsablanca was removed on quality grounds.

Timelines






Timeline (Mega Drive)



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1995-05-11: E3 1995






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Timeline (Game Gear)
History not known (yet).






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Timeline (Windows PC)
History not known (yet).

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Interview: Pravin Wagh (2015) by Hidden Palace
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 https://www.reddit.com/r/garfield/comments/o55xfz/my_father_was_one_of_the_devs_on_the_garfield/
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Interview: Michael Fernie (2012) by Hidden Palace


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