Baby Boom
From Sega Retro
- For the similarly-unreleased baby-themed Mega Drive game, see Baby's Day Out.
| Baby Boom |
|---|
| System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Sega Mega-CD, Sega Game Gear |
| Publisher: Sega |
| Developer: Foley Hi-Tech[1] |
Planned release date(s):   |
| Genre: Puzzle[4] |
| Number of players: 1 |
| Status of prototype(s): Found, dumped |
| Sound driver: GEMS |
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Baby Boom is an unreleased Sega Mega Drive, Sega Mega-CD, and Sega Game Gear action puzzle game developed by Foley Hi-Tech[1] and scheduled to be published by Sega around late 1994[2]. Originally conceived by the Sega Girls Task Force as one of the earliest Sega games designed firstmost for a female-audience, concerns with the game's control scheme and entertainment value eventually led to the project's formal cancellation.
While the Mega-CD and Game Gear versions were likely undeveloped, the Mega Drive version processed a considerable amount into its production, and eventually had ROM images of its numerous prototypes discovered and dumped for preservation.[5]
Contents
Story
| “ | New Years Eve, 1999.
|
„ |
— In-game introduction[6] | ||
Gameplay
Baby Boom puts players in control of a ceiling-mounted mechanical arm which can swing all around the playfield, challenging them to pick up and safely corral a large group of babies as they unpredictably wander about the numerous stages. Sometimes the babies appear in circular baby walkers, or wearing distinctive clothing like baseball caps, and overall boast a surprising variety of appearances.
There is also a diaper changing minigame.
Stages
| The Lobby | |
|---|---|
| "Collect the babies Easy enough!" | |
| Bonus Stage 1 | |
| "Keep the babies away from walls for some $$$" | |
| Electronic Suite | |
| "Collect the babies Easy enough!" | |
| Bonus Stage 2 | |
| "Change the diapers as fast as you can" | |
| Music Store | |
| "Collect the babies Easy enough!" | |
| Bonus Stage 3 | |
| "Keep the babies away from walls for some $$$" |
History
Baby Boom was first announced at Sega Gamer's Day 1994 as an action game for the Sega Mega Drive, Sega Mega-CD and Sega Game Gear.
Development
Baby Boom was first conceived sometime in early 1993 as part of Sega of America's push in specifically developing games which would be more approachable to young girls than Sega's standard lineup - the Sega Girls Task Force. Headed by executives Michealene Cristini Risley and Pamela Kelly, the team set out to create a series of games which could be enjoyed by all genders, but also specifically marketed to female gamers.
| “ | It wasn’t fun [to control the game] with the D-pad. | „ |
— Designer Ed Annunziata on Baby Boom's cancellation.[7] | ||
Physical scans
| Mega Drive, US (prototype) |
|---|
 Cover
|
Magazine articles
- Main article: Baby Boom/Magazine articles.
Promotional material
- Main article: Baby Boom/Promotional material.
ROM dump status
| System | Hash | Size | Build Date | Source | Comments | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
2MB | 1994-08-11 | CD-R archive |  (514 kB) (info)
|
Page | ||||||||
|
|
2MB | 1994-06-06 | CD-R archive | (210 kB) (info)
|
Page | ||||||||
|
|
2MB | 1994-07-11 | CD-R archive | (209 kB) (info)
|
Page |
External links
- What happened when Sega courted female players in the mid-’90s article by Richard Moss at Polygon
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.fht.com:80/david/davidresume.html (Wayback Machine: 1997-02-10 02:11)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Mega Power, "November 1994" (UK; 1994-10-20), page 6
- ↑ Sonic Times, "Volume 2 Number 9: October 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 8
- ↑ File:BabyBoom_MD_ECTS94_promosheet.png
- ↑ February 23, 2008 Proto Release
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjZO_kffZSs
- ↑ https://www.polygon.com/features/2019/5/27/18526122/sega-girls-task-force-female-players
