Outworld 2375 AD/Development

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Development

“	Yes, I worked on Outworld 2375AD..would have received an art direction credit had it shipped because I basically overhauled the environments (mainly changed the road-side sprites that were used in the game with a visual style that looked better when scaling). I also did some stills that were used for the story intro and, if I remember correctly, I created the appearance of the font and the title design that appears in the game. I doubt there would be any effort made to resurrect the project since its gameplay was tied to the Heartbeat controller (the player's pulse affected the speed of the rider in the game...not sure if any effort was made to archive either of those Heartbeat projects and its not like Western Tech / Adrenalin is still around and I've lost touch with anyone who would know if any data from the project still exists. I might have some of the stills from the intro in my personal archives, but that would likely be the extent of anything I'd have. Incidentally, I can't recall what I personally did for Outback Joey, so I'm surprised I'm even listed in its credits. I think the screen grab on the box was taken before I had revamped a large number of the sprites...though I can't recall if I touched the hero alien on the bike. I also can't recall if that was the final design of the HUD. I remember when it looked like that, but seem to recall it being different by the time we wrapped production (I just don't recall how it changed or if I was the one who changed it). I do remember modifying some of the in game palettes too. If I remember correctly, Tate Mosesian (who I would again work with at Naughty Dog) worked on the HUD at one point.	„
— Eric Iwasaki

During initial development of the Catalyst, HeartBeat Corporation contracted the Los Angeles-based Western Technologies to develop two original titles for the system. The games would be exclusive to the hardware, and unlike the remainder of the Catalyst's library (which consisted of modified ports of existing games) would be designed from the ground up around the system's unique fitness-sensing capabilities. The first of these titles, Outback Joey, was included as a pack-in title with the Catalyst in November 1993. The second, Outworld 2375 AD, would remain in development for another year. Known under the working tile of simply Outworld, the game would ultimately become the final HeartBeat title developed by Western Technologies.

Artist Eric Iwasaki recalls that Outworld's graphics were were hand-drawn in Deluxe Paint Enhanced and animated in Deluxe Paint Animation, and that the game's reliance on a dark-blue color scheme was a result of the Mega Drive's hardware limitation, stating "the Genesis displayed shades of blue better than any other hue (especially in the darkest values), making blues the only choice for creating the illusion of moody dimensional lighting." Iwasaki also focused on creating artwork with smooth color gradients to minimize unwanted "sparkly noise" when scaled down to smaller sizes.

The game itself was playtested on a stationary bicycle located in the offices of Western Technologies, with development beginning around June 1993 and reaching completion later that September.

Prerelease screenshots

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  HeartBeat Personal Trainer brochure

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  Sega Visions, issue 15