Sega Swirl
Description
In an interesting publicity maneuver for their newly-released Dreamcast video game system, SEGA of America released a free game for the PC and DC platforms, Sega Swirl (also apparently to capitalize on the DC's logo, a Cinnabon-like swirl).
The object of the game is simple. A screen fills with multi-colored swirls, and then you must remove the whole screen. A swirl removed will also remove all neighboring swirls of the same color. Gravity affects the remaining swirls, and the whole mass contracts to the left of the screen as you remove more and more.
Scoring is based on combos or number of swirls removed simultaneously. Obviously, more swirls=higher points, but single swirls actually remove points. You have to play a balancing act between removing huge masses of swirls and being left with non-matching sets, or removing smaller sets and possibly missing out on a huge combo score.
In a foreshadowing of the (hoped for) coming day of PC/video game online convergence, PC and DC owners can play against each other- via e-mail.
PC owners can download the game for free, and SEGA offers it in two varieties- the standard version, and (refreshingly) a small sound-free version for people who don't want to be online for a long time. A separate sound pack is available for those who opt to not get the whole set in one fell swoop. DC owners can get the game free on various promo GD-ROMs SEGA has distributed.
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Credits (Windows version)
31 People (2 developers, 29 thanks) · View all
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Trivia
Differences between versions
The differences between the DC and PC versions show an obvious disparity, ostensibly due to the inherent differences in design between PC and video game console. The DC version has split screen (up to four players) and many more features than the PC.
The PalmOS release of SEGA Swirl supported real-time multiplayer head-to-head play over the infrared port of two Palm OS devices.
Cross-platform play
SEGA Swirl was one of the first SEGA Dreamcast games to support cross-platform play between the PC and SEGA Dreamcast. The game supported play over email where up to four players could join a single game and take turns. After each turn, an email would be sent to the next player in the game, who would see the last four moves and then they would continue the game.
Hidden features / Easter eggs
If you highlight and click on the swirl over the letter i on the Main Menu of the PC version of the game, you can see the in-game credits for SEGA Swirl.
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Contributors to this Entry
Game added by Robert Morgan.
Dreamcast added by Trixter. Palm OS added by Kabushi.
Additional contributors: Scott Hawkins.
Game added August 12, 2000. Last modified February 13, 2024.