Seaman | |
---|---|
Developer(s) |
Vivarium Jellyvision |
Publisher(s) | Sega |
Distributor(s) | Sega |
Designer(s) | Yoot Saito |
Programmer(s) | Yoshito Hirose Shigekazu Ito Kazuhiko Sugita Takahisa Suzuki |
Composer(s) | Tsueno Kaneda |
Platform(s) | Dreamcast PlayStation 2 |
Release |
Dreamcast
PlayStation 2
|
Genre(s) | Simulation |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Seaman (シーマン Shīman?) is a virtual pet video game for the Sega Dreamcast. It is one of the few Dreamcast games to take advantage of the microphone attachment. The narration is voiced by Toshiyuki Hosokawa in the original Japanese-language version and by Leonard Nimoy in the English-language version and the face of Seaman is actually that of the game's producer, Yoot Saito.
A limited edition game titled Christmas Seaman was released in Japan on December 16, 1999 alongside a translucent, red Dreamcast. In 2001, Seaman was re-released in Japan for the PlayStation 2 as Seaman: Kindan no Pet - Gaze Hakushi no Jikken Shima (シーマン~禁断のペット~ガゼー博士の実験島), the first edition of which came with a microphone. A PC version for Microsoft Windows was planned, with the Seaman being able to interact with the user's applications. No release date was specified, and it was later cancelled.
A sequel called Seaman 2 was released in Japan for the PlayStation 2 in 2007.
As a new pet owner, the player is given the responsibility of caring for and learning about the enigmatic "Seaman" species, using a replica of the discoverer's laboratory. The player must figure everything out by themselves, such as appropriate care, with some guidance from the narrator Leonard Nimoy as Dr. Jean Paul Gasse.
The "Seaman" is a form of freshwater fish (the color and shape of the fins suggest that it is a Carp) with a very lifelike human face. It possesses human mannerisms and behavior with which the player interacts.