Proto:Puggsy (Genesis)

This page details one or more prototype versions of Puggsy (Genesis).

To do: A sightly later build was released by the scene group CENSOR.

Prototype 0.1a of Puggsy is effectively a tech demo. Judging by the header, this was compiled in November 1991, though developer Jon Burton claims it's from February 1992. Regardless, it's a very early build.

This build was released by Burton through his GameHut channel on September 23, 2017, albeit in a rather unconventional way: through rapidly-flashing images in a YouTube video (seizure warning!). If the data was correctly decoded and converted, it resulted in the ROM.

By default, the game only works on Model 1 Genesis units, as the ROM doesn't write SEGA to $A14000. A patch has been made to address this along with the checksum issue.

Download Puggsy (0.1a Prototype) File: Puggsy Genesis Prototype 01a.bin (181 KB) (info)

Download Checksum & TMSS Fixed Version File: Puggsy Prototype (Checksum Fixed and TMSS).bin (181 KB) (info)

(ROM fixes: Dandaman955)

General Differences

• This build originally checked for development hardware, which was hacked out for easier distribution.
• The header cheekily has "OH IT'S ONLY PUGGSY" as the domestic name, while the international name is "PROTOTYPE BUILD VERSION 0.1a".
• The physics engine is very buggy. Puggsy can stack two objects fine, but any more can easily cause the stack to topple over.
• Only a single level is present, and it's barebones. Notable features include a cross-shaped fan and water, but neither of these have proper graphics yet.
• Because no background graphics have been drawn yet, it repeats the foreground graphics, albeit drawing them in a very glitchy way.
• All assets in the ROM are uncompressed. The final version uses Rob Northen Compression to compress graphics and tilemaps.

Visual Differences

The demo uses a very incomplete version of the Red Wood tileset.

Proto	Final

Puggsy has no arms, though this doesn't affect his ability to pick up objects. His eyes are lacking a shine and are bluer, while his mouth had an extra pixel added for the final version to keep the smile inside the sprite. When standing still, his right foot is raised up rather than being level with the ground, while his left foot sticks out more.

Unused Graphics

In this build, all of the objects Puggsy can pick up are rotten apples. However, graphics are loaded for beach balls and balloons.

• A screen for Psygnosis is in the ROM, looking similar to the one for their Amiga games.
• Graphics for a pirate ship are also in the ROM, presumably meant to be for Polly Pirate.