Few people have as deep an understanding of what Sega was like during its transitional period of the early ’90s as Steve Hanawa does. An integral part of the U.S. team during the Master System era, he saw the company make the jump to 16-bit and grow into a gaming powerhouse. Sega-16 chatted with him recently about his experiences there.

Adding to the already thriving Geness Homebrew community is Airwalk Studios, whose second effort promises to be a big one. An RPG by the name of Affinity: Sorrow, the game is slated for a hopeful release next year. We snagged the developers for an interview on this eagerly awaited title, so read on for details on what could be next year’s big Genesis release.

Scott Orr was there for the conception of the Madden series, and he was an integral part of its growth into the powerhouse that we know today. Sega-16 recently spoke to Mr. Orr about his work on the series and what it was like to see it push the Genesis towards success like no other property could. Read the full interview for more details.

Sega-16 recently had the chance to chat with Carl-Henrik Skarstedt, a programmer who spent many years with Funcom, the third party developing house behind such PC hits as The Longest Journey and Anarchy Online. During his time there, Carl-Henrik worked on both the Genesis and Sega CD, on titles such as Samurai Shodown, Fatal Fury Special, NBA Hangtime and Daze before Christmas. He shared his insights and experiences on working with different publishers, as well as what it was like to program for Sega’s ill-fated add-on.

Everyone dreams at working at a major game developer. It’s something all kid gamers wish for, and many adult gamers strive to make it a reality. Sometimes though, destiny comes knocking quickly, and when it does you have to run with it and never look back. That’s what happened to Doug Lanford, who went for an interview for a game tester job at Sega on a whim. Four years later, he was a programmer with a bright future ahead of him.