Walkthrough - Guide for Seaman

                    SEAMAN US RELEASE WALKTHROUGH v0.1
                            for Sega Dreamcast
                 written by Xevo - [email protected]


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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
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I.    Revision History
II.   Introduction
III.  General Tips
IV.   Evolution
V.    Coming Soon
VI.   Special Thanks
VII.  Legal Disclaimer

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I.  REVISION HISTORY
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Version 0.1 - 08/15/00:
 - First version, a glorious beginning!


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II.  INTRODUCTION
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Welcome to the world of Seaman!  If you've just bought the game, then I
take it you have a taste for original and unsual games like I do.  If you
are reading this but haven't decided whether or not to buy the game yet,
then I hope my guide can shed some more light on the trials and
tribulations of what it takes to raise and evolve a very unique creature.

Regardless, I created this guide for two reasons.  There are no guides out
that explain even the basic strategies of raising a Seaman from the egg
you are provided with, and also no one has mapped the evolutionary process
of the Seaman as far as is possible with the kit provided by Vivarium (some
may call it a game, but it is far more I assure you!).  However, one should
be warned: for some people, part of the fun of raising Seamen is that you 
have to experiment with all the different settings of the aquarium and also 
make your own decisions on how to take care of them.  This guide will 
explain in detail how to evolve a Seaman through all the stages our kit 
allows when it is completed.  If you would rather be surprised by the 
evolution of your Seamen, then you should definitely skip section IV which 
details exactly what steps to take when raising a Seaman and what happens 
as a consequence.  Feel free to read the General Tips section below if you 
need help getting started, however.

Finally, Seaman can, at times, be quite offensive.  If you are offended by
talk of sex, politics, religion, or are just generally unwilling to share
very personal information with a virtual lifeform, then this game probably
isn't for you.  However if you go into it with an open mind, hoping just to
have fun and maybe learn some things about yourself and even about human
nature than you should love it.  Remember, though- Seaman is rated T for 
Teen for "Comic Mischief, Mild Language, and Suggestive Themes" per the 
ESRB, although I would've added Animated Violence on as well...  again, 
consider yourself duly warned!


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III.  GENERAL TIPS
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Before you begin playing with Seaman, you should at least read pages 12-23
of the instruction manual so that you can manuever around the aquarium and
also interact with your new pets.  

One thing the manual doesn't explain that well is that there are several 
key factors to making sure Seaman evloves as quickly as possible:

1) Keep Seaman happy-  Once your Seaman has a face, try to keep it smiling.
A happy Seaman will evolve for you much more quickly.

2) Attend to Seaman's daily needs as quickly as possible-  Every time you
enter the lab, Seaman will likely be cold, low on oxygen and hungry.  Be
sure you fix these levels before interacting with Seaman, or else he will
likely not respond or worse, could die.

3) Interact with Seaman regularly-  Early on, you'll only be able to
tickle or have one-sided conversations with Seaman, but later on he will
actually ask you questions.  If you ignore these, or don't spend time 
interacting with Seaman at all, he will not evolve!  You also don't need
to interact with every Seaman individually, just make sure at least one
is very happy and content with having interacted with you.

4) Allow time to pass-  You can do this in one of two ways.  If you simply
play the game, 1-2 times a day (2 is preferred, 3 is really unecessary, 
1 time a day is minimum), then you will generally have something new
happen every time you play.  You can also reset the dreamcast (hold down
A+B+X+Y and press start) after ending your session with Seaman, then go to
Settings, then Date/Time.  I generally played with Seaman between 09:30-
11:00 and then between 20:00-21:30.  When you've played with him at the
night time mode, simply change the day one day ahead then set the clock to
an AM time.  Doing this, I was able to beat Seaman over what would've been
about 2 weeks of real time in just 3 days.  Seaman's evolutionary stages
do require time to pass before he will evolve, however.

5) Pay attention to Leonard Nimoy-  Yes, Leonard Nimoy is the game's 
narrarator, and if you ever find yourself stuck he generally has pretty 
good advice on what to do next.  Also, he will often tell you when Seaman
is nearing an evolutionary change, so if you want no help whatsoever, you
might want to hit start to skip him when he says "If I may divulge the
schedule for today..." or something to that extent.

Other than those general tips, just try to have fun and enjoy the game.  
If nothing else, Seaman can be very intriguing to watch, as the
programmers spent a lot of time making his evolutionary cycle seem
realistic.  Also, be ready to undergo a psychological evaluation-
Seaman will eventually want to know everything about you (and I do mean
EVERYTHING), and he will offer some very interesting insight over the
course of his lifetime.  Try not to abuse this by lying to him, it can
be much more interesting to tell the truth and perhaps learn things 
about yourself you hadn't realized before!


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IV.  EVOLUTION
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///WARNING\\\ -- This section does contain detailed game SPOILERS, and may
take some of the fun out of scientifically observing and learning how to 
care for Seaman through trial and error.  Proceed at your own risk =)


*STAGE 1 - MUSHROOMER*

--Quick Profile--

The Mushroomer is a Seaman's first stage of evolution.  Having little
personality whatsoever and even less ability to interact with you, they
serve basically one purpose- to feed off the Nautilus and evolve into
their next stage.

--Stage Walkthrough--

The first thing you will be greeted with is the voice of your Narrarator, 
Leonard Nimoy.  He will be able to offer much advice and encouragement, and
will have something different to say after every step of the evolution of
your Seamen.  If you get stuck somewhere, the hints he give can often put
you on the right track, but to get advice you must first end your current
session through the Start button button menu then reset the system.  If you
reset 3 or more times a day, he will begin to question your visiting the 
tank so often, however!

After you have moved on to the aquarium, you will notice it is in a dismal
state- checking the levels of the tank, there is no air whatsoever and it 
is at 0 degrees Celsius!  The water is also thick and brown after years of
neglect.  Your first job should be to get the temperature of the aquarium
into a comfortable living range for the Seaman, somewhere between 15-19.9
degrees Celsius.  Too much below or above that is uncomfortable, and will
hinder the progress of your Seaman.  BEWARE THOUGH!  The analog nature of
the heater makes it very tricky to control, and once you start heating the
water it will heat very rapidly and you should let go of the up button to
keep from overheating it!  Also note that if you pass the 20.0 mark, there
is no way to cool the tank down besides letting time pass. Get the water to
25 degrees or beyond, and you could be sitting at the game for quite some
time before the water cool down sufficiently.  I suggest stopping when it
hits 15, then working your way slowly into the upper 19's.  

Next, simply adding air to the tank also effectively filters the water out,
which means you now have enough oxygen for your Seamen to breath and also
have a nice, clean living enviroment.  I suggest keeping the air level as
near 100% as possible, with the minimum being around 80%.

Finally, turn the lights on to see the glory that is your Seaman's new
home.  Now, you're ready to hatch Seaman!  Just access your storage matrix
and drop the egg into the tank.  Assuming you've kept it at peak condition
(15-19.9 degree temperature and 80-100% air level) then your egg should
hatch within 3-5 minutes of dropping it in the water.  If you zoom your 
view over the egg, you can see the cells dividing inside, and you know the
tank's settings are good if the egg bobs up and down in the water.

Once your egg hatches, you will have you first glimpse of a Seaman- the 
small and energetic Mushroomers!  The are basically just little balls with
tails, and have very little ability to interact at all.  Zooming in on 
them generally makes them "look" at you with a small black eye, and
besides picking them up you can really only tap on the glass to get them
to move towards you.  Their lifespan is only 4-5 days, so in that period
of time you must find a way for them to evolve...

If you've been checking with Nimoy, you will notice he mentions the
Nautilus quite often as "playing a key role" in the Mushroomer's evolution.
What you need to do now is zoom in on the Nautilus (it's the big spiral-
shaped shell) and "tap" on it with the right mouse button just like you 
would do with the glass.  Make sure the Nautilus is "shadowed" which 
indicates you have selected it under your cursor before you tap on it.  
After tapping it, zoom out to see if your Mushroomers are swimming towards
it.  If they have not, then simply tap several more times on the shell 
before they do.  Once your Mushroomers get close enough, the Nautilus
will come alive, revealing its squid-like form, and begin chasing down
and eating your Seamen!  Do not fear, however, because the Mushroomers are
essentially parasites, and the Nautilus is the only thing that will provide
them with the nutrition they need.  You can allow the Nautilus to eat as
many or as few of your Mushroomers as you wish, but they will all die soon
enough so at least 4 is recommended but he can eat all 8 without any
negative consequences.  

You know your Mushroomers are doing their job because the Nautilus will 
occasionally shoot off of the tank's floor, spewing ink in his wake.  This
tells you the Seamen inside of him are eating him up, giving themselves 
extra strength as well.  I have found that turning the lights off makes
them attack more aggressively, but I am not entirely sure.  Regardless,
after 2-4 minutes the Nautilus should start spitting the ink out more
quickly, signaling he is near death.  Finally the squid-like Nautilus
will retreat from the safety of its shell, letting you finally see its
full form.  For around 2 minutes it will writhe furiously, with ink and
blood flowing from its body, as the baby Seaman try to free themselves
from inside of it.  They will finally be shot towards you, revealing their
new form- the Gillman!


*STAGE 2 - GILLMAN*

--Quick Profile--

Seaman's second stage of evolution, the Gillman, has a very interesting
form.  As should be familiar to anyone who has seen the hilarious Seaman
commercial, this form has a fully formed human head attached to a small
translucent fish body!  Gillman starts out talking gibberish, but after
a short period of time will repeat words you say to it and eventually
speak full sentences.

--Stage Walkthrough--

Just some quick facts for now- Gillman can only respond to a few words
at first, as it usually only speaks a baby-sounding generally language
until around 2 days in this stage.  However, even the "baby" Gillmen
will respond to you if you say "English".  Try it several times, there
a some very funny responses!

Eventually, you Gillman will begin to repeat several words: a short 
list would include "Hello", "Play", "Fun", "Yes" and "No".  Experiment
to see what you can get it to say.

Your Gillmen will also feed off of eachother, slimming their numbers
down by natural selection.  This is necessary, and until the "Insect
Cage" is unlocked this will be the Gillman's only source of nutrition.

Once you get to around 2-4 Gillmen or after about 2-3 days, your
Gillman will begin speaking full sentences!  This only happens if you
constantly spoke to your Gillmen before, and if enough time has
passed.  You should notice this when you first enter the tank, as
they will begin demanding that you turn up the heater and add more
air!  

At some point, you will need to decide which one you like best
and say to it "I will give you a name".  It should say ok, and then
ask that you have it repeat its name 3 times.  After doing so, your
named Gillman should change to a bright gold color.  This helps you
to remember which one you named.  You should also be able to start
conversations with this Gillman by saying "Let's talk" or something
along those lines.  You'll know you did this right if instead of
it just responding the Gillman instead begins to ask you questions
and discussing different subjects.  You should be able to keep
saying "Let's talk" after he is done talking until he tells you that
he is done talking for the day, at which point you should set all the
levels to a comfortable point and end the session.


*STAGE 3 - PODMAN*

--Quick Profile--

The Podman is basically a Gillman that has grown tiny hands and legs.
Podman is the final stage of evolution for the aquatic Seaman, and
will open the way for amphibious Seamen to evolve.

--Stage Walkthrough--

More extensive guide to follow, but for now-- once you are down to just
two Podmen, they will end up mating.  The "male" Podman (although
neither really seems to be female) will end up dying.  If this was
your named Seaman, simply tell the surviving Podman "I will give you
a name" and it will change colors after going through the naming 
process again.  

At some point, your Podman will tell you that he can help you move
the big rock.  The only thing is you will have to answer a riddle
before he will help you, and will make you answer 3 successfully.
I will compile a list of as many questions and answers as I can 
find, but here are the couple I remember:

"What does a man who types for 6 days a week, 8 hours a day, over
6 months get?"  Answer: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome or Tendonitis

"If you're in a room with white walls, and one yellow light bulb
and one blue light bulb, what color are the walls?"  Answer: White

"What do you get if you drop a cat in a pool of water?"  Answer:
A Wet Cat

They're all basically trick questions, so generally the most
obvious answer won't be correct.

Once you get 3 right, you will reveal a drain in the tank, which
drains out all the water except for the deep portion in the lower-
right of the tank.  You now have a terrarium, and have opened the
way for amphibious Seamen to evlove.

Finally, your last Podman, the final survivor of your original 8
Mushroomers, will crawl to shore, lay 6 eggs, then pass away.
This part is actually very sad, as at this point you have bonded
with Seaman heavily, having answered many of its questions, and
hate to see it die.  However, look carefully at the eggs- there
are Tadmen in each and every one, Seaman's next step in 
evolution!


*STAGE 4 - TADMAN*

--Quick Profile--

The Tadmen are tiny, especially compared to how bloated your Podman
got before giving birth to them!  They do, however, have all the 
memories of your Podman, and you should give one a name so that you
can remember which one to play with and talk to every day.

--Stage Walkthrough--

Again, more coming soon...

Soon enough, your Tadmen will feed off of eachother, narrowing it 
down to just 2.  These 2 will begin to develop legs and feet again,
and will soon venture out onto dry land!  This marks the beginning
of the final form of Seaman evolution, the Frogman. 


*STAGE 5 - FROGMAN*

--Quick Profile--

Representing the highest level of Seaman evolution,  the Frogman shows 
just how far Seaman has evloved since you raised them from an egg. 
Frogman can walk around and even jump onto the side of the tank!

--Stage Walkthrough--

Just a brief guide of what to expect:

Frogmen unlock a new feature of the tank- a sprinkler system to keep
them moist that pops up over the old air grate.  They will complain that
they are too dry if you do not use this often enough.  Just like with Air,
keep the Sprinkler as close to 100% as possible.  Even though the heater is
as finicky and hard to control as ever, the Sprinkler is easy to use just 
like the Air vent was, and the water spray effect looks pretty cool too!

After much conversing with you, and some deep psychological evaluation,
your Frogman will tell you that he needs to leave the tank.  His story is
that back during the 3rd Dynasty of Egypt, he was the son of the King and
had fallen in love with a priest's daughter.  Their marriage was forbidden
because of the extreme class difference, but the priest prayed to Thoth,
the God of Wisdom, for them to be able to come together.  Thoth obligied, 
and made him into a fish while his true love was turned into a bird.  The 
parents of the two asked Thoth why this was done, and he replied that after
thousands of years they would evolve into their original states, and would
still have all their memories, so they could be reunited and finally be
together.

Seaman implores you to help him escape, because the only way he can 
continue to evolve is by getting outside.  Seaman says he thinks that pesky 
ring hanging from the upper-left of the tank (haven't you always wondered 
what that was for, it seems to be completely useless before this!) should 
be the key to getting out.  He will try to jump to it from the big rock, 
asking that you say "Jump!" for encouragment.  On his third try, he will
reach it and the back panel of the tank slides down, revealing a lush 
jungle outside.  Before Seaman leaves, he will tell you that he appreciates
all the attention you gave him, and that he will always be just outside if
you want to talk to him.  At this point, Seaman is independent, and the
game has effectively been "won".

Where's the required "Credits" sequence to indicate the games ending?  
Well, in one of the funniest twists in video game history, Seaman tells you
to tap on the glass for a surprise.  Sure enough, rythmically tapping the 
glass (at least twice a second to keep it going) causes a song to start 
playing, which your Seamen will dance to, and the credits will appear on
the screen.  However, if you do not tap fast enough or stop tapping, the
credits will stop as well!  It can be pretty torturous to make it all the
way through the credits, as it requires some serious tapping!  I didn't 
find anything special besides the music, dancing or credits, but perhaps
if you tapped long enough some sort of easter egg could be revealed...?



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V.  COMING SOON
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More in-depth info on the stage walkthroughs, as well as any other hints 
and tips I come up with after playing through the game several more times.

Any suggestions/comments/corrections are welcomed- just send them to:
[email protected]  and please include Seaman FAQ in the subject line.



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VI.  SPECIAL THANKS
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Thanks to Vivarium for bringing one of the most fun Dreamcast games yet
to America!  I never could've guessed this game would be translated and
brought here, but I am very glad you made the choice!

Thanks also to IGN.com's Dreamcast crew, who turned me on to the coolness
of raising a verbally abusive fish-man at home!  =P

Thanks to everyone reading this, I hope you enjoy the game as much as I 
have had playing it and writing this guide!

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VII.  LEGAL DISCLAIMER
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This FAQ is copyright 2000 by Brian Little.  Seaman is copyright 2000
Vivarium Inc.  Sega Dreamcast is copyright 1999 SEGA Enterprises, Ltd.
This FAQ is not associated with or endorsed by either Vivarium Inc. or SEGA
Enterprises, Ltd.  This FAQ may be freely distributed for noncommercial 
purposes only if it is not alterted in any way and the author is given due
credit.  You may not use this FAQ as source material for any other 
publication without express written consent of the author.  Author is not 
responsible for any damage caused to any animal, living or virtual, as a 
result of this FAQ.  No Seamen were intentionally harmed in the making of
this FAQ.




     
Extra special thanks to Revolution reader Xevo!