Software:3D Construction Kit

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3D Construction Kit
Cover art
Developer(s)Incentive Software
Publisher(s)Domark, Incentive Software
Programmer(s)
  • Paul Gregory
  • Sean Ellis
Artist(s)
  • Eugene Messina
  • Chris Andrew
  • Ian Andrew
  • Kevin Parker[1]
EngineFreescape
Platform(s)Acorn Archimedes, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, ZX Spectrum
Release
  • EU: 29 May 1991
[2]
Genre(s)Game creation system
Mode(s)Single-player

3D Construction Kit (United States , Canada and Israel release title: Virtual Reality Studio), also known as 3D Virtual Studio, is a utility for creating 3D worlds in Freescape. Developed by Incentive Software and published by Domark, it was released in 1991 on multiple platforms. The game originally retailed for £24.99 for the 8-bit version, and £49.99 for 16-bit version and the 32-bit Acorn Archimedes version,[3] in the United Kingdom . A sequel, 3D Construction Kit II, was released in 1992, but only available on Amiga, Atari ST and MS-DOS.

Features

Church created using 3D Construction Kit

Incentive Software had released games using the Freescape engine before, but with 3D Construction Kit, the company took the concept to a whole new level, giving users the ability to create their own worlds and games. In 3D Construction Kit, interaction with the world is usually limited to a cursor controlled with the keyboard, offering the possibility of interaction with nearby objects.

The kit has a very simple graphical user interface, allowing users to create and manipulate objects within the game's 3D environment. Primitives such as cubes, cuboids and pyramids can be easily created and edited to be scaled and placed on the 3D world. Colours can be selected for individual elements, making the free roaming worlds more varied and complex. The user-created virtual world is divided into areas, reducing the processing power required to render objects. The areas can be as large as the memory allows.

Animations may also be added to the primitives, either by looping or simple moving attributes to objects, to create simple, although seemingly advanced, animations.

In order to make games rather than worlds, 3D Construction Kit also allows for the addition of conditions, using the very simple-to-program Freescape Command Language (FCL). Sensors, animations and interactivity with the elements can be added with relative ease. Players are able to move around the virtual worlds by walking or flying. Elements such as proximity sensors triggering events, enemies making the player appear in another zone of the game when hit, and the ability to activate switches in order to open doors, make the worlds created with 3D Construction Kit come to life and add a level of uncertainty to the gameplay.

The interface of the game is customisable; by adding a 320×200, 16-colour IFF screen created with any image editing program, the games created with this tool could be made to look more professional.

Freescape Command Language

3D Construction Kit employs the Freescape Command Language (FCL), which allows functions to be performed when certain conditions occur within the Freescape environment. On 16-bit versions, these commands can be used in any of three places:

  • Object conditions: executed when some kind of interaction with the specified object takes place
  • Area conditions: executed each frame while the viewpoint is within the confines of the specified area
  • General conditions: executed every frame regardless of the viewpoint position.

The 8-bit versions do not allow the creation of object conditions, but add procedures – conditions that can be executed from general or area conditions but are not otherwise triggered by the game engine.

Although the 8-bit and 16-bit versions of the language are similar, they are not interchangeable.

Sound

The 16-bit 3D Construction Kit has a standard sound bank which can store up to 32 sounds. Sounds 0–6 are predefined. These are: "00 Laser out", "01 Shooter", "02 Bump", "03 Explosion", "04 Ping", "05 Smash" and "06 Clang". The user can add up to 26 other sounds of their choosing.

The 8-bit version has a sound bank of 12 predefined sounds.

Ports

3D Construction Kit was originally released for the Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum and Acorn Archimedes in May 1991.[2] It was later adapted for numerous other platforms, including versions for the Amiga, Atari ST, PC as well as the Commodore 64 and Commodore 128.

The different versions of the game varied slightly in their user interface, which was progressively improved with each successive release. The 3D Construction Kit packages came with a 30-minute video tape, featuring an introduction and a tutorial presented by Ian Andrew, the original designer of the Freescape system.[4] 3D Construction Kit is available in five language editions: English, German, French, Spanish and Italian.

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
Your Sinclair92% (ZX Spectrum)[5]
Your Commodore100% (C64)[6]

The ZX Spectrum version was critically acclaimed, receiving 92% from Your Sinclair[5] and a Crash Smash from CRASH.[7] The Commodore 64 version received a 100% rating from Your Commodore. The Amiga version received scores above 90% by three magazines: The One,[8] Amiga Format and Amiga Action.[9] Computer Gaming World was much less positive, warning that the PC version "is not for the fainthearted or the boot-up-and-play-without-looking-at-the-manual crowd". The magazine criticized the software only providing one large precreated object and the inability to reuse elements from the sample provided game, and stated that "the Freescape world itself [is] unsatisfying ... a heartless and barren place ... long abandoned by all forms of life". It concluded, "Users with no interest in programming are advised to stay well away".[10]

References

  1. ↑ Hall of Light: 3D Construction Kit
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "What’s Out and When". Games-X (Europress Interactive) (5): 6. 24 May 1991. https://archive.org/details/games-x-uk/GamesX_UK_05/page/n5/mode/2up. Retrieved 27 September 2023. 
  3. ↑ Miller, Rob (March 1992). "A New Dimension". Acorn User: 119.  (The price is listed here as £42.55 plus VAT, which at the time was 17.5%, for a total of £49.99.)
  4. ↑ 3D Construction Kit Tutorial VHS Video - YouTube
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Leach, James (August 1991). "3D Construction Kit". Your Sinclair (Future Publishing) (68): 14. http://www.ysrnry.co.uk/articles/3dconstructionkit.htm. Retrieved 2006-06-24. 
  6. ↑ Taylor, Richard (September 1991). "3D Construction Kit - Review". Your Commodore (Alphavite Publications) (83): 50–51. https://archive.org/stream/83-your-commodore-magazine/Your_Commodore_Issue_83_1991_Sep#page/n49. 
  7. ↑ Roberts, Nick (May 1991). "3D Construction Kit". CRASH (88): 39. http://www.crashonline.org.uk/88/3dck.htm. 
  8. ↑ "3D Construction Kit review from the One for Amiga Games 33 (Jun 1991) - Amiga Magazine Rack". http://amr.abime.net/review_5303. 
  9. ↑ "3D Construction Kit review from Amiga Action 22 (Jul 1991) - Amiga Magazine Rack". http://amr.abime.net/review_6097. 
  10. ↑ Smith, Charles A. (August 1992). "A Look at Domark's Virtual Reality Studio". Computer Gaming World (97): 60. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1992&pub=2&id=97. Retrieved 3 July 2014. 
  • Short description: Video game database
MobyGames
Logo since March 2014
Screenshot
Frontpage as of April 2012
Type of site
Gaming
Available inEnglish
OwnerAtari SA
Websitemobygames.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional
LaunchedJanuary 30, 1999; 26 years ago (1999-01-30)
Current statusOnline

MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] The site is supported by banner ads and a small number of people paying to become patrons.[2] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It is currently owned by Atari SA.

Content

The database began with games for IBM PC compatibles. After two years, consoles such as the PlayStation, were added. Older console systems were added later. Support for arcade video games was added in January 2014 and mainframe computer games in June 2017.[3]

Edits and submissions go through a leisurely verification process by volunteer "approvers". The approval process can range from immediate (minutes) to gradual (days or months).[4] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copyediting.[5]

Registered users can rate and review any video game. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own subforum.

History

Logo used until March 11, 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999 by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, then joined by David Berk 18 months later, three friends since high school.[6] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience.

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[7] This was announced to the community post factum and a few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.

On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San-Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[8] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel.[9]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[10] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[11][12]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ "MobyGames Stats". https://www.mobygames.com/moby_stats. 
  2. ↑ "MobyGames Patrons". http://www.mobygames.com/info/patrons. 
  3. ↑ "New(ish!) on MobyGames – the Mainframe platform.". Blue Flame Labs. 18 June 2017. http://www.mobygames.com/forums/dga,2/dgb,3/dgm,237200/. 
  4. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  5. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/32856/Report_MobyGames_Acquired_By_GameFly_Media.php. 
  8. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  9. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/207882/Game_dev_database_MobyGames_getting_some_TLC_under_new_owner.php. 
  10. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  11. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site’s Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  12. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 



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