Software:A City Sleeps

From HandWiki
Short description: 2014 video game
A City Sleeps
Steam store card
Developer(s)Harmonix
Publisher(s)Harmonix
EngineUnity[1]
Platform(s)Windows, Mac OS X
ReleaseOctober 16, 2014
Genre(s)Scrolling shooter
Mode(s)Single-player

A City Sleeps is a horizontally scrolling shooter video game developed by Harmonix for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X on October 16, 2014.

Gameplay

A City Sleeps is a horizontally scrolling twin-stick shooter. The player controls Poe, a dream exorcist that enters the nightmares of the citizens of SanLo City to help free them of a force that controls the city. The player moves Poe around the screen with one controller stick and aims her weapon with the other to dodge the torrent of bullets the nightmare forces fire at her and defeat them with her own weapon. The player can also move Poe close to a foe, risking more damage from their bullets but allowing Poe to defeat the foe with a sword, which helps to build a special meter. Once this meter is full, the player can then trigger a special attack that affects all the enemies on the screen.[2][3] The patterns of the appearance of enemies and when they fire are tightly connected to the game's soundtrack, reflecting on Harmonix' past expertise in rhythm game development.[1][4]

In addition to her own abilities, Poe has a trio of "ghosts" that accompany her and that can be attached to special nodes located on the levels. Each ghost has a unique ability: one can heal Poe, another can shoot its own bullets, and the third can drain health from enemies trapped nearby. The type of node will affect how these abilities work; for example, the health-generating ghost on some nodes may end up firing health bullets that Poe can take to restore health, while other nodes may create a health restoration field near the node. The player can swap ghosts and nodes at any time, though foes will continue to fire on Poe during this process.[2]

Development and release

A City Sleeps was developed by a part of Harmonix' team that worked on their first-person music-based shooter, Chroma. The title was revealed at the 2014 PAX Prime convention.[2]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic61/100[5]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Destructoid5.5/10[6]
Game Informer8/10[7]
GameSpot5/10[8]
JoystiqStarStarStar[9]
Polygon6/10[10]
Shacknews7/10[11]
Slant Magazine(average)[12]

A City Sleeps received "mixed or average" reviews, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[5]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Miller, Matt (August 29, 2014). "A City Sleeps". Game Informer (GameStop). https://www.gameinformer.com/games/a_city_sleeps/b/pc/archive/2014/08/29/an-in-depth-look-at-the-new-harmonix-shoot-em-up.aspx. Retrieved August 29, 2014. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sliva, Marty (August 28, 2014). "PAX 2014: A City Sleeps is Harmonix's Anime Take on Geometry Wars". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2014/08/28/pax-2014-a-city-sleeps-is-harmonixs-anime-take-on-geometry-wars. Retrieved August 28, 2014. 
  3. ↑ McWhertor, Michael (August 28, 2014). "Harmonix is making a musical shoot 'em up called A City Sleeps". Vox Media. https://www.polygon.com/2014/8/28/6079183/harmonix-a-city-sleeps-shoot-em-up. Retrieved August 28, 2014. 
  4. ↑ Matulef, Jeffery (August 28, 2014). "Harmonix announces rhythmic shmup A City Sleeps". Gamer Network. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-08-28-harmonix-announces-rhythmic-shmup-a-city-sleeps. Retrieved August 28, 2014. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "A City Sleeps for PC Reviews". CBS Interactive. https://www.metacritic.com/game/a-city-sleeps/critic-reviews/?platform=pc. Retrieved January 11, 2018. 
  6. ↑ Rowen, Nic (October 21, 2014). "Review: A City Sleeps". Enthusiast Gaming. https://www.destructoid.com/review-a-city-sleeps-282861.phtml. Retrieved January 11, 2018. 
  7. ↑ Vore, Bryan (October 16, 2014). "A City Sleeps: Songs Of The Dead". Game Informer (GameStop). https://www.gameinformer.com/games/a_city_sleeps/b/pc/archive/2014/10/16/a-city-sleeps-review-game-informer.aspx. Retrieved January 11, 2018. 
  8. ↑ Brown, Peter (October 21, 2014). "A City Sleeps Review". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/a-city-sleeps-review/1900-6415920/. Retrieved January 11, 2018. 
  9. ↑ Cowan, Danny (October 16, 2014). "A City Sleeps review: Bullet purgatory". Oath Inc.. https://www.engadget.com/2014/10/16/a-city-sleeps-review-bullet-purgatory/. Retrieved July 7, 2019. 
  10. ↑ Kollar, Philip (October 17, 2014). "A City Sleeps review: wake up call". Vox Media. https://www.polygon.com/2014/10/17/6991673/a-city-sleeps-review-pc-harmonix. Retrieved January 11, 2018. 
  11. ↑ Wong, Steven (October 20, 2014). "A City Sleeps Review: A Beautiful Nightmare". https://www.shacknews.com/article/86790/a-city-sleeps-review-a-beautiful-nightmare. Retrieved January 11, 2018. 
  12. ↑ Riccio, Aaron (October 24, 2014). "Review: A City Sleeps". Slant Magazine LLC. https://www.slantmagazine.com/games/review-a-city-sleeps/. Retrieved July 7, 2019. 
  • Official website
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. 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 sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} 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).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

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

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ 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. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "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/. 
  14. ↑ "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/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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