Software:Africa Trail

From HandWiki
Short description: 1995 video game
Africa Trail
Cover art
Developer(s)MECC
Publisher(s)The Learning Company
Designer(s)Cherie Neima[1]
Platform(s)MacOS, Windows, Windows 3.x
Release1995
Genre(s)Adventure, educational, simulation, sports
Mode(s)Single-player

Africa Trail is an educational computer game developed by MECC and published by The Learning Company. The gameplay resembles that of MECC's other "Trail" games, in which players must prepare for a long journey, choose their traveling companions, and make it safely to their destination. In Africa Trail, players must travel across Africa via bicycle.[2] The game includes a Multimedia Resource Tool to allow players to make their own journal and presentation of the journey.[3]

Start

The object of the game is to make it to Cape Agulhas, South Africa in a limited number of days. First the player must pick a route, going for the longer route from Bizerte, Tunisia or two shorter routes from Lagos, Nigeria or Nairobi, Kenya. Next the player must pick three out of six possible teammates for the team. Teammates differ by profession, skills, biking experience, travel experience, and trek preferences. Certain teammates will make the journey easier and more likely to reach the final destination in good time. The player's team will start with a bike each, basic supplies and money to buy food, additional supplies and lodging. Then the player needs to buy spare parts for the bikes. The player can carry up to 300 pounds worth of items.

The Trail

Before the player can enter a new country, visas stamps are required on the passports, which can be obtained in large or capital cities, otherwise the player will be forced to backtrack. Visas cost money and take a number of days to be registered. Communication with the locals varies depending on the language qualifications of player's teammates. The bike team will need to eat and rest from time to time.

Food can be purchased in the form of groceries (which are cheaper and last longer, but do not nourish much) or meals (which adequately nourish, but spoil after a short time and are more expensive) to feed the bike team. Additional bike parts can also be purchased to make bike repairs. Accommodations are provided in lodgings to allow the bike team to rest. Prices will vary depending on locality and on the currency the player uses. Purchases can be directly bought, bargained for, or purchased using a credit card. Everything bought adds to the weight packed. The player cannot exceed the maximum weight the bike team can carry.

The bike team's travel depends on their health and morale levels (the player does not have a morale level). Health decreases should a teammate sustain injuries, catch some health problem along the journey, or go hungry. If health runs out, the player or teammate must be sent home. Morale decreases when a teammate finds the player's decisions unreliable and loses hope of completing the journey. If morale runs out, the teammate will leave the team.

Design

Development

The game makes use of over 1,000 photos and two dozen video clips obtained from a 12,000 mile trek across Africa by world-famous cyclists,[4] including Dan Buettner,[5] who made his "Africatrek" in 1992.[6]

MECC offered Washington Apple Pi members a special 5-pack CD-ROM collection of their adventure games, including this title.[7]

Educational goals

The game shows players the different cultures and travel routes in Africa.[8] The topics covered in the game include Geography, History, People and Cultural Diversity. In addition the game teaches the importance of careful decision making and managing available resources as well the hardships of Third-World countries.[9]

Reception

Critical reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGameStarStarStarStar[10]
MacUserStarStarStarStarHalf star[11]

World Village wrote that the game was "best suited as a tool to supplement African social studies", as many school children within the target age group would not have sufficiently learned about Africa at that point in their lives.[12] AllGameGuide said the game "simulates the feel of a bike trip well", but added "it is less adept at showing players the people of Africa. You may get a feel for the people and culture, but the information is really no more than a superficial glimpse".[10] Children's software reviewer Warren Buckleitner praised the game for its detail but felt it did not meet the quality of Oregon Trail II.[5] H-Net felt it was far superior to The Oregon Trail.[13] The Orlando Sentinel felt the game allowed players to test their critical thinking skills.[14] The Boston Globe noted the game lets players explore the life of Africa.[15] MacUser praised the game's graphics and music.[16]

Promotion

The game was previewed at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 1995.[17]

References

  1. ↑ Robert Bilyk (1996). "eLearning that Goes Beyond Text and Graphics". THE Journal (Public Sector Media Group). https://thejournal.com/articles/2005/09/01/elearning-that-goes-beyond-text-and-graphics.aspx. Retrieved September 20, 2018. 
  2. ↑ Scisco, Peter (December 19, 1995). "1995 Holiday Gift Guide". PC Magazine (Ziff Davis) 14 (22): 347. https://books.google.com/books?id=zZluSj3AT6YC&pg=PA347. 
  3. ↑ "TLC - Africa Trail". http://store.softkey.com:80/product/africatrail/index.html. 
  4. ↑ "Africa Trail - MECC's simulation game". February 1, 1996. https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-17986332.html. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "A Veritable Gush of Children's Software awaits you" (in en-US). The Boston Globe. December 17, 1995. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/441076975/. 
  6. ↑ Olga R. Kuharets (2001) (in en). Venture Into Cultures. American Library Association. p. 4. ISBN 9780838935132. https://archive.org/details/ventureintocultu00olga. 
  7. ↑ "Washington Apple Pi September 1995 General Meeting". https://www.wap.org/meetings/GM0995.html. 
  8. ↑ The College of New Jersey (1996). TECH-NJ Winter 1996, Vol. 7, No. 1. p. 9. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED435143.pdf. Retrieved September 19, 2018. 
  9. ↑ Holzberg, Carol S. (March 1996). "Exploring World Cultures". Cengage Learning. https://www.questia.com/magazine/1G1-18237466/exploring-world-cultures. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Karen Savignano, Lisa. "Africa Trail Review - Allgame". Allgame. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=17688&tab=review. 
  11. ↑ Myslewski, Rik; Shatz-Akin, Jim (September 1996). "The Two Dads". MacUser (Ziff Davis) 12 (9): 110. http://vintageapple.org/macuser/pdf/MacUser_9609_September_1996.pdf. 
  12. ↑ "Africa Trail". Worldvillage.com. http://worldvillage.com/wv/school/html/reviews/africa.htm. 
  13. ↑ "Sheldon on, 'Africa Trail' | H-Africa | H-Net". https://networks.h-net.org/node/28765/reviews/32870/sheldon-africa-trail. 
  14. ↑ Staff, Darryl E. Owens of The Sentinel (20 December 1996). "A GUIDE TO KIDS CD-ROMS" (in en-US). https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1996-12-20-9612190387-story.html. 
  15. ↑ "The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts on December 17, 1995 · 66" (in en). 17 December 1995. http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/441076975/. 
  16. ↑ "Mac User. September 1996". https://vintageapple.org/macuser/pdf/MacUser_9609_September_1996.pdf. 
  17. ↑ David English (May 29, 1995). "Live and Learn". http://www.davidenglish.com/articles/smart17.html. 
  • 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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