Software:Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur

From HandWiki
Short description: Interactive fiction video game
Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur
Developer(s)Challenge, Inc.[1]
Publisher(s)Infocom
Designer(s)Bob Bates
Artist(s)Darrell Myers
Tanya Isaacson
Sophie Green
EngineZ-machine
Platform(s)Amiga, Apple II, DOS, Macintosh
ReleaseAmiga, Mac: June 6, 1989
Apple II: June 22, 1989
MS-DOS: July 14, 1989
Genre(s)Interactive fiction
Mode(s)Single-player

Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur is an illustrated interactive fiction video game written by Bob Bates and published by Infocom in 1989. It was released for the Apple II, Amiga, Macintosh, and IBM PC compatibles. Atypically for an Infocom product, it shows illustrations of locations, characters and objects within the game. It is Infocom's thirty-fourth game and is the second of two Infocom games developed by Challenge using Infocom's development tools.[1]

Plot

An example of gameplay in the Amiga version. The player has inputted the letter "s" for "south", indicating that they intend to move into the southward tavern described in the text.

The player assumes the role of a young Arthur, before the legendary days of Camelot. The "sword in the stone" (which in the legends was not Excalibur, but is often confused with Excalibur by people unfamiliar with the legends) that would signify Arthur's destiny to rule, has been stolen by the evil King Lot. In the quest to regain the sword, the player must prove to Merlin that he has the qualities needed to be a great king: chivalry, experience, and wisdom. Merlin assists Arthur by giving him periodic advice as well as the power to transform into animals, but also tells Arthur that unless Excalibur is recovered within three days, Lot will usurp his destiny as a king of legendary stature.

Feelies

Although Arthur was one of the last interactive fiction games Infocom released before closing, the packaging still included a modest attempt at the extra objects, or feelies, that had been a long-standing tradition for the company. The package for Arthur contained a copy of a Book of Hours, which explains the Canonical hours such as Matins, Lauds and Vespers. The book also contains a poem, lines of which are used as passwords in the game as a form of copy protection.

Production

Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur was the second Infocom game to be developed by another company, Challenge Inc, published by Infocom in their "Immortal Legends" genre.[1] The only other game published in this line was the 1987 release Sherlock, also written by Bates. By the time of Arthur's release, Infocom had stopped rating their games in terms of difficulty. Arthur roughly corresponds to the level of their previous "Standard" games.

Reception

The Amiga version of Arthur was met with critical acclaim. Zzap! praised the game's puzzles, graphics, vocabulary and parser, and noted the "odd touch of humour".[2] Paul Rigby of The Games Machine also commended the parser and text, and stated that the ability to transform into animals aided the inventiveness of the puzzles.[3] Keith Campbell of Computer & Video Games personally ranked the game as among the best from Infocom, and cited the added intrigue lent to the game's puzzles by the transformation feature.[4] Nick Walkland of Amiga Format was impressed by the game's graphics and felt that they made the game "atmospherically supreme". He also noted that some of the game's puzzles were "brain-tickling", yet not "especially devilish".[5] Advanced Computer Entertainment commended the game's detailed graphics and high-quality parser and text.[6] Lucinda Orr of Amiga Computing lauded the help menu as the "best help system in the world", the parser as "very good" and the graphics as "pleasing throughout".[7] Commodore User stated that the game's transformation mechanic led to "nicely constructed" logic puzzles and humor.[8] Andy Mitchell of Amiga Action was pleased by the game's mapping facility and colorful graphics, and cited the transformation feature as "great fun".[9]

Scorpia of Computer Gaming World deemed the Apple II version "Infocom's most poorly produced game ever", criticizing the high number of disk swaps (sometimes to print a single sentence or to redraw the automap) and the "mediocre" Apple II graphics.[10]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Extending Experiences: Structure, Analysis and Design of Computer Game by Olli Leino, Hanna Wirman, Amyris Fernandez
  2. ↑ "Arthur". Zzap!. October 1989. https://archive.org/details/zzap64-magazine-054/page/n29. 
  3. ↑ Paul Rigby (October 1989). "Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur". The Games Machine. p. 72. http://amr.abime.net/review_5095. 
  4. ↑ Keith Campbell (October 1989). "Arthur". Computer & Video Games. p. 97. https://archive.org/stream/cvg-magazine-095/CVG_095_Oct_1989#page/n96/mode/1up. 
  5. ↑ Nick Walkland (October 1989). "Arthur". Amiga Format. p. 87. http://amr.abime.net/review_6032. 
  6. ↑ "Arthur". Advanced Computer Entertainment. September 1989. p. 52. https://archive.org/stream/ace-magazine-24/ACE_Issue_24_1989_Sep#page/n51/mode/1up. 
  7. ↑ Lucinda Orr (November 1989). "Arthur - The Quest". Amiga Computing. p. 22. http://amr.abime.net/review_24518. 
  8. ↑ "Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur". Commodore User. September 1989. p. 60. https://archive.org/stream/commodore-user-magazine-72/Commodore_User_Issue_72_1989_Sep#page/n59/mode/1up. 
  9. ↑ Andy Mitchell (October 1989). "King Arthur". Amiga Action. pp. 64–65. http://amr.abime.net/review_24788. 
  10. ↑ Scorpia (September 1989). "Scorpion's Tale". Computer Gaming World (63): 40. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_63.pdf. Retrieved 17 April 2016. 
  • 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. 
  • No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.

Template:Atari





Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Software:Arthur:_The_Quest_for_Excalibur&oldid=753204"