Software:B-17 Flying Fortress (video game)

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B-17 Flying Fortress
North American cover art
Developer(s)Vektor Grafix
Publisher(s)MicroProse
Designer(s)Mike Brunton
Programmer(s)Graeme Baird
Ian Martin
Dominic Robinson
Terry Spencer
Artist(s)Dean Betton
Mark Griffiths
Composer(s)John Broomhall
Release1992 (DOS)
1993 (Amiga, Atari ST)
Genre(s)Air combat simulation
Mode(s)Single-player

B-17 Flying Fortress: World War II Bombers in Action is a combat flight simulation video game developed by Vektor Grafix and published by MicroProse for the PC MS-DOS in 1992 and for the Amiga and Atari ST in 1993. The game simulates training, combat missions and sorties in a tour of duty in the Eighth Air Force of the United States Army Air Forces in the European Theater of Operations aboard a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber during World War II. It was followed by B-17 Flying Fortress in 2000.

Gameplay

Manning a machine gun turret.

Some aspects that the player has control over are inflight crew management (a crewman might become injured during combat and temporary medical aid inflight given to him whilst another aircrewmen tends another crew position), manning an onboard .50 caliber M2 Browning machine gun against enemy fighters, and releasing the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress's ordnance on the target as well as piloting or copiloting the plane. All ten aircrew positions could be controlled either manually or under AI control. The main character and captain is the primary pilot. His successes, failures, capture, injury or death affects the direction and conclusion of the campaign.

The player can pick out their chosen bomber with its particular nose art and was shown target briefing information and briefing films in the simulation before entering on any mission with the crew. A map of the flight path and waypoints was also shown in the simulation. Although a mission is assigned to the crew before every sortie, the player may break formation and roam freely around Europe if desired, looking for and attacking targets of opportunity. Different targets can easily be discerned from the bombsight, whether a factory or a U-boat pen; terrain graphics are minimal. The success of this decision relies on the skill of the crew, particularly if the navigator is skilled enough to navigate Europe on his own and the crew is able to withstand stronger Luftwaffe fighter and ground defense Flak attacks due to being alone. The most difficult but prestigious targets were the Nazi strongholds in and around Berlin.

If the player's B-17 is severely damaged, the player may drop out of the formation and continue the mission on one's own or attempt to return to England, in which one can land on any Allied runway and be taken back to the home base at Alconbury. The player is unable to damage one's own plane using the onboard guns, but dropping bombs at a low altitude would destroy the plane. The player is also able to shoot down ally Flying Fortresses, as an act of friendly fire. An ill-timed shooting of a Luftwaffe fighter could cause the enemy to lose control and collide with one's B-17 or others in the formation.

The game's graphics are very simple (MCGA and VGA) and the requirements are meager when running on an antiquated IBM PC compatible computer; an Intel 80286 microprocessor based (or comparable AMD) based PC is required at 16 MHz with DOS 5.0 (a sound card is desirable). However a 80386 or better microprocessor is recommended for this software with at least 640k of RAM. The PC version came out in several floppy disk media types (5- 5.25" high density disks), compact floppy disks, 4–3.5" high density disks) and CD-ROM versions.

Development and release

One of the technical advisors to the development of the simulation was Major Joseph N. Worsley (USAAF, Retired) one of the top bombardiers in the USAAF trained in the use of the Norden as well as Sperry bombsights on Boeing B-29s. Dominic Robinson, technical director for the sequel B-17 Flying Fortress also was listed in the software credits for the original title.

B-17 Flying Fortress came with a 230-page manual which details how to play the simulation, in addition to an in-depth historical section with numerous illustrations and photographs. The simulation also included a keyboard overlay so that the function of keys on the players keyboard would not be so confusing during gameplay. For a while B-17 Flying Fortress (DOS version only) was released with permission as freeware by MicroProse on the Internet website bombs-away.net.

Its sequel came out in the year 2000 and B-17 Flying Fortress as freeware was made into a Microsoft Windows 9x running application from the DOS based version for the PC platform. Shockwave Productions has since bought the rights to the code.

Reception

Computer Gaming World criticized the poor documentation and inability to start other than in November 1943 even after finishing a 25-mission tour. The magazine concluded that while the game "points the way for future designs in the genre with its character-based approach ... It will not, however, satisfy those who expect a comprehensive, flexible treatment of the subject".[1] A 1993 survey in the magazine of wargames gave the game three stars out of five, stating that "bomber operations are inherently dull ... and this simulation more than covers the topic".[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Shefski, William J. (January 1993). "MicroProse UK's B-17 Flying Fortress". Computer Gaming World: 148. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1993&pub=2&id=102. Retrieved 5 July 2014. 
  2. ↑ Brooks, M. Evan (September 1993). "Brooks' Book of Wargames: 1900-1950, A-P". Computer Gaming World: 118. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1993&pub=2&id=110. Retrieved 30 July 2014. 
  • 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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