Software:Ben's Game

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Ben's Game
Ben's Game cover art
Developer(s)Eric Johnston
Publisher(s)Make-A-Wish Foundation
Designer(s)Ben Duskin
Eric Johnston
Platform(s)Windows, Macintosh
ReleaseMay 2004
Genre(s)Action
Mode(s)Single-player

Ben's Game is a video game about fighting cancer. The game was conceptualised in 2003 by Ben Duskin—an 8 year old United States boy in remission from leukemia—and was published by the Make-A-Wish Foundation in 2004.[1]

Plot

With a child patient as the hero miniaturized to microscopic level adventuring inside the child's own body, the object is to destroy all cancer cells and to collect the seven shields against common side effects of chemotherapy.[2][3] Each shield is guarded by a "monster"—an incarnation of one of those side effects. The game was designed so that the player character never loses or dies.[4][5]

Gameplay

Gameplay with the "Vamp monster" visible in the background

The gameplay can be described as a three-dimensional version of Asteroids, but instead of a ship, the player character is the child patient on a hoverboard.[4] The left and right arrow keys spin the direction of the ship, the up arrow accelerates and the down brakes. There are 4 weapons available: Sword, Crossbow, Blaster and Missile, each of them having different types of projectiles. The player also has built-in ammo.

The game objective is to destroy all of the mutated cells.[3] In addition, there are seven shields. Each shield protects against one of the common side effects of chemotherapy and is guarded by a "monster" that represents that side effect.[2] The seven monsters and side effects are as follows: Iceman monster (colds), Robarf monster (vomiting and nausea), Big Chicken monster (chicken pox), Fire monster (fever), Vamp monster (bleeding), Qball monster (hair loss), and the Tornado monster (rash.[6]) The player's ammunition consists of health (which comes from a hospital), ammo (which comes from a pharmacy), and attitude (which comes from home.[6])

The game also features camera control and a two-player mode. There are 12 characters and 6 boards available, however, it has a character/board creation feature, as the textures (and their "masks", which are white silhouettes that cut the black area, leaving only the character image to be seen) are normal JPEG files that can be copied and edited, to make new characters and/or boards.[5]

Development

When interviewed by Make-A-Wish, Ben's wish was to design a video game in which cancer cells were eaten to help other children visualize fighting their cancer and help them to cope with cancer treatments.[6][2] He remembered his oncologist telling him to think of chemotherapy as eating cancer cells. When Make-A-Wish first approached gaming companies - their requests to help create a cancer-fighting video game were denied. Make-a-Wish Executive Director Patricia Wilson was told that a video game would take upwards of US$1,000,000 and possibly years to create.[6] Ms. Wilson sought the help of her Board of Directors and within days the request to fulfill Ben's wish was posted on several gaming sites. Inquiries and offers to assist began immediately from game designers in the UK, Israel, Canada and the United States. One particular offer came from a Bay Area game designer who offered to spearhead the entire game design on one condition: that he have a chance to meet and work with Ben directly. Eric Johnston, a software engineer from LucasArts met with Ben weekly for 6 months and together, they created Ben's Game.[1][6] Ben's own pediatric oncologist served as medical adviser for the game upon condition that UCSF Children's Hospital be the first medical facility to have the game installed for children to play. The game was launched in May 2004[3] and as of September 2009, the game has been downloaded over 300,000 times by people all over the world.

Ben's Game is freeware, available for Mac and Windows systems, and is multilingual (with support for 9 languages.[3]) The game was made available online for free download[1] for a period of time.

Duskin and Johnston were awarded the "Unsung Hero of Compassion" by the Dalai Lama on 6 November 2005.[7]

Legacy

In 2007 another wish child, Jericho Rajninger, was inspired by Ben and Ben's Game and decided to use his wish to help other children as well. Jericho's wish, J.R. the Robot, delivers medication to children in the hospital.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 McWhertor, Michael (2013-12-14). "How one ex-game developer helped grant Batkid's wish to save Gotham City". https://www.polygon.com/2013/12/14/5208764/batman-eric-johnston-batkid-make-a-wish-san-francisco. Retrieved 2018-04-21. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Jones, Debra (2004-07-01). "Take That, Dastardly Disease". Wired. https://www.wired.com/2004/07/take-that-dastardly-disease/. Retrieved 2018-04-21. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Battling Illness One Joystick at a Time". MD Magazine. January 2007. http://www.mdmag.com/journals/mdng-primarycare/2007/jan2007/pc_battling_illness. Retrieved 2018-04-21. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Jerome, Richard; Dubin, Danielle (2004-08-23). "Can-Do Kids". People. http://people.com/archive/can-do-kids-vol-62-no-8/. Retrieved 2018-04-21. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Bogost, Ian (2005-09-27). "Event Wrap Up: Games for Health 2005". https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/130824/event_wrap_up_games_for_health_.php. Retrieved 2018-04-21. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Ball, Janet (2004-06-28). "Boy inspires cancer video game". BBC News Online (San Francisco). http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3839091.stm. Retrieved 2018-04-21. 
  7. ↑ Yollin, Patricia (2005-11-07). "11-year-old boy honored by Dalai Lama in S.F.". San Francisco Chronicle. https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/11-year-old-boy-honored-by-Dalai-Lama-in-S-F-2561795.php. Retrieved 2018-04-21. 
  • Ben's Game Make-a-Wish
  • 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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