Software:Blackwell Unbound

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Blackwell Unbound
Developer(s)Wadjet Eye Games
Publisher(s)Wadjet Eye Games
Designer(s)Dave Gilbert
Artist(s)Erin Robinson
Composer(s)Thomas Regin
SeriesBlackwell
EngineAdventure Game Studio
Platform(s)Windows, Android, iOS, Linux, macOS
ReleaseSeptember 4, 2007 (Windows)
2014 (ports)
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Blackwell Unbound is a 2007 graphic adventure game developed and published by Wadjet Eye Games. It is the sequel to The Blackwell Legacy, and the second entry in the Blackwell series.

Plot

The second game is a prequel to Legacy and follows the investigations of Rosa's aunt Lauren Blackwell and Joey back in the 70s. They investigate two ghosts – a murdered saxophone player and a murdered woman haunting a construction site of her old apartment building. While investigating the two seemingly unrelated incidents, Lauren discovers that both ghosts have been murdered by the same elderly, homeless woman that calls herself The Countess. She claims that she is a medium like Lauren and is also helping the people move on. However, because she is targeting humans who are still alive as opposed to actual ghosts, it quickly becomes clear that she is mad and needs to be stopped. The duo tries to catch her multiple times, but Lauren, being a chain smoker, is unable to keep up with the surprisingly agile old woman, and the Countess escapes every time.

Lauren and Joey are puzzled by The Countess' claims about being a medium, due to the obvious lack of a spirit guide accompanying her. The two eventually learn that the Countess is using New Yorker journalist Joseph Mitchell as a spirit guide substitute and kills whoever he writes about. Mitchell eventually made the connection himself, and stopped writing altogether out of fear of getting anyone else killed. Lauren then convinces Mitchell to write about her to lure The Countess out of hiding. The Countess arrives at Lauren's apartment, and attempts to kill Lauren by choking her. Lauren eventually overpowers the Countess by tossing her off of her balcony. After her near-death experience, Lauren decides to get in touch with her estranged brother again, despite Joey's misgivings about it.[1]

Development

As with Legacy, Unbound uses the Adventure Game Studio engine. Unbound was originally supposed to be a flashback sequence in the next game, The Blackwell Convergence, but it grew so large that it became a game in its own right.

The story features a real person as a character: writer Joseph Mitchell of the New Yorker.

The game was released on September 4, 2007 for Windows. Ports for other platforms were released in 2014.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
GameRankings85%[2]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Adventure GamersStarStarStarHalf star[3]
GameZone8.5/10[4]
Just AdventureA[5]
GameZeboStarStarStarHalf star[6]

The game was nominated for Best Story and won Best Music in the AGS Awards for games released in 2007.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Wadjet Eye Games (4 September 2007). Blackwell Unbound. PC. 
  2. ↑ "Blackwell Unbound for PC". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on October 1, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131001221228/http://www.gamerankings.com/pc/942386-blackwell-unbound/index.html. Retrieved September 27, 2018. 
  3. ↑ "Blackwell Unbound review". October 2007. https://adventuregamers.com/articles/view/18102. 
  4. ↑ "Blackwell Unbound review - Blackwell Unbound Review | GameZone". http://www.gamezone.com/products/blackwell-unbound/reviews/blackwell-unbound-review. 
  5. ↑ "Blackwell Unbound Review: Just Adventure - Reviews Walkthroughs and AdventureNews!". http://justadventure.com/reviews/BlackwellUnbound/BU.shtm. 
  6. ↑ "Blackwell Unbound Review | Gamezebo". http://www.gamezebo.com/games/blackwell-unbound/review. 
  7. ↑ [1]
  • 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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