Software:Blade Runner (1985 video game)

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Blade Runner
Developer(s)Andy Stodart
Ian Foster
Publisher(s)CRL Group PLC
Platform(s)Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC
Release1985
Genre(s)Shoot 'em up
Mode(s)Single-player

Blade Runner is a video game loosely inspired by the 1982 film Blade Runner, but is technically based on the film soundtrack by Vangelis as the publishers were unable to obtain a licence for a film tie-in. The game was published in 1985 by CRL Group PLC for Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, and Amstrad CPC. Reviews of the game were mostly negative.

Plot

The plot of the game is similar to the associated movie. Replidroids (sic for replicants), designed for use in space, have been banned from Earth following a revolt on a colony. The role of eliminating any replidroids found on earth is given to a unit of bounty hunters.[1]

Gameplay

ZX Spectrum screenshot

The game features the player character hunting down replicants for bounty money.[2] On loading the game, the player has to listen to around two minutes of music from the movie soundtrack without any ability to skip the sequence.[1] Author Will Brooker notes that due to the computers' sonic limitations, the "grandiose swoops and fanfares" of the soundtrack were reduced to "a tinny one-channel burble".[3]

The game first presents the player with a map showing the locations of the fugitive replicants and the player's flying car, which must be steered over a droid on the map. At this point the game switches to a side scrolling game in which the player must avoid crowds and cars whilst in pursuit of the replicant.[4] As the levels increase, so does the level of the replicants. The first level replicants are slow and stupid, but the sixth level ones are faster than a human.[5]

Development and release

The game is "inspired by the Vangelis soundtrack" of the 1982 Blade Runner movie. The publisher was unable to obtain rights to the actual movie, so the game was instead said to be based on the soundtrack.[2] The inlay stated that it was a "video game interpretation of the film score".[6]

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
Crash58%[7]
Sinclair User3 out of 5[4]
Your Sinclair7 out of 10[6]
Zzap!6439%[5]

Sinclair User called the game pretentious[1] and the graphics plodding. The reviewer disliked the lengthy repeating cut scenes, saying that they "are well put together, but after you've seen them more than once you'll get an irresistible urge to smash up your Spectrum".[4] Your Sinclair thought that the game was lacking in variety and did not feel like a finished product.[6] Crash criticized the lack of graphical variety and thought that all the characters looked the same. The reviewer also criticised the sluggishness of the game's controls and that it was too much like a cut-down version of the hit 1984 game Ghostbusters.[7] Reviewing the game on the Commodore 64, Zzap!64 panned the high difficulty level of the game and described the graphics as bland.[5] Commodore User also thought the graphics were poor and the game disappointing, although they did praise the "excellent" music. They thought it would have been ok as a budget title, but was not worth the full price.[8]

Barry Atkins of the University of Wales's School of Film, Photography and Digital Media describes the game as lazily executed and unsatisfying, "yok[ing] unoriginal gameplay mechanics to glancing visual references to the originating film". In his view, the game was merely an effort to cash in on the film's intellectual property, reducing "all the subtleties, complexities and ambiguities of the film ... to a game that players in the 1980s would have immediately recognised as a fairly mundane example of the 'shoot 'em up' genre, where slogans such as 'Move Off World' painted across a primary coloured and flat game space gesture only vaguely to the film as the player adopts the role of a bounty hunter in a raincoat who bears a crude likeness to Deckard".[9]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Blade Runner". Sinclair User (EMAP) (48): 54. March 1986. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=SinclairUser/Issue048/Pages/SinclairUser04800054.jpg. Retrieved 11 February 2012. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "On the tail of replidroids in CRL's Blade Runner". Crash (Newsfield Publications Ltd) (26): 14. March 1986. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=Crash/Issue26/Pages/Crash2600014.jpg. Retrieved 11 February 2012. 
  3. ↑ Brooker, Will (1999). "Internet fandom and the continuing narratives of Star Wars, Blade Runner and Alien". in Kuhn, Annette. Alien Zone II: the spaces of science-fiction cinema. Verso. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-85984-259-1. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Blade Runner". Sinclair User (EMAP) (48): 55. March 1986. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=SinclairUser/Issue048/Pages/SinclairUser04800055.jpg. Retrieved 11 February 2012. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Blade Runner". Zzap!64 (Newsfield Publications) (12): 64. February 1986. http://www.zzap64.co.uk/cgi-bin/displaypage.pl?issue=010&page=088&thumbstart=0&magazine=zzap&check=1. Retrieved 11 February 2012. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Screen Shots: Blade Runner". Your Sinclair (Dennis Publishing) (3): 28. May 1986. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=YourSinclair/Issue03/Pages/YourSinclair0300028.jpg. Retrieved 11 February 2012. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Reviews – Blade Runner". Crash (Newsfield Publications Ltd) (27): 128. April 1986. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=Crash/Issue27/Pages/Crash2700128.jpg. Retrieved 11 February 2012. 
  8. ↑ "Commodore User Magazine Issue 29". February 1986. https://archive.org/stream/commodore-user-magazine-29/Commodore_User_Issue_29_1986_Feb#page/n37/mode/2up. 
  9. ↑ Atkins, Barry (2005). "Replicating the Blade Runner". in Brooker, Will. The Blade Runner Experience: the legacy of a science fiction classic. Wallflower Press. pp. 81–82. ISBN 978-1-904764-30-4. 
  • 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 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]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

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. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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