Software:BloodNet

From HandWiki
BloodNet
Developer(s)MicroProse
Publisher(s)MicroProse
Producer(s)Mark E. Seremet
Designer(s)John Antinori
Laura Kambo
Programmer(s)Rick Hall
Frank Kern
Christopher Short
Artist(s)Quinno Martin
Composer(s)Michael Bross
Platform(s)MS-DOS, Amiga
Release1993: MS-DOS
1994: Amiga
Genre(s)Role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

BloodNet is a cyberpunk-themed role-playing video game video game developed and published by MicroProse for MS-DOS in 1993. An Amiga port was released in 1994 by Catfish and Teeny Weeny Games. An emulated version for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux was released in 2014.[1][2]

Gameplay

The interface in BloodNet is standard point and click with some icon-based commands available from a drop down menu.[3] The game features written dialog and puzzles, in addition to an open-ended travel system and random encounters. An alternate "cyberspace universe" is also part of the gameplay, where codewords are needed to travel to different "wells" (cyberspace locations). Role-playing elements are also present in Bloodnet: the player character and other recruitable characters for the player's party have number-based stats (such as Perception, Hacking, etc.), and combat is based on the player character's attributes and stats.[4]

Plot

A mix of future tech and gothic vampire story, in the cyberpunk style, BloodNet puts the player into the role of a man named Ransom Stark, who must battle a vampire named Abraham Van Helsing who is attempting world domination and save both humanity and the cybernet. Ransom Stark was bitten by the aforementioned vampire, but is able to fight off the infection with the help of a computer grafted onto his brain stem. He must then embark on a journey to defeat the head vampire, Dracula, to stop the infection.[5]

Reception

Reception
Review score
PublicationScore
Hyper70% (PC)[6]

Computer Gaming World in February 1994 approved of BloodNet combining vampires and cyberpunk, non-linear gameplay, "interesting" characters and storyline, and streamlined interface. The reviewer said, however, that "the game as a whole left me vaguely dissatisfied", citing a lack of direction in the story and pacing, lack of detail in Cyberspace, "confusing and frustrating" combat, and an unavoidable repeating random encounter. He concluded that BloodNet was "a gem without polish".[7] Dragon gave the game 3 out of 5 stars.[8] Pelit rated BloodNet 82% in the February 1994 issue, with the summary of "beautiful graphics, great atmosphere, but almost everything could have done better".

BloodNet was a runner-up for Computer Gaming World's Role-Playing Game of the Year award in June 1994, losing to Betrayal at Krondor. The editors wrote that BloodNet's "script [...] is one of the most interesting to hit this genre, and the surrealistic aspects to the art style are definitely fascinating".[9] Richard Cobbett of PC Gamer, retrospectively reviewing the game in 2013, gave it a negative review stating that it was confusing, dull, and tedious.[4]

The One gave the Amiga version of BloodNet an overall score of 84%, stating that "The AI system is great ... with party characters volunteering for jobs, offering opinions and reacting to your actions. It's the best implementation of this idea I've seen." The One praised the rendered 3D-esque graphics, and also expressed their reliance on the manual for reference to items in the game, as they describe BloodNet as being "littered with objects that seem to serve no purpose ... lots of flipping back and forth between pages is necessary." The One also criticized the amount of disk swapping needed to play the game, frustrated that common actions such as examining objects and dialogue requires this, furthermore saying "it's just not playable from floppy. Shame on you, Gametek, for suggesting, even if only by omission, that it is."[10]

HardcoreGaming101 found the game great. HardcoreGaming101 praised the game's style, noting that the clunky UI often interfered with the nice graphics. Petra Tsimberov noted the main character's progression, lauding his downfall as a fable for busted machinery -- "...this is accomplished chiefly due to the game’s surreal, dreamlike slew of backgrounds and character portraits. There’s never anything resembling a consistent visual style, and while at times this comes off as embarrassing, at others it’s thoroughly engrossing and even lends a considerable amount of flavor."[11]

Legacy

A company called "Megalo Music" claims to have written the music for a game titled Bloodnet 2000, which may or may not be a proposed sequel to Bloodnet.[12] The game designer for Bloodnet, John Antinori, has since stated that the sequel was "never meaningfully worked on", and that he never would have agreed to the title "Bloodnet 2000" because "Bloodnet was set well in future past 2000".[13]

Tommo purchased the rights to this game and digitally published it through its Retroism brand in 2015.[14] Bloodnet was re-released digitally on GOG.com on January 9, 2014[15] and on Steam on October 17, 2014.[16]

References

  1. ↑ "Release: BloodNet". CD Projekt. January 9, 2014. https://www.gog.com/news/release_bloodnet. 
  2. ↑ "GOG.com Now Supports Linux!". CD Projekt. August 19, 2014. https://www.gog.com/news/gogcom_now_supports_linux. 
  3. ↑ House, Michael L.. "BloodNet: A Cyberpunk Gothic". http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=11941&tab=review. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Cobbett, Richard (12 January 2013). "Saturday Crapshoot: Bloodnet". PC Gamer. http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/01/12/saturday-crapshoot-bloodnet/. Retrieved 25 April 2013. 
  5. ↑ "Bloodnet Game Review". http://www.immortalday.com/bloodnet.html. 
  6. ↑ Schoffel, Julian (February 1994). "Blood Net". Hyper (3): 58. https://archive.org/details/hyper-003/page/58/mode/2up?q=%22james+pond+3%22. Retrieved July 2, 2021. 
  7. ↑ Seacat, Douglas (February 1994). "Nightside With A Cyber-Leech". Computer Gaming World: 180–184. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1994&pub=2&id=115. 
  8. ↑ Petersen, Sandy (April 1994). "Eye of the Monitor". Dragon (204): 59–62. 
  9. ↑ "Announcing the New Premier Awards". Computer Gaming World (119): 51–54, 56–58. June 1994. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1994&pub=2&id=119. 
  10. ↑ "BloodNet Review". The One (emap Images) (76): 42–43. February 1995. https://archive.org/details/theone-magazine-76/page/n41. 
  11. ↑ Tsimberov, Petra. "Bloodnet". http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/bloodnet/. 
  12. ↑ "Megalo Music Insites". Megalo Music. Archived from the original. Error: If you specify |archiveurl=, you must also specify |archivedate=. https://web.archive.org/web/20021011023344/http://home.earthlink.net/~megagood/insites/insites.htm. 
  13. ↑ "Bloodnet - Part 2 (completed)". http://mrbacklog.blogspot.com/2017/07/bloodnet-part-2-completed.html. 
  14. ↑ "Purchase Agreement between Atari, Inc. and Rebellion Developments, Stardock & Tommo". BMC Group. 2013-07-22. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303173012/http://docs.bmcgroup.com/Atari/nysb_1-13-bk-10176_313.pdf. 
  15. ↑ "BloodNet emerges from the shadows onto GOG.com". 9 January 2014. https://www.destructoid.com/bloodnet-emerges-from-the-shadows-onto-gog-com/. 
  16. ↑ "BloodNet". http://store.steampowered.com/sub/52673/. 
  • 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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