Software:Blue Ice (video game)

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Blue Ice
Developer(s)Art of Mind Productions
Publisher(s)Psygnosis
Platform(s)MS-DOS, Mac OS, Windows
Release1996[1]
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Blue Ice is a point-and-click adventure game developed and published by Psygnosis. It was released in 1996 for Microsoft Windows, MS-DOS, and Macintosh, The player navigates a sequence of screens representing the rooms in a large house. The player completes puzzles by collecting and using items. Puzzles include brewing tea, dissolving gold in vitriol, finding keys, and making blue paint.

Gameplay

Each screen is overlaid with grainy photographs of up to five people, any of whom can be clicked on to read their thoughts. The thoughts contain clues as to what the player is supposed to do in the room. A description of the room is read in orotund style as a voice-over by actor Tom Conti upon first visiting a location, and is also available to read on-screen. There are extra clues in the form of question marks hidden in each screen. Clicking them gives another voice-over that provides a cryptic clue. The first screen includes an additional tool that identifies and describes inventory items. Items to be clicked on often blend in with the background, hence tending toward hunt-the-pixel gameplay. In addition, some sequences of actions have to be repeated over a dozen times.

A right-click accesses a horizontal-scrolling sequence of icons, which includes three tools - one to move between locations, one to read thoughts/activate clues and one to pick up or manipulate objects. The same set of icons includes the inventory items. It is also possible to navigate between locations by right-clicking and dragging on a widget at the bottom of the screen that shows thumbnails of visited locations, and then left-clicking to select one. Loading and saving features a similar interface, with save slots represented by Greek letters.

Plot

The game takes place in a fictional kingdom called Icia, in which millions of laws have been contrived by its succession of rulers. The senseless law-making began with King Edward I, who found that he could blame the loss of his newborn child on the innocent Orseppro and banish her from the kingdom. Ever since, the monarchs of Icia invented laws to cover up their own mistakes and shortcomings. When King Edward DCCXI (711th) dies prematurely, his twelve-year-old son is left with the impossible task of learning all the rules of the kingdom before he comes of age and inherits it. During this kingless period, it is stated that 'time stops'. The player's goal is to teach Edward that the laws are fuelling suffering and unhappiness in the kingdom, including his own. To do this, the player must complete tasks related to five pleasures of life - art, music, food, love and nature - that were otherwise restricted and shackled by laws.

In the king's residence are the servants to Edward - the cook, Daisy Scraggend; her daughter, Pollyanna; and Olly, a farmhand. The final character in the game is Hope - a personification of hope who provides an optimistic outlook.

There are twenty-eight major locations that the player visits.

References

  1. ↑ "NG Alphas: Blue Ice". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (22): 144. October 1996. 
  • Short description: Video game database
MobyGames
Logo since March 2014
Screenshot
Frontpage as of April 2012
Type of site
Gaming
Available inEnglish
OwnerAtari SA
Websitemobygames.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional
LaunchedJanuary 30, 1999; 26 years ago (1999-01-30)
Current statusOnline

MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] The site is supported by banner ads and a small number of people paying to become patrons.[2] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It is currently owned by Atari SA.

Content

The database began with games for IBM PC compatibles. After two years, consoles such as the PlayStation, were added. Older console systems were added later. Support for arcade video games was added in January 2014 and mainframe computer games in June 2017.[3]

Edits and submissions go through a leisurely verification process by volunteer "approvers". The approval process can range from immediate (minutes) to gradual (days or months).[4] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copyediting.[5]

Registered users can rate and review any video game. 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 subforum.

History

Logo used until March 11, 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999 by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, then joined by David Berk 18 months later, three friends since high school.[6] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience.

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[7] This was announced to the community post factum and a few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.

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).[8] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel.[9]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[10] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[11][12]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ "MobyGames Stats". https://www.mobygames.com/moby_stats. 
  2. ↑ "MobyGames Patrons". http://www.mobygames.com/info/patrons. 
  3. ↑ "New(ish!) on MobyGames – the Mainframe platform.". Blue Flame Labs. 18 June 2017. http://www.mobygames.com/forums/dga,2/dgb,3/dgm,237200/. 
  4. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  5. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/32856/Report_MobyGames_Acquired_By_GameFly_Media.php. 
  8. ↑ 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. 
  9. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/207882/Game_dev_database_MobyGames_getting_some_TLC_under_new_owner.php. 
  10. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  11. ↑ "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/. 
  12. ↑ "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/. 



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