Software:CarVup

From HandWiki
CarVup
Cover art
Developer(s)Core Design
Publisher(s)Core Design
Designer(s)Robert Toon
Programmer(s)Robert Toon
Artist(s)Terry Lloyd
Composer(s)Matthew Simmonds
Platform(s)Amiga, Atari ST
Release
Genre(s)Platform, puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player

CarVup is a platform game developed and published by Core Design in 1990. Based on Jaleco's 1985 arcade game City Connection, it was released for the Amiga[2] and Atari ST.[3]

Gameplay

The gameplay involves controlling a cartoon-like car named Arnie, who is jumping from platform to platform while avoiding enemies. If the time limit in each level was reached, a demon-like creature called Turbo flies into the screen which homed in on the player within 15 seconds, costing them a life.

Much like City Connection, the objective of the game is to drive over every platform in the level, which changed the platforms in some ways. For example, in the construction zone the platforms are girders with holes for rivets. A rivet would appear in the hole once it was driven over. With this task completed, Arnie would be picked up by a helicopter and taken to the next level. At the end of three levels, Arnie would rescue an animal friend and continue on to the next themed level.

Themed levels include: construction site, Halloween, garden and other various themes.

Development

Both the Amiga and Atari ST versions of CarVup began development in May 1990, and were released in November.[1] CarVup's protagonist, Arnie, was initially named Carl.[1] The game's plot was conceived before the team decided on a car protagonist; Robert Toon, CarVup's designer & programmer, stated that the team decided on an automotive aesthetic because "people can associate with cars and, because it has no brakes, it's easy to explain why it doesn't stop moving".[1] CarVup was inspired by the similarly colorful & cartoony platformers Rainbow Islands and Rod Land; Terry Lloyd, CarVup's graphic artist, expressed that he wanted to have cartoon visuals without making them 'too simplistic'.[1] Toon further expressed that CarVup was made to look "like it came from a console or arcade game".[1] Most of CarVup's graphics were created in OCP Art Studio on an Atari ST, and larger works such as the title screen were created in DEGAS Elite.[1] Memory limitations impacted CarVup's graphic design, limiting the number of frames each animation could have; this also impacted Arnie's sprite, and making it 'stand out' despite the sprite's small size was a priority.[1] Arnie was planned to have more facial expressions, but this was scrapped due to memory constraints.[1] Parallax scrolling is unique to the Amiga version of CarVup, and isn't present in the Atari ST version.[1]

Reception

The One gave the Atari ST version of CarVup an overall score of 90%, praising its 'arcade-style' presentation accentuated by its "cute" graphics, as well as its "simplistic" and "tremendous[ly] fun" gameplay. The One praised CarVup's level design, which when combined with the game's enemy AI, created a challenge which requires skill. The One further praised CarVup's "wonderfully colourful" graphics, as well as its "jolly" music.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 Scotford, Larry (November 1990). "Car-Vup". The One (emap Images) (26): 11–12. https://archive.org/details/theone-magazine-26/page/n9/mode/2up. 
  2. ↑ "Car-Vup - Amiga Game - Download ADF, Music, Review, Cheat - Lemon Amiga". http://www.lemonamiga.com/games/details.php?id=238. 
  3. ↑ "Atari ST Car-Vup : Scans, dump, download, screenshots, ads, videos, catalog, instructions, roms". http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-st-car-vup_27772.html. 
  4. ↑ Whitta, Gary (December 1990). "Car-Vup". The One (emap Images) (27): 125–126. https://archive.org/details/theone-magazine-27/page/n123/mode/2up. 
  • CarVup at Hall of Light Amiga database
  • 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. 
  • No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.

Template:Atari



Warning: Default sort key "Carvup" overrides earlier default sort key "Mobygames".



Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Software:CarVup&oldid=694568"