Software:Daughter of Serpents

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Short description: 1992 video game
Daughter of Serpents
Developer(s)Eldritch Games
Publisher(s)Millennium Interactive
Psygnosis (CD-ROM)
Director(s)Richard Edwards
Chris Elliot
Producer(s)Ian Saunter
Designer(s)Richard Edwards
Chris Elliot
Programmer(s)Keith Hook
Artist(s)Pete Lyon
Composer(s)Richard Joseph
Platform(s)MS-DOS
Release1992 (floppy disk)
1995 (CD-ROM)
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Daughter of Serpents (retitled The Scroll on the CD version) is a point-and-click adventure game for MS-DOS developed by Eldritch Games and published in 1992 by Millennium Interactive. The game was released in the English, Italian, French, German and Spanish languages. It was planned to be ported to Amiga by December, but ultimately that was never released.[1]

Plot

The game's plot is inspired by the Cthulhu Mythos. In Ancient Egypt, dark worshippers contained some evil spells inside an ancient scroll to unleash monsters upon the world. In Alexandria in the 1920s, the scroll is given to the player by a strange lady.

Gameplay

Before starting the game, the player can select one out six playable characters or customize one. A customized character can be either gender, with a profile inputted, one of two nationalities and a choice from six classes each with four or five skills. The character stats will determine what puzzles the player can solve in the game. The player's starting inventory consists of a diary, a map, some petty cash, a cookbook and a guidebook.

The CD version only allows two different playable characters to be chosen each with a different adventure in the game; Matthew Faulkner the Egyptologist and an Occultist. Unlike the Floppy version, the player must acquire the map, cookbook and guidebook rather than start with them.

Development

Keith Hook programmed the game engine SIGNOS (Scripted Interactive Graphic Novel Operating System).[2]

The lead artist Pete Lyon visited Egypt before he worked on the graphics to implement realism in the game.[3] Richard Edwards ensured that all graphics were accurate to the time period of the game. The hotel scene was based on a photograph of Savoy from 1920.[4]

Reception

James Trunzo reviewed Daughter of Serpents in White Wolf #37 (July/Aug., 1993) and stated that "Daughter of Serpents is by no means a bad game; it contains a number of excellent features. Overall, though, it's too little of a good thing rather than too much. The self-proclaimed 'epic cinematic adventure' is more like an exciting chapter in a book that makes you want more - only to discover that you've reached the last page."[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Amiga Power - Issue 018". Amiga Power (18): 47. October 1992. https://archive.org/stream/Amiga_Power_Issue_18_1992-10_Future_Publishing_GB#page/n45. Retrieved September 5, 2017. 
  2. ↑ Daughter of Seprents - Manual. Millennium Interactive. 1992. p. 4. http://www.mocagh.org/ea/daughterserpents-manual.pdf. Retrieved September 5, 2017. 
  3. ↑ Daughter of Seprents - Manual. Millennium Interactive. 1992. p. 2. http://www.mocagh.org/ea/daughterserpents-manual.pdf. Retrieved September 5, 2017. 
  4. ↑ "CU Amiga - Issue 032". CU Amiga (32): 45. October 1992. https://archive.org/stream/cuamiga-magazine-032/CUAmiga_032_Oct_1992#page/n43. Retrieved September 5, 2017. 
  5. ↑ Trunzo, James (July–August 1993). "The Silicon Dungeon". White Wolf Magazine (37): 65. https://imgur.com/a/vYdlufI. 
  • 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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