Software:Driftmoon

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Driftmoon is an indie role-playing game developed and published by Instant Kingdom, a Finnish video game developer. It was released in 2013 for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS.

In Driftmoon, players explore a fantasy world. The game features an open-world environment and a non-linear story, allowing players to explore and make choices that affect the outcome of the game. Driftmoon is known for its engaging narrative, humor, and rich world-building. It received generally positive reviews upon release and has a loyal fanbase.

Driftmoon
Official logo for video game Driftmoon
Developer(s)Instant Kingdom
Designer(s)Game and Level Design
Ville Mönkkönen
Anne Mönkkönen
Programmer(s)Ville Mönkkönen
Artist(s)Graphics
Ville Mönkkönen

Portraits

Johanna Sundström
Writer(s)Ville Mönkkönen Anne Mönkkönen
Composer(s)Sound Effects
Anne Mönkkönen

Music

Gareth Meek
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS
Release
  • WW: February 26, 2013
Genre(s)adventure
roleplaying
Mode(s)single-player

Plot

The beautiful, enchanted world of Driftmoon trembles in the shadow of a forgotten evil, for the dark King Ixal is once again gathering his forces.

Hope lies in an unlikely alliance—the player's character joins forces with a little firefly dreaming of stardom, a panther queen with the ego of a moon whale, and a very determined fellow who has lost everything except his bones. This group embarks on a journey to defeat King Ixal.[1]

Gameplay

When Driftmoon first starts, it automatically installs any new updates. The player can turn off this feature on the "Settings" menu.

The "Settings" menu also permits the player to select whether the game runs in "fullscreen" or "windowed" mode.

At the start of a new game, the player selects a "difficulty level":

  • Adventurer (least difficult)
  • Champion
  • Warlord
  • Guardian (most difficult)

The difficulty level can be changed during gameplay via the "Options" menu.

Driftmoon's rudimentary set of key bindings can also be changed via the "Options" menu. Notable key commands include "pause combat", "toggle item highlights" (to indicate items on the ground and objects in the environment for user interaction), "show map" (to display the current area's local map), and tilt camera up / down (the default view of the game's 2D graphics is a top-down perspective).

A game can be saved / loaded at any point during gameplay; Driftmoon provides eight "Save" slots. In addition, the game generates autosaves (for example, upon entering an area).

The adventure game aspect of Driftmoon is evident in its various puzzles, which are not too difficult to solve.

The game has various bosses.

Features relatively unique to Driftmoon include"

  • Good game balance—the player does not need to constantly pick up drops from killed enemies and run to a merchant to sell useless items
  • Waypoints—As the player explores an area, the game automatically sets waypoints
  • Player feedback—Throughout the game, the player can press the "f" key to display a feedback form. The completed form is automatically sent to the developer along with, if the player desires, an automatically generated screenshot.[2]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings76.25%[3]
Metacritic73/100[4]
Review score
PublicationScore
GameSpot7/10[5]

Driftmoon has received average reviews. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the PC game 76.25% and 73/100,[3][4] respectively.

GameSpot praised the game's writing and humor, but criticized the shallow combat.[5] Destructoid noted that Driftmoon "[seemed] . . . like the perfect introduction to RPGs for someone new to the genre. It's light-hearted, not too difficult on the lower settings, and doesn't overwhelm the player with options in combat or a complicated skill tree." They similarly enjoyed the writing.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Driftmoon - recenze | GAMES.CZ" (in cs). https://games.tiscali.cz/recenze/driftmoon-recenze-226016. 
  2. ↑ "Driftmoon - Test, Rollenspiel" (in de). 10 January 2014. https://www.4players.de/4players.php/dispbericht/PC-CDROM/Test/35386/80230/0/Driftmoon.html. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Driftmoon for PC". GameRankings. http://www.gamerankings.com/pc/980386-driftmoon/index.html. Retrieved 2014-04-15. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Driftmoon for PC Reviews". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/driftmoon/critic-reviews/?platform=pc. Retrieved 2014-04-15. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Woolsey, Cameron (January 10, 2014). "Driftmoon Review". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/driftmoon-review/1900-6415622/. Retrieved 2014-04-15. 
  6. ↑ "Review: Driftmoon". Destructoid. http://www.destructoid.com/review-driftmoon-247238.phtml. Retrieved 2015-03-08. 
  • Driftmoon's official website
  • 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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