Software:Epic Pinball

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Short description: 1993 video game
Epic Pinball
CD cover of Epic Pinball: The Complete Collection
Developer(s)Digital Extremes
Publisher(s)Epic MegaGames
Designer(s)
  • James Schmalz
  • Joe Hitchens
  • Terry Cumming
Artist(s)
  • Robert G. Depew
  • Joe Hitchens
  • Mikko Iho
  • James Schmalz
Composer(s)
  • Robert A. Allen
  • Joshua Jensen
Platform(s)MS-DOS
Release
  • NA: November 1993
Genre(s)Pinball
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Epic Pinball is a 1993 pinball video game developed by James Schmalz and published by Epic MegaGames. The initial release pre-dated Schmalz' Digital Extremes name. The game is played seen from a 2D top-down view within a scrollable window with plain raster graphics in 320x240. It was noted for being programmed entirely in x86 assembly language[1] for MS-DOS systems.

Tables

The game was originally distributed on floppy disks in 3 separate packs of 4 tables each. The original shareware version (and an early retail version) included only the original "Android" table. Later shareware versions and retail versions contained an updated version called "Super Android" (although it is still referred to as "Android" in the game, the table was changed to say "Super Android").

Release Table Notes
Pack 1 "Android" Included in "Retro Pinball".
"Pot of Gold" Designed by Terry Cumming.
"Excalibur" Modelled and based on a pinball table from the 1970s.[2]
"Crash & Burn" Included in "Retro Pinball".
Pack 2 "Magic"
"Jungle Pinball" A tribute to Epic's earlier game Jill of the Jungle.
"Deep Sea"
"Enigma"
Pack 3 "Cyborgirl" Designed by Joe Hitchens.
"Pangaea" Included in "Retro Pinball".
"Space Journey" Designed and illustrated by Pixel of Future Crew.
"Toy Factory" Designed and illustrated by Pixel of Future Crew.

Another table, "African Safari", was included in the "Full Edition" (the CD-ROM version), in addition to the tables from the three packs above.

Development

Tim Sweeney saw some impressive 3D demos done by a group of Finnish developers that were members of the PC demogroup Future Crew and sent Mark Rein to Finland to recruit them. They declined except for Misko Iho who travelled to the US with Mark, bringing back an unfinished version of a pinball game.[3] Unable to convince them to allow Epic MegaGames to finish the game, Tim showed the unfinished game to James Schmalz in Canada. James developed Epic Pinball (with six pinball tables) from scratch in nine months while he was in college. Tim and Mark kept in touch with James to ensure he was on the right track.[4] The graphics were created using Deluxe Paint II and the music was composed using Scream Tracker.[5]

Releases

In 1993, the first registered game included only the first two pinball packs. The following year, xLand Games distributed that very version under the title "Fliper".[6]


In 1995, all three packs plus the exclusive "African Safari" were released on CD.[7]

In the mid to late 1990s, individual tables were given away as free floppy diskettes to customers of Blockbuster Video upon renting 2 or more items. The promotion lasted only for a few months.[8][9]

In 2011, the game was partially re-made by Fuse Powered Inc. for Apple's iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad platforms. The game, re-titled as "Retro Pinball", features updated versions of three tables from the original game.[10]

The game was re-released on GOG.com on November 30, 2017, with support for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux pre-packed with DOSBox.[11][12]

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
PC Format91%[13]
PC ZoneStarStarStarStarStar[14]
PC PowerStarStarStarStarStar[15]

Epic Pinball was a major commercial success for its creators,[16] whose internal figures placed it as the third-best-selling shareware product of all time. Designer James Schmalz said in 1999 that Epic Pinball was more successful than anyone imagined it could be.[17] According to Epic's Tim Sweeney, it was the publisher's top-selling shareware game, and Schmalz earned "more than a million dollars from the shareware royalties" in its first year.[18] Ultimately the game sold more than 200,000 copies.[19]

Computer Gaming World in 1994 stated that Epic Pinball was superior to the development team's commercial Silverball and "overall quality is very high". The magazine concluded that the $45 registration fee was a good value for eight boards, as "very few commercial alternatives offer as much without causing your wallet to Tilt!"[20]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Company: History of Digital Extremes". Digital Extremes. http://www.digitalextremes.com/company/. 
  2. ↑ "Epic Pinball - PC Player Review". PC Player: 78. October 1994. https://archive.org/stream/PC-Player-German-Magazine-1994-10/PC-Player-1994-10#page/n75. 
  3. ↑ Kuorikoski, Juho (2015). Finnish Video Games: A History and Catalog. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-9962-5. https://books.google.com/books?id=T1tiCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA41. 
  4. ↑ Edwards, Benj (May 25, 2009). "From The Past To The Future: Tim Sweeney Talks". Gamasutra. UBM. https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/132426/from_the_past_to_the_future_tim_.php?page=9. 
  5. ↑ Epic Pinball - Read This; Inside Story
  6. ↑ "Fliper (DOS)". Blue Flame Labs. http://www.mobygames.com/game/fliper. 
  7. ↑ "Epic Pinball advert". https://annarchive.com/files2/epicmegagames4.png. 
  8. ↑ "Martin Mathis' Pinball Simulation Reviews". http://www.lastbandit.com/pinrevue.html?pbsim_other. 
  9. ↑ "Video Pinball is rad. Real Pinball is rad. Talking about Pinball is rad. Be rad". 11 October 2013. https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/183692/video-pinball-is-rad-real-pinball-is-rad-talking-about-pinball-is-rad-be-rad. 
  10. ↑ "Retro Pinball". Fuse Powered Inc.. http://www.fusepowered.com/games.php?gameid=23. 
  11. ↑ "Release: Epic Pinball: The Complete Collection". CD Projekt. 30 November 2017. https://www.gog.com/news/release_epic_pinball_the_complete_collection. 
  12. ↑ Donnelly, Joe (30 November 2017). "Jazz Jackrabbit and Epic Pinball land on GOG". Future plc. https://www.pcgamer.com/jazz-jackrabbit-and-epic-pinball-land-on-gog/. 
  13. ↑ PC Format (Future Publishing) (27): 133. December 1993. 
  14. ↑ Burgess, Mark (February 1994). "PC Zone Review - Epic Pinball". PC Zone (Future plc) (11): 136. https://archive.org/details/PC_Zone_11_February_1994/page/n137. 
  15. ↑ Bunker, Alan (December 1993). "PD Games". PC Power (Paragon Publishing): 97. 
  16. ↑ Lafferty, Michael. "Digital Extremes moves from the days of shareware programs to set the mark in mainstream gaming". http://www.gamezone.com:80/news/03_13_02_08_44AM.htm. 
  17. ↑ Kang, Jeff (December 16, 1999). "Digital Extremes: James Schmalz Interview". http://www.gamesdomain.com:80/gdreview/depart/dec99/de.html. 
  18. ↑ Edwards, Benj (25 May 2009). "From The Past To The Future: Tim Sweeney Talks". https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/132426/from_the_past_to_the_future_tim_.php?print=1. 
  19. ↑ "Entrepreneur". January 29, 2007. p. 50. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88435253/national-post/. Retrieved November 6, 2021. 
  20. ↑ Miller, Chuck (February 1994). "Shaking Those Winter Blues". Computer Gaming World: 130, 132. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1994&pub=2&id=115. 
  • 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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