Software:Flames of Freedom

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Short description: 1991 video game
Flames of Freedom
North American cover art
Developer(s)Maelstrom Games
Publisher(s)Rainbird / MicroProse
Director(s)Mike Singleton
Producer(s)Hugh F. Batterbury
Peter Moreland
Programmer(s)David Gautrey
George Williamson
David Ollman
Artist(s)Andrew Elkerton
Writer(s)Rob Davies
Composer(s)David Lowe
Platform(s)Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS
Release1991
Genre(s)First-person shooter, role-playing, simulation
Mode(s)Single-player

Flames of Freedom (also known as Midwinter II: Flames of Freedom) is a first-person shooter role-playing video game with simulation elements developed by Maelstrom Games and published by MicroProse for MS-DOS, Amiga, and Atari ST in 1991. It is a sequel to the 1989 game Midwinter and its working title was Wildfire.[1] The Amiga version was re-released by Kixx XL in 1993.

Gameplay

DOS gameplay screenshot

The game's set following the end of the impact winter from the first Midwinter. Midwinter Isle has submerged, but its people and traditions of liberty live on thanks to a timely union with the island of Verde, now renamed Agora to mark the occasion and sometimes referred to as the Atlantic Federation. Unfortunately, between Agora and the Saharan Empire on the African mainland lies an archipelago of Saharan conquests now known as the Slave Isles. Agoran intelligence discovers plans for the Operation Scorpio, a massive Saharan attack to conquer Agora, as well as widespread but scattered resistance on the isles. They launch Operation Wildfire, a series of covert missions to push islands into rebellion in order to delay and bleed the Saharan armada on its way to Agora.

The player controls the secret agent tasked with the operation, and can either play a single mission (called "Raid" mode), or a succession in campaign mode. In campaign mode the armada eventually launches, instigating an endgame where the player must destroy the armada as it makes its way through the Slave Isles. Success will save Agora and, incidentally, inspire the islands into a general revolt casting off their overlord.

The missions are generally open-ended, allowing the player to approach them in whatever fashion is desired. Each island has different objectives (sabotage, assassinations, etc.), and the order in which these are tackled is up to the player. The game attempts to create a detailed open world by providing a number of different characters and different vehicles that the player can interact with. Vehicles include land, air, and sea vessels (players can hijack any enemy-operated vehicle), although all of them control in more or less the same basic manner. The graphics are relatively rudimentary 3D, although typical for the time period.

Strategy layer

In campaign mode the player can tackle the islands in any order, limited by time, but doesn't seek to liberate all or the most islands; instead, the goal is to prepare an arduous route for the Saharan armada.

Once the armada sets sail[lower-alpha 1] it'll make its way through the archipelago, suffering attrition while passing or crossing liberated islands. The archipelago is represented as an undirected graph where an island's considered liberated as soon as its mission is completed, or it can't trace a path to the mainland or to one of three stronghold islands. Instead of having a set path, the computer uses pathfinding to set a course that crosses the fewest liberated islands possible, is short, and prefers heavily garrisoned stronghold islands to other Saharan holdings. The player may view the course, time, and losses the computer is set to take, as well as simulate what they'll be if more islands are liberated, and the computer's decision-making priorities are public; in mathematics and computer science, such a task is known as seeking worst-case complexity. In Flames of Freedom the player faces the additional challenge of using the player-controlled covert operative to build the chosen route, which may fail to be completed or require changes on the fly.

Each liberated island awards the player a single-use secret weapon, a monetary reward, and a luxury item such as a seaside villa or the inhabitants' collected savings. Luxury items' only use is to add their value to the money, which itself is only to keep score. The game maintains a record of them nonetheless. An additional element of challenge is that the player character needs time to travel to each island, and upon completing a mission must return to Agora to rest for five days plus recovery time from any current injuries, further limiting the player's ability to make changes in the archipelago.

The armada's launch precipitates the endgame. No more missions can be completed and the game world opens up completely by allowing the player to travel between islands.[lower-alpha 2] A part of the armada will always survive the travails of the journey, and the game is won through the complete destruction of the armada in an extended running battle before any part of it can reach a vital location on Agora.

Reception

Reception
Review score
PublicationScore
CGWStarStarHalf star[2]

Midwinter II won several accolades, including 96% / CVG Hit by C+VG[3] and 95% / ACE TrailBlazer by ACE[4] for the Atari ST version, and 92% / CU Screen Star by CU Amiga[5] for the Amiga version. A 1994 Computer Gaming World survey of strategic space games set in the year 2000 and later gave the game two-plus stars out of five, stating that because of its "more temperate environment" it was "less interesting than its predecessor".[2]

Notes

  1. ↑ After 180 in-game days or as soon as the "A" key is pressed in 3D view.
  2. ↑ Previously the player could cross the ocean, but nothing on other islands would spawn.

References

  1. ↑ ACE: Advanced Computer Entertainment 37 (October 1990)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Brooks, M. Evan (May 1994). "Never Trust A Gazfluvian Flingschnogger!". Computer Gaming World: 42–58. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1994&pub=2&id=118. 
  3. ↑ Computer + Video Games 113 (April 1991)
  4. ↑ ACE: Advanced Computer Entertainment 43 (April 1991)
  5. ↑ CU Amiga (October 1991)
  • 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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