Software:Floor 13 (video game)

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Floor 13
Developer(s)PSI Software
Publisher(s)Virgin Games
Producer(s)Andrew Wright[1]
Designer(s)David Eastman[1][2]
Programmer(s)Shahid Ahmad[1][2]
Artist(s)Carl Cropley[1]
Composer(s)Shahid Ahmad[1][2]
Platform(s)Amiga, DOS
Release1992
Genre(s)Strategy
Mode(s)Single-player

Floor 13 is a strategy video game published by Virgin Games in 1991. The game set in the United Kingdom , where the player is the director of a secret governmental agency involved in clandestine domestic operations; the headquarters is hidden on the thirteenth floor of a bank building in London Docklands, hence the title.[3] A follow-up, Floor 13, was released in November 2020.

Plot

The player takes on the role of the Director General of the "Department of Agriculture and Fisheries", a non-existent executive agency that conceals a secret police which keeps the government popular by any means necessary. Answering only to the Prime Minister, the Director General has the power to use wiretapping, surveillance, smear tactics, disinformation, burglary, kidnapping, torture, and assassination to keep the government popular with the people.[4]

In addition to the Director General's regular duties suppressing and removing those who threaten the status quo, there is also a subplot involving his membership in a secret society called "The Secret Masters of Thoth". These missions, which are received from a "Secret Master" wearing the vestments of an Egyptian pharaoh, involve more bizarre opposition than regular missions; these missions include protecting a fellow member from a Mafia assassination, foiling an attempt to subvert the nation by pod people in key positions, the protection of the Church of the SubGenius from a scandal, and restraining the growing power of the Illuminati, among others.

The game contains numerous references to real-world groups, trends, scandals, and unusual occurrences that were newsworthy in the 1980s and early 1990s, including the Irish Troubles, Shining Path, the BCCI scandal, and the apparent suicides of Roberto Calvi and Jonathan Moyle.

Gameplay

The game is menu-driven and presents the player with scenarios through reports viewable in the Director General's office each day. Each scenario represents a potential scandal that may hurt the government's popularity if not properly handled by the player. The player interacts with the game by issuing orders to eight different departments which represent the capabilities available to the Director General (such as surveillance, assassination, interrogation, or disinformation) to use those capabilities against individuals, locations, or groups involved in each scenario. Once each day's reports are read and any orders have been issued, the player can advance to the next day to see the results of their orders and the progress of scenarios. Each scenario is scripted and will generally always proceed in the same way absent the player's intervention (with minor details such as names and pictures of individuals changed), but some of the results of the player's orders are randomised (for example, assassination attempts may fail or interrogation of individuals may or may not reveal particular information). Each individual or group is rated in the reports as to prominence, power, and orientation towards the government, attributes that will affect the likelihood of success of attempted actions taken against them and the likely results on public opinion. Some scenarios have multiple possible resolutions depending on what means the player chooses to use, and may also generate positive press, raising the government's popularity, if handled well.

During the course of the game, there are two possible ways to lose. Every 21 days, the Prime Minister reviews the opinion polls and will fire the player if the government's approval rating is under 50%. If the player is too severe in using aggressive means that attract unwelcome public attention, the player will be fired by 'Mr. Garcia', an assassin sent by the Prime Minister, and thrown out of their office window. If the government still has the lead in the polls every 21 days, the player will be given more money and employees to work with. With luck, the player can temporarily keep their job by spying on and ignoring or discrediting suspects without using more severe and obvious methods such as "removal", "interrogation" or "heavy assault"; however, if the player is clumsy or blatant, the Prime Minister will increasingly threaten the player with death.

If the player manages to avoid being fired, then the game has two possible successful endings. If the player has successfully navigated through every scandal encountered for an entire year while keeping the approval rating above 50%, the government realises that the player knows too much and appoints him or her Prime Minister, with a final note to "enjoy it while it lasts". The other ending involves successfully completing all seven Secret Master missions; in this ending, the player is anointed the new head of the Secret Masters of Thoth and the face of the character is shown.

Reception

Computer Gaming World's Charles Ardai called Floor 13 "the most unpleasant espionage game ever made", comparing it to a James Bond fan's reaction to Casino Royale ("It is simply handled poorly"). Beyond disliking the KGB or Gestapo-like "loathsome secret police activity" the game depicted, he wrote of the gameplay that "Hannah Arendt could not have conceived of more banal evil. Floor 13 turns acts of unmitigated cruelty into bloodless, arm's length bureaucratic functions ... a type and quality of gameplay that was obsolete in 1978".[5]

Cara Ellison mentions the game as it appears in the Internet Archive, pointing out that it seems quite modern. It "simulates the detached bureaucracy a totalitarian government would have to put in place to actually control things, making you increasingly aware that this might be why governments recruit such boring rich people" [6]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Floor 13 (1991) DOS credits". Blue Flame Labs. https://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/floor-13/credits. Retrieved 3 September 2020. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Credits - Floor 13: Deep State". https://floor13deepstate.com/credits. Retrieved 3 September 2020. 
  3. ↑ "Floor 13". Games-X 33 (Dec 1991) - via Amiga Magazine Rack
  4. ↑ "Floor 13". AUI Vol 6 No 11 (Nov 1992) - via Amiga Magazine Rack.
  5. ↑ Ardai, Charles (December 1992). "Virgin Games' Floor 13". Computer Gaming World: 109. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1992&pub=2&id=101. Retrieved 5 July 2014. 
  6. ↑ Ellison, Cara (January 2015). "My awesome trip through a free archive of 'classic' computer games". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jan/16/internet-archive-of-free-ms-dos-games. 
  • 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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