Software:Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm

From HandWiki
Short description: 2008 video game
Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm
Developer(s)Stainless Games
Publisher(s)Sega
Director(s)Kenn Navarro
Producer(s)Jana Canellos
Designer(s)Simone McDermott
Programmer(s)Ben Lyons
Writer(s)Ken Pontac
SeriesHappy Tree Friends
Platform(s)
ReleaseJune 25, 2008
Genre(s)Puzzle
Mode(s)Single player

Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm is a video game based on the Flash cartoon series Happy Tree Friends developed by independent software developer Stainless Games and published by Sega. It was scheduled to be released in fall 2007 and then April 2008, but was delayed and released on June 25, 2008, for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360.

Description and gameplay

Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm is an action-adventure game utilizing a "physics-based reactive environment".[1] It is similar in some regards to Lemmings. In the game, players control almost everybody. Stages include a mine shaft, candy factory, hospital, and a museum. There is also an exclusive episode in the game, however, it was eventually uploaded onto the HTF official website and can now be viewed on YouTube.[2]

The game itself features a HUD with Lumpy in it, four ability icons (Fire: burning objects, scaring the Happy Tree Friends along; Nitro: destroying obstacles; Water: Freezing objects and Happy Tree Friends; and Action: allows interactivity with the environment), and an ability meter, which prevents over-use of any ability (on the top-left), there is also, on the top-right a fire alarm with a meter around it, which has a gold, silver, bronze, and 'fail' zone, which relates to the end reward upon completion (or, if appropriate, lack of completion) of a level. The Lemming-like Happy Tree Friends who are being rescued, have their own icons (up to five) at the top of the screen in the HUD, with a health bar to indicate their condition. If the icon is frozen, it means the character is currently frozen. If the character's portrait is black and has flames coming from it, that means that the character is currently on fire. If there is a large red X through the portrait, it means they are dead.

In the Xbox 360 version there are 12 achievements and 200 Gamerscore available. The game also sports a Leaderboard system for Xbox Live and the PC, the leaderboard is the records that have been achieved around the world, the filters for the leaderboards are: "Level", which consists of all levels, and every individual level; "Period", which is either "All Time", "Monthly", or "Weekly"; and "Filter", which filters between everyone on the leaderboards (starting at #1), friends only, showing only the player and their friends, and My Score, which shows the player's score in relation to other players. The Leaderboards allows them to scroll up and down commands, and a refresh command.

Animated short

An exclusive episode was made under the same title for the Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm video game. It was later uploaded to the Happy Tree Friends website and YouTube.[2]

After getting impaled by a truckload of candy canes due to his candy addiction, Nutty is sent to the hospital. He is then sent to an asylum, where he eventually recovers from his addiction. Lifty and Shifty, who Nutty had bought the truckload of candy from, attempt to sell him more candy, but Nutty rejects. They then offer to sell him a video game, which he buys. He eventually becomes addicted to video games, but his game console overheats after playing it for too long. Nutty then sees Lifty and Shifty with a van full of video games and chases them with Cuddles' car, killing Petunia in the process. He then crashes into Lifty and Shifty's van, killing them and The Mole. Nutty then discovers all the video games destroyed, but sees a candy cane. He licks it and starts laughing crazily, reverting to his candy addiction.

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
PCXbox 360
EurogamerN/A4/10[3]
GamesMasterN/A37%[4]
GameSpotN/A4.5/10[5]
IGN6.2/10[6]6.2/10[6]
OXM (UK)N/A6/10[7]
OXM (US)N/A4.5/10[8]
PC Zone19%[9]N/A
TeamXboxN/A6.5/10[10]
Aggregate score
Metacritic41/100[11]51/100[12]

The Xbox 360 version received "mixed" reviews, while the PC version received "generally unfavorable reviews", according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[11][12]

References

  1. ↑ "Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/games/happy-tree-friends-false-alarm. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 MondoMedia (August 1, 2008). "Happy Tree Friends - False Alarm (Full Episode)". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZjTQ87MoEo. 
  3. ↑ Whitehead, Dan (June 30, 2008). "XBLA: Happy Tree Friends and Ticket to Ride". Gamer Network. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/xbla-happy-tree-friends-and-ticket-to-ride-review. 
  4. ↑ "Review: Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm (X360)". GamesMaster (Future plc): 85. October 2008. 
  5. ↑ Ramsay, Randolph (June 30, 2008). "Happy Tree Friends False Alarm Review (X360)". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/happy-tree-friends-false-alarm-review/1900-6193197/. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Goldstein, Hilary (June 26, 2008). "Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm Review". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/06/26/happy-tree-friends-false-alarm-review. 
  7. ↑ King, Ryan (June 25, 2008). "[Xbox Live Arcade Review: Happy Tree Friends"]. Official Xbox Magazine UK (Future plc). http://www.oxm.co.uk/article.php?id=4921. Retrieved October 22, 2015. 
  8. ↑ "Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm". Official Xbox Magazine (Future US): 85. October 2008. 
  9. ↑ "PC Review: Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm". PC Zone (Future plc): 69. October 2008. 
  10. ↑ Chapman, David (June 27, 2008). "Happy Tree Friends False Alarm Review (Xbox 360)". IGN Entertainment. http://reviews.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/1531/Happy-Tree-Friends-False-Alarm/p1/. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm for PC Reviews". CBS Interactive. https://www.metacritic.com/game/happy-tree-friends-false-alarm/critic-reviews/?platform=pc. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm for Xbox 360 Reviews". CBS Interactive. https://www.metacritic.com/game/happy-tree-friends-false-alarm/critic-reviews/?platform=xbox-360. 

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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