Software:History Line: 1914-1918

From HandWiki
History Line: 1914-1918
European cover art
Developer(s)Blue Byte
Publisher(s)
Platform(s)Amiga, DOS
Release1992
Genre(s)Turn-based tactics
Mode(s)Single-player, single-system multiplayer

History Line: 1914-1918 (released in North America by Strategic Simulations as Great War: 1914-1918) is a turn-based tactics computer game released in 1992 by the Germany team Blue Byte. The storyline takes the player through various battles of the First World War. It uses the software engine based on the better known Battle Isle '93.

Plot

Main article: Social:World War I
Unit information screen; this screen show the Voisin III plane.

The storyline takes the player through various battles of World War I. The player can choose to play either the French or German side.[1] The game starts in August 1914, with Germany invading France. As during the real war, the open greenfields of the first battles, dominated by cavalry, are gradually replaced by terrain filled with trenches and bunkers; as the number of tanks, artillery and aeroplanes increases the cavalry and infantry troops become less effective.[1] New units become available as the game progresses, such as A7V or Mark IV tanks.[1][2]

The game includes a lot of information about the period: after each mission, historical facts about two months of wartime are displayed. The game was designed to be educational, starting with an animation depicting the Western Front in 1916, and a sequence showing the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, whose assassination in Sarajevo precipitated the Austrian declaration of war against Serbia which triggered World War I.[1] After completing each map the player receives information about the course of the war (the game is linear - it is impossible to change history).[1] The information includes text and illustrations taken from contemporary newspapers, both on key historical events and on trivial domestic news such as sporting events.[1] There are also some animations, such as a zeppelin on a bombing raid London Bridge.[1]

Gameplay

Screen split in two sides, each showing part of the map - the most common view in the game

The game uses a software engine very similar to the better known Battle Isle '93 game.[1] It is played on a hexagonal grid for a map.[1] Both players act simultaneously on a split screen, each showing a part of a larger map.[1] The turns are also divided into move and attack (order) phases.[1][2] While one player moves his units, the other commands his own troops to carry out his actions.[1]

The objective is to capture the enemy's headquarters building (while guarding your own); the victory can also be achieved by annihilating every unit the enemy controls.[1][2] The maps have various features - different terrain types, as well as depots (to repair units) and factories (to produce) as buildings.[1] Captured building may contain 'free' units. The units gain experience, although this experience isn't carried over from mission to mission in campaign mode.

In addition to the 24 single-player campaign maps, there are 12 two-player maps.

The AI is relatively weak, relying on mass frontal assaults.[2] After the player survives the first few turns and the AI's overwhelming numbers using protected artillery and terrain advantage, the computer is usually unable to mount a proper defense.[2]

Cultural influences

The game was mildly successful, but although the name implied that there may be other 'history lines' and the designers speculated that they may go on to develop games set in pre-20th century conflicts, no such games were created, as Blue Byte decided to develop the more successful Battle Isle series.

Reception

Computer Gaming World in 1993 stated that History Line was "both simple to play and serves as a challenging technical simulation of warfare". The magazine liked the "high quality" computer AI, and concluded that the game was "a genuinely unique product that may be dismissed by very serious wargamers, but will be welcomed by a much larger audience ... the best release yet from Blue Byte".[3] A 1993 survey in the magazine of wargames stated that "history takes a back seat to playability".[4] Another review in the magazine that year stated that it was "an abstract historical game", with many of the fictional maps and scenarios akin to puzzles. It concluded that as such, History Line was "a much more playable game than any historical recreation of events could hope to be".[5]

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 Review from CU Amiga, February 1993, p.p.60-61 (scroll down for English translation)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Review at The Good Old Days
  3. ↑ Matthews, Robin (August 1993). "Blue Byte's History Line 1914-18". Computer Gaming World: 110. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1993&pub=2&id=109. Retrieved 12 July 2014. 
  4. ↑ Brooks, M. Evan (September 1993). "Brooks' Book of Wargames: 1900-1950, A-P". Computer Gaming World: 118. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1993&pub=2&id=110. Retrieved 30 July 2014. 
  5. ↑ Dille, H. E. (December 1993). "The War To End All Wars". Computer Gaming World: 252–253. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1988&pub=2&id=47. Retrieved 31 March 2016. 
  • 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 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]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

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. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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  • Review at The Amiga Games Database




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