Software:Indiana Jones and His Desktop Adventures

From HandWiki
Short description: 1996 video game
Indiana Jones and His Desktop Adventures
The boxart for Indiana Jones and His Desktop Adventures features a still of Indiana Jones from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
Developer(s)LucasArts
Publisher(s)LucasArts
Director(s)Hal Barwood
Designer(s)Hal Barwood
Wayne Cline
Paul D. LeFevre
Tom Payne
Programmer(s)Paul D. LeFevre
Artist(s)Tom Payne
Writer(s)Hal Barwood
Wayne Cline
Composer(s)Clint Bajakian
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh
ReleaseApril 1996[1]
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Indiana Jones and His Desktop Adventures is a 1996 adventure video game. Desktop Adventures was made to run in a windowed form on the desktop to limit memory use and allow the player to perform other tasks. This game was the first Desktop Adventures game, and was followed by Software:Star Wars: Yoda Stories in 1997.

Gameplay

Indiana Jones and His Desktop Adventures gameplay. Note the top-down view along with the directional arrows and round health meter in the lower right.

The game is set in mid-1930s Middle America with a variety of characters, puzzles, and outcomes. The plot, size, and direction of each game are randomly generated at the start, with locations and items being different every time. However each storyline has a pre-scripted resolution, with 15 different types of scenario in total,[2] each designed to last for around an hour.[3]

The playing area is displayed from an overhead perspective. The player-controlled Indiana Jones is limited to orthogonal movement, which is controlled with the arrow keys or with the mouse. The mouse is also used for other actions, such as managing inventory and using weapons. Each scenario is randomly generated by selecting each element (such as the item Indiana Jones must collect at each stage of the adventure) from a set of possibilities. After winning, the player can continue to explore the setting.

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
CGWStar[4]
GameSpot5.8/10 (PC)[6]
Next GenerationStarStarStar (MAC)[9]
PC Games44% (PC)[7]
PC Zone8/10 (PC)[8]
MacUserStarStarStar[10]

Trent Ward of GameSpot reviewed the game as having low-quality visuals and audio but being possibly useful for passing time.[6] Billboard magazine mentioned the game's randomly generated environment and its target audience of "gamers on the go", and deemed it "An unambitious title that will rope you in."[11] A Next Generation reviewer noted that the randomly generated scenarios are essentially repetitive, and complained at the fact that the player character cannot shoot diagonally but enemies can. He concluded, "All this said, however, the game only costs around 12 bucks and if you don't expect too much, it is pretty fun. The underlying idea is sound, and if you don't mind repetition, check it out."[9]

Charles Ardai of Computer Gaming World wrote, "For a genius, George Lucas sure has a lot of bad ideas. [...] Some time ago, someone from his computer game division must have come to him and said, 'Hey, let's put out a really simple, randomly generated RPG-style adventure game, stick a whip in the hand of the main character, use the Indiana Jones name–and make it look really ugly.' And Lucas must have said, 'Sounds good to me.'" Ardai wrote that Indiana Jones fans may enjoy the theme music featured in the game, but concluded that the game was "embarrassingly retro," with its "overly simplistic gameplay; crude visuals and sound" and "ludicrous ethnic stereotypes."[4]

Rob Tribe of PC Zone called it "very, very addictive," though like Next Generation, he criticized the fact that the player character cannot shoot diagonally but enemies can.[8] Shane Mooney of PC Games found it repetitive and expected a better game from LucasArts.[5]

In 1996, Computer Gaming World declared Indy's Desktop Adventures the 15th-worst computer game ever released.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "20th Anniversary - History; Part Three: Broadening Horizons, 1995 – 1998". LucasArts. http://www.lucasarts.com/20th/history_3.htm. 
  2. ↑ "Indiana Jones, Star Wars are coming to a computer near you". Sun Journal (Lewiston, Maine) 102: p. 7. 1995-11-23. https://books.google.com/books?id=HdcgAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22Indiana+Jones+and+His+Desktop+Adventures%22&pg=PA68. 
  3. ↑ Bassave, Roy (1997-04-06). "'Yoda Stories' offers some challenges". Knight Ridder Newspapers (Dubuque, Iowa: Telegraph Herald) (96, 162nd Year): p. 7E. https://books.google.com/books?id=6y1iAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22Indiana+Jones+and+His+Desktop+Adventures%22&pg=PA51. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ardai, Charles (August 1996). "A Compact Ford: Indiana Jones Meets His Doom In Desktop Adventures". Computer Gaming World: 128. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Mooney, Shane. "Indiana Jones and His Desktop Adventures". http://www.pcgamesmag.com/games/Aug96/indijo896.html. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Ward, Trent (1996-06-27). "Indiana Jones and his Desktop Adventures Review". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/indiana-jones-and-his-desktop-adventures-review/1900-2535452/. 
  7. ↑ Borovskis, Thomas (June 1996). "Indiana Jones Desktop Adventures" (in German). PC Games (Germany): 152–153. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Tribe, Rob (2001-08-13). "Indiana Jones And His Desktop Adventures". http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=3086. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Indiana Jones and his Desktop Adventures". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (23): 281. November 1996. 
  10. ↑ Loyola, Roman (January 1997), "The Game Room", MacUser, http://macuser.zdnet.com:80/mu_0197/personal/gameroom.html, retrieved January 23, 2020 
  11. ↑ Atwood, Brett (1996-06-01). "Reviews & Previews". Billboard: 84. https://books.google.com/books?id=rwkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA84. Retrieved 2014-07-15. 
  12. ↑ Staff (November 1996). "150 Best (and 50 Worst) Games of All Time". Computer Gaming World (148): 63–65, 68, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80, 84, 88, 90, 94, 98. 
  • 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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