Software:Innocent Until Caught

From HandWiki
Short description: 1993 video game
Innocent Until Caught
Developer(s)Divide By Zero
Publisher(s)Psygnosis
Platform(s)Amiga, MS-DOS
Release1993
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Innocent Until Caught is a graphic adventure published in 1993 for Amiga and MS-DOS by Psygnosis. It was followed by Guilty.

Plot

The game takes place in a space-borne setting, in the year 2171.

Jack T. Ladd is a thief, his hunting-ground is the whole galaxy, and at the moment, he's in big trouble. He's told by the IRDS (Interstellar Revenue Decimation Service) he's got 28 days to pay his taxes - or else the interstellar tax agency will hunt him down. Termination is a viable punishment for tax offenders in these days. Stranded blank on the barren, run-down planet Tayte, Jack decides that he has to make some cash. For that end he agrees to perform three quests for an individual (either the pawnbroker Ebeniezer or crime boss Git Savage): an egg of a Giant Kahoula bird, a bond for Quargian Pleno-credits stolen from the CitiCitiBank Bank vault, and an art exhibit by Renato Spangle from the Stoneybridge Gallery. When he brings all three items however, the player is set up and delivered to the police.

While in jail, an unknown benefactor gives him the means to escape the Alkaseltz Prison. With him comes Narm N'palm, an idiotic maniac who serves as Jack's sidekick for the remainder of the game. Jack is delivered to a space vessel run by a space Federation. He is told that Grand LordMaster P'PauD'P'Pau, the mad dictator of planet Shmul, developed the Transatron able to destroy whole star systems.

On his way to steal the superweapon from the Research Laboratory, Jack falls in love with the dictator's daughter, Ruthless P'PauD'P'Pau. They end up in SkyCity where the Transatron is kept; there Jack learns that it is not a superweapon, but an inter-dimensional jewel that will allow him to tap into the IRDS files and become the richest man in the universe; the Federation is after it not because it's dangerous, but to erase some of its debts.

In the end, the Transatron and Skycity are destroyed because of one of Nalm's blunders and Jack escapes with Ruth, having managed to erase his own debts.

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
Hyper70%[1]
PC Gamer (UK)80%[2]
Electronic Entertainment4 out of 10[3]

Computer Gaming World's Charles Ardai in 1994 stated that Innocent Until Caught was "sometimes disappointing but never dull". He complained of the many bugs ("Innocent broke down at least once every half dozen screens") and other problems, but "I suppose it is a good sign that even with all the bugs, I never felt inclined to stop playing. Jack's story is interesting enough ... the puzzles clever enough, and most of the graphics and sound good enough". Ardai concluded that "it is rare that a game startles me in the way this one did ... Unusual games earn points in my book, as do daring ones, and Innocent is both".[4]

PC Gamer's Andy Butcher praised the game's graphics and presentation. However, stated that "it tries to be funny, and even succeeds at points, but the jokes tend to fall halfway between intelligent wit and Red Dwarf style parody". And added, "it's not clever enough to count as a classic", citing Sam & Max Hit the Road as an example of a better title in the genre.[2]

James V. Trunzo reviewed Innocent Until Caught in White Wolf #44 (June, 1994), giving it a final evaluation of "Fair" and stated that "Mom always said to find something good to say or to keep my mount shut. Okay, Innocent Until Caught has a sense of humor. Some of the dialogue made me smile. And I always enjoy playing a rogue character; Jack Ladd definitely walks on the wild side. There. Satisfied, Mom?"[5]

References

  1. ↑ Wildgoose, David (February 1994). "Innocent – Until Caught". Hyper (3): 59. https://archive.org/details/hyper-003/page/58/mode/2up?q=%22james+pond+3%22. Retrieved July 2, 2021. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Butcher, Andy (January 1994). "Innocent Until Caught". PC Gamer 1 (2): 78. 
  3. ↑ Raymo, Rick (March 1994). "Innocent Until Caught". Electronic Entertainment 1 (3): 102. 
  4. ↑ Ardai, Charles (February 1994). "A Fate Worse Than Debt". Computer Gaming World: 138, 140. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1994&pub=2&id=115. 
  5. ↑ Trunzo, James V. (June 1994). "The Silicon Dungeon". White Wolf Magazine (44): 48. https://imgur.com/a/0UROvtS. 
  • 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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