Software:Jonny Quest: Cover-Up at Roswell

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Jonny Quest: Cover-Up at Roswell
Cover art
Developer(s)Virgin Sound and Vision
Publisher(s)Virgin Sound and Vision
Platform(s)Windows, Windows 3.x, Mac OS
ReleaseAugust 1996
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Jonny Quest: Cover-Up at Roswell is a computer game released by Virgin Sound and Vision for the series The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest in August 1996.[1][2]

Gameplay

Gameplay consists of clicking areas on images of locations—whether the Serengeti plains or Manhattan—to navigate paths in search of the objects.[2] Occasionally, players encounter mini games, such as the task of guiding a diving bell away from rocks or shooting rats with a slingshot. Though characters appear on screen, there is no dynamic movement save for mini games.[2] Allowing access to personal and government files at two points in the game, Roswell contains a vehicle guide to Real Adventures and several in-universe e-mails.[3] These communications range from dossiers on the Quest team to a demand from a restaurant owner that Race reimburse him for damages caused when the bodyguard mistook a busboy for a criminal mastermind.[3]

Plot

The Quests are hindered by Jeremiah Surd and the Men in Black of General Tyler, who plan to misuse the technology.[2]

Development

Virgin created the game on a budget of $1 million, initially titling it Escape from Quest World.[4] Developers recycled fifty minutes of footage and art from six season one episodes to construct a new story concerning alien artifacts and an alien's liberation from an autopsy at The Pentagon.[5][6] Virgin handled all marketing, sales, and distribution, while Turner helped cross-promote the game.[4] Turner New Media announced that Virgin's "non-violent adventure games suitable for pre-teen girls and boys, fits...our vision of what family entertainment should be."[6] Virgin designed certain segments in 3D and included special Chromatek plastic viewing glasses with game copies. Footage voices were dubbed over by Michael Banyaer as Hadji, Charles Howerton as Dr. Quest, and the season two cast. Virgin hoped the game would provide 20–25 hours of game play for adults and 80-100 for children.[4]

Reception

The game's music featured a "high-intensity orchestral sound" prone to monotony.[2] One reviewer cited a lack of replay value and different modes of difficulty as weaknesses, but concluded that Roswell offered "good entertainment and variety".[2] Critics were divided over the puzzles' difficulty, naming it both "ingenious" and "elementary".[2][7] Peter Scisco of ComputerLife wrote that his kids had difficulty with the small mouse cursors, and criticized some of the puzzles for relying on "reflexes, not logical thinking."[8] FamilyPC's testers agreed that the early puzzles were difficult but offered a sense of achievement.[9] Entertainment Weekly's reviewer found the challenges too easy, considering them unimaginative "Pac-Man rip-offs and dopey jigsaws," and rated the game B+.[10] Scisco appreciated the nonviolent content and the inclusion of Jessie's strong female character, but named the extraterrestrial story "too familiar".[8] The Sydney Morning Herald warned against buying the game for children "scared easily by baddies," but recommended it for children who would enjoy mental challenges.[11] A critic for USA Today warned that players who aren't fans of the show may find waiting through the many video clips and cut scenes tedious.[12] A reviewer for the New York Daily News wrote that New York City was depicted as "teeming with gangs of wilding youths and set in a bleak, roach-infested urban blight of a stereotype most New Yorkers might find grossly exaggerated; maybe even insulting."[13] The reviewer considered some of the puzzles too difficult for children, but forecast teenage enjoyment.[13] Though he enjoyed using the game's three-dimensional glasses, he suffered a headache after quitting the game.[13] After navigating the first few puzzles, a critic for The Age asked, "Who said this was just for kids?"[14]

References

  1. ↑ Benezra, Karen (1996-01-29). "Hut, Mills join Quest.". Billboard (VNU eMedia, Inc.) 37 (5). 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Bueno, Tony (1996-11-01). "ELECTRONIC ADVENTURES". The Dallas Morning News (The Dallas Morning News Company): 3C. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Cover-Up at Roswell". QuestFan. http://questfan.com/Page/Cover-Up_At_Roswell. Retrieved 24 June 2007. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Hettrick, Scott (1996-03-18). "Turner lets Virgin put spin on new Quest CD-ROM, $1 mil marked for game based on toon". The Hollywood Reporter (BPI Communications, Inc.). 
  5. ↑ "HELP JONNY QUEST SAVE THE WORLD". The Palm Beach Post (Palm Beach Newspapers, Inc.): 3D. 1996-10-05. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Virgin Sound and Vision inks licensing agreement with Turner New Media; VSV brings Hanna-Barbera's The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest into computer age with CD-ROM". Business Wire (Gale Group). 1996-03-18. 
  7. ↑ "VISIONS OF COMPUTER GAMES SWIM IN THEIR HEADS". Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque Journal): 7. 1996-12-21. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Scisco, Peter (1996-12-21). "Junior Sleuths on the Loose: The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest: Cover-Up at Roswell". ComputerLife 4 (3): 113. 
  9. ↑ "Jonny Quest: Cover-Up at Roswell". FamilyPC 4 (6): 72. June 1997. 
  10. ↑ Cheng, Kipp (1996-10-04). "JONNY QUEST: CRISIS AT AREA 51". Entertainment Weekly (347). 
  11. ↑ "Cyberchild". Sydney Morning Herald - Computers (Fairfax Media): 6. 1997-02-25. 
  12. ↑ Deborah, Porterfield (1996-12-16). "Here's help for wading through the plethora of CD-ROM games on the market". USA Today (Gannett Co.). 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 "A CD-ROM(P) on grungy side". Daily News (New York) Business P. 48 (Daily News, L.P.). 1996-12-22. 
  14. ↑ "Quest CD combines fun and learning; reviews - home". The Age - Computers (Fairfax Media): 11. 1997-02-11. 
  • 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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