Software:JumpStart Typing

From HandWiki
Short description: 1997 video game
JumpStart Typing
Developer(s)Knowledge Adventure
Van Duyne Engineering
Publisher(s)Knowledge Adventure
SeriesJumpStart
Platform(s)Windows, Macintosh
ReleaseOctober 15, 1997
Genre(s)Educational
Mode(s)Single player

JumpStart Typing is a personal computer game intended to teach typing skills to kids aged seven to ten. The game reuses the cast of JumpStart Adventures 3rd Grade.

The game is set at Sparks Stadium, where keyboarding Olympics take place between the Sparks Team and the Galaxy Gladiators. When Polly Spark gets mad at Coach Qwerty, who didn't like her "untapped typing talent" and consequently kicked her off the team, she locks him in the Trophy Room. When Botley reminds her of how much her father wanted to win a new trophy for the Trophy Room, Polly decides to let Coach Qwerty out, but it turns out that her power cards needed to unlock and open the Trophy Room need to be recharged.

The user must therefore coach the Sparks Team in Qwerty's place and recharge Polly's power cards through taking timed typing tests. At the beginning of the game, the user takes a diagnostic test to determine the words per minute goals that need to be reached to activate the power cards.

Keyboard Training Center

The Keyboard Training Center is run by Polly and includes the locked Trophy Room, the Technique-O-Tron and the Test-O-Matic. The Technique-O-Tron provides two humorous movies, made in a style to suggest they were made in the mid-20th century despite featuring modern computer keyboards, that teach the user about the "home row" keys and correct typing posture. The Test-O-Matic features lessons and timed typing tests. It is through taking the timed typing tests that the user attempts to reach the words per minute that activate the power cards.

The games

Outside the Keyboard Training Center, Botley joins the user for the games, which the user plays to win gold, silver and bronze medals. Winning these medals do not lead to the freeing of Coach Qwerty. Naturally, the user has a limited amount of "strength" to play the games and, if the "strength bar" gets too low, it must be restored through taking lessons and timed typing tests in the Keyboard Training Center. Botley may have been voiced by a new person, but he still seems the same, and none of the robots from JumpStart 3rd Grade are seen. The games are as follows:

  • Roller Racer - The user helps a Sparks player skateboard down a track and avoid hitting obstacles or the mischievous Track Trickster by typing the letters that appear on them.
  • Keyboard Kicks - In this foosball-esque game, the user types the letters that activate a row of Sparks players, so that they will block the ball away from the Sparks' goal. Thus Sending the ball right at the Galaxy Gladiators' goal 10 points were needed to be scored in the game to win
  • Trail Blazer - The user helps fifty Sparks snowboarders make it to the bottom of a mountain by typing the letters that appear above each of them.
  • Cliff Hanger - The user types the letters on different ledges to help the Sparks player climb to the top of Mount Keys, while avoiding Wall Crawlers, who throw balls of slime down on the climber.
  • The Fans Go Wild - The user types the letters on cards held by fans so that they turn over and form an animated message. Ms. Winkle, Polly's schoolteacher from JumpStart 3rd Grade, appears to be part of the crowd. This is the only activity in which a medal is not earned.

The Closing Ceremony

After Qwerty is freed, Polly apologizes for locking him in the Trophy Room and argues that he should consider the fact that she took part in freeing him and coaching the team. He tells her that "if it takes locking me in the Trophy Room to get you to practice your keyboarding skills, then so be it" and decides not to tell Professor Spark about the incident. At the Closing Ceremony, the Professor, left with the impression that Qwerty was "mysteriously locked in a Trophy Room throughout the games," presents a trophy to the user, since Botley informed him that the user was primarily responsible for the Sparks Team winning over the Galaxy Gladiators.

As in JumpStart 3rd Grade, the storyline ends here, but the user can continue playing the games.

Production

After the merge of Knowledge Adventure and Davidson & Associates, Jan Davidson began cross-developing products between the Glendale and Torrance centers and the first Knowledge Adventure product to be produced in Torrance was JumpStart Typing. Led by executive producer Mike Albanese and producer Michele Lichtenstein, JumpStart Typing was declared to be "more JumpStart than JumpStart." This effectively ended any speculation that a JumpStart title could not be produced outside of Glendale. Indeed, Albanese went on to assume the role of Vice President of KA Glendale towards the end of his tenure at what was then Cendant Software.[citation needed]

Critical reaction

Discovery Education praised its educational and entertainment value, saying it was best suited for practicing typing rather than learning the basics, and would appeal to children who enjoyed fast-paced games.[1]

References

  1. ↑ "JumpStart Typing (review)". Discovery Education. http://school.discoveryeducation.com/parents/reviewcorner/software/jumpstarttyping.html. Retrieved 20 January 2014. 
  • 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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