Software:Keep the Balance

From HandWiki
Short description: 2000 video game
Keep The Balance
Developer(s)Item Multimedia (PC)
Karma Studios (GBC)
Publisher(s)JoWooD Productions
Platform(s)Windows, Game Boy Color
Release
  • EU: 2000 (PC)
  • EU: 26 October 2001 (GBC)[1]
Genre(s)Puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player

Keep The Balance is a video game published by JoWooD Productions and developed by Item Multimedia for Windows in 2000 and Karma Studios for the Game Boy Color in 2001. The game is a puzzle game requiring players to balance objects on a pair of scales.

Gameplay

A screenshot of gameplay in the Windows version of Keep The Balance.

Keep the Balance is a puzzle game in which players are required to balance objects on a pair of scales whilst keeping the weight level. The objects are varied and interact with one another in unpredictable ways, such as circus animals that eat the others when placed together, or fans and vacuum cleaners that move objects towards or away from their side of the scale.[2] The game is won when the scales are perfectly balanced, or lost if the scales reach a certain level of imbalance. An unexpected element is the Joker, who will randomly jump onto the scales to disrupt the balance or insert a random object onto the scales.[3]

The Windows version of the game features two modes, with 'Single Player' mode featuring traditional level-based gameplay and a competitive 'Hot Seat' mode allowing two players to alternate turns to attempt to topple the scales of the other player.[3] The Game Boy Color features a simplified version of the scales, with 80 levels in its single-player mode.[4]

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
GBCPC
Jeuxvideo.com12/20 [6]
PC Games25% [5]
Game Boy Xtreme8% [7]
Total Game Boy52% [4]

Keep the Balance received mixed reviews. Faith Wardle of PC World praised the "bizarre and incredibly detailed animation" for the Windows version of the game, whilst observing "the game can be quite slow in the earlier stages, and with ten levels in each zone it may become tedious."[2] Writing for Game Boy Xtreme, Jamie Wilks found the Game Boy Color version to be "one of the worst games I've ever played", stating the game was "slow", "plain dull", and that the "graphics move from one shade of brown to the next".[7] A more forgiving review from Total Game Boy stated that the game "gets really quite addictive" and "the graphics aren't bad", whilst noting that most levels "only last about two seconds each...80 levels is nothing. It's over in a flash."[4]

References

  1. ↑ "UK release dates". October 29, 2001. http://eurogamer.net/release-dates.php. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Wardle, Faith (6 December 2001). "Keep the Balance". https://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/36035/. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Keep The Balance. JoWooD Productions. 2000. https://archive.org/details/keep-balance-manual/mode/2up?q=%22Keep+the+Balance%22+jowood. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Roberts, Jem (September 1999). "Pocket Pool". Total Game Boy (5): 30. https://archive.org/details/total-game-boy-05/page/n29/mode/2up?q=%22Pocket+Bowling%22. 
  5. ↑ "Keep the Balance". PC Games: 146. January 2001. https://archive.org/details/pcgames200101. 
  6. ↑ "Keep the Balance". 30 November 2001. https://www.jeuxvideo.com/articles/0000/00001758_test.htm. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Wilks, Jamie (November 2001). "Keep the Balance". Game Boy Xtreme (5): 38. https://archive.org/details/gbx-issue-05-november-2001_202106/page/n37/mode/2up. 
  • Short description: Video game database
MobyGames
Logo since March 2014
Screenshot
Frontpage as of April 2012
Type of site
Gaming
Available inEnglish
OwnerAtari SA
Websitemobygames.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional
LaunchedJanuary 30, 1999; 26 years ago (1999-01-30)
Current statusOnline

MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] The site is supported by banner ads and a small number of people paying to become patrons.[2] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It is currently owned by Atari SA.

Content

The database began with games for IBM PC compatibles. After two years, consoles such as the PlayStation, were added. Older console systems were added later. Support for arcade video games was added in January 2014 and mainframe computer games in June 2017.[3]

Edits and submissions go through a leisurely verification process by volunteer "approvers". The approval process can range from immediate (minutes) to gradual (days or months).[4] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copyediting.[5]

Registered users can rate and review any video game. 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 subforum.

History

Logo used until March 11, 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999 by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, then joined by David Berk 18 months later, three friends since high school.[6] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience.

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[7] This was announced to the community post factum and a few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.

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).[8] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel.[9]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[10] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[11][12]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ "MobyGames Stats". https://www.mobygames.com/moby_stats. 
  2. ↑ "MobyGames Patrons". http://www.mobygames.com/info/patrons. 
  3. ↑ "New(ish!) on MobyGames – the Mainframe platform.". Blue Flame Labs. 18 June 2017. http://www.mobygames.com/forums/dga,2/dgb,3/dgm,237200/. 
  4. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  5. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/32856/Report_MobyGames_Acquired_By_GameFly_Media.php. 
  8. ↑ 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. 
  9. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/207882/Game_dev_database_MobyGames_getting_some_TLC_under_new_owner.php. 
  10. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  11. ↑ "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/. 
  12. ↑ "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/. 




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