Software:Mata Hari (video game)

From HandWiki
Short description: Adventure video game
Mata Hari
European cover art
Developer(s)Cranberry Production
Publisher(s)
Designer(s)Hal Barwood
Noah Falstein
Programmer(s)Matthias Meyer
Artist(s)Oliver Specht
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release
  • GER: November 21, 2008
  • NA: July 2009
  • UK: March 26, 2010[1]
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Mata Hari is an adventure video game. It was released on November 21, 2008, in German-speaking territories.[2] The game was worked on by ex-LucasArts alumni Hal Barwood and Noah Falstein.[3]

Plot

Real-life Mata Hari embarks on a fictional adventure in which she becomes a spy and uncovers sensitive military secrets, all in the midst of the outbreak of World War I.[4][5]

Gameplay

Primarily a point and click adventure game, the title also includes various minigames. For instance players have to perform exotic dances in order to earn money. The game allowed players to skip these dance-oriented sections.

Development

The game was developed by Hanover-based studio 4Head Studio/Cranberry Production. DTP Entertainment published the game worldwide on its Anaconda label. A press release on April 26, 2007, listed a release date of Q1 2008 for Germany , Switzerland and Austria.[4][5][6]

The core idea, a spy game with Mata Hari at the turn of the last century, was created by Christopher Kellner and Marc Buro. Buro, a producer at DTP, approached both Barwood and Falstein separately and pitched them a game based on Mata Hari, which after discussing the opportunity, felt was "right up our alley". The duo agreed to collaborate on the project.[7] Barwood and Falstein were the principal designers, and fleshed out the core idea into a full-fledged game. The 4Head Studio team was led by Tobias Severin, Matthias Meyer, and Oliver Specht.[7]

The duo, who both lived in California , were able to discuss the game at a local cafe. However, they also began to have long Skype conversations between California, Hannover and Hamburg. In August 2007, Barwood and Falstein attended a series of meetings in Hannover to review and fine-tune the design.[7]

Critical reception

Adventure Archiv thought that the game was short at a play time of ten hours.[8] Adventure Treff wrote that reading the Wikipedia article of the subject of the game was more exciting than playing the game, and notes the game developers should have read it too prior to making the game.[3] Adventure Corner felt the game's story was littered with plot holes.[9] Game Captain felt the game came across as simple and superficial.[10][11] Adventures Unlimited thought the game fell below expectations.[12] Jeux Video described the title as one that exudes freshness, maturity and remarkable intelligence.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "Mamba Q1/2 2010 schedule". Gamer Network. December 14, 2009. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/mamba-q1-2-2010-schedule-uk-release-dates-fo-the-likes-of-memento-mori--ghost-pirates-of-vooju-island--making-history-2-and-gray-matter. 
  2. ↑ "Mata Hari Schedule of Upcoming Releases: Just Adventure - Reviews Walkthroughs and Adventure News!". 2008-11-09. http://www.justadventure.com:80/Upcoming_Releases/MataHari/MataHari.shtm. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Adventure-Treff - Test: Mata Hari". 2016-03-19. http://www.adventure-treff.de/artikel/tests.php?id=173. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "News 27-04-2007 Mata Hari englisch". 2016-03-25. http://adventurearchiv.com/m/news270407mataharie.htm. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Beautiful and dangerous: Anaconda goes spying with Mata Hari - Press Release: Just Adventure - Reviews Walkthroughs and Adventure News!". 2007-12-27. http://www.justadventure.com:80/Press_Releases/MataHari_Apr26_07.shtm. 
  6. ↑ "Experience Mata Hari's exotic dancing - Introducing new "Seduction" gameplay mode added to upcoming classic P&C; adventure game - Press Release: Just Adventure - Reviews Walkthroughs and Adventure News!". 2008-12-10. http://www.justadventure.com:80/Press_Releases/MataHariSeduction_Oct20_08.shtm. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Adventure-Treff - Interview: Hal Barwood". 2016-04-10. http://www.adventure-treff.de/artikel/interviews.php?id=49&lang=eng. 
  8. ↑ "Mata Hari - Review deutsch". 2016-03-25. http://adventurearchiv.com/m/mataharireviewd.htm. 
  9. ↑ "Adventure Corner - Reviews - Mata Hari". 2008-12-30. http://www.adventurecorner.de:80/reviews.php?id=142. 
  10. ↑ "Mata Hari | Testbericht / Review (Seite 1) @GameCaptain.de". 2008-12-01. http://www.gamecaptain.de:80/PC/Artikel/3968/Mata_Hari_Test.html. 
  11. ↑ "Mata Hari | Testbericht / Review (Fazit) @GameCaptain.de". 2008-12-02. http://www.gamecaptain.de:80/PC/Artikel/3968/Mata_Hari_Test.html?page=Wertung. 
  12. ↑ "Adventures unlimited [ www.adventuresunlimited.de ]". 2009-02-03. http://adventuresunlimited.de:80/matahari.htm. 
  13. ↑ "Test de Mata Hari sur PC - 06/05/2009". 2014-07-30. http://www.jeuxvideo.com:80/articles/0001/00010769-mata-hari-test.htm. 
  • Official website via Internet Archive
  • 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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