Software:Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing

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Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing
1987 box art
Original author(s)Norm Worthington,[1]
Walt Bilofsky,
Mike Duffy[2][3]
Developer(s)The Software Toolworks
Initial releaseLate 1987; 39 years ago (1987)
Operating systemmacOS, Windows
Platformcross-platform
LicenseProprietary
Websitemavisbeacon.com

Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing is an application software program designed to teach touch typing. Released in late 1987 by The Software Toolworks, the program aimed to enhance users' typing skills through a series of interactive lessons and games.

Mavis Beacon is an entirely fictional character created for marketing purposes.

History

Background

The character Mavis Beacon, famously associated with teaching typing, was originally portrayed by Haitian-born model Renee L'Esperance. The name "Mavis" was inspired by Mavis Staples, the lead vocalist of The Staple Singers, while the surname "Beacon" was selected for its connotation of guidance and light.[4][5] Les Crane, a former talk-show host and an early partner in The Software Toolworks, played an integral role in creating the persona of Mavis Beacon.[4]

Development

The program's early versions supported both the traditional QWERTY keyboard layout and the alternative Dvorak Simplified Keyboard layout.[6][7]

A screenshot from the Window version of Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing showing a typing game that features car racing
A typing game in Mavis Beacon featuring car racing (Windows version)

Since its initial release in 1987, Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing has undergone numerous iterations. The 2011 Ultimate Mac Edition by Software MacKiev introduced two-player competitive typing network games, integration with iTunes, Dvorak keyboard support, practice typing song lyrics, RSS news feeds, and classic novels.[8] In 2021, Encore, Inc. released Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing 2020.[2]

Sales

In 1999, the series had sold over six million copies.[2] In 2000, two products from the franchise were on the Top Selling Educational Software list. Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing 10.0 was in the fourth position, and Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing 5.0 was ranked eighth.[9]

Distributions of the software include MS-DOS, Apple II, Commodore 64, Apple IIGS, Atari ST, Mac, Microsoft Windows, Palm OS, and Amiga.[10]

Documentary

In 2024, a documentary titled Seeking Mavis Beacon premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, which investigates the origin of Mavis Beacon. The creators of the film discovered that the image of a corporate-attired Black woman on the software packaging was not of someone named Mavis Beacon, but rather a Haitian model named Renee L'Esperance. She was paid $500 for posing for the marketing photo, wasn't involved in the development or the sales of the software, and did not share in any of the presumably significant profits generated by the product. L'Esperance herself neither appears in nor is directly quoted in the documentary.[11]

Gameplay

Users can find themselves racing a virtual car by accurately typing words that appear on the screen.[8] The program also includes typing drills that present users with passages of text to type out, which provides a comprehensive overview of their progress. Successful completion of lessons and tests can result in the achievement of certificates.[12]

Reception

The New York Times technology writer Peter Lewis noted its potential to improve typing skills in 1987.[13] Compute! magazine's review in 1989 supports the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard.[14]

Amiga Format's Paul Tyrrell praised its user-friendly design.[10] Nick Veitch of CU Amiga noted that the program was more interesting than traditional educational packages.[10] Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing Version 5 was described as a "well-polished program" by Superkids.

Legacy

Minigames in the Mavis Beacon series are credited with being some of the progenitors of the typing game genre of video games, typically inventive, low-budget indie games. While these games are often still assumed to be educational in nature, many of them go beyond being educational games in order to fully utilize typing as a control method.[15]

See also

  • Seeking Mavis Beacon (2024 documentary film about Mavis Beacon)
  • Typequick

References

  1. ↑ Norman Worthington: Executive Profile & Biography, Bloomberg, ...One of Mr. Worthington's earliest ventures was Software Toolworks, one of the first highly successful consumer software companies...
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Biersdorfer, J. D. (December 31, 1998). "Next They'll Say Betty Crocker Isn't Real, Either" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/31/technology/next-they-ll-say-betty-crocker-isn-t-real-either.html. 
  3. ↑ Walt Bilofsky's Home Page - Software Publisher, ... I was one of three programmers who designed and created the perennial software hits The Chessmaster and Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing...
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Michallon, Clémence (March 14, 2022). "Mavis Beacon was the top typing teacher in the US before she vanished. The twist? She wasn't real" (in en). The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/seeking-mavis-beacon-teaches-typing-real-story-b2035096.html. 
  5. ↑ MACKLIN, William (November 19, 1995). "Supertypist Mavis Beacon Is A Creation Of Marketing". Seattle Times. http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=2153259&date=19951119. 
  6. ↑ Take A Deep Dive Into Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing!, Rhett Jones, Kotaku Australia, April 10, 2017, access-date: August 18, 2023
  7. ↑ Disk tutorial * £29.99 * Software Toolworks, Amiga Format, July 1993, access-date: August 18, 2023
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing on Steam". https://store.steampowered.com/app/1675910/Mavis_Beacon_Teaches_Typing/. 
  9. ↑ "GET INFO". https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPcap/2000-04/21/024r-042100-idx.html. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "Amiga Reviews: Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing". https://www.amigareviews.leveluphost.com/mavisbe2.htm. 
  11. ↑ Lang, Brent (2024-01-22). "'Seeking Mavis Beacon' Director Jazmin Jones Investigates the Story of the World's Most Famous and Fictitious Typing Teacher" (in en-US). https://variety.com/2024/film/news/seeking-mavis-beacon-director-jazmin-jones-typing-teacher-sundance-1235881667/. 
  12. ↑ "SuperKids Software Review of Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing Version 5.". https://www.superkids.com/aweb/pages/reviews/typing1/mavis/merge.shtml. 
  13. ↑ Lewis, Peter H. (November 17, 1987). "PERSONAL COMPUTERS; Feedback In Typing Program". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/17/science/personal-computers-feedback-in-typing-program.html. 
  14. ↑ Randall, Neil (January 1989). "Mavis Makes It Easy". Compute!: pp. 70. https://archive.org/stream/1989-01-compute-magazine/Compute_Issue_104_1989_Jan#page/n71/mode/2up. 
  15. ↑ Carpenter, Nicole (2019-04-18). "Typing games are having a moment" (in en). https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/18/18484680/typing-keyboard-indie-games-textorcist-nanotale. 

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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