Software:Mutant League Football

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Short description: 1993 video game
Mutant League Football
North American cover art
Developer(s)Mutant Productions
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
Producer(s)Sam Nelson
Programmer(s)Gil Colgate
Artist(s)Arthur Koch
Composer(s)Brian Schmidt
Platform(s)Sega Genesis
Release
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Mutant League Football is a video game that was originally released in 1993 for the Sega Genesis. The game was designed using the John Madden Football '93 engine, and features a different take on American football, where it resembles a war as much as a sporting competition.

A year later, the same team applied similar concepts to the sport of ice hockey to create Mutant League Hockey. An animated TV series based around the games, Mutant League, aired from July 1994 to February 1996, while a spiritual successor, Mutant Football League was released in 2017.

Gameplay

In-game screenshot

The game deviates from usual football simulations in several ways. It most notably takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where radiation has caused the human race to mutate and the dead to rise from the grave. The instruction manual states that the exact causes of the upheaval have been lost or corrupted, due to (among many things) the chaos of an alien invasion, spin control, a sloppy filing system set up by a temp, and what appears to be barbecue sauce.

Landmines, fire pits, and other hazards (such as areas being open to empty space) litter the field, which can be made of rock, ice, or even toxic waste or rubber. Players can lose health or die during the run of play which will cause them to fumble. Teams have special Nasty Audibles, which are dirty, violent tricks such as exploding balls, invisibility, electric shocks, jet packs, or tackling the other quarterback with the intent to kill. All of this can result in large gains and/or horrific casualties. Killing enough players causes an opposing team to forfeit.

Each team can "bribe ref" twice per game (once in each half). The bribed referee will call phony penalties (e.g. 5-yard penalty for crying) on the opposing team. This will last for a few plays, but the other team usually tries to kill him (one of the Nasty Audibles that can actually be played at any time) immediately after the first dirty call. A slain ref is then replaced by an even tougher one, who will promptly call another 5-yard penalty on the murdering team for Ref Bashing. Note that accidental referee deaths, such as being caught in the middle of a pileup, or nudged into a mine, are not penalized. Other penalties include offsides (encroachment also counts as this penalty), illegal kick, delay of game, QB bashing, and pass interference. All of these penalties are 5-yard penalties except pass interference, which is an automatic first down.

Gameplay can take place in the form of a pickup game or full-season mode. Winning the championship game in season mode results in the losing team exploding spontaneously, and the winning team's MVP perishing by induction into the "Hole of Flame". The induction ceremony depicts the game referees snatching the MVP and stuffing him into a firepit.

Teams

Teams are composed of aliens, skeletons, robots, trolls, and superhumans. Seven players are on the field for each team, instead of the usual eleven. Many of the teams are based on real life teams, with names like the Deathskin Razors and the Midway Monsters. Players also have humorous names, like Bones Jackson (Bo Jackson), L.T. Impaler (Lawrence Taylor), Joe Magician (Joe Montana) and Scary Ice (Jerry Rice). However, despite all of the death and destruction, the competition aspect is still high, and requires much strategy, especially compared to games like NFL Blitz.

Legacy

This game was followed by a spin-off titled Mutant League Hockey. A basketball game, Mutant League Basketball, was in development, but was never released. These games were also used as the basis for an animated series called Mutant League, which aired from 1994 to 1996. Another spin-off, Mutant Speed Demons, was planned, but never released. However, a non-working prototype was found in 2009.[3][4]

The game inspired a one-off series in the British children's comic Sonic the Comic. The story, entitled "Bring Me the Head of Coach Brikka", ran for 6 episodes in 1994.

Electronic Arts included the game in the PlayStation Portable (PSP) compilation EA Replay. It was released in the United States on November 14, 2006. The PSP allowed a higher resolution for the game than seen on the Genesis, therefore bringing better graphics to the game when played on a television screen via the new PSP Slim & Lite's output capabilities.

In the Xbox 360 version of the video game Madden NFL 09, there is an achievement worth 50 gamerscore titled "Midway Monster". The achievement is unlocked by creating a player named "Bones Jackson" and placing him on the Chicago Bears.

A spiritual successor called Mutant Football League has been developed by Digital Dreams Entertainment for the PC, Xbox One, PS4, and mobile platforms. This has been headed up by Michael Mendheim, the original creator and lead designer of the Mutant League series.[5]

Reception

Reception
Review score
PublicationScore
AllGameStarStarStarHalf star[6]

See also

  • Blood Bowl

References

  1. ↑ "Game Review: Mutant League Football". Mega. Future plc. May 1993. pp. 42–43. https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/081bc151-265c-41c5-8395-261fa5b5b34d. Retrieved 24 September 2024. 
  2. ↑ "Review Crew: Mutant League Football". Electronic Gaming Monthly (46): 28. May 1993. https://archive.org/details/electronic-gaming-monthly-issue-46-may-1993/page/28/mode/1up. Retrieved April 10, 2022. 
  3. ↑ Link (March 15, 2013). "Rare 90s Unreleased Video Game Manuscript for SEGA GENESIS Mutant Speed Demons". GameSniped. http://gamesniped.com/2013/03/15/rare-90s-unreleased-video-game-manuscript-for-sega-genesis-mutant-speed-demons/. 
  4. ↑ sn0zc0r3 (June 3, 2009). "Mutant League Speed Demons for Sega Genesis". Digital Press. https://forum.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?132375-Mutant-League-Speed-Demons-for-Sega-Genesis. 
  5. ↑ "Mutant Football League™ - About Us". http://www.mutantfootballleague.com/about. 
  6. ↑ Baize, Anthony. "Mutant League Football". http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=54&tab=review. 
  • 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 lengthy 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]

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. 
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