Software:Nightlong: Union City Conspiracy

From HandWiki
Short description: 1998 video game
Nightlong: Union City Conspiracy
Developer(s)Trecision / Team17
ClickBOOM (Amiga)[1]
Publisher(s)
PLX Computers (Amiga)
Designer(s)Edoardo Gervino
Writer(s)Simone Scelsa
Composer(s)Gianluca Verrengia
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, Amiga
ReleaseMicrosoft Windows
Amiga
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Nightlong: Union City Conspiracy is a cyberpunk-themed adventure game developed by Trecision and Team17 and published by MicroProse in Europe and DreamCatcher Interactive in North America. It was later ported to the Amiga by ClickBOOM.

Premise

The game takes place in the futuristic Union City in the year 2099. The player assumes the role of an investigator named Joshua Reev. His long-time friend, Hugh Martens (who is now in charge of the city), summons him to help with a matter of major political importance. It seems that a group of terrorists are threatening the city, and Martens' reporter friend Simon Ruby (who was investigating) has vanished. Martens has called on Reev to investigate.

Gameplay

Nightlong is a point-and-click adventure game, predominantly focusing on inventory management and puzzle-solving.

The game is played mostly from the third-person perspective showing Joshua Reev and his surrounding area. As with many games of the genre, non-playable characters appear in some areas and can be interacted with. The navigation interface uses left-click to examine an object, right-click to use, interact with, or combine objects in the game or in Josh's inventory. Hotspots are indicated with on-screen text, including area exits. They are labelled as "Go to..." if Josh has yet to explore the area.

Background music and sound effects are unobtrusive. There is little dialogue between characters, although the game itself is narrated by Josh as he interacts with the items, areas and characters. If Josh has nothing to say, he will shrug. Strong language infrequently appears in Josh's narration.

The game has backgrounds that appear to be a mixture of texture-mapped and hand-drawn graphics. An inventory bar is accessible at the bottom of the screen, and the Escape key is used for the control menu.

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
CGMStarStarHalf star[4]
PC Gamer (UK)46%[3]
PC Zone43/100[5]
PC Gaming World8/10[6]

The game received mainly mixed reviews, with reviewers praising the graphics and sound while criticising the plot and complexity of some of the puzzles. The game sold well enough to warrant the later Amiga conversion and a patch release allowing it to be played on Windows XP.

Due to its science fiction setting, Nightlong received an overt recommendation from The Sci-Fi Channel (now SyFy), to the point of Sci-Fi's logo being present on the box art.[7] Along with MechCommander,[8] it was one of the few games to ever be officially recommended by Sci-Fi.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Nightlong Amiga". http://clickboom.com/nightlong/. 
  2. ↑ "Cheap and Reliable Web Hosting - fast shared hosting and KVM VPS". 2000-11-09. http://www.dreamcatchergames.com/press/index.htm. 
  3. ↑ Pierce, Matthew (Christmas 1998). "Poor". PC Gamer UK (64). Archived from the original on March 17, 2002. https://web.archive.org/web/20020317041408/http://www.pcgamer.co.uk/games/gamefile_review_page.asp?item_id=817. 
  4. ↑ Backer, Andy (February 21, 2000). "Nightlong: Union City Conspiracy". Computer Games Magazine. Archived from the original on February 5, 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20050205133123/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/026/091/nightlong_review.html. 
  5. ↑ "GamesRadar+". http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=3259. 
  6. ↑ Jones, Cal. "Nightlong Review". PC Gaming World. Archived from the original on June 14, 2000. https://web.archive.org/web/20000614081138/http://www.gamespot.co.uk/pc.gamespot/adventure/nigh_uk/review.html. 
  7. ↑ "Nightlong Front Cover". https://www.mobygames.com/game/2564/nightlong-union-city-conspiracy/cover/group-68373/cover-184647/. 
  8. ↑ "MechCommander Back Cover". https://www.mobygames.com/game/334/mech-commander/cover/group-22385/cover-616917/. 
  • 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. 
  • No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.

Template:Atari



Template:Trecision



Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Software:Nightlong:_Union_City_Conspiracy&oldid=3965901"