Software:Opening Night (video game)

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Opening Night
Cover art
Developer(s)MECC
Publisher(s)MECC
Platform(s)Windows, Macintosh
Release1995
Genre(s)Education/simulation

Opening Night is a 1995 education/simulation video game by MECC, and developed in cooperation with The Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis. It is aimed at children aged 10 and up.[1]

Gameplay

Players create, direct, and perform mystery plays in a lifelike theatre, featuring The Children's Theatre Company actors in period costumes.[2] They do this by manipulating multimedia including 40 actors, 100 sets, and 300 props to create stories.[3] Lighting, music, and sound effects can be later added.[4] To access an item, players first choose the Category Viewer to choose the category, then next the Item Viewer to choose the item. Double-clicking on the item places it onto the stage.[5] The game was curriculum-driven; it aimed to allow students to use their creativity to write scripts and create plays for assessments,[3] and to use their imagination.[6]

A timer helps synchronise actions, while the recorder is used to capture action. Text-to-speech technology allows the player to hear the character say what they have written;[7] however if words are mispronounced they are encouraged to type the words out phonetically instead.[8] Star Tribune commented that the dialogue can either appear at the bottom of the screen like movie subtitles, or spoken in a "Stephen Hawking monotone".[2]

Development

The actors were added by first being filmed or photographed then digitized into the game, in a similar vein to Mortal Kombat.[4]

A bonus expansion pack named Opening Night Behind the Scenes was released in 1995 on Windows 3.1 and Macintosh. It was developed in cooperation with The Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis and published by MECC. The disk illustrated how the game was made and showed how a theatre operates. Players could watch interviews by industry professionals from The Children's Theatre Company and look up terms in a glossary.[9][10] The CD also include Quicktime movies showing tours of different aspects of the theatre.[8]

Release

Dale LaFrenz, MECC president and chief executive officer, commented that she expected Opening Night, alongside MayaQuest and Math Munchers Deluxe, to be released in time for the pre-holiday selling season of 1995.[11]

The game was the 73rd best-selling title during the November–December 1995 period (holiday season).[12]

Critical reception

Star Tribune positively compared MECC's Opening Night (1995) to The Learning Company's The American Girls Premiere (1997), which the newspaper considered to be a mere repackaging of the MECC video game. While The American Girls Premiere offered players the ability to record their own voices, Star Tribune otherwise considered it to be redundant to the earlier game, and thought Opening Night's fans would find the newer title unnecessary.[13] The Washington Post thought the game would only appeal to fully-fledged theatre enthusiasts, while turning off more casual creative types.[14] Macs For Teachers described the product as "very cool".[15]

William T. Yates of The School House Review and World Village gave the game 5 out of 5 stars, commenting that the game would increase players' interest in and love of the theatre.[16][17] Anne Bubnic of Pep Holiday Hits thought the game was for "aspiring actors and actresses", and chose it as one of the best picks for the holiday season.[18] Gamervescent, for which Opening Night was their first video game, wrote retrospectively that over time they learnt that the title unleashed the "greatest unintentional hilarity of all time".[19] Theatre in Cyberspace wrote that the game was elegant and that it could be more directly applied to the classroom.[20]

A series of plays from the game have been uploaded to YouTube.[21]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "New Version of Storybook Weaver Deluxe Available Now With Enhanced Creativity Features". PR Newswire. January 13, 1997. https://www.thefreelibrary.com/New+Version+of+Storybook+Weaver+Deluxe+Available+Now+With+Enhanced...-a019016748. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Covert, Colin (January 15, 1996). "MINNESOTA MULTIMEDIA; Now the Minnesota Connection is in the CD- ROM business.". Star Tribune. https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-62623318.html. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "MECC Product Forum: Opening Night". MECC. February 3, 1997. http://www.mecc.com/products/lang/on/on.html. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Opening Night". http://www.mobygames.com/game/opening-night. 
  5. ↑ "Opening Night Tips and Secrets". MECC. February 3, 1997. http://www.mecc.com/kids/opn.tips.html. 
  6. ↑ "Opening Night" (in en). Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium. http://www.mecc.co/mac--pc-products/language-arts/opening-night.html. 
  7. ↑ Dixon, Pam (January 1, 1996) (in en). TakeCharge Computing for Teens and Parents. IDG Books Worldwide. ISBN 9780764501012. https://books.google.com/books?id=dEpsp-ZqAIEC&q=%22opening+night%22+mecc. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Yates, William T. (December 26, 1996). "IT'S OPENING NIGHT FOR YOUR PLAY! A Review of Opening Night". World Village. http://www.worldvillage.com/wv/school/html/reviews/opening.htm. 
  9. ↑ Opening Night Behind the Scenes. https://www.amazon.com/Opening-Night-Behind-Scenes-Software/dp/B000V7Y7DS. 
  10. ↑ "Opening Night: Behind the Scenes back cover". MECC. 1995. https://archive.org/details/opening-night-behind-the-scenes. 
  11. ↑ "MINNESOTA EDUCATIONAL COMPUTING CORPORATION (MECC) REPORTS HIGHER REVENUE, NET INCOME FOR 2ND QUARTER". PR Newswire. October 17, 1995. https://www.thefreelibrary.com/MINNESOTA+EDUCATIONAL+COMPUTING+CORPORATION+(MECC)+REPORTS+HIGHER...-a017630509. 
  12. ↑ "MECC MOVES INTO TOP FIVE IN EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE SALES FOR 1995; 9 TITLES RANK AMONG TOP 100 HOLIDAY SELLERS". PR Newswire. February 12, 1996. https://www.thefreelibrary.com/MECC+MOVES+INTO+TOP+FIVE+IN+EDUCATIONAL+SOFTWARE+SALES+FOR+1995;+9...-a017966979. 
  13. ↑ Alexander, Steve (September 25, 1997). "CD-ROM lets girls create historical stage plays; Software industry is remiss no longer.". Star Tribune. https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-62616611.html. 
  14. ↑ Oldenburg, Don; Stoltz, Craig (December 27, 1995). "Time in a Bottle". The Washington Post. https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-868203.html. 
  15. ↑ Robinette, Michelle (September 19, 1997) (in en). Macs For Teachers. Wiley. ISBN 9780764502262. https://books.google.com/books?id=TpYLAQAAMAAJ&q=%22opening+night%22+mecc. 
  16. ↑ Yates, William T. (December 26, 1996). "Opening Night". THe School House Play. http://www.worldvillage.com/wv/school/html/reviews/opening.htm. 
  17. ↑ "Opening Night". June 20, 2001. http://www.worldvillage.com/wv/school/html/reviews/opening.htm. 
  18. ↑ Bubnic, Anne (January 17, 1999). "HOLIDAY BEST BETS". Parents – Educators – Publishers.. http://www.microweb.com/pepsite/Holiday/xmas_anne.html. 
  19. ↑ Bryan, Bethany (November 20, 2012). "A Retrospective on the First (BEST) Game I Ever Owned -". Gamervescent. http://www.gamervescent.com/a-retrospective-on-the-first-best-game-i-ever-owned/. 
  20. ↑ Schrum, Stephen Alan (January 1, 1999) (in en). Theatre in Cyberspace: Issues of Teaching, Acting and Directing. P. Lang. ISBN 9780820441405. https://books.google.com/books?id=Fq8cAQAAIAAJ&q=%22opening+night%22+mecc. 
  21. ↑ "A Retrospective on the First (BEST) Game I Ever Owned – Gamervescent" (in en-US). Gamervescent. November 30, 2012. http://www.gamervescent.com/a-retrospective-on-the-first-best-game-i-ever-owned/. 
  • 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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