Software:Operation: Weather Disaster

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Short description: 1995 video game


Operation: Weather Disaster
Developer(s)Human Code
Publisher(s)Discovery Channel Multimedia
Platform(s)Macintosh, Windows
Release1995
Genre(s)Adventure, Educational
Operation: Eco-Nightmare
Developer(s)Discovery Channel Multimedia, Human Code
Publisher(s)Egmont Interactive
Composer(s)Joel Stearns
Platform(s)Windows
Release1997
Genre(s)Adventure, Educational

Operation: Weather Disaster (aka Team Xtreme: Operation Weather Disaster) is a 1995 video game. Its sequel, Operation: Eco-Nightmare (aka Team Xtreme: Operation Eco-Nightmare) was released in 1997.

Development

Discovery Channel approached a video game development company to commission a science-based game revolving around the weather. The prototype Human Code produced was more boring than expected. Discovery Channel let Human Code software director Gary Gattis focus on making the game fun first and educational second. Gattis extensively researched the weather in order to ensure accuracy.[1] Over 30 minutes of 3D animation was created for the game.[2] In March 1996, Discovery signed a deal to distribute a Spanish adaptation of the products in the American market and the Hispanic market.[3] Upon Operation Weather Disaster)'s original release, it was neglected by consumers, according to Newsweek.[4] The game was re-released in a new package in 1997.[4]

Plot

In Operation Weather Disaster, a TV weatherman who is bored with the sameness of the weather conditions, reporting 267 consecutive sunny days in Arizona,[5] decides to change the world's climate in a devious plan. An emergency task force called Team Xtreme is put into place to restore the world order and defeat the madman.

In Operation Eco-Nightmare, as a member of Team Xtreme's eco division, the player investigates an environment protection group that is headed by Jonah Rainwater, the antagonist of the previous game.

Gameplay

In Operation Weather Disaster, the game is an educational point-and-click adventure that is a clone to Myst. It featured a series of 360 degree screens to navigate through, and FMV cutscenes.

In Operation Eco-Nightmare, the game features a series of 360° screens. Players look for items to add to their inventory, and use them to solve puzzles. FMV sequences brief the player on each new assignment. The game addressed environmental issues such as recycling, energy efficiency and eco-technology.[6]

Critical reception

Operation Weather Disaster

Robert Coffey of World Village praised its graphics, puzzles, and ability to balance subtlety infuse educational material into the narrative.[7] In his journal article How’s the Weather: Simulating Weather in Virtual Environments, Matt Barton cited Operation Weather Disaster as an example of a game that incorporates weather in a thought-provoking way.[8] Feibel praised the game for seamlessly incorporating education into the ludic experience.[9] Boys' Life felt the interactive portions of the game made it feel like much more than an encyclopedia.[10] The Austin Chronicle felt the game, along with Nile, appeals to a broad age range, and incorporate both information and action.[1] The Sydney Morning Herald deemed it a "great mix of game-play and learning".[11] The Tennessean also deemed it a prime example of an all-family science adventure.[12] The Courier-Journal felt the game contained hours of exciting, intense and intellectual challenges.[13] While Natural History generally did not review video games, they found themselves drawn to the title due to its promise to cultivate their meteorological skills.[14] The Washington Post felt the title was not difficult.[15]

The game won an EMMA Award.[9] The title also received Gold in the New Media's Invision '96 category of Best Children's Title.[16][17]

Operation Eco-Nightmare

PC Player felt a sense of adventure game fatigue, noting that the game and its contemporaries were all similar in gameplay and style.[18] The Sydney Morning Herald thought the game, along with Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego 3.0 was the best choice to encourage reluctant readers due to its incorporation of reading into the game.[19]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Touring the Technology Factory" (in en-US). https://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/1995-12-08/530217/. 
  2. ↑ "The Age from Melbourne, Victoria on April 2, 1999 · Page 53" (in en). Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/123014967/. 
  3. ↑ (in spanish) Super PC 33. https://archive.org/details/Super_PC_33. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Calling 'Twister' Fans" (in en). Newsweek. 1996-06-16. http://www.newsweek.com/calling-twister-fans-178874. 
  5. ↑ SCRAP FOOD. 1996-02-01. https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-766137.html. 
  6. ↑ "The Age from Melbourne, Victoria on April 2, 1999 · Page 53" (in en). Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/123014967/. 
  7. ↑ "Operation: Weather Disaster". 2003-04-03. http://www.worldvillage.com/wv/school/html/reviews/weather.htm. 
  8. ↑ Barton, Matt (September 2008). "How's the Weather: Simulating Weather in Virtual Environments". Game Studies 8 (1). ISSN 1604-7982. http://gamestudies.org/0801/articles/barton. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Alle Spiele – Alarmstufe X – Operation Hurricane" (in en). http://feibel.3q.de/index.php?id=7&catId=7&prodId=2895&cHash=7e511bbf28cfe1c911f8f669f0fde24e. 
  10. ↑ Inc, Boy Scouts of America (August 1996) (in en). Boys' Life. Boy Scouts of America, Inc.. https://books.google.com/books?id=PP8DAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Operation%3A+Weather+Disaster%22&pg=PA47. 
  11. ↑ "The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales on February 27, 1996 · Page 61" (in en). Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/120372226/. 
  12. ↑ "The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee on March 19, 1997 · Page 28" (in en). Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/112843999/. 
  13. ↑ "The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky on January 24, 1997 · Page 56" (in en). Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/112158469/. 
  14. ↑ "Operation: Weather Disaster; Bugs in the System". Natural History. 1996-07-01. https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-9799322.html. [|permanent dead link|dead link}}]
  15. ↑ Keyboarding Fun and Weather Disasters. 1996-08-16. https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-56836467.html. [|permanent dead link|dead link}}]
  16. ↑ "New Media's Invision Awards 1996". http://www.cdaccess.com/html/pc/newmedia.htm. 
  17. ↑ "Human Code, Inc.". 1997-04-17. http://newmedia.com:80/Invision/winners/weather.html. 
  18. ↑ "Operation: Eco-Nightmare" (in de). PC Player. June 1997. http://www.mobygames.com/game/operation-eco-nightmare/mobyrank. 
  19. ↑ "The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales on March 14, 1998 · Page 196" (in en). Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/121033377/. 
  • Operation: Weather Disaster at MobyGames
  • 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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