Software:OutNumbered!

From HandWiki
Super Solvers: Outnumbered!
OutNumbered!
Developer(s)The Learning Company
Publisher(s)The Learning Company
Platform(s)MS-DOS, Macintosh
Release
Genre(s)Educational
Mode(s)Single-player

OutNumbered! is an educational video game published by The Learning Company in 1990[1] for both Windows and Macintosh PCs. It is aimed at children ages seven to fourteen and is designed to teach children mathematical computation and problem solving skills.[2]

Gameplay

OutNumbered! is a side-scrolling educational game whose objective is to stop the Master of Mischief, a common antagonist of The Learning Company's Super Solvers series and Treasure series, from taking over a television and radio station before midnight. To do this, the player must deduce which room the Master of Mischief is hiding in by comparing sets of patterns for each room to those of the room the Master of Mischief is hiding in. To obtain the pattern for each room, the player must visit each room and solve a math puzzle related to that room.

During the course of the game, the player will randomly happen upon the Master of Mischief's robot, Telly. Telly will attempt to knock down the player by either crashing into them or hitting them with hurled discs, sound waves, lightning bolts, or energy stars. If the player zaps Telly with his zapper before any of these things happen, and while Telly's screen is red, they will get a chance to earn a clue to the pattern of the room that the Master of Mischief is hiding in.

When the player has all four patterns for the room the Master of Mischief is hiding in as well as those of each room, they must decide which room he thinks the Master of Mischief is hiding in. The player must compare clues obtained by zapping Telly to those for each room. If the player correctly guesses the room the Master of Mischief is hiding in, they will get a bonus score based on time and zapper energy remaining. This score will then be added to the player's lifetime score. If the guess is incorrect or the player fails to gather enough information by midnight, they will lose the game and their lifetime score will not change.

As the player wins more games, their lifetime score will increase. At certain score amounts, the player will advance in rank and the game becomes more difficult, and the match rule changes.

Development

Super Solvers series

The Super Solvers series is a series of computer games released by The Learning Company that contain both educational and entertainment qualities.

OutNumbered! is the second program of the series to be released. Other programs in this series include Midnight Rescue!, Spellbound!, and Gizmos and Gadgets! among others.[3]

Music

In lieu of original musical scores, OutNumbered! uses famous classical pieces as background music. The music played in the halls is from Mozart's 40th Symphony, specifically, its first and fourth movements.[4] The music played in the rooms is based on Rachmaninoff's variations on Paganini's 24th Caprice. The music played on the title screen is based on Bach's Prelude in C minor, BWV 999.

Enhanced version

In 1995, a slightly enhanced and more Windows-friendly version was released on CD-ROM.[1]

Reception

Reception
Review score
PublicationScore
Abandonia4.0 out of 5[1]

OutNumbered! was reviewed in the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Guide Book where it was praised for its imaginative gameplay. The authors claimed that the game "proves that practicing math problems need not be tedious".[5]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Super Solvers - OutNumbered!". Abandonia. http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/1009/Super+Solvers+-+OutNumbered%21.html. 
  2. ↑ Underdogs. "Super Solvers: OutNumbered". Home of the Underdogs. http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/1009/Super+Solvers+-+OutNumbered%21.html. 
  3. ↑ Chris Martin. "Super Solvers series". MobyGames. http://www.mobygames.com/game-group/super-solvers-series. 
  4. ↑ "Games that used Mozart Symphony #40". Ars Technica. 2004-06-19. https://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=518619. 
  5. ↑ Oppenheim, Joanne and Stephanie (1993). The Best Toys, Books & Videos for Kids. Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Guide Book. 1 (1st ed.). New York: Harper Perennial. p. 275. ISBN 0-06-273196-3. 
  • 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





Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Software:OutNumbered!&oldid=848946"