Software:Rockett's New School

From HandWiki
Short description: 1997 video game
Rockett's New School
Developer(s)Purple Moon
Release1997

Rockett's New School is a 1997 girl-oriented video game developed by Silicon Valley-based Purple Moon. It was directed by Brenda Laurel.

Production

Five years of research was spent on the game.[1] During this time, Laurel discovered that boys and girls play games differently, and that girls wanted a more slower-paced and introspective experience as opposed to the action-based twitch gameplay that appealed to boys.[2] A website launch and a serious media hype preceded the release of Purple Moon's first two titles: Rockett's New School and Secret Paths.[1] Two 30-second TV spots for the games were aired on network and cable stations in New York and Chicago in October-November 1997.[3] Rockett even appeared with a moustache in the "Got Milk?" ad series.[4] The game was conceived as part of an episodic series of CD-ROMS, with unresolved plot elements that would be addressed in the following titles.[1] Episode 2, Rockett's Tricky Decision, was expected to come out in January 1998.[1] The game's success led to a website, merchandise, and talks about a television adaption.[5] Mattel bought Purple Moon in 1999 in order to add the Rockett brand to their successful girls video gaming empire that had begun with Barbie.[6] Mattel aimed to expand the franchise with a book series.[7] Another game entitled Starfire Soccer Challenge was not serialised due to the imminent acquisition of the company by Mattel.

Gameplay and design

The game follows Rockett Movado as she begins the first day of eighth grade at her new school.[8] The game's genre is "friendship adventures for girls", which Wired deemed to be a new game category created by Brenda Laurel, Purple Moon's co-founder.[1] The game's design was built on the notion of girls not wanting to play as a superhero, rather as a friend, experiencing real-life events, encounters, and emotions that they would understand.[1] The player can discover more about each player by examining their locker or reading their journal, which allowed each character more three-dimensionality than in traditional hero vs villain games.[9] The game avoids text when it can and instead portrays information through graphical imagery, in order to help players identify with the protagonist by seeing what she sees.[10]

In the sequel, Rockett's Tricky Decision, Rockett is invited to two parties on the same night.[11]

Critical reception

The first Christmas sell-in exceeded the developer's expectations, and the press coverage was 95 percent positive.[12] During December 1997 alone, Rockett's New School sold 39,174 units in the United States, for revenues of $1.1 million.[13] It ultimately sold 250,000 units.[14] However, a review by The New York Times commented that he didn't need to play the game with young girls because he knew a bad game when he saw it, which was reprinted in a popular Silicon Valley newspaper San Jose Mercury News.[15] The title became attacked by both reviewers (who felt it was objectively a poor game) and feminists (who felt it was a bad example of what a "game for girls" could be).[16] Entertainment Weekly described the title as "thoughtfully addictive".[4] CNN asserts that while successful, the games never "became the runaway hits the company hoped they would be".[17]

In a retrospective review, BuzzFeed called the title "The Mean Girls Of '90s Games".[18] Laurel herself asserts that girls found a community within the game.[2]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Purple Moon Finally Rises" (in en-US). WIRED. https://www.wired.com/1997/09/purple-moon-finally-rises/. Retrieved 2018-04-01. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 LatoyaPeterson. "Beyond Rockett and Purple Moon: Gender, Gaming, and Stereotypes" (in en-US). Jezebel. https://jezebel.com/5435844/beyond-rockett-and-purple-moon--gender-gaming-and-stereotypes. 
  3. ↑ "Purple Moon Taps Hoffman/Lewis To Promote Its CD-Roms For Girls" (in en-US). http://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/purple-moon-taps-hoffmanlewis-promote-its-cd-roms-girls-41625/. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "The Practical Futurist: Girls Just Want To Have Games" (in en). Newsweek. 2002-09-03. http://www.newsweek.com/practical-futurist-girls-just-want-have-games-144593. 
  5. ↑ "Purple Moon sets - Feb. 19, 1999". https://money.cnn.com/1999/02/19/technology/purple/. 
  6. ↑ "Mattel buys Purple Moon - Mar. 18, 1999". https://money.cnn.com/1999/03/18/technology/mattel/. 
  7. ↑ OLDHAM, JENNIFER (1999-03-19). "Mattel to Buy Girls' Games Innovator Purple Moon" (in en-US). Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. http://articles.latimes.com/1999/mar/19/business/fi-18744. 
  8. ↑ "Rockett's New School: Description". https://mathequity.terc.edu/gw/html/Rockett.html. 
  9. ↑ "CNN - Interactive equal opportunity - June 22, 1997". http://edition.cnn.com/TECH/9706/21/e3.girls/index.html. 
  10. ↑ "Hypertext Now: The Hypertext Patterns of "Rockett's New School"". http://www.eastgate.com/HypertextNow/archives/Rockett.html. 
  11. ↑ "CNN - Interactive equal opportunity - June 22, 1997". http://edition.cnn.com/TECH/9706/21/e3.girls/index.html. 
  12. ↑ LatoyaPeterson. "Beyond Rockett and Purple Moon: Gender, Gaming, and Stereotypes" (in en-US). Jezebel. https://jezebel.com/5435844/beyond-rockett-and-purple-moon--gender-gaming-and-stereotypes. 
  13. ↑ Slaton, Joyce. "The Games Girls Play: Who Says Girls are Afraid of Mice?". GameSpot. http://gamespot.com:80/features/girlgames/index.html. 
  14. ↑ "Sb983142367395144229". http://public.wsj.com/sn/y/SB983142367395144229.html. 
  15. ↑ LatoyaPeterson. "Beyond Rockett and Purple Moon: Gender, Gaming, and Stereotypes" (in en-US). Jezebel. https://jezebel.com/5435844/beyond-rockett-and-purple-moon--gender-gaming-and-stereotypes. 
  16. ↑ "She Tried To Make Good Video Games For Girls, Whatever That Meant" (in en). Kotaku Australia. 2012-05-29. https://www.kotaku.com.au/2012/05/she-tried-to-make-good-video-games-for-girls-whatever-that-meant/. 
  17. ↑ Anderson, Lessley. "CNN - Purple Moon to be eclipsed? - February 17, 1999". http://edition.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9902/17/girlgame2.idg/index.html. 
  18. ↑ "How Rockett's New School Was The Mean Girls Of '90s Games" (in en). BuzzFeed Community. https://www.buzzfeed.com/jobsonworks/how-rocketts-new-school-was-the-mean-girls-of-90-uvg2. 
  • 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 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]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

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. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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