Software:S.D.I. (video game)

From HandWiki
S.D.I.
Developer(s)Master Designer Software
Publisher(s)Cinemaware
Designer(s)Robert Jacob[1]
EngineCustom
Platform(s)Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS, Macintosh
Release1986/1987
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

S.D.I. is a 1986 Action-adventure game developed and published by Cinemaware. The game is set during the Cold War.

Gameplay

Atari ST screenshot

The player takes the role of the commander-in-chief of the American SDI system, who according to the game manual is a Captain named Sloan McCormick, presumably in the United States Air Force . McCormick has his headquarters in the American space station, which monitors a network of twelve anti-missile satellites in geosynchronous orbit over the United States. The game's advertising blurb indicates that these American satellites employ particle beams. The plot states that Russian revolutionary extremists, led by discontented members of the KGB have gained control of several ICBMs, as well as space launch facilities needed for deploying crewed orbital fighters. Because they have received no response to their demands for the Kremlin to surrender and for the Americans to abandon their SDI system, the revolutionaries have begun using their seized assets to periodically launch fighters against both space stations. They have also begun periodically firing waves of nuclear missiles at the United States. The player engages the enemy projectiles and enemy ships using a space-based fighter. The player must destroy the incoming missiles lest they wreak destruction upon the U.S. The player must also make repairs to the defense satellites that become damaged during the battles.

Later in the game, the player continues the role of McCormick as, in order to finish the game, McCormick must make a desperate attempt to rescue his lover—he does not necessarily have to succeed. She is the Soviet station commander, and according to the manual her name is Natalia "Talia" Kazarian. She is placed in grave danger because her station is eventually boarded by the enemy forces, so McCormack must attempt to fight his way past them and reach Kazarian before she is killed.

Plot

This game was released near the end of the Cold War. According to the game introduction screen, it takes place in October 2017. The game uses the controversial Strategic Defense Initiative (S.D.I.) as its plot device. True to its name, Cinemaware also looked to Hollywood for some inspiration of the storyline. The storyline is reminiscent of several spy films (such as the 007 films From Russia with Love and Moonraker). The game assumes that both the Soviet Union and the United States have their own version of S.D.I. protecting their respective nations. The American station is never referred to by name. However, the manual and the in-game text indicate that the Soviet facility is called V. I. Lenin Defense Station. It is also mentioned that the Soviet station has laser cannons for defense against fighters.

Reception

Antic stated that S.D.I. for the Atari ST was "only partially successful". Comparing portions to Star Raiders and Missile Command, the magazine stated that it "is a series of old arcade games strung together [without] depth", criticizing the "fairly repetitious" gameplay and "inconsistent" joystick controls. The reviewer concluded, however, asking "why do I find myself playing it again and again? I don't know, but once I get into it, it holds a bizarre fascination as few other games do. And if that's not a recommendation, I don't know what is".[2] Computer Gaming World praised the ST version, particularly for its touching ending sequences. The review also noted the game "relies more on arcade elements than the other Cinemaware games".[3] Compute! praised the Atari ST version's graphics but called the gameplay repetitive.[4] The Amiga version of the arcade game was reviewed in 1987 in Dragon #128 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 3 out of 5 stars.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Game Credits for S.D.I
  2. ↑ Bernstein, Harvey (June 1987). "S.D.I.". Antic. http://www.atarimagazines.com/v6n2/STProductNews.html. 
  3. ↑ Battles, Hosea Jr. (June–July 1987). "S.D.I.". Computer Gaming World: 6. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1987&pub=2&id=38. 
  4. ↑ Randall, Neil (July 1987). "Two Views Of Outer Space: S.D.I. And Wanderer". Compute!: pp. 32. https://archive.org/stream/1987-07-compute-magazine/Compute_Issue_086_1987_Jul#page/n33/mode/2up. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  5. ↑ Lesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia; Lesser, Kirk (December 1987). "The Role of Computers". Dragon (128): 92–96. 
  • 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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