Software:SimTunes

From HandWiki

SimTunes is a children's software toy designed by Toshio Iwai and released by Maxis in 1996.

Gameplay

SimTunes is a music video game. Players select four characters named Bugz that each represent one of 48 different instruments, including piano, guitar, bass, drum, vocals and sound effects.[1][2] Bugz are placed on a plane and play sounds when passing colored squares that correspond a to musical notes,[1][3] guiding their path by placing blocks that can turn them left, right, or in the opposite direction.

Development

SimTunes was created by Japanese developer Toshio Iwai,[1] who adapted the game's concept from Musical Insects, a 1992 work exhibited at the San Francisco Exploratorium,[4][1][3] driven by an interest in using the computer to allow users to express themselves musically without the need for formal study or practice.[5] Iwai originally created a more complex version of Musical Insects for Nintendo on the Super Famicom titled Sound Fantasy.[6][7][1] Sound Fantasy was completed over 1993-4 after a Nintendo representative viewed Musical Insects.[5] Iwai speculates that the game was never released by Nintendo due to the desire to pivot to 3D titles.[5]

Maxis, a San Francisco based company, adopted the project after a staff member happened to view Music Insects at the Exploratorium.[1] Producer Michael Wyman stated the concept appealed to the studio due to its open-ended nature, and the decision was made to rename it to SimTunes.[5] The game was one of four titles in the Sim series announced by Maxis for the 1996 Christmas season, alongside SimCopter, SimGolf and SimPark.[8] In 2001, the game was re-released by Maxis alongside SimTown, SimAnt, SimSafari, and SimPark in a compilation titled SimMania for Kids.[9]

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGame4/5[10]
Daily News3/5[2]
PC Home8/10[11]

Reviewers praised SimTunes as a method for teaching children to create music,[11][10] highlighting its accessible tools and guidance,[2] and appeal to players who did not have formal experience making music.[11]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Bruckman, Amy (April 1997). "Bug Jan". Wired. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161221140106/https://www.wired.com/1997/04/bug-jam/. Retrieved September 15, 2026. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Mannes, George (24 November 1996). "Tune in to notable CD-ROMs". Daily News: pp. 54. https://www.newspapers.com/image/492045148/?match=2&terms=%22simtunes%22&search-id=fbfd9314-1944-4d3d-bf7b-3c7f20069dc4&search-rank=7. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Manes, Stephen (29 April 1997). "Lights! Cameras! Music! Insects". https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/compcol/042997compcol-manes.html. Retrieved 14 September 2026. 
  4. ↑ "SimTunes". PCMag: 372. 17 December 1996. https://archive.org/details/PC-Mag-1996-12-17/mode/2up?q=%22simtunes%22. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Brown, Azby (May 1997). "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Geek". Wired. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160305074434/http://www.wired.com/1997/05/ff-iwai/. Retrieved September 15, 2026. 
  6. ↑ "The Forgotten Sims". GameInformer (170): 125. June 2007. https://archive.org/details/game-informer-issue-170-june-2007/page/124/mode/2up?q=%22simtunes%22. 
  7. ↑ Morse, Deanna (February 1999). "Pre-Cinema Toys Inspire Multimedia Artist Toshio Iwai". https://www.awn.com/mag/issue3.11/3.11pages/morseiwai.php3. Retrieved 14 September 2026. 
  8. ↑ "Maxis' Announces Interactive Holiday Releases". Animation World Magazine 1 (7): 40. October 1996. https://archive.org/details/awn-magazine-volume-1-7/mode/2up?q=%22simtunes%22. 
  9. ↑ Gudmundsen, Jinny (3 May 2001). "Bargain bundles of kid software". The Times: pp. 6E. https://www.newspapers.com/image/220261356/?match=1&terms=%22simtunes%22&search-id=fbfd9314-1944-4d3d-bf7b-3c7f20069dc4&search-rank=27. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 McCall, Karen. "SimTunes - Review". Archived from the original on 16 November 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141116003331/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=6704&tab=review. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Turnbull, Pam (July 1997). "SimTunes". PC Home (58): 52. https://archive.org/details/pc-home-58-1997-07/page/n51/mode/2up?q=simtunes. 
  • 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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