Software:Slordax: The Unknown Enemy

From HandWiki
Short description: 1991 video game

Slordax: The Unknown Enemy
Title screen
Developer(s)Softdisk
Publisher(s)Softdisk
Director(s)Tom Hall
Programmer(s)John Carmack
John Romero
Artist(s)Adrian Carmack
Platform(s)MS-DOS
Release1991
Genre(s)Scrolling shooter
Mode(s)Single-player

Slordax: The Unknown Enemy is a vertically scrolling shooter for MS-DOS, published by the software company Softdisk in 1991. The game has 16-color graphics that scroll smoothly across the screen, which was technically impressive for a PC game at that time.[1] Slordax was developed at Softdisk in September and October 1990 by programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall and artist Adrian Carmack. It was the first game that they developed as a team. Soon after they would leave Softdisk to form their own game company, called id Software.[2][3]

Plot

Seven centuries ago, a war was waged by the Slordax as they tried to conquer the universe. Currently the Intergalactic Defense Alliance believes that the Slordax will return and start another devastating war. The I.D.A. sends a fighter pilot in a RedDog Adaptive Strike Ship to destroy the enemy bases in the Realm of Slordax, before the Slordax can build up their forces.[4]

Gameplay

The player moves through five stages, including an asteroid belt and the surface of a planet. Enemy ships can drop capsules that can be picked up to upgrade the weapons on the player's ship. After all five stages are completed, the game loops back to the first stage while increasing the difficulty.[4]

Development

Slordax was developed in September and October 1990 by programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall and artist Adrian Carmack. At that time they were employed at the software company Softdisk. Slordax was the first game that they developed as a team.[2]: 45–47 

The game engine was programmed by John Carmack, who developed the technique to smoothly scroll the 16-color graphics vertically. According to gaming website IGN, this was technically impressive for a PC game at that time.[1] The remainder of the game, including the level editor, was programmed by John Romero. The level editor was called TED, or Tile EDitor. It was first used for creating levels for Slordax, but was designed to support future games as well. According to Romero, TED ended up being used for 33 published games.[3]: 110 

The name Slordax was suggested by Tom Hall, who also wrote the story and designed half of the levels. The other half were designed by Romero. Adrian Carmack created all the art for the game, with the exception of the title screen.[3]: 88–90  The team completed Slordax on October 31, 1990.[3]: 101 

While Slordax was in development, John Carmack further improved the smooth scrolling technique with the ability to scroll in horizontal direction. Without informing Softdisk, the four team members used this technology to secretly develop their own game: Commander Keen in Invasion of the Vorticons. Soon after, on February 1, 1991, they founded their own game company, called id Software.[2]: 48–74 [3]: 91–107 

Release

Slordax was initially published in 1991 by Softdisk as part of their Gamer's Edge bi-monthly subscription service.[3]: 90  Later Softdisk marketed Slordax as part of The Lost Game Collection of ID Software along with several other games created by id Software on contract for Softdisk.[5] The game company Ziggurat Interactive published Slordax on Steam and GOG.com in 2021.[6]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Fahs, Travis (September 23, 2008). "The Early Years of id Software". http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/09/23/the-early-years-of-id-software. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Kushner, David (2004). Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture. Random House. ISBN 978-0-8129-7215-3. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Romero, John (2023). Doom Guy: Life in first person. Abrams Books. ISBN 978-1-4197-5811-9. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Slordax: the unknown enemy". Ziggurat Interactive. 2021. https://www.ziggurat.games/game/slordax-the-unknown-enemy. 
  5. ↑ "Gamer's Edge Electronic Catalog - Volume 1". Softdisk. 1992. http://cd.textfiles.com/maxgames/GAMES/CATACOMB/PRINTFIL.TXT. Retrieved December 12, 2017. 
  6. ↑ "Retro first Friday brings forgotten Softdisk classics to PC!". Ziggurat Interactive. May 7, 2021. https://www.ziggurat.games/news/retro-first-friday-brings-forgotten-softdisk-classics-to-pc. 
  • Official website
  • 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



Template:Softdisk



Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Software:Slordax:_The_Unknown_Enemy&oldid=3967212"