Software:Space Quest II

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Short description: 1987 video game

Space Quest II:
Chapter II – Vohaul's Revenge
Illustrated video game box art with men in business suits floating in space inside tubes beneath large 3D block letters spelling the game's title
Developer(s)Sierra On-Line
Publisher(s)Sierra On-Line
Designer(s)
  • Scott Murphy
  • Mark Crowe
Programmer(s)Scott Murphy
Artist(s)Mark Crowe
SeriesSpace Quest
EngineAGI
Platform(s)DOS,[1] Macintosh, Apple II, Apple IIGS, Amiga, Atari ST
ReleaseNovember 14, 1987
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Space Quest II: Chapter II – Vohaul's Revenge (commonly known as Space Quest II: Vohaul's Revenge) is a graphic adventure game released on November 14, 1987 by Sierra On-Line. It is the sequel to Space Quest I, again using Sierra's AGI game engine, and sees players assume the role of Roger Wilco, a simple janitor who is soon drawn into a new adventure involving thwarting the culprit behind the events of the last game.

The game was a commercial success from launch, receiving significant praise by critics from more improved puzzles and a greater scope, but with some criticism over some problematic elements. The game was followed on by a sequel, Space Quest III, in 1989. In 2011, a fan remake of Space Quest II was launched, featuring improvements in graphics and gameplay, while including new animation sequences and a full voice cast for characters.

Plot

Setting

Space Quest II takes place within a universe that notably parodies prominent science-fiction brands such as Star Wars and Star Trek. The story takes place several months after the events of Space Quest I, with players assuming the role of Roger Wilco, a janitor who saved his homeworld of Xenon from disaster by destroying a potent weapon known as the Star Generator and killing the Sariens that stole it. A comic is included in the manual to explain to the player what events have occurred since Space Quest I.

Story

Pixelated game scene showing a man standing next to a crashed pod and another man lying on the ground in a forest
The player types the parser command "search man" after crash-landing on Labion (Atari ST)

Several months after saving his home world of Xenon from the dangers of the Sariens, Roger Wilco accepts a position as Head Janitor aboard Xenon Orbital Station 4 as his fame fades into obscurity. Contacted by his superiors to clean up a mess on a recently arrived shuttle, Roger finds himself ambushed in the station's hangar bay, where he is knocked out and abducted by unknown assailants. When he regains consciousness, he finds himself a prisoner on an asteroid base orbiting the jungle planet of Labion, run by Sludge Vohaul – a former scientist of Xenon. Vohaul reveals he was the creator of the Star Generator, but was exiled by Xenon when he sought to have the technology used as a weapon rather than for peace.

Eager for revenge, he attempted to use the Sariens to steal the generator, but was infuriated when Roger thwarted this. Despite the setback, he reveals he is in the process of creating an army of cloned insurance salesmen to help him eradicate life on Xenon. To punish Roger for his actions, Vohaul has him sent to his mines on Labion as a slave. However, whilst being transported over the jungles, a malfunction on the transport craft causes it to crash, killing Roger's guards. Escaping detection by Vohaul's goons, Roger makes his way through the jungle to the landing pad he arrived at, and steals a shuttle. However, Vohaul hijacks its controls, bring him back to the asteroid base to keep him from escaping.

With little choice, Roger sneaks around the base, attempting to find some way out. Instead of finding an escape route, he finds himself entering Vohaul's control room, where the scientist decides to keep him imprisoned more permanently. Shrunk down in size, and trapped in a glass jar, Roger manages to break out, and infiltrates a life-support machine that has helped to keep Vohaul alive over the years. Disconnecting it, Roger kills Vohaul, before getting himself restored to his normal size. Activating a self-destruct sequence, Roger makes his way through the base, finds an escape pod, and flees as the base is destroyed. Finding the pod cannot keep him alive forever, Roger enters cryo sleep to conserve oxygen while awaiting someone to rescue him, as the capsule drifts across space.

Reception

"Lovers of challenge, come hither! Sierra On-Line has the game for you", PC Magazine wrote in 1988. The magazine warned of Space Quest II's difficulty ("don't kid yourself by thinking you'll get by without the Hint Book") but praised its fun when playing with others. It approved of the "terrific" EGA graphics but said many details were not visible with CGA graphics.[2] Computer Gaming World noted, "Though the game is similar to the original Space Quest, the addition of more detailed animation, more difficult puzzles, an improved parser (hurrah!), and greater scope makes a good game even better". The review criticized some objects' unclear descriptions, particularly problematic with CGA. It also stated that the hidden location of the gem was "illogical", as the entrance to the underwater cave is not shown on the screen.[3] Antic warned of the difficulty, stating that the ST version "is trickier than the original and graphically superior".[4] Macworld wrote that "as in the original game, Space Quest II succeeds with the humor of its animation and scripting".[5]

Space Quest II was listed number four in Sierra's Top 5 Bestsellers. Therefore, it can be assumed Space Quest II sold over 100,000 copies, thus earning the SPA (Software Publishers Association) Gold Medal.[6] According to Sierra On-Line, combined sales of the Space Quest series surpassed 1.2 million units by the end of March 1996.[7]

Remake

Infamous Adventures announced on April 1, 2007 that they were remaking Space Quest II in the style of past VGA remakes, releasing screenshots and a demo along with the announcement. The remake was released on New Year's Eve 2011, featuring a full-voice pack and extended content.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Kosek, Steven (December 11, 1987). "Here Are the Absolute, Absolute Latest Computer Games". p. 210. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89520156/chicago-tribune/. 
  2. ↑ Losee, Stephanie K. (June 28, 1988). "Space Quest II: Attack of the Pushy Insurance Salesmen". PC 7 (12): 406. https://books.google.com/books?id=-9qzy8Z8SKEC&pg=PA406. Retrieved May 3, 2025. 
  3. ↑ Seacat, Douglas (July 1988). "As Welcome as an Insurance Salesman: "Space Quest II: Vohaul's Revenge"". Computer Gaming World: 18, 46. 
  4. ↑ Teverbaugh, Rick (July 1988). "ST Games Gallery: Hunt for Red October, Arctic Fox, Oids, Police Quest, Space Quest II, Slaygon, Beyond Zork". Antic. https://www.atarimagazines.com/v7n3/stgamesgallery.html. Retrieved May 9, 2020. 
  5. ↑ McCandless, Keith (March 1989). "Animated Adventure Games". Macworld: 183. https://archive.org/stream/MacWorld_8903_March_1989#page/n193/mode/2up. Retrieved August 20, 2016. 
  6. ↑ "Space Quest 2 Fun Facts". SpaceQuest.Net. http://www.spacequest.net/sq2/funfacts/. 
  7. ↑ Sierra On-Line Form 10-K (Report). Bellevue, Washington. March 31, 1996. pp. 7–9. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/724991/0000891020-96-000721.txt. 
  8. ↑ Jenson, Luke (April 1, 2007). "Infamous Adventures Giving Wilco a Facelift!". Adventure Gamers. http://www.adventuregamers.com/newsitem.php?id=1424. 
  • 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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