Software:Stack-Up

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Stack-Up
File:Stackup boxart.jpg
Box art
Developer(s)Nintendo R&D1
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Composer(s)Hirokazu Tanaka
Platform(s)NES
Release
  • JP: July 26, 1985
  • NA: October 18, 1985
  • EU: September 1, 1986
Genre(s)Puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Stack-Up (also known as Robot Block and simply Block (ブロック, Burokku) in Japan ) is a video game released in 1985 for the Nintendo Entertainment System, designed for use with R.O.B. the Robotic Operating Buddy. Stack-Up is one of two games in Nintendo's Robot Series, the other being Gyromite (Robot Gyro in Japan). While Gyromite is a pack-in game with the R.O.B. itself and therefore comes with all the parts needed to play the game, Stack-Up comes in a large box containing additional bases and colored discs. The game's retail box comes with many, many small, plastic parts, which may contribute to difficulty in maintaining a complete set. Stack-Up is considered by those who are in the know to be one of the rarest first-party games for the NES.

Because 1985's newly released NES game console is internally compatible with 1983's Famicom game console, all Stack-Up GamePak cartridges contain the 60-pin circuit board of a Famicom cartridge, attached to a 72-pin adapter like the T89 Cartridge Converter for the NES. This GamePak may be disassembled to reclaim its Famicom-to-NES adapter, for use in modifying other Famicom cartridges to work on NES.

Plot

In some modes, Professor Hector works with R.O.B. to organize blocks. In others, Hector competes for control of R.O.B. against "glitches" named Spike and Flipper, or against Professor Vector.

Gameplay

The player must direct Professor Hector to jump onto buttons, that each activate an action for R.O.B., in a sequence in order to get R.O.B. to arrange the colored discs in a certain order on the five pedestals around R.O.B.

Game modes

Bingo (1P)

Like the other single-player modes, the player progresses through phases by moving the blocks from one arrangement to another, but in this mode block colors are irrelevant, and the difficulty is derived from the method used to control R.O.B. The screen is occupied by a 5x5 bingo board that Professor Hector hops around on. Rows on the bingo board correspond to R.O.B. commands; and when a row is completed, the command is executed. The computer-controlled enemies Spike and Flipper roam about, and touching either one will send Professor Hector flying back to the starting position. Spike wanders randomly; but Flipper moves in straight lines from one side of a row to another, activating and deactivating spaces wherever he lands, potentially sending undesired commands to R.O.B. The game ends when a block is dropped.

Bingo (2P)

In this mode, only Professors Hector and Vector occupy the bingo board, competing to send commands to R.O.B., with the goal in mind that player 1 wants more blocks to R.O.B.'s left, and player 2 wants more blocks to R.O.B.'s right. The game begins with three blocks in the middle, and one block to either side.

Test

This mode sends a signal to R.O.B. that causes his LED to light up, confirming that he can receive signals from the television.

Direct

The player begins by arranging the blocks in a standard starting pattern (red, white, blue, yellow and green top-to-bottom on tray #3), and is given a randomly chosen pattern they should be rearranged into by entering commands for R.O.B., one at a time. Once the goal is achieved, the player must press start to inform the game. Score is then calculated based on the time and number of moves taken, and the game moves onto the next phase, for which the starting point is the previous phase's ending position. Phases grow increasingly complicated to execute as the player progresses. Play continues until a block is dropped. The score at that time is the final score, and the player must return to the menu screen by pressing Select.

Memory

Like Direct mode, except that rather than entering commands one at a time, the entire sequence of commands must be programmed in advance. R.O.B. goes through the program all at once. Once the sequence has run its course, the player presses Start to move on to the next phase or select to return to the main menu. Scoring is the same as in direct mode, with the time score derived from the time taken to enter the commands, not the time taken to execute the program.

  • 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. 
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