Software:Star Wars: Tiny Death Star

From HandWiki
Short description: 2013 video game

Star Wars: Tiny Death Star
Developer(s)Disney Mobile
NimbleBit
Publisher(s)Disney Mobile
SeriesTiny Tower
Platform(s)Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Microsoft Windows, Windows RT
Release
  • AU: October 12, 2013 (Android)[2]
  • AU: October 15, 2013 (iOS)[1]
  • WW: November 7, 2013[3]
Genre(s)Business simulation
Mode(s)Single-player

Star Wars: Tiny Death Star is a 2013 business simulation video game developed by Disney Mobile and NimbleBit,[4] and published by Disney Mobile for Android, iOS, Windows Phone, and Windows 8/RT devices.[5] It was based on NimbleBit's previous game, Tiny Tower,[6] and was set in the Star Wars universe.[7]

Star Wars: Tiny Death Star was announced by Disney Interactive Studios on October 4, 2013. It was released in Australia and New Zealand for Android devices on October 12, 2013[2] and in Australia for iOS devices on October 15, 2013.[1] It was released worldwide on November 7, 2013 for Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Windows 8 and Windows RT devices.[3]

The game was removed from the App Store and Google Play Store by Disney on October 2014. It is currently only available on Amazon's Kids+ service.[8]

Gameplay

Main article: Software:Tiny Tower

The goal is to build and expand a Death Star, while attracting virtual people known as galactic Bitizens to build and run virtual businesses within the Death Star.[9]

Bitizens

The lowest floor of the tower, a lobby, has an elevator where bitizens can randomly appear. They will have a speech bubble above their head, with a number denoting which floor they would like to be taken to. If they are taken to a residential floor which has not been fully occupied, they will automatically inhabit that floor and become a resident of the tower. Each bitizen has a skill level out of 9 for each category of commercial floor, showing how good they are at each type of trade. This encourages the user to tailor each bitizen to a floor they are most suited to. Each bitizen has a dream job, and the player is rewarded "Imperial Bux" for placing them in that job. Occasionally, the player may be tasked to complete a mission, like search for a specific object or Bitizen. Every time a player accomplishes these tasks by tapping on the floor that the bitizen whom the player was looking for was on, they are rewarded "Imperial Bux".

Currency

In the game, there are two types of currency: Imperial Credits and Imperial Bux. Credits are used for the majority of purchases, often the most simple. Bux are used for special functions, such as speeding up processes which would otherwise involve a waiting period. Bux are not as common as credits are, and only appear randomly through active game play or through in-app purchases. Credits, on the other hand, are earned regardless of whether the player is playing or not.

Unlockables

While playing Tiny Death Star, Bitizens, Levels, and Scenes were unlocked in the album. Throughout gameplay, new species of bitzens are unlocked as they appear in the elevator or are found throughout the Death Star.

Scenes were unlocked when the elevator was used to take a specific individual (or sometimes member of a species) to a specific level.

Floors

The Death Star grows by constructing floors, which can be either residential or commercial. Residential floors house bitizens. Bitizens can be assigned to jobs on commercial floors. Commercial floors sell products, which are automatically sold, even while the player is away. There are 5 types of commercial floors: Food, Retail, Service, Recreational, and Imperial.

Up to three products may be sold at a single floor, one per employed bitizen. All these products follow the theme of the business. With every floor, construction time is parallel to real world-time; construction time will increase as the tower gets taller. However, special VIPs can be used to speed this time up, or the player can speed it up with "Imperial Bux".

VIPs

Apart from standard Bitizens, there are also VIPs who randomly appear in the elevator. Up to 5 VIPs can be stored in the lobby at any one time, and they can be kept for any period of time. VIPs are used to improve the Death Star. They helped attract customers to the player's levels, complete tasks faster, move levels, upgrade levels, or fill an entire vacant residential floor with tenants.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic70/100[10]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Edge3/10[11]
GamezeboStarStarStarStar[12]
Pocket GamerStarStarStarStar[14]
TouchArcadeStarStarStarStar[15]
Digital SpyStarStarStar[16]
Metro3/10[17]

At the time of the game's release, the iOS version received above-average reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[10]

Discontinuation

In October 2014, Disney pulled the app from the App Store and Google Play. Co-developer NimbleBit was not given notice prior to the removal. As of December 11, 2015, it is unavailable on both the Windows Store and the App Store. Disney removed the game from all app stores because they wanted to take the Star Wars games in another direction. The developer, NimbleBit, was disappointed by the removal of the game because it was a high source of revenue.[18] The game is still available to play on the Amazon FreeTime Unlimited service.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Jennifer (October 22, 2013). "Tiny Death Star Available For iOS in Australia and NZ". https://mixnmojo.com/news/Tiny-Death-Star-Available-For-iOS-in-Australia-and-NZ. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Jennifer (October 12, 2013). "Tiny Death Star Available For Android in Australia and NZ". Archived from the original on October 13, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131013112123/https://mixnmojo.com/news/Tiny-Death-Star-Available-For-Android. Retrieved October 24, 2022. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Haywald, Justin (November 7, 2013). "Star Wars: Tiny Death Star is available now for free". Fandom. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/star-wars-tiny-death-star-is-available-now-for-free/1100-6416041/. Retrieved November 10, 2013. 
  4. ↑ Graser, Mark (October 4, 2013). "'Tiny Tower' Turns to Dark Side with 'Star Wars: Tiny Death Star'". Penske Media Corporation. https://variety.com/2013/digital/news/disney-lucasarts-to-launch-star-wars-tiny-death-star-with-tiny-tower-creator-nimblebit-1200694453/. Retrieved October 5, 2013. 
  5. ↑ Martin, Liam (October 7, 2013). "'Star Wars' game 'Tiny Death Star' announced for iOS and Android". Hearst Communications. https://www.digitalspy.com/videogames/a521680/star-wars-game-tiny-death-star-announced-for-ios-android/. Retrieved October 24, 2022. 
  6. ↑ Davis, Justin (October 4, 2013). "Tiny Death Star Announced". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2013/10/04/tiny-death-star-announced. Retrieved October 5, 2013. 
  7. ↑ Futter, Mike (October 4, 2013). "NimbleBit And Disney Announce Tiny Death Star". Game Informer (GameStop). https://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2013/10/04/nimblebit-and-disney-announce-tiny-death-star.aspx. Retrieved October 5, 2013. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "STAR WARS™: Tiny Death Star is available on Amazon FreeTime Unlimited". Lucasfilm. https://support.starwars.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001068883-STAR-WARS-Tiny-Death-Star-is-available-on-Amazon-FreeTime-Unlimited. Retrieved April 21, 2020. 
  9. ↑ jp-30 (October 4, 2013). "Star Wars: Tiny Death Star making its way to your mobile soon". https://mixnmojo.com/news/Star-Wars-Tiny-Death-Star-making-its-way-to-your-mobile-soon. Retrieved October 5, 2013. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Star Wars: Tiny Death Star for iPhone/iPad Reviews". Fandom. https://www.metacritic.com/game/star-wars-tiny-death-star/critic-reviews/?platform=ios-iphoneipad. Retrieved October 24, 2022. 
  11. ↑ Edge staff (November 12, 2013). "Star Wars: Tiny Death Star review". Edge (Future plc). Archived from the original on November 15, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131115080247/http://www.edge-online.com/review/star-wars-tiny-death-star-review/. Retrieved October 24, 2022. 
  12. ↑ Oxford, Nadia (November 8, 2013). "Star Wars: Tiny Death Star Review". https://www.gamezebo.com/reviews/star-wars-tiny-death-star-review/. Retrieved October 24, 2022. 
  13. ↑ Meunier, Nathan (November 12, 2013). "Star Wars: Tiny Death Star Review". Future US. Archived from the original on November 25, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131125024118/http://www.maclife.com/article/reviews/star_wars_tiny_death_star_review. Retrieved October 24, 2022. 
  14. ↑ Slater, Harry (November 7, 2013). "Star Wars: Tiny Death Star". Steel Media Ltd. https://www.pocketgamer.com/star-wars-tiny-death-star/star-wars-tiny-death-star/. Retrieved October 24, 2022. 
  15. ↑ Ford, Eric (November 15, 2013). "'Star Wars: Tiny Death Star' Review – The Bitizens Strike Back". TouchArcade.com, LLC. https://toucharcade.com/2013/11/15/star-wars-tiny-death-star-review-the-bitizens-strike-back/. Retrieved October 24, 2022. 
  16. ↑ Nichols, Scott (November 12, 2013). "Mobile reviews: 'Rayman Fiesta Run', 'Tiny Death Star', more". Hearst Communications. https://www.digitalspy.com/videogames/a530585/mobile-reviews-rayman-fiesta-run-tiny-death-star-more/. Retrieved October 24, 2022. 
  17. ↑ Jenkins, David (November 12, 2013). "Star Wars: Tiny Death Star review – that's no moon (iOS)". Metro (DMG Media). https://metro.co.uk/2013/11/12/star-wars-tiny-death-star-review-thats-no-moon-4183183/. Retrieved October 24, 2022. 
  18. ↑ Matulef, Jeffrey (October 7, 2014). "Disney removes Tiny Death Star without telling the developer [date mislabeled as "October 6, 2014""]. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on October 8, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141008013638/https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-10-07-disney-removes-tiny-death-star-without-telling-the-developer. Retrieved October 24, 2022. 
  • 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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