Software:Stationfall

From HandWiki

Stationfall is an interactive fiction game written by Steve Meretzky and released by Infocom in 1987. It was published for the Commodore 64, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, Atari ST, and MS-DOS. The game is a sequel to Planetfall, one of Infocom's most popular games. It is Infocom's twenty-fifth game.

Plot

Following the events on Resida in Planetfall, the player's character received a promotion from lowly Ensign Seventh Class to Lieutenant First Class. The life of an officer in the Stellar Patrol is no better than that of a humble enlistee, however. Five years after the thrills of saving an entire planet from destruction, the character is stuck in a boring desk job that demands piles of tedious paperwork instead of menial cleaning duties.

A typically boring assignment comes in: accompany a spacetruck to a space station and pick up a load of "Request for Stellar Patrol Issue Regulation Black Form Binders Request Form Forms". To make things even more dull, spacetrucks are fully automated, so it will pilot itself once the proper coordinates are entered.

But the task does authorize the use of a robot assistant, and coincidentally enough, Floyd, a beloved companion revived at the end of Planetfall, is one of the choices.

Once the player and Floyd reach the space station, they find it largely deserted. There are two living things on board: an ostrich and an Arcturian balloon creature, both apparently in perfect health. There are plenty of automated devices. It is unclear where the people have gone. The mechanical hull welders also seem intent on inflicting serious harm, which is unusual behavior.

Exploring the deserted complex, there are initially few clues. The station's missing commander audio log can be found, but it provides no solid answers. A ship of unfamiliar design is docked, empty except for an alien skeleton and a strange pedestal that looks like it should hold something but stands empty.

Floyd finds two fellow robots: an intellectual model named Plato and a not-yet-conscious "baby" named Oliver. Plato accompanies Floyd and the player, although his personality slowly changes from mild to sullen to aggressive. It is slowly revealed that every machine still functioning on the space station is hostile towards humans: besides the actively homicidal tendencies of the hull welders, the food dispensers manufacture poisonous food and drinks, and even seemingly harmless devices will explode unless powered down. Before long, Plato attempts to kill the player; Floyd is conflicted between the two friendships but reluctantly destroys the other robot. He moves from sadness over Plato's death to belligerence before disappearing altogether.

A pyramid-shaped artifact devised by the Zeenak race is emitting some sort of energy, the player discovers (thanks to Plato revealing everything upon trying to assassinate the player), and this energy causes anything mechanical to rebel against the human Hunji race. All the people on the space station were killed by the Hunji machinery. Whatever the Zeenak pyramid is, the machines are building countless replicas of it that will be sent to "infect" other installations and similarly take them over. Before the player can put a stop to this, however, Floyd reappears, completely under the evil influence of the Zeenak pyramid. In order to survive, the player has no choice but to kill Floyd. This time, however, the damage is too severe and there is no chance of repair for the robot. After the pyramid is defeated, Oliver finally comes to life, and seems almost to be a reincarnation of the once-childlike and playful Floyd.

Feelies

Infocom was famous for including extra items, called feelies, with each game package. These documents and objects were generally related to the game in some way, and sometimes provided information necessary to complete the game. The feelies in the Stationfall package:

  • Blueprints for a "Gamma-Delta-Gamma Class deep space station" (detailed maps of the space station in which the game is set)
  • Three forms: an HB-56-V Class Three Spacecraft Activation form, a JZ-59-G Robot Use Authorization form, and a QX-17-T Assignment Completion form (which also contained "Astrogator navigational data" needed to reach the space station)
  • A Stellar Patrol patch for the rank of Lieutenant First Class

Reception

Reception
Award
PublicationAward
C+VGC+VG Hit[1]

Charles Ardai of Computer Gaming World called Stationfall "a worthy successor", stating that it had its predecessor's wit and interesting story.[2]

In a review for "Amstrad Action", the reviewer gave Stationfall a 90 out of 100, stating "To some extent (and with the notable exception of Hitchhikers) Meretzky's games are traditional adventures in the sense that they place a lot of emphasis on exploration, discovery and puzzle-solving. The spice is added by Meretzky's inimitable humour."[3]

References

  1. ↑ Game review, C+VG magazine, issue 72, October 1987, page 110
  2. ↑ Ardai, Charles (Aug–Sep 1987). "Titans of the Computer Gaming World / Part IV of V: Ardai on Infocom". Computer Gaming World (39): 38–39, 46–47. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_39.pdf. Retrieved 16 January 2017. 
  3. ↑ "Amstrad Action Issue 027". https://archive.org/details/amstrad-action-027/page/n73/mode/2up?view=theater. 
  • 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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