Software:Switchball

From HandWiki
Switchball
Developer(s)Atomic Elbow
Publisher(s)Vivendi Games[lower-alpha 1]
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 (XBLA), PlayStation 3 (PSN)
ReleaseWindows: June 26, 2007
Windows Retail: October 23, 2007
Xbox 360: November 7, 2007
PlayStation 3: September 17, 2009
Genre(s)Puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Switchball is a 3D action-puzzle game, made by the Swedish developer Atomic Elbow, which was released for Microsoft Windows on June 26, 2007, on Xbox Live Arcade for the Xbox 360 on November 7, and on PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3 on September 17, 2009.[1] A HD version of the game was released on Steam on May 17, 2021.

Gameplay

Gameplay screenshot

The game puts the player in the role of a ball, which is guided through various courses suspended in mid-air in five different environments: Skyworld, Iceworld, Caveworld, Cloudworld and Lavaworld, each one having six courses.

Each course contains multiple puzzles for the player to solve. The ball is used to push around objects, activate switches, among other things. Using PhysX as its core physics engine, the game features many physics-based puzzles. Obstacles, traps, and other objects are common throughout the game. Some common objects include boxes, switches, fans, cannons, magnets, and rails.

The ball can be morphed into four different forms, each one having unique traits. The Marble Ball is the default ball that every level starts with, and it has no special traits. The Steel Ball can push heavy objects around. The Air Ball can be inflated in order to float for a short period of time. Lastly, The Power Ball can be charged to have one of three abilities: a dash ability, a jump ability, or a magnetism ability. Each ball reacts to the environment in different ways; For example, Steel Balls will tear cloth platforms and be drawn to magnets, while Air Balls are very easily blown by fans and can be popped by nails.

Each level is timed, and players are rewarded with Gold, Silver and Bronze medals, depending on how quickly they complete the level. A scoreboard is available for each level, displaying the top seven players who completed the stage the fastest.

Development

Originally called Crazy Ball, the game won "Best PC Game" during the 2005 Swedish Game Awards and was a finalist in the "Technical Excellence Class" during the 2006 Independent Games Festival. Crazy Ball was developed in five months.[2]

The gameplay is similar to Atari's 2004 game Ballance, but features worlds instead of levels.

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
CVG7.9/10 (Windows)[3]
Eurogamer7/10 (Xbox 360)[4]
GameSpot7.5/10 (Xbox 360)[5]
GamesRadar+8/10 (Windows)[6]
IGN8.4/10 (Xbox 360)[7]
OPM (UK)6/10
OXM (UK)7/10
OXM (US)8/10 (Xbox 360)[8]
Play75% (Playstation 3)[9]
TeamXbox9.4/10 (Xbox 360)[10]

GamesRadar awarded the PC version of Switchball 8 out of 10, praising the AGEIA physics engine, commenting that "the rolling and bumping and knocking and flinging are all exquisitely well done. And physics, the best thing to happen to games since explosive barrels, has a way of making you care".[6] Team Xbox awarded the Xbox 360 version a 9.4 of 10 and called Switchball as one of the best puzzle games for Xbox Live Arcade.[10] IGN commended the AGEIA physics engine, calling it a major star of Switchball.[7]

CVG criticized the difficulty of the later level puzzles in its review of the PC version: "It doesn't run out of brains, but in later chapters it does succumb to that misguided urge to crank up the pressure. This goes badly. Switchball is a thoughtful puzzle game, but neither its camera nor controls are up to the dexterity-driven tasks it sets here".[3]

Xbox Live Arcade re-release

Switchball was re-released on March 26, 2008 on Xbox Live Arcade with a patch that enhanced graphics and tweaked the scoring.[11]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Released under the Sierra Online brand name.

References

  1. ↑ "Sony Online Entertainment Gets the Ball Rolling With Switchball for the PlayStation Network". Sony Online Entertainment. 2009-09-18. http://www.soepress.com/release.asp?i=287. Retrieved 2009-10-02.  [yes|permanent dead link|dead link}}]
  2. ↑ "2006 IGF Competition Entrants - Crazy Ball". CMP Media. http://www.igf.com/php-bin/entries2006.php?entry_id=109. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Francis, Tom. "Switchball". Future Publishing. http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=171669. 
  4. ↑ Bowden, Mike (November 18, 2007). "Switchball". Gamer Network. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/switchball-review. 
  5. ↑ Navarro, Alex. "Switchball Review". CBS Interactive. http://www.gamespot.com/switchball/reviews/switchball-review-6184083/. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Francis, Tom (October 16, 2007). "Switchball review". Future US. http://www.gamesradar.com/pc/review/switchball/a-2007101691756518057. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Ahearn, Nate. "Switchball Review". IGN Entertainment. http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/833/833878p1.html. 
  8. ↑ Price, Tom (December 2007). "Switchball". Official Xbox Magazine US (Future US) (78): 73. ISSN 1534-7850. https://archive.org/details/OXM_2007_13-web/page/n29/mode/2up. 
  9. ↑ "Store Roundup: Switchball". Play (Imagine Publishing) (191): 93. May 2010. ISSN 1747-7859. https://archive.org/details/Play_Issue_191_2010_05_Imagine_Publishing_GB/page/92/mode/2up?q=switchball. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Tuttle, Will (November 2, 2007). "Switchball Review (Xbox 360)". IGN Entertainment. http://reviews.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/1420/Switchball/p1/. 
  11. ↑ Ransom-Wiley, James (March 24, 2008). "This Wednesday: TiQal blazes XBLA, Switchball re-released". Weblogs. http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/24/this-wednesday-tiqal-blazes-xbla-switchball-re-released/. 
  • 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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