Software:Sword of the Samurai (video game)

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Sword of the Samurai
Developer(s)MPS Labs
Publisher(s)MicroProse
Designer(s)Lawrence Schick
Programmer(s)Jim Synoski
Artist(s)Michael Haire
Writer(s)Jeff Briggs
Sandy Petersen
Lawrence Schick
Composer(s)Jeff Briggs
Platform(s)MS-DOS
Release1989
Genre(s)Action, strategy
Mode(s)Single-player

Sword of the Samurai is an action and strategy video game developed and published by MicroProse in 1989 for the DOS platform. It features role-playing, strategy, and arcade elements set in feudal Japan. The player begins the game as a little-known vassal samurai; his ultimate goal is to replace Oda Nobunaga as the daimyō responsible for reunifying Sengoku Japan.

Tommo purchased the rights to this game and digitally publishes it through its Retroism brand in 2015.[1] The game was re-released in 2014 on Gog.com and Steam with support for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Gameplay

The game begins by giving the player their choice of name, clan, and family specialty. Within the game, death is final and frequently risked; an early priority is establishing a family, which permits the player to continue as the samurai's heir in the event of death or retirement. In the first two sections of the game, the player rises from a minor retainer to a more powerful lieutenant and then to daimyō over his entire clan. At each of these levels, he competes to curry favor from his lord with three computer-controlled rivals who also seek to become first in favor and next in succession. Each samurai has several properties, including land holdings, army size, sword-fighting ability, and generalship. In keeping with the Bushidō theme of the game, army size and honor have the greatest influence over how the samurai are ranked.

A wide array of dishonorable actions are also possible. The player (and AI controlled characters) may kidnap and rescue family members, dishonor other samurai, or even assassinate their rivals or lord. Naturally, such behavior carries serious risk. The samurai performs these acts personally and risks capture or death. At minimum, exposure entails loss of honor and land and more serious offenses require ritual suicide (seppuku); a failed attempt on the life of the samurai's lord occasions the extermination of his entire family, losing the game.

After becoming a daimyō, the game shifts to a wargame format, with the goal of conquering enough provinces to claim the title of shōgun. The player no longer wanders personally through a provincial map but directs his army through the three lower Japanese islands. He is able to direct his underlings to deal with any sword fight or melee minigames without loss of honor: the focus is on the size of the player's army and mastery of the battlefield tactics.

After winning the game, the player is given a final summary of the future of his dynasty. Depending on various factors such as the victor's honor and the presence of an adult heir, the length of the dynasty could range from hundreds of years (like the Tokugawa shogunate) to a quick dissolution after the shōgun's death (as occurred with Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi).

Development

MicroProse designers Sid Arnold and Lawrence Schick began development of Sword of the Samurai in late 1987, after the success of the company's first role-playing adventure game Sid Meier's Pirates!. They chose to set it during the Sengoku period because the era's chaos made it possible for samurai to gain great power regardless of background, and gave players the goal of uniting the country and becoming shōgun. MicroProse co-owner Sid Meier helped develop the NPCs' artificial intelligence and the dueling.[2]

Reception

In the February–March 1990 issue of Games International, Brian Walker was disappointed in this game, commenting that although the outside of the box had promised "'a role-playing action-adventure simulation' [...] it is none of these things." Although he found combat quite easy and even fun, it failed to advance in challenge as he worked his way through the game; he wrote of the arcade-style combats, "they soon pale as you continuously fight the same opponents in the same locations." He did like the graphics, which he called "superb and offer a real flavour of Japan". He also called the system for fighting strategic army battles "the most innovative parts of the game." And he liked the beautifully detailed glossy manual. However, the "less than cerebral arcade sequences" led Walker to give the game a poor rating of 5 out of 10, although he did give the graphics an excellent rating of 9 out of 10.[3]

Jim Trunzo reviewed Sword of the Samurai for White Wolf #20, rating it 4 out of 5 overall, and stated that "Sword of the Samurai is one of the most complete programs designed. Virtually all aspects of the period of the genre are covered. The storyline is complete and effectively mixes warfare, domestic concerns, and political matters."[4]

Computer Gaming World stated in 1990 that Sword of the Samurai "offers even more than its spiritual ancestor, Pirates!". It praised the game's graphics, soundtrack, and many choices during gameplay.[5] Later that year and in 1993 the magazine gave it four stars out of five, stating that the game did not sell as well as Pirates! despite "near perfect" game play and historical accuracy.[6][7]

Further reading

  • Jeux & Stratégie nouvelle formule #5[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Purchase Agreement between Atari, Inc. and Rebellion Developments, Stardock & Tommo". BMC Group. 2013-07-22. http://docs.bmcgroup.com/Atari/nysb_1-13-bk-10176_313.pdf. 
  2. ↑ Schick, Lawrence (January 1990). "Designer's Notes / The Secret History of Sword of the Samurai". Computer Gaming World: 84. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1990&pub=2&id=67. Retrieved 15 November 2013. 
  3. ↑ Walker, Brian (February–March 1990). "The GI Interview: Wolfgang Kramer". Games International (13): 45. 
  4. ↑ Trunzo, Jim (April–May 1990). "The Silicon Dungeon". White Wolf Magazine (20): 44–45. 
  5. ↑ Wilson, Johnny L. (January 1990). "Unsurpassable Honor / "Sword of the Samurai" from MicroProse". Computer Gaming World (67): 18. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1990&pub=2&id=67. Retrieved 15 November 2013. 
  6. ↑ Brooks, M. Evan (October 1990). "Computer Strategy and Wargames: Pre-20th Century". Computer Gaming World: 11. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1990&pub=2&id=75. Retrieved 16 November 2013. 
  7. ↑ Brooks, M. Evan (June 1993). "An Annotated Listing of Pre-20th Century Wargames". Computer Gaming World: 136. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1993&pub=2&id=107. Retrieved 7 July 2014. 
  8. ↑ "Jeux & stratégie NF 5". March 1990. https://archive.org/details/jeux-et-strategie-nf-5/page/20/mode/2up. 
  • 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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