Software:Synnergist

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Short description: 1996 point-and-click adventure video game
Synnergist
Box art
Developer(s)Vicarious Visions
Publisher(s)21st Century Entertainment
Platform(s)MS-DOS
Release1996
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Synnergist is a point-and-click adventure video game developed by Vicarious Visions and published by 21st Century Entertainment for MS-DOS in 1996. It was Vicarious Visions' debut video game. The game includes "digitized actors (almost 70) and full motion video."[1] It was only released in Europe.[2]

Plot

The player takes the role of Tim Machin, a journalist in the fictional city New Arhus in the year 2010.[1]

Gameplay

Development and release

The graphic backgrounds for Synnergist were produced by Pomono Productions.[citation needed]

When the game was released, Vicarious Visions offered a prize to the first five people to discover hidden Easter eggs.[citation needed]

Reception

Coming Soon magazine gave the game 81 out of 100, Tap-Repeatedly/Four Fat Chicks gave 4 Stars, PC Player (Denmark) gave 73 out of 100, PC Games (Germany) gave 68 out of 100, High Score gave 2 out of 5, Power Play gave 40 out of 100, and PC Player (Germany) gave 2 Stars.[1] Csoon wrote "Synnergist maintains a good story line throughout the game, keeping the player's interest high in wanting to solve the mystery... Some of the puzzles can be a little difficult to figure out, and once you are stuck, the game can be slow." The site gave the game a rating of 81%.[3] In another positive review, Four Fat Chicks wrote "Here is a game that has an interesting plot with many twists and turns, nice graphics, unobtrusive sound and music, easy interface, and a good number of varied locations to explore. Synnergist has a similar mood and style to Noctropolis, with a little Gabriel Knight–type understated tension thrown in... It's a shame that Vicarious Visions didn't follow up Synnergist with any other adventure games."[2]

In a contemporary Hardcore Gaming 101 review, the critic found the game interesting for being a notable example of outsider art, drawing attention to how much of its development cycle was spent while Vicarious Visions founders Karthik and Guha Bala were still in high school.[4] She noted "Wherever it fails, it’s a shame, but almost to-be expected. But where it gets things right, it’s all the more enthralling." The review went on to criticize the game's technical shortcomings but praised the game's ability to immerse and captivate the player through its painted backgrounds and atmosphere - "Objectively the whole game is really rather forgettable, but if you approach it with the same dream-oriented excitement the Bala brothers had back in 1991, it may just stick around for longer."[5]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Synnergist for DOS (1996) - MobyGames". mobygames.com. http://www.mobygames.com/game/synnergist. Retrieved 2014-09-01. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Four Fat Chicks -- Synnergist Review". tap-repeatedly.com. http://www.tap-repeatedly.com/Reviews/Synnergist/Synnergist.shtml. Retrieved 2014-09-01. 
  3. ↑ "Synnergist - PC Review - Coming Soon Magazine!". csoon.com. http://www.csoon.com/issue19/synn.htm. Retrieved 2014-09-01. 
  4. ↑ "Vicarious Visions History". http://www.vvisions.com/culture/VV-History_53_1_sb.htm. Retrieved 8 March 2020. 
  5. ↑ Tsimberov, Petra. "Synnergist Review". http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/synnergist-ibm-pc-1996/. Retrieved 8 March 2020. 
  • 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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