Software:The Dame Was Loaded

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The Dame Was Loaded
Developer(s)Beam Software
Publisher(s)Philips Interactive Media
Director(s)Cameron Brown
Producer(s)Beam Software, Philips Interactive Media, Vixen Films
Designer(s)David Giles
Writer(s)Mark Morrison
Platform(s)MS-DOS, Macintosh
Release1996
Genre(s)Adventure game
Mode(s)Single-player

The Dame Was Loaded is a first-person point-and-click adventure game for MS-DOS and Macintosh created by Australia n developer Beam Software (now Krome Studios Melbourne). It was published in 1996 by Philips Interactive Media.

Gameplay

The game is a detective film noir set in the 1940s and combined live action cinematic's with pre-rendered point-and-click gameplay much like previous games in the genre like Under a Killing Moon and Myst.[1] The live action was produced by Vixen Films, director Jo Lane, and was at the time the largest multimedia production ever made in Australia.

The game is nonlinear, having nine possible endings featuring over thirty fully acted and voiced characters to interact with and over one hour of fully performed cinematics.

Plot

Innocent-looking dame Carol Klein hires down-on-his-luck hardboiled private dick Scott Anger to find her brother, since she hasn't heard from him for some time. Anger learns that his case is connected to some murders and a bank robbery.[2]

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
Next GenerationStar[3]
Computer Game Review76/100[4]

A reviewer for Next Generation panned the game, citing the use of still shots instead of FMV for most of the character interactions, the low difficulty, and the "cheesy, ersatz Maltese Falcon story". He scored it one out of five stars.[3] Scott Gehrs of Computer Game Review wrote, "The Dame Was Loaded has an interesting premise, but unfortunately I can't recommend it even to mystery lovers".[4]

Quandary wrote "In the end, the real time nature of the game prevented me from enjoying this outing...Timed puzzles are anathema to many adventure players".[5]

References

  1. ↑ Hall, Mike (10 September 1996). "Extra goodies make Dame a challenge". Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, New Mexico: Journal Publishing Co.) 116 (254): p. B1,B3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/158544311. 
  2. ↑ Lane, Jo (1996-04-30), The Dame Was Loaded, Matthew King, Randall Berger, Tiffany Lamb, Shanyn Asmar, Beam Software, Philips Interactive Media of America (PIMA), Vixen Films (I), https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0197393/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt, retrieved 2021-02-02 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "The Dame Was Loaded". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (19): 87. July 1996. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Gehrs, Scott (July 1996). "The Dame Was Loaded". Computer Game Review. http://www.nuke.com/cgr/reviews/9607/damelo/damelo.htm. 
  5. ↑ Ramsey, Steve (March 2003). "The Dame Was Loaded". North Fremantle, Western Australia: Quandary Computer Game Reviews. http://www.quandaryland.com/jsp/dispArticle.jsp?index=527. 
  • The Dame Was Loaded on IMDb
  • 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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