Software:The Lost Crown: A Ghost-Hunting Adventure

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Short description: 2008 video game
The Lost Crown: A Ghost-Hunting Adventure
Developer(s)Darkling Room
Shadow Tor Studios (Special effects)
Publisher(s)Got Game Entertainment (U.S.)
Akella (Russia)
Mamba Games (UK and Europe as of September 2009)
Iceberg Interactive
Designer(s)Jonathan Boakes
EngineMade with Wintermute Engine
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release
  • NA: March 3, 2008
  • EU: July 18, 2008
Genre(s)Third & First-person adventure
Mode(s)Single player

The Lost Crown: A Ghost-Hunting Adventure is a British graphic adventure video game released in 2008. The Lost Crown is the third full title to be written and developed by Jonathan Boakes, author of Dark Fall: The Journal and Dark Fall 2: Lights Out. The screenplay follows the adventure of Nigel Danvers, as he experiences the paranormal in his quest to find the fabled Lost Crown of Anglia. The game was followed by The Last Crown: Midnight Horror[1] and The Last Crown: Blackenrock.

Gameplay

Presented in both first and third-person perspectives, The Lost Crown is a point-and-click game, featuring puzzles, conversations, and inventory based interaction. The game follows the adventure of Nigel Danvers, as he wanders the harbor town of Saxton and the surrounding countryside, armed with a small arsenal of ghost-hunting gadgets. Eventually, after uncovering and exorcising several ghosts, Nigel discovers the whereabouts of a long lost Anglo-Saxon crown; thought to have crowned the king of the region, Ganwulf, back in the sixth century AD.[2]

Plot

Vividly set in the fictional harbor town of Saxton in The Fens of eastern England, The Lost Crown follows the adventures of two young ghost-hunters, Nigel Danvers and Lucy Reubans. Nigel has fled London, following the theft of several documents from his employer, The Hadden Corporation. The documents contain proof of Hadden’s involvement in experiments with paranormal forces, and the existence of ‘chasm ghosts’. Two Hadden agents, Mr. Hare, and Mr. Crow are dispatched to capture Danvers and return the stolen documents.

Nigel takes refuge in Saxton, where he meets local psychology student, Lucy Reubans. Together they set out to solve local mysteries, study paranormal activity and discover the whereabouts of a legendary Anglo-Saxon crown, thought to be buried somewhere in the vicinity around town. Nigel’s presence in the town does not go unnoticed. There are those, alive and dead, that do not wish the crown to be disturbed.[3]

Development

The Lost Crown was written by Jonathan Boakes, between 2005 and late 2007. The story is an exploration of the ‘classic ghost story’, featuring references to many ghost stories read by the author in childhood. Most notably, M. R. James A Warning to the Curious features many influential elements; the seaside setting, the legend of the lost Anglo-Saxon Crown, a greedy archaeologist and the presence of a ghostly guardian, sworn to protect the whereabouts of the crown, even after death.[4]

Other literary influences include J.L.Carr’s A Month in the Country, which features a lonely protagonist camped out in a rural country church, left alone to uncover a secret over the course of an apparently endless, hot summer.

Boakes also joined a group of ‘modern day ghost-hunters’ in order to research the game, following on from paranormal experiments seen in Dark Fall and Dark Fall 2. Known as This Haunted Land, the group are based in Cornwall, England, and share a passion for the paranormal and the use of technology used during investigations. Many of the results gleaned from those experiments have made their way into the game, such as the use of E.M.F meters, Nite-Vision cameras and E.V.P[5]

Many of the scenes were created from photography made in real places in Cornwall, notably the fishing towns of Looe and Polperro.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic71/100[6]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Adventure GamersStarStarStarHalf star[7]
GameZone7/10[8]
IGN7/10[9]
PC Format63%[10]
PC Gamer (UK)54%[11]
PC Gamer (US)68%[12]
PC Zone54%[13]

The game received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[6]

Diehard GameFAN awarded the game its "Best PC game of 2008" award as well as its "Adventure Game of the Year" and "Best Story" awards.[14]

References

  1. ↑ "The Last Crown: Blackenrock" Official Website
  2. ↑ The Lost crown US Game Manual
  3. ↑ "The Lost Crown" Official Website
  4. ↑ Darkling Room (April 6, 2014). "Jonathan Boakes: Biography". Darkling Room. http://www.darklingroom.co.uk/lfw/jbpage1.html. 
  5. ↑ "This Haunted Land: Ghost-hunters & the Paranormal World". This Haunted Land. http://www.thishauntedland.co.uk/. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "The Lost Crown: A Ghost-hunting Adventure for PC Reviews". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/the-lost-crown-a-ghost-hunting-adventure/critic-reviews/?platform=pc. 
  7. ↑ Dante Kleinberg (March 31, 2008). "The Lost Crown: A Ghost-hunting Adventure review". Adventure Gamers. http://www.adventuregamers.com/articles/view/18128. 
  8. ↑ Steven Hopper (March 24, 2008). "The Lost Crown: A Ghosthunting Adventure [sic - PC - Review"]. GameZone. http://www.gamezone.com/reviews/the_lost_crown_a_ghosthunting_adventure_pc_review. 
  9. ↑ Charles Oneyett (March 24, 2008). "The Lost Crown Review". IGN. http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/03/24/the-lost-crown-review. 
  10. ↑ "The Lost Crown: A Ghost-Hunting Adventure". PC Format (218): 114. October 2008. 
  11. ↑ "The Lost Crown: A Ghost-Hunting Adventure". PC Gamer UK: 88. December 2008. 
  12. ↑ "The Lost Crown: A Ghost-Hunting Adventure". PC Gamer: 71. June 2008. 
  13. ↑ "PC Review: The Lost Crown: A Ghost-Hunting Adventure". PC Zone: 77. November 2008. 
  14. ↑ Alexander Lucard (January 7, 2009). "Diehard GameFAN's 2008 Gaming Awards". Diehard GameFAN. http://diehardgamefan.com/2009/01/07/diehard-gamefans-2008-gaming-awards/. 

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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