Software:The Moment of Silence

From HandWiki
The Moment of Silence
North American cover art
Developer(s)House of Tales
Publisher(s)Digital Jesters
The Adventure Company
Programmer(s)Tobias Schachte
Artist(s)Andreas Moll
Sven Moll
Writer(s)Martin Ganteföhr
Composer(s)Tilman Sillescu
Pierre Gerwig Langer
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release
  • GER: October 1, 2004
  • EU: November 5, 2004[1]
  • NA: February 25, 2005[2]
Genre(s)Adventure game
Mode(s)Single-player

The Moment of Silence is an investigative thriller adventure game developed in 2004 by German developer House of Tales.

Story

The game is set in the year 2044 in downtown New York City, in a future with many Orwellian influences. The player plays an advertising agency worker named Peter Wright, who is depressed and drinking heavily after the death of his wife and child in a terrorist attack. One night, as he is drinking, he hears a commotion in the hall. Looking out through the peephole in his apartment door, he sees a SWAT team storm the apartment of his next door neighbor and carry out a middle-aged man, much to the pain and anguish of his wife. Peter learns that the man was a freelance journalist named Graham Oswald, and is asked by his wife to discover what had happened to him.

Attempting to investigate, Peter is deflected at every turn by the police who begin to investigate him, a branch of Luddites, and even online acquaintances. Eventually Peter is informed he's won a "Vacation" to an orbiting station which is a cover for a rehabilitation clinic, and he meets a number of intellectual and political figures who've been removed from society, as well as a factory of automated drones. Peter sabotages the drone factory and escapes the station, and is sent to prison on Governor's Island, the only inmate but learns Oswald was recently there. Peter removes a tracking implant he is surgically installed with and escapes by swimming to shore.

Escaping underground, Peter discovers a dying Oswald, who is on his last legs after a harrowing escape from a prison on Governors Island. Before dying, Oswald tells Peter that he must go to Alaska and complete the mission that Oswald failed. After Peter arrives in Alaska, he discovers that the government is being run by a dystopian artificial intelligence, whose only concern is keeping the world tidy and in order, and has slowly begun to erase evidence of its existence. The computer also reveals that it has been watching Peter for a long time, and that it engages in massive social manipulation, having been several of the online friends he has. It further threatens Peter that if it is deactivated, it will launch a set of nuclear weapons, including one at Peter's home. Peter successfully shuts down the computer system, and manages to abort the launches. In the epilogue, Peter's computer pops up with a message from an online contact, asking if Peter wants to be friends.

Release

The game was published by several different publishers around the world. In Germany the game was published by dtp in November 2004 and featured an extensive German voice cast, which included the German voice actors for Bruce Willis and Julia Roberts.[3] In the United Kingdom, Digital Jesters published the game until their demise in early 2006. It is unclear if the game is still in print in Britain. In North America, The Adventure Company won the rights to publish the game, which it did starting in 2005.

A major controversy in the European versions of the game involved the use of StarForce copy protection software, which covertly installed itself on the computers of users who installed the game. The software sometimes caused a user's system to crash, or become unresponsive, even if there was no copying software on that computer. The North American version of the game does not use Starforce.

The game was re-released DRM-free in 2015 with Windows 10 support on the GOG.com website.

Reception

Domestic

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
PC Games81/100[4]
GameStar80/100[5]
4Players79/100[6]
PC Action80%[7]

Chris Kellner of German publisher DTP Entertainment reported that The Moment of Silence was a commercial success in his country. Alongside titles such as The Black Mirror and Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Silver Earring, it contributed to DTP's large-scale growth during 2004.[8]

International

According to review aggregation website Metacritic, The Moment of Silence received "mixed or average reviews" from critics.[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "MOMENT OF SILENCE RETAIL VERSION MADE LESS 'SEEDY' – BY FANS' REQUEST" (in en). 2004-10-22. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/moment-of-silence-retail-version-made-less-lsquoseedyrsquo-by-fansrsquo-request. 
  2. ↑ Adams, David (2005-02-25). "Let's Have a Moment of Silence" (in en). https://www.ign.com/articles/2005/02/25/lets-have-a-moment-of-silence. 
  3. ↑ "Matt Damon's voice featured in new adventure Nibiru". justadventure.com. http://www.justadventure.com/Press_Releases/Nibiru_MattDamon_26Jan_05.shtm. Retrieved May 11, 2006. 
  4. ↑ Grimm, Matthias (November 2004). "Test; Moment of Silence" (in German). PC Games: 132, 133. 
  5. ↑ Schmitz, Petra (November 2004). "Konkurrenz für Mulder und Scully" (in German). GameStar. Archived from the original on December 16, 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20051216235957/http://www.gamestar.de/magazin/tests/adventure/20370/. 
  6. ↑ Luibl, Jörg (October 8, 2004). "The Moment of Silence" (in German). 4Players. Archived from the original on July 25, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090725215611/http://www.4players.de/4players.php/dispbericht/PC-CDROM/Test/3794/3206/0/The_Moment_of_Silence.html. 
  7. ↑ Brehme, Marc (November 2004). "Du willst immer nur klicken!" (in German). PC Action: 109. 
  8. ↑ "Adventure – Special: Interview mit DTP Digital Tainment Pool". Gameswelt. January 21, 2005. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171115092742/http://www.gameswelt.de/dtp-entertainment/special/special,4869. 
  9. ↑ "Moment of Silence, The (pc: 2005): Reviews". Archived from the original on July 26, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070726214558/http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/momentofsilence. 
  • Official website via Internet Archive
  • 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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