Software:Vixen (video game)

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Vixen
Vixen
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Publisher(s)Martech
Programmer(s)Ian McArdle
Jonathan Howell
Nick Jones
Artist(s)Malcolm J. Smith
Mark Eason
Composer(s)Jason C. Brooke
Platform(s)Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, ZX Spectrum
ReleaseAugust 1988
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Vixen is a platform game published by Martech in 1988 for the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, and ZX Spectrum.

Plot

Vixen is the last human on the planet Granath, which is now ruled by a race of dinosaurs. Abandoned as a child and raised by magical foxes, she intends to follow through on a promise she made to her elders to wipe the dinosaurs out and restore the planet to humanity.

Gameplay

Vixen was based unofficially on the Tecmo arcade game Rygar.[1] Each level must be completed within a time limit, by progressing from left to right. The player's character is armed only with a whip, used to defeat enemies and to collect bonus items such as gems (for points), extra lives and time. The player's character can also collect fox head tokens. If enough are collected by the end of the level, she will transform into a fox, allowing the player to enter a special underground lair. Here she can collect gems, mega gems (which increase scoring potential above ground) and weapon upgrades (to increase the power of her whip). A notable feature in the game was that it used an early form of motion capture to generate the animation for the main character[1] making it far more realistic than usual for a computer game of that era.[2]

Reception

The various versions of Vixen received a wide range of review scores. ACE[3] gave it a score of 452/1000 saying it had "nothing original to offer". Computer & Video Games,[4] praised the graphics, particularly on the Atari ST, but criticised the playability. The Games Machine[5][6] rated the game from 42% for the "barely adequate" Amstrad version to 72% for the PC version. Your Sinclair awarded the game 6/10[7] stating that while the animation of the main character was superb, "the rest of the graphics suck".

The cover of the game, featuring Page Three girl Corinne Russell in the guise of the Vixen, caused controversy and high-street chain Boots refused to stock the game until Martech reissued the game with a less provocative cover.[8] The May 1988 issue of Your Sinclair featured a similar image on the front page[9] which was equally controversial and attracted a number of complaints.[10]

Reviews

  • Jeux & Stratégie #53[11]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Graeme Mason. "Martech Games - The Personality People". Retro Gamer (133): 51. 
  2. ↑ Mason, Graeme (2016-05-15). "Nine ways the the[sic 8-bit era made gaming what it is today"] (in en). https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-05-15-nine-ways-the-the-8-bit-era-made-gaming-what-it-is-today. 
  3. ↑ "ACE Magazine Issue 11". August 1988. https://archive.org/stream/ace-magazine-11/ACE_Issue_11_1988_Aug#page/n67/mode/1up. 
  4. ↑ "CVG Magazine Issue 081". July 1988. https://archive.org/stream/cvg-magazine-081/CVG_081_Jul_1988#page/n51/mode/2up/search/vixen. 
  5. ↑ "The Games Machine Magazine Issue 11". https://archive.org/stream/thegamesmachine-magazine-11/TheGamesMachine_11#page/n48/mode/1up. 
  6. ↑ "The Games Machine Magazine Issue 08". https://archive.org/stream/thegamesmachine-magazine-08/TheGamesMachine_08#page/n77/mode/1up. 
  7. ↑ "Vixen". Your Sinclair (Dennis Publishing) (32): 70. August 1988. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/page.php?issue_id=253&page=70. 
  8. ↑ "Censor Nonsense". Crash (Newsfield Publishing) (55): 92. August 1988. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/page.php?issue_id=1022&page=92. 
  9. ↑ "Your Sinclair: issue 29". May 1988. https://archive.org/details/your-sinclair-29. 
  10. ↑ "Dark Side : Your Sinclair Magazine : Issue 31". July 1988. https://archive.org/stream/your-sinclair-31/YourSinclair_31_Jul_1988#page/n15/mode/2up. 
  11. ↑ "Jeux & stratégie 53". October 1988. https://archive.org/details/jeux-et-strategie-53/page/58/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 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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