Software:What's Cooking? with Jamie Oliver

From HandWiki
Short description: 2008 cooking video game
What's Cooking? with Jamie Oliver
A man is holding a knife and pushing chopped red peppers into a bowl.
Developer(s)keen games GmbH & Co. KG
Publisher(s)Atari Europe
Platform(s)Nintendo DS
Release
  • NA: October 21, 2008
  • EU: October 24, 2008
  • AU: November 6, 2008
Genre(s)Cooking, Educational
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

What's Cooking? with Jamie Oliver, sometimes known as What's Cooking? Jamie Oliver, is a cooking video game for the Nintendo DS narrated by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. It was developed by German studio keen games GmbH & Co. KG and published by Atari Europe.

The game features several recipes, each listing preparation times, ingredients and courses. In addition, What's Cooking? can be used as a shopping list to remind players what items to purchase, and it can act as a timer to count down from a specified time and make an audible sound when it is done.

The game was first revealed by Atari at the Games Convention 2008. The game was poorly received after its release. Reviewers generally agreed that presenting a cooking guide as a video game was a good idea, but they found that the game was poorly executed and mediocre as a result.

Gameplay

Two screens, one above the other. Above, text instructions. Below, a virtual knife is cutting a lemon.
The cooking challenge portion requires that the player cook virtual meals before the timer runs out.

What's Cooking? is an interactive cookbook and food preparation video game with recipes that each list preparation times, ingredients and courses. Recipes can be sorted by criteria such as dishes that take less than 20 minutes to prepare, or vegetarian-only meals. After opening a recipe, an ingredient list is presented. Items on the list can be earmarked and added to a shopping list as a reminder to purchase in the future. A timer option is also available, which counts down from a specified time and makes an audible sound when it is done.[1] Before doing any real cooking, a virtual representation of each step in the recipe is given on the screen that must be performed by the player. The Nintendo DS touchscreen and stylus are used to perform tasks such as whisking eggs, pouring sauces and cutting vegetables. Tutorials are also available to teach the player how to perform simple cooking preparation tasks.[1] While cooking, the Nintendo DS responds to audible commands; saying "next" into the device's microphone will move the recipe on to the next step.[2] One hundred recipes are included in the game, and players can create their own dishes in the game. Afterward, they can share them with others via Wi-Fi. In addition to the game's cooking aspects, What's Cooking? features challenges in which the player uses the stylus to chop, stir, and serve as quickly as possible.[3]

Development

What's Cooking? was first revealed by Atari at the Games Convention 2008.[4] The game is narrated by Jamie Oliver.[2] In an interview with Official Nintendo Magazine, Oliver noted that he tries to make his games as "three dimensional as possible", and he wanted to "make it relevant" to the player. The developers also wanted to make the game as interactive as possible.[3]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic47 of 100[5]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Eurogamer7 of 10[2]
GameRevolutionD+[6]
GameZone3 of 10[7]
IGN4.9 of 10[1]
Jeuxvideo.com10 of 20[8]
ONM70%[9]

What's Cooking? received "unfavorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[5] IGN's Daemon Hatfield called disguising a cooking tutorial as a video game a "pretty brilliant idea", but only as long as it was done well. He stated that both the cookbook and food preparation halves of the game were not strong enough to make the game worth purchasing. Hatfield commented that the game's controls are "terribly unintuitive, and the cookbook doesn't offer anything its physical counterpart can't for cheaper". He was also disappointed that there were no pictures to illustrate each step, and not every cooking process is explained.[1] Eurogamer's Ellie Gibson was satisfied with the number of recipes available, most of which were "pretty easy to follow". Gibson, however, preferred to see instructional videos to observe how a recipe was made before making it.[2]

In their review of the game, Official Nintendo Magazine commented that the stylus-controlled cooking tutorials are not user-friendly, and the recipe sharing is as good as it could be since players can only use ingredients and methods from recipes that they have unlocked through playing the game. They felt that the game attempts to appeal to gamers rather than aspiring chefs, concluding, "[The game has] some great recipes but the experience is marred by some fiddly cooking games."[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Hatfield, Daemon (October 31, 2008). "What's Cooking? Jamie Oliver [sic Review"]. Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/10/31/whats-cooking-jamie-oliver-review. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Gibson, Ellie (November 26, 2008). "Celebrity Chef Showdown: Gordon vs. Jamie (Page 2)". Gamer Network. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/celebrity-chef-showdown-gordon-vs-jamie-review?page=2. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "What's Cooking? with Jamie Oliver Interview". Official Nintendo Magazine (Future plc) (34): 8–9. October 2008. 
  4. ↑ IGN staff (August 8, 2008). "Atari Turns Up the Summer Heat at Games Convention 2008". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/08/08/atari-turns-up-the-summer-heat-at-games-convention-2008. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "What's Cooking with Jamie Oliver for DS Reviews". Red Ventures. https://www.metacritic.com/game/whats-cooking-with-jamie-oliver/critic-reviews/?platform=ds. 
  6. ↑ Ferris, Duke (January 7, 2009). "What's Cooking with Jamie Oliver Review". CraveOnline. https://www.gamerevolution.com/review/42577-cooking-jamie-oliver-review. 
  7. ↑ Bedigian, Louis (October 28, 2008). "What's Cooking? with Jamie Oliver - NDS - Review". https://www.gamezone.com/reviews/what_s_cooking_with_jamie_oliver_nds_review/. 
  8. ↑ miniblob (October 29, 2008). "Test: Cuisinez ! avec Jamie Oliver" (in fr). Webedia. https://www.jeuxvideo.com/articles/0000/00009896-cuisinez-avec-jamie-oliver-test.htm. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "What's Cooking? with Jamie Oliver review". Official Nintendo Magazine (Future plc) (37): 87. Christmas 2008. 

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 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]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

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. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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