Driller (video game)

Driller

Developer(s)| Major Developments
Publisher(s)| Incentive Software
Designer(s)|

* Chris Andrew
* Ian Andrew

Engine| Freescape
Platform(s)| Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, ZX Spectrum
Release| 1987
Genre(s)| Puzzle
Mode(s)| Single-player

Driller (known as Space Station Oblivion in the United States) is a 1987 puzzle video game. It was written by British developers Major Developments and published by Incentive Software for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Amiga, Atari ST, and MS-DOS. It uses the Freescape 3D game engine.

## Contents

* 1 Plot
* 2 Gameplay
* 3 Development
* 4 Reception
* 5 References
* 6 External links
* 7 Features
* 8 History
* 9 See also
* 10 References
* 11 External links

## Plot

In the far future, the human race has abandoned Earth for the reaches of outer space, having ruined the planet in the relentless quest for resources and in endless conflict. In a desperate search to find a new home, they found Evath, a life-sustaining planet with two moons, Mitral and Tricuspid. They sent a ship, named "Exodus" to colonize this new planet with explorers, embryos and supplies. Generations passed, and the colony on Evath was formed. Without the rule of law, the oldest members of the Exodus' crew, the Elders, were forced to take control, form an army and bring the rule of law to Evath.

Lesleigh Skerrit aspired to work for the Driller Federation. His grandfather had been a member of the Federation, but he was falsely accused of murder and banished as a Ketar. Only later did the evidence contesting his guilt surface, but it was too late - the law did not allow someone banished as a Ketar to return to Evath. Lesleigh was not bitter and did not seek retribution. He wanted to study law to prevent this kind of mistake happening again.

Called in by his superior, Montigue Yarbro, he is offered a lifetime opportunity - to complete his training and gain a promotion to Elite within the Driller Federation in one fell swoop. His experience on Mitral bore him well - he was to go to Mitral and attempt to avert the coming catastrophe. Mitral, having been abandoned in its unstable state by the Ketars, was going to explode within four hours, and the explosion would take Evath with it. Skerrit's mission was to use the excavation probe "Last Hope" to place eighteen drilling rigs around Mitral to allow the gas to dissipate harmlessly into space and prevent this disaster. Things are not so simple though, with the security systems activated prior to the Ketars' departure.

## Gameplay

The game requires the player to maneuver the excavation probe, through a first-person view, through eighteen regions (in the shape of a rhombicuboctahedron) of the moon Mitral, and place a drilling rig in each of them to allow a minimum of 50% of the gas to escape.[1] The position is established by a mixture of clues from the landscape (including an "X marks the spot" in the first zone) and trial and error. The security systems will attack Lesleigh upon sight, and he must disable or avoid them by any means possible. Only a few can be destroyed by shooting, while the rest must be dispatched by mechanical means through switches or similar.

The eighteen regions are actually platforms above the true surface of Mitral; the excavation probe cannot fly or hover (although it can rise and lower itself slightly on hydraulics), and moving off a platform causes the player to fall onto the surface and become marooned. However, in one area the player can find a garage containing a hovering vehicle that can be used to explore and attack security systems, though not to place drilling rigs.

## Development

Driller was the first game to use the Freescape engine, which allowed the production of full three-dimensional environments using filled polygons in which the player could move around freely. It also gave the player the ability to look up and down, as well as rotate left and right, something which was rare amongst 3D games of the time.[2] The same engine was used for Driller's sequel, Dark Side, as well as Total Eclipse, The Sphinx Jinx, Castle Master and Castle Master II: The Crypt.

## Reception

Reception

| Review scores

Publication| Score
Amstrad Action| 96%[3]
Crash| 97%[5]
CVG| 34/40[4]
Sinclair User| [6]
Your Sinclair| 9/10[7]
Zzap!64| 96%[8]
ACE| 956[9]
The Games Machine| 95%[10]
| Awards

Publication| Award
Zzap!64| Gold Medal[8]
C+VG| C+VG Hit[4]
Crash| Crash Smash[5]
Amstrad Action| 4th best game of all time [11]

The game received positive reviews from several sources. CRASH awarded the game 97%, stating that "with a stunning use of 3D graphics, very challenging gameplay, and the fascination of exploring a FreeScape world, Driller is one of the best games CRASH has seen."[12] The magazine's readers voted it the best overall game of 1987.[13] Your Sinclair gave Driller 9/10 with reviewer Phil South stating "The game took a year to build, and it shows in the quality of the workmanship and the gameplay. I can tell that people are going to be sending in tips for this for months to come. Superb!"[14] Zzap!64 awarded the game 96%.[15] Amstrad Action reviewed the game in the January 1988 issue with an overall rating of 96% and earned the AA 'Mastergame' accolade. Is joint 3rd highest rated game in Amstrad Action's run.[1] Orson Scott Card wrote in Compute! that "the lame science fiction story ... is a thinly veiled excuse for what's really a programmer's exercise in 3-D graphics. But once you stop expecting the story to make sense, this is a fun game, as you explore a strange world ... a fascinating experience".[16]

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 'Amstrad Action', issue 28, January 1988, pages 50-51
2. ↑ Fahs, Travis (22 October 2008). "Exploring the Freescape". http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/10/22/exploring-the-freescape.
3. ↑ Amstrad Action magazine, issue 28, Future Publishing
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Reviews: Driller". Computer and Video Games (75): 24. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=C+VG/Issue075/Pages/CVG07500024.jpg.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Driller". CRASH! (47): 25. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=Crash/Issue47/Pages/Crash4700025.jpg.
6. ↑ "Arcade Review: Driller". Sinclair User (69): 61. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=SinclairUser/Issue069/Pages/SinclairUser06900061.jpg.
7. ↑ South, Phil (January 1988). "Driller". Your Sinclair: 25. http://www.ysrnry.co.uk/articles/driller.htm.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Zzap!64 100th Issue Pull-Out Special". pp. 5. http://www.zzap64.co.uk/zzap100/100thspec5.html.
9. ↑ "Driller". ACE (4): 76. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=ACE/Issue04/Pages/ACE0400076.jpg.
10. ↑ "Driller". The Games Machine (2): 39. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=TheGamesMachine/Issue02/Pages/TheGamesMachine0200039.jpg.
11. ↑ "Amstrad Action All Time Top 10 Games • Retroaction". http://retroactionmagazine.com/retroactionextra/amstrad-action-all-time-top-10-games/.
12. ↑ "CRASH review of Driller from 1987". http://www.crashonline.org.uk/47/driller.htm.
13. ↑ "THE 1987 CRASH Readers' Awards". http://www.crashonline.org.uk/51/awards.htm.
14. ↑ "Your Sinclair review of Driller, Jan 1988". http://www.ysrnry.co.uk/articles/driller.htm.
15. ↑ "Lemon64 Driller entry". http://www.lemon64.com/?game_id=783.
16. ↑ Card, Orson Scott (June 1989). "Light-years and Lasers / Science Fiction Inside Your Computer". Compute!: pp. 29. https://archive.org/stream/1989-06-compute-magazine/Compute_Issue_109_1989_Jun#page/n29/mode/2up.

## External links

* 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 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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* Driller at SpectrumComputing.co.uk
* Driller at Lemon 64

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Incentive Software

Games|

* Splat!
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Freescape|

* Driller
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3D Construction Kit|

* 3D Construction Kit
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