Jack the Ripper (1987 video game)

Short description: none

Jack the Ripper

Publisher(s)| CRL Group
Designer(s)| St. Bride's School, Jared Derrett
Platform(s)| Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum
Release| 1987
Genre(s)| Text adventure
Mode(s)| Single-player

Jack the Ripper is a text adventure computer game designed by St. Bride's School and released by CRL in 1987 for the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum home computers. The game is based on the notorious "Jack the Ripper" murders in 1880s London.

## Contents

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

## Plot

A murderer is roaming the East End of London and the police suspect you of being responsible. The player must clear their name by exposing the real culprit.[1]

## Gameplay

The game is a standard text adventure with animated graphics in some locations to set the scene.[2] The game accepts the input of full sentences including the use of adverbs. The game is played in real time; time passes when the player does not take action and events can take place in the game world during this time. As well as saving and loading the game state the program also allows players to store and restore their position during play.[3]

## Reception

As with the earlier CRL adventures Dracula and Frankenstein, the game was classified by the British Board of Film Classification, receiving an '18' certificate for its gory graphics.[4] Because of this W. H. Smith refused to stock the game.[5]

### Reviews

Sinclair User:

> The first game ever to receive an "18" certificate. Very literate effort from St. Brides, with 'gore' added by CRL.[6]

Zzap!64's reviewer said the game was similar in style to Rod Pike's work. They thought some of the graphics were unnecessary but the stylish text, atmosphere and excitement created made it "a must for the adventurers collection." It was given a 78% overall rating.[7]

The Games Machine also compared the game to titles by Rod Pike. The reviewer admitted that none of the previous games by St Brides had impressed them very much, with this one being "the first of their games which has actually held my interest for more than 20 minutes." Overall it was said to be "professionally implemented and quite exciting to play" with the 3 parts of the game making it value for money. They also gave a rating of 78%.[8]

Computer & Video games compared the game to Sherlock, with both games set in London in the same era and featuring 'real time' gameplay. They considered Jack the Ripper to be the superior game, as it lacked bugs. The reviewer said it was "certainly St Brides' best to date" and rated it 9/10.[9]

## Notes

The game was produced using the Gilsoft Professional Adventure Writer.[10]

## References

1. ↑ "Newegg – Shopping Upgraded". https://www.gamecrate.com/video-game-legacy-jack-ripper/14338.
2. ↑ "Dracula unbound: The story behind the first 18 certificated video game". March 2015. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-03-01-dracula-unbound-the-story-behind-the-first-18-certificated-video-game.
3. ↑ "The secrets of the Ripper". https://worldofspectrum.org//pub/sinclair/games-info/j/JackTheRipper.txt.
4. ↑ "BBFC rating of Jack the Ripper". http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/jack-ripper-1970. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
5. ↑ "Whodunwat", Sinclair User, December 1987
6. ↑ "Jack the Ripper Review", Sinclair User, January 1988
7. ↑ "Impossible to Display Scan". http://www.zzap64.co.uk/cgi-bin/displaypage.pl?issue=034&page=043&thumbstart=0&magazine=zzap&check=1.
8. ↑ "The Games Machine Magazine Issue 03". https://archive.org/details/thegamesmachine-magazine-03/page/n75/mode/1up?view=theater.
9. ↑ "Computer & Video Games - Issue 075 (1988-01)(EMAP Publishing)(GB)". January 1988. https://archive.org/details/Computer_Video_Games_Issue_075_1988-01_EMAP_Publishing_GB/page/n105/mode/2up?view=theater.
10. ↑ "Jack the Ripper Review", Computer & Video Games, January 1988

## External links

* Jack the Ripper at SpectrumComputing.co.uk
* Jack the Ripper at Lemon 64
* 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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