Patriot (video game)

Patriot
Developer(s)	Artech Digital Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Three-Sixty Pacific
Designer(s)	Rick Banks Frank Chadwick
Platform(s)	MS-DOS
Release	1993
Genre(s)	Wargame
Mode(s)	Single-player

Patriot is a computer wargame about the Gulf War, developed by Artech Digital Entertainment and published by Three-Sixty Pacific. It was released in 1993 for MS-DOS. The player can command either the Iraqi or Coalition forces.

Computer Gaming World's April 1993 review began:

QUESTION: What do Patriot and The Satanic Verses have in common? ANSWER: In both cases, the end-users want to kill the author.

The reviewer, who participated in the Gulf War and experienced wargamer and computer wargamer, stated that "Based on the program as released, I could not begin to figure out what to do or how to do it. Clearly, there is something wrong with this picture". He criticized the documentation, user interface, unrealistic unit strength, and lack of options such as military intelligence, logistics, or most close air support. The reviewer stated that Patriot was "the first civilian wargame ever published which could be used immediately in the military for a CPX (Command Post Exercise). And this is part of the problem"; while with many novel features, he wrote; "the lack of a meaningful game dooms the remainder to oblivion".^[1]

When evaluating version 1.10 of Patriot in December 1993, the same reviewer noted improvements in the documentation, stability, and user interface. He stated that "this was a wargame straight out of Command & General Staff College or the War College. In fact, this remains Patriot's greatest strength and failure — it is simply too military. There is no feeling of action or vicarious thrill/terror ... it often is not fun". The reviewer recommended that "casual gamers" avoid it, advised that the game be "marketed to the defense establishment as a serious tool for decision-making", and suggested that it might assist students in military staff colleges with coursework.^[2]

In 1996, Computer Gaming World declared Patriot the 45th-worst computer game ever released.^[3]

• 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.

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.

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]

• IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

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