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Sentient (video game)

Topic: Software

 From HandWiki - Reading time: 8 min

Sentient
European box art for the PlayStation release
Developer(s)Psygnosis
Publisher(s)Psygnosis
Platform(s)PlayStation, PC (DOS/Windows)
Release
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Sentient is a first-person adventure developed by Psygnosis and released on the PlayStation and PC (DOS/Windows) in April 1997.

Story

There has been a breakout of radiation sickness on Space Station Icarus, and Garritt Sherova has been sent to investigate. After arriving at the station, it becomes apparent that radiation is only one of many problems; the captain is dead and a power struggle has ensued. To make matters worse, Icarus is on a collision course with the Sun and nobody is able to correct the station's course.

Sentient takes place in real-time. The player's actions in the early part of the game determine which path they will travel through later on. Which members of the crew are spoken to and what they are told plays a strong part in the plot's development. The player's performance through the game determines which of the nine endings they receive.[3]

Development

The game was developed by Psygnosis' external Chester Studio and Pompeii Studios[4][5] over 1995–1997.[6] The characters in the game were based on facial scans of staff at the studio.[citation needed] The Windows version supports 3D acceleration, but only using the Matrox Mystique and the Creative Labs 3D Blaster.

Early in the game's development, Mitch Gitelman of Pompeii Studios stated, "The organic transmission of information was one of our primary design goals, along with logical, nonlinear plot developments. Gossip and information transmission between computer-controlled characters takes the multilayered scenarios down many different avenues. It is our hope that this human interaction system will allow for maximum replayability without compromising the many stories in the game."[5]

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
PCPS
AllGameN/AStarStarStarHalf star[7]
CGSPStarHalf star[10]N/A
CGWStar[11]N/A
EdgeN/A6/10[12]
EGMN/A7.375/10[13]
Game InformerN/A6.75/10[14]
GameFanN/A84%[15][lower-alpha 1]
GameSpot5.1/10[16]7.5/10[3]
IGNN/A5/10[17]
Next GenerationStarStar[18]StarStarStar[19]
OPM (UK)N/A7/10[20]
PC Gamer (US)56%[22]N/A
PC PowerPlay68%[21]N/A

At the time of release, the PlayStation version of the game was praised for its ambitious and intricate gameplay[13][3][19][23] and its replay value,[13][3][19][23] but criticised for its sloppy graphics, particularly the odd-looking character faces.[13][3][19][23] Most critics expressed astonishment that the conversation system produces dialogue which is not only fairly complex, but generally sounds natural and realistic.[13][3][19][23] Overall assessments were mostly positive. GameSpot likened Sentient to classic text adventures.[3] GamePro stated that "the intricacy and suspense make the brainwork rewarding (and replayable, too, with six endings)."[23][lower-alpha 2] Shawn Smith of Electronic Gaming Monthly commented, "Sentient gets some major points for originality. I've never played a game with so many different possibilities." Dan Hsu and Crispin Boyer felt that the pace was too slow and would be unappealing to many gamers, while Ken "Sushi-X" Williams shared Smith's more positive assessment.[13] A Next Generation reviewer concluded, "Ultimately, Sentient succeeds at what it set out to do, which was to forge some new territory in graphic adventures."[19]

The PC release was more negatively received, with critics commenting that the graphics look terrible unless the user has a 3D Blaster or Matrox Mystique card,[16][18] and that the interface is clumsy and tedious, making the player wade through several menus to choose responses.[16][18] Next Generation added that the game should have used a text parser for its complex dialogue system.[18] GameSpot expressed admiration for the game's ambition and immersion, but felt the cumbersome interface made it a chore to play.[16] Next Generation similarly concluded, "All in all, the execution makes the whole thing a complete waste of time. It's big, it's ugly, and it's as frustrating as hell to work with. ... Unless you have enough patience to wear down granite, don't bother with this one." The reviewer said that Sentient did not hold up on PC in part because graphic adventures were not as scarce on that platform as they were on the PlayStation.[18]

Notes

  1. ↑ Three critics of GameFan gave the PlayStation version each a score of 81, 88, and 82.
  2. ↑ GamePro gave the PlayStation version three 4/5 scores for graphics, control, and overall fun factor, and 3/5 for sound.

References

  1. ↑ Grazer (April 20, 1997). "PlayStation Mega-Sale!!". Newsgroup: rec.games.video.marketplace. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Press Release: Sentient for PC CD-ROM [date mislabeled as "April 30, 1996""]. April 30, 1997. Archived from the original on June 19, 1997. https://web.archive.org/web/19970619023158/http://www.psygnosis.com/news/sentx.html. Retrieved July 25, 2021. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Robertson, Ed (April 17, 1997). "Sentient Review (PS) [date mislabeled as "May 2, 2000""]. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 18, 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20050118060044/http://www.gamespot.com/ps/adventure/sentient/review.html. Retrieved July 20, 2021. 
  4. ↑ Salvador, Phil (2019-01-18). "Sentient" (in en-US). https://obscuritory.com/adventure/sentient/. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Letters (Mitch Gitelman's Letter)". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (14): 192. February 1996. https://archive.org/details/NEXT_Generation_14/page/n193/mode/2up. Retrieved July 20, 2021. 
  6. ↑ "Next Wave: Sentient". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Sendai Publishing) (74): 84. September 1995. https://archive.org/details/electronic-gaming-monthly-issue-074-september-1995/page/n87/mode/2up. Retrieved July 20, 2021. 
  7. ↑ Sutyak, Jonathan. "Sentient (PS) - Review". All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 17, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141117041530/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=7958&tab=review. Retrieved July 21, 2021. 
  8. ↑ Brenesal, Barry (May 27, 1997). "Sentient (PC)". CNET. Archived from the original on August 16, 2000. https://web.archive.org/web/20000816105841/http://www.gamecenter.com/Reviews/Item/0,6,0-876,00.html. Retrieved July 21, 2021. 
  9. ↑ Ham, Tom (May 9, 1997). "Sentient (PS)". CNET. Archived from the original on August 16, 2000. https://web.archive.org/web/20000816210328/http://www.gamecenter.com/Consoles/Sony/Sentient/. Retrieved July 21, 2021. 
  10. ↑ Royal, Tim (1997). "Sentient". Strategy Plus, Inc.. Archived from the original on May 29, 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20030529152859/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/002/167/sentient_review.html. Retrieved July 21, 2021. 
  11. ↑ Coffey, Robert (August 1997). "Space Junk (Sentient Review)". Computer Gaming World (Ziff Davis) (157): 138. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_157.pdf. Retrieved July 21, 2021. 
  12. ↑ Edge staff (April 1997). "Sentient (PS)". Edge (Future Publishing) (44): 78. https://retrocdn.net/images/0/0d/Edge_UK_044.pdf. Retrieved July 21, 2021. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 Smith, Shawn; Hsu, Dan; Boyer, Crispin; Williams, Ken "Sushi-X" (April 1997). "Sentient". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (93): 56. 
  14. ↑ "Sentient (PS)". Game Informer (FuncoLand) (48). April 1997. Archived from the original on October 21, 1997. https://web.archive.org/web/19971021143640/http://www.gameinformer.com/apr97/sentient.html. Retrieved July 21, 2021. 
  15. ↑ Hobbs, Michael "Substance D"; Jevons, Dan "Knightmare"; Griffin, Mike "Glitch" (April 1997). "Sentient (PS)". GameFan (Metropolis Media) 5 (4): 22. https://archive.org/details/Gamefan_Vol_5_Issue_04/page/n23/mode/2up. Retrieved July 21, 2021. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Poole, Stephen (May 20, 1997). "Sentient Review (PC)". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/sentient-review/1900-2532946/. Retrieved March 28, 2018. 
  17. ↑ IGN staff (May 1, 1997). "Sentient (PS)". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/05/02/sentient. Retrieved July 21, 2021. 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 "Sentient (PC)". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (33): 143. September 1997. https://archive.org/details/NEXT_Generation_33/page/n143/mode/2up. Retrieved July 21, 2021. 
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 19.5 "Sentient (PS)". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (30): 118, 120. June 1997. https://archive.org/details/NEXT_Generation_30/page/n119/mode/2up. Retrieved July 21, 2021. 
  20. ↑ "Sentient". Official UK PlayStation Magazine (Future Publishing) (18). April 1997. 
  21. ↑ Sharpe, Peter (July 1997). "Sentient". PC PowerPlay (14): 60–61. https://archive.org/details/PCPowerplay-014-1997-07/page/n71/mode/2up. 
  22. ↑ Williamson, Colin (August 1997). "Sentient". PC Gamer (Imagine Media) 4 (8). Archived from the original on March 11, 2000. https://web.archive.org/web/20000311232306/http://www.pcgamer.com/reviews/922.html. Retrieved July 21, 2021. 
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 23.4 Bonehead (May 1997). "Sentient (PS)". GamePro (IDG) (104): 86. https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_104_Volume_09_Number_05_1997-05_IDG_Publishing_US/page/n87/mode/2up. Retrieved July 21, 2021. 
  • 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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