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Vette!

Topic: Software

 From HandWiki - Reading time: 5 min

Short description: 1989 video game
Vette!
Developer(s)Sphere
Publisher(s)Spectrum HoloByte
Producer(s)Joe Scirica
Designer(s)Dan Geisler
Gilman Louie
Programmer(s)Dan Geisler
Jinda Pan
Sky Chang
Joe Tretinik
Kus Pranawahadi
Erick Jap
Artist(s)Dan Guerra
Matt Carlstrom
Jody Sather
Composer(s)Jinda Pan
Platform(s)MS-DOS, Macintosh, NEC PC-9801
Release
  • NA: October 1989
Genre(s)Racing
Mode(s)Single-player, networked multiplayer

Vette! is a 1989 racing video game published by Spectrum Holobyte for MS-DOS compatible operating systems in 1989. Macintosh and NEC PC-9801 ports followed. The objective is to race a Chevrolet Corvette through the streets of San Francisco . The game uses a 3D, flat-shaded polygon rendering of the city, including landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge, the San Francisco Bay Bridge[1], and Lombard Street. It was released on three floppy disks in both a black and white and color version.

A Sega Genesis version was planned, but never released.[2][3]

Gameplay

  • Car damage that affected the car's engine and handling.
  • Full control over the game's camera views, including an interior cam with a full working dashboard.[4]
  • The ability to drive anywhere within the modeled city including highways, tunnels, and bridges.
  • Pulling over at various gas stations that would repair the car.
  • The player is able to run people over.
  • Driving erratically can attract the attention of a nearby cop, triggering a chase, which can result in getting pulled over. There are 8 excuses to choose from unless charged for vehicular homicide by running over at least 1 pedestrian during the chase, or within close proximity of a cop.[5]

At the beginning of the game, a question from the manual requires a correct answer to prove game ownership. If the question is falsely answered, the game can be played for a limited time before a window popped up claiming "You have been caught driving a stolen Vette!", followed by the game crashing.

Development

During the development of this game, the attack on protesting Chinese students in Tiananmen Square occurred. In memory of that event, one of the programmers snuck this string into the program executable: "IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO WERE MURDERED IN TIAN-AN-MEN SQUARE ON JUNE 4, 1989. J.P. "[5]

Reception

Tony Dillon of ACE praised Vette! for its "complexity of design combined with clever simplicity in presentation" and its varied gameplay, and opined that the game "doesn't quite have the edge over Stunt Car, but it sure isn't far behind."[6] Peter Scisco of Compute! favorably reviewed the game, describing it as "Falcon AT on the ground." He praised the game's detail and EGA graphics, only criticizing the lack of sound card support, and concluded that "Vette! surpasses other driving simulations in its scope and realism".[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Scisco, Peter (November 1989). "Vette!". Compute!: 84–86. https://archive.org/stream/1989-11-compute-magazine/Compute_Issue_114_1989_Nov#page/n85/mode/2up. 
  2. ↑ "Winter Consumer Electronic Show: Entertainment Software "On The Pass Line" - New Computer Games at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show — Making a Competition". Computer Gaming World (Russell Sipe) (68): 42. February 1990. https://retrocdn.net/index.php?title=File:Megadrive_Fan_1991-04.pdf&page=117. 
  3. ↑ "Outpost: Genesis - 'Vette (Sega)". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Sendai Publishing) (13): 86. August 1990. https://archive.org/stream/Electronic_Gaming_Monthly_Issue_013_August_1990#page/n88/mode/1up. 
  4. ↑ "Vette! (1989) - PC Game". https://www.squakenet.com/game/vette/. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Vette!" (in en-US). http://ultimatehistoryvideogames.jimdofree.com/vette/. 
  6. ↑ Dillon, Tony (November 1989). "Screentest: Vette!". ACE: 50. https://archive.org/stream/ace-magazine-26/ACE_Issue_26_1989_Nov#page/n49/mode/2up. 
  • 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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