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Wanted

Topic: Software

 From HandWiki - Reading time: 7 min

Wanted: Monty Mole
Developer(s)Peter Harrap[1] (Spectrum)
Antony Crowther (C64)
Publisher(s)Gremlin Graphics
Platform(s)Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum
Release
  • EU: 29 July 1984
[2]
Genre(s)Platformer
Mode(s)Single-player

Wanted: Monty Mole is a platform video game published in July 1984[2] for the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 home computers. It is the first game released by Gremlin Graphics[2] and the first game in the Monty Mole series. Monty Mole is a fictional mole created by Ian Stewart, the director of the company.[2]

Gameplay

Commodore 64 screenshot

The player controls the titular mole who has to travel around a coal mine collecting pieces of coal and other miscellaneous objects while avoiding various nasties and the infamous crushers.[3] The style of gameplay is typical of platform games of the 1980s. The ZX Spectrum version is a flip-screen game while the Commodore 64 version uses scrolling.[4] The game was inspired by the UK miners' strike of 1984–85, and even featured a character based on union leader Arthur Scargill.[3]

Music

  • The tune that plays when Monty loses a life is the hymn Abide with Me.
  • The music is a downtempo cover of the Colonel Bogey March.

Reception

Wanted: Monty Mole reached number 2 in the all-formats sales charts behind Daley Thompson's Decathlon [5] in the week up to 13 September 1984. It topped the ZX Spectrum charts in the same week[5] before being replaced by Daley Thompson's Decathlon the following week.[6] Gremlin Graphics reported that they had sold 20,000 copies in the first six weeks.[7]

The game received a positive reception from critics. Crash rated it 92%, describing it as a "fantastic Jet Set Willy type of game with excellent graphics and a good use of colour throughout".[8] Personal Computer Games gave it 80%, saying "if you can put up with a measure of frustration, Monty Mole will unearth a great deal of action for your money", while also praising the graphics.[9]

It also won Crash magazine's readers award for best platform game in 1984.[1]

Sequels

  • Monty is Innocent (1985). In this game, Monty has been sentenced to five years in Scudmore Prison for stealing a bucket of coal. Monty's best friend, the mysterious masked weasel, Sam Stoat, is determined to set Monty free.
  • Monty on the Run (1985). In this episode, Monty is on the run from the authorities after his intervention in the Miners' strike. He must escape from his house and head for the English Channel and freedom in Europe.
  • Auf Wiedersehen Monty (1987). In this instalment, Monty travels around Europe collecting money in order to buy a Greek island - Montos, where he can safely retire.
  • Moley Christmas (1987). Released as a covertape with Your Sinclair magazine, Monty is tasked with recovering the source code to his latest game and getting it to the duplication plant.[10]
  • Impossamole (1990), remaking Monty as a cape-clad superhero who is recruited by aliens to retrieve their sacred scrolls.
  • Monty: Revenge of the Mole (2013), released after it was selected as the winner of a Monty Mole game design competition held by Games Britannia in British schools; the game was developed by Steel Minions Studio, as adapted from the winning design. All proceeds from sales of the games went to the charity SpecialEffect, a charity aimed at helping physically disabled people play video games.[11]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Crash Readers Awards 1984". Crash (Newsfield) (12): 94–95. January 1985. ISSN 0954-8661. https://archive.org/details/crash-magazine-12/page/n93/mode/2up. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Gremlin – The Rising Star". Commodore Computing International (Croftward Ltd): 27. December 1986. https://ia800604.us.archive.org/view_archive.php?archive=/1/items/World_of_Spectrum_June_2017_Mirror/World%20of%20Spectrum%20June%202017%20Mirror.zip&file=World%20of%20Spectrum%20June%202017%20Mirror/sinclair/company-pics/g/GremlinGraphicsSoftwareLtd/CCI86/cci_gg2.jpg. Retrieved 6 December 2022. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Purchese, Robert (April 13, 2011). "Peter Harrap wants new Monty Mole". Gamer Network. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-04-13-peter-harrap-wants-new-monty-mole. 
  4. ↑ "The Potty Programmer". http://www.the-commodore-zone.com/articlelive/articles/14/1/The-Potty-Programmer/Page1.html. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Charts". Personal Computer News (VNU): 5. 22 September 1984. https://archive.org/details/PersonalComputerNews/PersonalComputerNews079-22Sep1984/page/n5/mode/2up. Retrieved 6 December 2022. 
  6. ↑ "Charts". Personal Computer News (VNU): 4. 29 September 1984. https://archive.org/details/PersonalComputerNews/PersonalComputerNews080-29Sep1984/page/n5/mode/2up. Retrieved 6 December 2022. 
  7. ↑ "Top 50". Personal Computer Games (VNU) (12): 21. November 1984. https://archive.org/details/Personal_Computer_Games_Issue12/page/n19/mode/2up. Retrieved 6 December 2022. 
  8. ↑ "Wanted: Monty Mole". Crash (Newsfield) (9). 1984-09-27. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/page.php?issue_id=976&page=8. 
  9. ↑ "Personal Computer Games Magazine Issue 11". https://archive.org/stream/personalcomputergames-magazine-11/PersonalComputerGames_11#page/n47/mode/1up. 
  10. ↑ "Moley Christmas". Your Sinclair (Dennis Publishing) (25): 17. January 1988. ISSN 0269-6983. https://archive.org/details/your-sinclair-25/page/n15/mode/2up. 
  11. ↑ "School-developed Monty Mole Game Released for launch of Games Britannia 2013" (Press release). Games Britannia. Games Press, Gamasutra. February 7, 2013. Archived from the original on January 10, 2021.
  • Wanted: Monty Mole at SpectrumComputing.co.uk
  • 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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