From HandWiki - Reading time: 6 min
| Wolfman | |
|---|---|
| Publisher(s) | CRL Group |
| Designer(s) | Rod Pike Jared Derrett |
| Platform(s) | Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum |
| Release | 1988 |
| Genre(s) | Interactive fiction |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Wolfman is a text adventure video game released by CRL in 1988 for the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, and ZX Spectrum home computers.
After a heavy sleep the protagonist awakes to find his clothes ripped and bloody, yet no sign of injury to himself. Glancing through a window, he sees the body of a dead girl lying nearby, her throat has been torn out. He then realizes that he is in reality a werewolf, and must escape violent retribution by enraged villagers and somehow find a cure for his illness. After falling in love with a young woman named Nadia, the protagonist must rescue her when she is kidnapped while continuing to seek a cure for his lycanthropy.[1]
The game is a standard text adventure with graphics in some locations to set the scene. It is in three parts, with the player in the role of the Wolfman in the first and third, and of his fiancée in the second.[2]
The game was produced using the Gilsoft Professional Adventure Writer.[3]
As with the earlier CRL adventures Dracula, Frankenstein, and Jack the Ripper, the game was classified by the British Board of Film Censors, receiving an '18' certificate for its gory graphics.[4][3]
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]
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