Escape from Hell (video game)

Short description: 1990 video game

Escape from Hell

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Developer(s)| Electronic Arts
Publisher(s)| Electronic Arts
Producer(s)| Dave Albert and Chris Wilson
Designer(s)| Richard L. Seaborne
Programmer(s)| Richard L. Seaborne
Artist(s)| Alan J. Murphy
Platform(s)| MS-DOS
Release| 1990
Genre(s)| Role-playing
Mode(s)| Single-player

Escape from Hell is an open world role-playing video game developed and published by Electronic Arts in 1990 for MS-DOS.[1][2]

## Contents

* 1 Gameplay
* 2 Plot
* 3 Development
* 4 Reception
* 5 References
* 6 External links
* 7 Features
* 8 History
* 9 See also
* 10 References
* 11 External links

## Gameplay

Starting location

The game is played from a top-down perspective. The player controls the protagonist Richard and can recruit up to two party members and gain a variety of items in the inventory. Combat is turn-based. Various tridents can be found that change the landscape of Hell, such as modifying the terrain or reducing the technology level so that firearms are ineffective.[3]

The game is available in CGA, EGA, and VGA graphics modes.[2]

## Plot

After a long day, Richard is with his girlfriend Alison who asks him about his meeting with Alan (both Richard and Alan are named after the game creators). Richard says that he couldn't find Alan and just found a strange note. When he reads it aloud, Alison is sent to Hell. He then receives a phone call from the "Divine Phone Company" reprimanding him for casting a powerful incantation. Richard accidentally repeats what he said and is sent to Hell himself.[3]

Richard's goal is to search Hell for Alison and return to Earth. During the journey, he finds allies among powerful rogue demons, historical figures such as Josef Stalin and Genghis Khan, and fictional characters such as Prince Hamlet.[1]

## Development

Following the release of Prophecy, Richard L. Seaborne pitched the concept of Escape from Hell to Electronic Arts. During development, the game shifted from being a serious traditional roleplaying game to a contemporary black comedy roleplaying game. Insipirations included the epic poem Inferno by Dante Alighieri, the novel Inferno by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, the comic Stig's Inferno, and the films Beetlejuice and Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.[4]

The game was refined with the aid of EA leadership Trip Hawkins, Bing Gordon, and Dave Albert. The first six months of the total 12-month development cycle was in pre-production with developing an engine. While the gameplay and art style was similar to Wasteland, the engine code was written from the ground up and did not share any code from that game.[4]

Because Electronic Arts wanted to ship the game on both 5¼” and 3½” floppy disks, the planned scope of the game was reduced. Nine levels of Hell were originally planned (following the description of Hell in Dante's Inferno), but were reduced to three. Additional planned character and monster art was removed as well as ways for the world to change over time and based on character actions. Multiple endings were planned, such as Richard choosing to rescue a woman he met in Hell rather than Alison. [4]

## Reception

The The Games Machine rated the game 78% saying "although Escape from Hell is nothing to shout about, it can still be recommended as it exhibits a fair sprinkling of puzzles and some nice design touches wilh an interesting scenario."[5] PC Leisure (June 1990) rated the game 80%[citation needed]. The New Straits Times wrote "This ageing game is considered to be one of the best in its genre, and the solution given by [the contributor] proves that there are people out there who appreciate the quality of games like this."[6]

The box art included the text "WARNING: Contains nudity, violence and controversial images." This was added to avoid potential consumer backlash and to encourage curiosity in the game. However, a number of retailers and international regions chose not to sell the game and the game was not a commercial success.[4]

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Zverloff, Nick (1 December 2010). "Escape From Hell". http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/escape-from-hell/.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Dice with death as you dodge the devil spearsmen". February 16, 1990. p. 28. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-southport-visiter/123319908/.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Richard Cobbett (30 January 2021). "Crapshoot: Escape From Hell, the RPG where Stalin is a member of your party" (in en). PC Gamer. https://www.pcgamer.com/saturday-crapshoot-escape-from-hell/.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "RPG Codex Retrospective Interview: Richard Seaborne on Escape from Hell, Myraglen, and Prophecy". 26 January 2015. https://rpgcodex.net/content.php?id=9744.
5. ↑ "Escape from Hell". The Games Machine (32): pp. 80. July 1990. https://archive.org/details/the-games-machine-32/TheGamesMachine32?view=theater#page/n79/mode/1up.
6. ↑ "End to Search for the King". September 6, 1990. p. 15. https://books.google.com/books?id=4KNUAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA30&article_id=6114,1769193. Retrieved April 26, 2023.

## External links

* 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 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]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

## 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.
18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628.

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