Hunter (video game)

Hunter

Developer(s)| Activision
Publisher(s)| Activision
Designer(s)| Paul Holmes[1]
Programmer(s)| Paul Holmes[1]
Artist(s)| Jason Kingsley[1]
Composer(s)| Martin Walker[1]
Platform(s)| Amiga, Atari ST
Release| August 1991[2]
Genre(s)| Action-adventure
Mode(s)| Single-player

Hunter is an early 3D action-adventure game in which the player navigates around a series of islands. Hunter was developed by Paul Holmes and Martin Walker (music), and was released by Activision for the Amiga and Atari ST home computers in 1991.[3]

## Contents

* 1 Gameplay
* 1.1 Game modes
* 2 Graphics and sound
* 3 Development
* 4 Reception
* 5 References
* 6 External links
* 7 Features
* 8 History
* 9 See also
* 10 References
* 11 External links

## Gameplay

Screenshot of Hunter

The player controls a soldier in a large three-dimensional world and can move by walking, swimming or using various vehicles ranging from cars to tanks to surfboards. The player may also enter and explore a variety of buildings.

Other in-game characters include enemy soldiers, civilians and animals such as seagulls, sharks and cows. The player has a range of weapons. Surrounding terrain can be surveyed with aerial observation units and radar. Food and money can be used to bribe and gather information from other characters. Target coordinates can be recorded into a log book, and the player's position in the game world can be seen on an overlaying map.

In addition to shooting, enemy soldiers can also drive vehicles to track the player down. Guard towers, tracer guns, cannons and SAM launchers have the ability to shoot towards the player, and homing missiles launched by the enemy follow the player's vehicles.[4][5] Birds can also flock around the player, which can cause them to get killed by a vehicle.

The game is controlled mostly via joystick and mouse. The joystick controls the directional movement of the character, and the mouse is used in the selection of weapons and items.

### Game modes

There are three game modes to choose from. Each mode has its own map:

* Hunter, an action-adventure game in which communication with other characters is important. The player's mission is to track down and assassinate an enemy general and return to headquarters before time runs out. The mission can be accomplished by collecting clues from civilians, bribing enemies and using various vehicles and weapons.
* In Missions mode, the player has to complete a short mission and then return to headquarters in order to receive another assignment. The objectives become progressively harder and the time shorter to complete each mission. The last mission is to destroy the enemy headquarters.
* Action, one large mission in which the player has to destroy a preset number of targets in any order he wishes. The player is given a long list of enemy targets and must use the map and log book to locate each target and destroy them before time runs out.

## Graphics and sound

The game world consists of a 3D polygon terrain with islands, hills and lakes. In addition to various buildings and vehicles, also some trees, plants and rocks are modeled in 3D. Use of colour is limited and shades of green, orange and blue are emphasized. The game features a 24-hour clock, and the brightness of the environment depends on the time of day. Flares can be used to illuminate the surroundings during night.

The only music in the game is the main theme composed by Martin Walker, which plays during the title screen. Sound effects include engines, gunfire, explosions, waves and squawks of seagulls. Typically the Amiga is both visually and sonically more advanced, using more colours and having digitized sound effects whereas the ST version uses more dithering (re: the ocean areas) and uses synthesized sound effects.

Hunter's maps are randomly generated each time the game is played, and are created using fractal geometry.[1] After the map is generated, pre-made 3D objects are randomly placed in the game environment.[1] Hunter has a total of 182 pre-made 3D objects.[1]

## Development

Hunter began development in February 1990, and was originally planned for a February 1991 release date,[1] but was delayed to August.[2] The December 1990 issue of British gaming magazine The One previewed Hunter's development.[1] Hunter's maps are randomly generated each time the game is played, and are created using fractal geometry.[1] After the map is generated, pre-made 3D objects are randomly placed in the game environment.[1] Hunter is 64 kilobytes large, and has a total of 182 pre-made 3D objects.[1] The code for Hunter's 3D environments was written by Paul Holmes, and was originally intended for a game by CRL Group before they went defunct and the game was cancelled.[1] This code, while used as a base, was "substantially rewritten" according to The One; the code relied on the Amiga's blitter chip, but due to Hunter's planned Atari ST release, this needed to be reworked.[1] Holmes created software that mimiced the Amiga's blitter chip that was compatible with Atari ST hardware; the program turned out to run faster than the Amiga's blitter.[1] Holmes said in an interview that "the trouble with using the hardware, is that it imposes certain limitations that then have to be overcome with clever software routines".[1] The object editor created to design Hunter's 3D objects was written in a week, and Holmes expressed that writing Hunter's game logic and enemy AI was more difficult than the game's 3D routines.[1] Hunter's maps are generated upon 128 by 128 grids, and the game runs at an average frame rate of 12 frames per second.[1]

## Reception

Reception

| Review scores

Publication| Score
Amiga Computing| 90% (Amiga)[2]
CU Amiga| 89% (Amiga)[4]
Amiga Format| 86% (Amiga)[5]
Amiga Power| 85% (Amiga)[6]

Hunter received very positive reviews (ranging from 85 to 95 points out of 100) in various game magazines. Although occasional graphical glitches[5][6] and simplistic animation[5] were noted, most of the reviewers considered Hunter one of the first serious takes on 3D gaming.[4][5][6] The game was characterized as an innovative addition to 3D vector games[4] and a bold step forward.[5]

What gathered most attention, however, was the scope of the game and the freedom of movement inside the game world:

> ...regardless of which mission you are on there are no restrictions, apart from time, over how you do it. You can use whatever transport or equipment you like. This sense of freedom allows exploration and experimentation over transport and equipment mixes.[2]

> Although the missions have time-limits there are no constraints as to how you must complete them, and this flexibility is severely lacking in past attempts at accessible 3D games.[4]

> I loved the idea of controlling your character with freedom to travel around the various locations, using the various means of transport and going into buildings without so much as a "by your leave".[7]

Although most reviewers were enthusiastic about the game world and its absorbing nature, some argued that the game world was small and could be explored in a few hours.[5][6] Another aspect considered negative in the reviews was the lack of music and the quality of sound effects.[4][2]

The combination of the game's 3D graphics and sandbox-type gameplay has been subsequently compared to the Grand Theft Auto and similar sandbox games, such as Far Cry 2.[8]

## References

1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 Scotford, Laurence (December 1990). "Hunter". The One (emap Images) (27): 53–54. https://archive.org/details/theone-magazine-27/page/n51/mode/2up.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Reagan, Fred (August 1991). "Stand by to be Hunted Down: Hunter". Amiga Computing (Europress Publications) (39): 46–47. https://archive.org/details/amiga-computing-magazine-039/page/n45/mode/2up.
3. ↑ "Hunter (Game)" (in en). https://www.giantbomb.com/hunter/3030-7117/.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Patterson, Mark (August 1991). "Hunter". CU Amiga (EMAP) (18): 97–98. https://archive.org/details/cuamiga-magazine-018/page/n95/mode/2up.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Webb, Trenton (March 1991). "Screenplay: Hunter". Amiga Format (Future Publishing) (20): 74–75. https://archive.org/details/Amiga_Format_Issue_020_1991-03_Future_Publishing_GB/page/n73/mode/2up.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Davies, Jonathan (August 1991). "Game Reviews: Hunter". Amiga Power (Future Publishing) (4): 28–30. https://archive.org/details/Amiga_Power_Issue_04_1991-08_Future_Publishing_GB/page/n27/mode/2up.
7. ↑ Wilson, David (March 1991). "Review: Hunter". Zero (Dennis Publishing Ltd) (17): 32–33. https://archive.org/details/zero-magazine-17/page/n31/mode/2up.
8. ↑ Fahs, Travis (16 June 2012). "IGN: The Leif Ericson Awards". News Corporation. http://retro.ign.com/articles/861/861550p3.html.

## External links

* Hunter at Hall of Light Amiga database
* 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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