Masters of the Elements

Short description: 1997 educational video game

Masters of the Elements

Developer(s)| IJsfontein Interactive Media
Publisher(s)| Bombilla (Dutch)
Van In (Belgium)
VNU Interactive
Tivola (English & German)
Gallimard (French)
Platform(s)|

* Classic Mac OS
* Windows

Release| November 4, 1997
Genre(s)| Adventure
Mode(s)| Single-player

Masters of the Elements (Dutch: Meesters van Macht) is an educational adventure video game developed by IJsfontein Interactive Media, and published by Bombilla (Dutch), Van In (Belgium), VNU Interactive, Tivola (English & German), and Gallimard (French).[1] The game was originally released in November, 1997 and ended up on Macintosh and Windows.

In the Anglosphere, it was published by Tivola, who had recently published other edutainment titles such as Physicus, Bioscopia, and Chemicus.[2] Originally in Dutch, the game was later translated into English, German, Japanese, French and Italian. The game was voiced by Joost Prinsen and won a BAFTA Award in 1999 after its English-language release.

## Contents

* 1 Production
* 1.1 Design
* 2 Plot and gameplay
* 3 Reception
* 4 References
* 5 External links
* 6 Features
* 7 History
* 8 See also
* 9 References
* 10 External links

## Production

The game was created by Jan Willem Huisman, Hayo Wagenaar, and Sander Hassing.[3] The three developers at IJsfontein knew each other from the InterAction Design department of the Utrecht School of the Arts, where they designed the concept of the game.[1] Wagenaar made all of the drawings, Hassing served as programmer, and Huisman organised the operation.[4] They came up with the name "IJsfontein" during the development of this game, which was their first project; while other development companies had English names they wanted to choose something Dutch-sounding.[5] The game's sound designer came up with "Ice fountain" because ice is static while a fountain is dynamic.[5]

While getting into large debt, the team was invited to the Cannes expo named Milia, where they set up a stall in a section for young talent.[3] Interest from a Japanese publisher put them in a strong negotiating position with VNU Interactive; while it was standard for the publisher to get rights to the game, the developers refused.[3] They felt the publisher was condescending from their comments that the world does not work the way they think it does.[3]

Upon signing a contract with the Chinese, they discovered VNU still expected the company to lose the copyright due to not meeting a deadline.[3] The team entered into a 'double or nothing' negotiation, whereby failing to complete the titled by 6 October, it would result in heavy royalty regulations.[3] The team ultimately presented a beta version to children at an Amsterdam primary school, after suffering through a panic-stricken September.[3] The game was playtested by children from the top three groups of primary school; the developers noted the potential for the game to be popular with girls due to them finding solutions in a process-wise way, as opposed to boys who will click the screen 10,000 times until something happens.[4] By 2016, 40 people would work at IJsfontein.[6]

### Design

It was one of the first serious games ever to be developed.[7] At the time, IJsfontein was the first Dutch studio to explicitly develop a game with an educational bend.[8] The game attempts to bridge two opposing sides of the video gaming market by offering an experience that is both fun and educational.[9]

## Plot and gameplay

In the Castle of Infinity, there are five masters that bring balance to the elements. When Master of Chance loses his cat, the balance of the elements is disturbed. It is up to the player to collect pages of the Garden of Chance story, which will then cause Master of Chance to reveal clues about the whereabouts of his cat.

The game is puzzle based, with themes ranging from the natural world to physics to science.[10]

## Reception

Gameboomers felt the puzzles required more dexterity than thought.[2] Feibel felt the game was difficult and beautifully illustrated.[11] The essay Op de koffie bij de Meester van Wanhoop  thought the game demonstrated the wondrous potential of merging art and play in the digital world.[12]

The game won a BAFTA award and a La Fletche d'Or.[7] The game was nominated for the Bafta for most instructive game for children, and for the most interactive game for children.[1] The game was featured at the IFFR.[13]

The game was also a commercial success,[14] and become one of the best-selling pieces of Dutch CD-ROM software.[3]

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Nieuwsselectie: Media". http://retro.nrc.nl/W2/Nieuws/1999/10/08/Med/03.html.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 jenny100. "Masters of the Elements review". http://www.gameboomers.com/reviews/Mm/MastersElementsbyjenny100.htm.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 "Het handige sprookje van drie snotneuzen - Wetenschap - Voor nieuws, achtergronden en columns". 24 January 1998. https://www.volkskrant.nl/wetenschap/het-handige-sprookje-van-drie-snotneuzen~a452355/.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Een spannend spel met een literaire bodem voor de pc". 8 November 1997. https://www.trouw.nl/cultuur/een-spannend-spel-met-een-literaire-bodem-voor-de-pc~acb843c7/.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "5 Bijzondere namen" (in nl). http://www.publicspacemedia.nl/downloads/158_159_inAM2_NAMENLR.pdf.
6. ↑ "- Kinder Media Awards". http://kindermediaawards.nl/uitreiking-7-april/.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Masters of Power – award-winning debuut - By IJsfontein". https://www.ijsfontein.nl/en/projecten/masters-of-power.
8. ↑ "The European Game Industry". http://creativeindustries.com.cuhk.edu.hk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/European-Game-Industry-Report-2013.pdf.
9. ↑ "Nieuwsselectie: Media". http://retro.nrc.nl/W2/Nieuws/1997/12/19/Med/09.html.
10. ↑ "Special marketing 2.0: Game marketing". 15 April 2014. https://www.sprout.nl/artikel/special-marketing-20-game-marketing.
11. ↑ "Alle Spiele - Meister Zufall und die Herrscher der Elemente - Experimente, Rätsel und Geheimnisse". 26 November 2015. http://www.feibel.de/index.php?id=7&catId=11&prodId=2129&cHash=62b01939735c814423e155b9992d4154.
12. ↑ DBNL. "Literatuur zonder leeftijd. Jaargang 13 · dbnl". http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/_lit004199901_01/_lit004199901_01_0043.php.
13. ↑ "Meesters van Macht". 4 September 2015. https://iffr.com/nl/1998/films/meesters-van-macht.
14. ↑ Fung, Anthony (2017-02-10). Global Game Industries and Cultural Policy. Springer. ISBN 9783319407609. https://books.google.com/books?id=xQgbDgAAQBAJ&dq=IJsfontein+"Meister+Zufall+und+die+Herrscher+der+Elemente"+OR+"Meesters+van+Macht"+OR+"Le+Maître+des+éléments"&pg=PA214.

## External links

* Main page
* 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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