Moorhuhn (game series)
Moorhuhn is a series of computer games . The first part, entitled Moorhuhn, dates back to 1999 and was developed on behalf of Phenomedia by the Dutch company Witan as an advertising game for the Scottish whiskey brand Johnnie Walker . It is also known as The Virtual Moorhuhnjagd and Moorhuhn 1 and is part of the Shoot 'em up computer game genre . Choosing the grouse as a character should be understood as a swipe at one of the most successful blended Scotch whiskeys called The Famous Grouse .
After the IPO of Phenomedia AG (now insolvent, successor company phenomedia publishing GmbH ), which offered the game for free download, the game became very popular. At times it was even viewed in Germany as a “threat to company sales”, as a disproportionate number of office workers passed the time with it. In addition, the game made it into the German edition of the Duden under the name “Moorhuhnjagd” , which is a sign of how popular the topic was in Germany. Among other things, an animated series , a comic and numerous merchandise items were produced.
Other developers tried to build on the success of the series with numerous similar games, including The Revenge of the Moorhens ( Koch Media ).
Following the insolvency of phenomedia publishing GmbH and its dissolution in 2017, the trademark rights to the Moorhuhn brand went to ak tronic Software & Services GmbH.
History of origin
At the end of November 1997, the Hamburg agency V und B came up with the idea of using a PC game to promote “Johnnie Walker” in the restaurant business . In February 1998 Frank Ziemlinski , the founder of the advertising agency "Art Department", received the order to convert the idea into software . The name, the rough course of the game and the one and a half minutes hunting time were given as parameters. "Art Department" was one of the forerunners of Phenomedia before it went public and had already made a name for itself as the first German developer of computer games for advertising purposes, including titles for BiFi , Mercedes-Benz , Deutsche Telekom and Dresdner Bank . The figure was developed by Ingo Mesche in 1992. The game was programmed by the Dutch development studio Witan. From October 1998 the game was presented in selected bars, on two laptops , with a suitable ambience.
Witan the "Virtual grouse-hunting" had in the summer of 1998, one and a half years before they became popular under the Dutch name "KippenSchieten" on the demoparty Bizarre 98 in the Dutch Etten-Leur presented. At this annual event where hobby programmers present their creations, the game won third place in the PC demos category.
Games
| Surname | Release | genre | platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| The original grouse hunt | 1999 | Shoot 'em up | PC , PS1 , GBC |
| Moorhuhn 2 - The hunt continues | 2000 | Shoot 'em up | PC, PS1, GBC |
| Moorhuhn - Winter Edition | 2001 | Shoot 'em up | Pc |
| Moorhuhn 3 -… There's chicken! | 2001 | Shoot 'em up | PC, PS1, GBA |
| Moorhuhn Kart 1 | 2002 | Racing game | Pc |
| Grouse X | 2003 | Shoot 'em up | PC, PS1, PS2 |
| Moorhuhn Kart Extra | 2003 | Racing game | Pc |
| Grouse - The Pharaoh's Treasure | 2003 | Adventure | Pc |
| Moorhuhn Kart 2 | 2004 | Racing game | Pc |
| Grouse Wanted | 2004 | Shoot 'em up | Pc |
| Moorhuhn Pinball Vol. 1 | 2004 | Pinball machine simulation | Pc |
| Grouse - The Curse of Gold | 2005 | Adventure | Pc |
| Moorhuhn remake | 2005 | Shoot 'em up | Pc |
| Grouse invasion | 2005 | Shoot 'em up | Pc |
| Grouse Treasure Hunter 1 | 2005 | Jump 'n' run | Pc |
| Grouse on the approach | 2005 | Shoot 'em up side scroller | Pc |
| Mahjong grouse | 2006 | Mahjong | Pc |
| Moorhuhn Soccer | 2006 | Sports simulation (soccer) | Pc |
| Grouse pirates | 2006 | Shoot 'em up | Pc |
| Grouse Treasure Hunter 2 | 2006 | Jump 'n' run | Pc |
| Grouse Kart 3 | 2007 | Racing game | Pc |
| Grouse - jewel of darkness | 2007 | Maze | Pc |
| Grouse DS | 2007 | Various | NDS |
| Grouse treasure hunter 3 | 2007 | Jump 'n' run | Pc |
| Moorhuhn Director's Cut | 2007 | Shoot 'em up | Pc |
| Grouse - jewel of darkness | 2008 | Maze | NDS |
| Moorhuhn Fun Kart - 2008 | 2008 | Racing game | PS2 |
| Grouse Star Karts | 2008 | Racing game | NDS |
| Grouse Kart Thunder | 2008 | Racing game | Pc |
| Grouse - The Pharaoh's Treasure | 2008 | Adventure | NDS |
| Grouse Atlantis | 2008 | Jump 'n' run | PC, NDS |
| Moorhuhn - The Forbidden Castle | 2009 | Jump 'n run | Wii |
| Moorhuhn - The Forbidden Castle | 2010 | Jump 'n run | Pc |
| Moorhuhn Deluxe | 2009 | Shoot 'em up | iOS |
| Grouse Fairground Party | 2010 | Various | Wii, NDS |
| Grouse Quest | 2010 | Various | iOS |
| Grouse Combat | 2011 (game operation closed) |
Browser game | Browser |
| Grouse pirates | 2012 | Shoot 'em up | NDS, 3DS |
| Moorhuhn Deluxe | 2012 | Shoot 'em up | Android |
| Grouse - The Pharaoh's Treasure | 2012 (game operations stopped) |
Puzzle, browser game | Browser |
| Tiger & Chicken | 2013 | Action RPG | PC, iPad |
| Grouse pirates | 2013 | Shoot 'em up | iPhone, iPad |
| Moorhuhn Director's Cut | 2013 | Shoot 'em up | NDS, 3DS |
| Moorhuhn Deluxe | 2014 | Shoot 'em up | Windows 8.1 and RT , MacOS |
| Grouse - The Pharaoh's Treasure | 2014 | Puzzle, browser game | Browser |
| Grouse invasion | 2014 | Shoot 'em up | Android |
| Grouse pirates | 2015 | Shoot 'em up | Android |
| Grouse strikes back | 2016 | Strategy game | PC, iOS, Android |
| Moorhuhn VR | 2017 | Virtual Reality Shooter | iOS, Android |
| Grouse Knights & Castles | 2018 | Strategy game | Nintendo Switch |
| Moorhuhn remake | 2018 | Shoot 'em up | Nintendo Switch |
| Grouse Wanted | 2018 | Shoot 'em up | Nintendo Switch |
| Grouse UnfairPlay | 2018 | Board game | Browser |
music
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Chart positions Explanation of the data |
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Game soundtrack
Nils Fritze was the composer of all Moorhuhn plays from the Moorhuhn Winter Edition (2001) to mid-2006. Georg Heckermann and Gunther Glöckner wrote the soundtrack for Schatzjäger 2 (end of 2006), Henrik Jacoby (2007) for the sequel, Moorhuhn Atlantis (2008) Kai Walter (Snap Dragon Games) responsible. The sequels of the kart series Moorhuhn Kart 3 and Thunder as well as the Shooter Director's Cut were set to music by Haiko Ruttmann.
The soundtrack for the game "Moorhuhn Tiger & Chicken" was composed by Jan Klose / Tilman Sillescu (Dynamedion), Helge Borgarts contributed some tracks. The soundtrack was played by the Staatskapelle Halle .
Separate music
In 2000 Wigald Boning recorded the song "Gimme more chicken". The artist was “Moorhuhn feat. Wigald Boning ”.
Movies
In 2001, a total of 26 one-minute cartoons were produced, which were then shown in commercial breaks on German TV stations.
In September 2011 the production of a Moorhuhn movie was announced by Phenomedia. The film is to be produced by Douglas Welbat and "Nova Entertainment Cinema". A year later, the screenplay was funded by the FFA with a grant of 45,000 euros . Since then, nothing more has been learned about the production.
criticism
The game principle - to shoot as many grouse as possible - met with sharp criticism from the German Animal Welfare Association . According to the spokesman for the Animal Welfare Association, children and young people in particular need to be protected from playing in order not to exercise a lack of respect for animals. Therefore the game has been revised several times. At the end of a round there was an injured chicken with crutches and a cast. This was to make it clear that the chickens are not killed, only injured.
Web links
- Website of the publisher Phenomedia
- Site of grouse
- German Moorhuhn Wiki
- Jürg Tschirren: The chicken that drove everyone crazy , Swiss television , November 7, 2019
Individual evidence
- ↑ Frank Patalong: Grouse hunt: The surfer wants to gamble! Spiegel Online , January 19, 2000, accessed October 19, 2013 .
- ^ Grouse hunting. Duden , accessed on October 26, 2013 : “2. Meaning: Computer game that simulates a hunt for flying red grouse "
- ↑ Alexander Stirn: Moorhuhn's mother plans offspring. Story of a game. Spiegel Online , January 19, 2000, accessed October 19, 2013 .
- ↑ Gerald Himmelein: In the beginning there was the pirated copy . Computer demos: from cracker business card to art form. In: c't . No. 1/2007 . Verlag Heinz Heise , January 2007, ISSN 0724-8679 , p. 84–89 ( heise.de [accessed October 19, 2013]).
- ↑ Bizarre 1998 results. pouet.net , September 30, 2000, accessed on October 19, 2013 (English, result of the BIZ98 vote).
- ↑ Chart sources: DE AT CH
- ↑ The Moorhuhn becomes a movie star !!! (No longer available online.) Phenomedia.com , September 9, 2011, archived from the original on April 16, 2014 ; Retrieved April 15, 2014 .
- ↑ Computer game "Moorhuhn" is to be filmed. relevant.at , August 21, 2012, accessed April 15, 2014 .
- ↑ Animal Welfare Association: Save the grouse. Spiegel Online , February 2, 2000, accessed October 19, 2013 .