Leonardo da Vinci (video game) explained

Released:1997
Genre:Interactive CD-ROM

Leonardo da Vinci is a 1997 interactive CD-ROM game by Corbis, consisting of a "computerized viewing tool which permits the user to examine English translations of the Codex [Leicester] superimposed onto facsimiles of its pages".[1] The tool, known as Codescope, is licensed by Corbis.

Development

In 1994, Bill Gates acquired the Codex Leicester.[1] In 1997, Gates' privately held company Corbis released a CD-Rom version of the manuscript.[1] On October 25, 1996 it was announced the game would be ready for the holiday season (Microsoft Windows in November and Macintosh in December[2]), but this was ultimately postponed.[2] The game was one in a line of educational/entertainment CD-ROMs with subjects including Paul Cézanne, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the Manhattan Project.[3] The game's promotion was kick-started by being featured in a Da Vinci exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.[4]

Content

The title contains the Codex Leceister, as well as a virtual gallery of Leonardo's major paintings, plus his drawings, manuscripts, and lost works.[5] Players can view the Codex in the original mirror-script Italian, a reversed “normal” view, a transcription of the original Italian, and a modern English translation.[6] Leonardo Da Vinci is a coffee-table-book type game.[7]

Critical reception

Lawyer Gary L. Wolfstone deemed the project "impressive" and "interpretive".[1] Computer Shopper praised the title's ease of use and slick production values.[8] The Economist felt the game "exemplif[ies] the strengths and weaknesses of multimedia at its current, immature state of development".[9] ATPM felt the game would hold the interest of both novice and scholar.[10] The New York Times deemed it one of the better art-history CD-ROMs, despite some oversights in features and interface.[11] Wired explained that the experience of playing the game was "as if Leonardo can suddenly speak".[12] De Volkskrant felt that the game supported Gates' thesis that computer technology could be a form of art.[13] The Wall Street Journal wrote that while Da Vinci is a popular subject for video games, this title "beats them all".[14]

Corbis did not earn a profit from the game.[7]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Gary Wolfstone reviews Leonardo da Vinci Digitized. www.wolfstonelaw.com. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20150802003530/http://www.wolfstonelaw.com/leonardo_essay.html. 2015-08-02.
  2. Web site: Corbis Announces "Leonardo da Vinci" CD-ROM. - Free Online Library. www.thefreelibrary.com.
  3. Web site: Setting A Standard In Multimedia Software. Wade. Roush.
  4. Web site: The Curator - Edge.org. www.edge.org. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20180421031456/https://www.edge.org/conversation/doug_rowan-the-curator. 2018-04-21.
  5. Web site: Archived copy . 2018-04-20 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170809124459/http://www.sumscorp.com/img/file/1997_Review_Leonardo_da_Vinci_CD_ROM_Corbis.pdf . 2017-08-09 .
  6. Web site: The Codescope, from Corbis's Leonardo da Vinci CD-ROM - Xconomy. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20180421164217/https://www.xconomy.com/boston/2008/05/09/an-elegy-for-the-multimedia-software-stars/attachment/the-codescope-from-corbiss-leonardo-da-vinci-cd-rom/. 2018-04-21.
  7. Web site: Tasteful. Unprofitable. Microsoft?. www.forbes.com. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20180421032320/https://www.forbes.com/free_forbes/1997/1103/6010046a.html. 2018-04-21.
  8. Corbis' Leonardo da Vinci: an old master in a new medium. (Corbis Corp) (Software Review)(Brief Article)(Evaluation). 1 March 1997. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20180421030601/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-19135486.html. 21 April 2018. 20 April 2018.
  9. Leonardo da Vinci. (CD-ROM book) (Software Review)(Brief Article). 19 April 1997. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20180421031313/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-19323334.html. 21 April 2018. 20 April 2018.
  10. Web site: ATPM 4.06 - Review: Leonardo da Vinci CD-ROM. www.atpm.com. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160409210339/http://www.atpm.com/4.06/page13.shtml. 2016-04-09.
  11. Web site: Backwards or Forwards, the CD-Rom of Leonardo's Codex Comes Up a Winner. archive.nytimes.com. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20180421094443/https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/mirapaul/1226mirapaul.html. 2018-04-21.
  12. In His Image. Wired . live. https://web.archive.org/web/20180421031649/https://www.wired.com/1996/11/corbis/. 2018-04-21. Rapaport . Richard .
  13. Web site: Gladjes, maar Leonardo da Vinci past goed op een cd-rom. De Volkskrant. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20180421031511/https://www.volkskrant.nl/archief/gladjes-maar-leonardo-da-vinci-past-goed-op-een-cd-rom~a509728/. 2018-04-21.
  14. News: New CD-ROM Titles Get You Acquainted With FDR, da Vinci. Walter S.. Mossberg. Wall Street Journal . 7 November 1996 . live. https://web.archive.org/web/20180421031233/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB847323768795403500. 2018-04-21.

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