Database Structure: Game Collections
Date : 2024-05-02 Entry ID : 15759 Game : Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration (@4114)
Some game releases challenge the structure of my game database. The impressive game collection Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration inspired a redesign of how game collections are represented.
Representation of Game Collections
Inspired by how cool the Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration collection is, I decided to redesign how game collections are represented in this database. For pinball games, I had a nice solution where I would have a page for the original game itself, and then references to collections that emulated the game. For instance, Black Hole is currently emulated in 4 different games, such as Visual Pinball for Windows and Pinball Arcade for PS4.
For emulation packages with video games, I used to have a page for each emulated version of the game, so Street Fighter II would have a separate page for
- the arcade game,
- the Amiga port,
- the game emulated on PS4 in the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, and
- the game emulated on PS5 in Street Fighter 6.
I think the ports require a separate page, because they might be very different from the original, but the emulations are less unique and less deserving of their own page.
I have reorganized most of these Game Collections with emulation references to the original games, and moved entries that used to belong to the specific emulated games to the original game as well, to gather them in one place. The only downside to this structure, is that the entries from emulated games should probably mention which game collection I'm playing the game in.
I have now gone through the Digital Eclipse collections:
- Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection (2018) - an impressive collection of Street Fighter games from the beginning up to SF3
- SNK 40th Anniversary Collection (2019) - SNK arcade and console games from the 1980s
- Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration (2022)
And other collections:
- Game Room (2010) - virtual arcade hall with emulated arcade and console games from the 1980s and 1990s
- Final Fight: Double Impact (2010) - two-pack of Final Fight and Magic Sword
- Capcom Arcade Cabinet (2013) - containing many Capcom arcade games from the 1980s
- Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 1 (2016) - Package of Atari 1980s arcade games
- Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle (2018) - Collection of Capcom brawlers
- Capcom Arcade Stadium (2021) - Another Capcom collection
- Pac-Man Museum + (2022) - A lot of Pac-Man games
And even Street Fighter 6 which contains a rotating roster of Capcom arcade games.
Pinball collections were already represented this way:
- Fan project Visual Pinball from 2000
Including, of course, the Farsight Studios' 'Pinball Hall of Fame' series:
- Pinball Hall of Fame for PS4, Xbox 360, and Windows
- As well as the PSP games Gottlieb Collection (2005) and Williams Collection (2008)