Leonardo da Vinci
Release1997
Genre(s)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]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Gary Wolfstone reviews Leonardo da Vinci Digitized". www.wolfstonelaw.com. Archived from the original on 2015-08-02.
  2. 1 2 "Corbis Announces "Leonardo da Vinci" CD-ROM. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com.
  3. ↑ Roush, Wade. "Setting A Standard In Multimedia Software".
  4. ↑ "The Curator - Edge.org". www.edge.org. Archived from the original on 2018-04-21.
  5. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-08-09. Retrieved 2018-04-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ↑ "The Codescope, from Corbis's Leonardo da Vinci CD-ROM - Xconomy". Archived from the original on 2018-04-21.
  7. 1 2 "Tasteful. Unprofitable. Microsoft?". www.forbes.com. Archived from the original on 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. Archived from the original on 21 April 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. ↑ "Leonardo da Vinci. (CD-ROM book) (Software Review)(Brief Article)". 19 April 1997. Archived from the original on 21 April 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. ↑ "ATPM 4.06 - Review: Leonardo da Vinci CD-ROM". www.atpm.com. Archived from the original on 2016-04-09.
  11. ↑ "Backwards or Forwards, the CD-Rom of Leonardo's Codex Comes Up a Winner". archive.nytimes.com. Archived from the original on 2018-04-21.
  12. ↑ Rapaport, Richard. "In His Image". Wired. Archived from the original on 2018-04-21.
  13. ↑ "Gladjes, maar Leonardo da Vinci past goed op een cd-rom". De Volkskrant. Archived from the original on 2018-04-21.
  14. ↑ Mossberg, Walter S. (7 November 1996). "New CD-ROM Titles Get You Acquainted With FDR, da Vinci". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 2018-04-21.
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