VIDEOGAME CULTURAL STUDIES EVALUATION
TITLE -- Tempest
YEAR OF PUBLICATION/RELEASE
1980
GENRE
rail shooter or tube shooter
USER INTERFACE OF ORIGINAL GAME - JOYSTICK & BUTTON COMBO
Trackball and fire button
HOW LONG CAN YOU PLAY BEFORE BEING DEFEATED?
Level 6
IS GAMEPLAY PATTERNED OR RANDOM?
The stages are in a patterned order with a fixed pattern of enemies per stage, but within each stage the enemies appear in random places each time.
PUBLISHER/MANUFACTURER?
Atari Inc.
ONE PIECE OF HISTORY FROM DOT EATERS ABOUT THIS GAME:
Tempest uses vector graphics, a style created on the fly out of lines, rather than compiling bitmapped images that already exist. Vector graphics were first used in 1977 in the game Space Wars. Tempest has a cult following and has been seen in TV shows such as Silver Spoons and American Dad, and films such as Night of the Comet.
TITLE -- Centipede
YEAR OF PUBLICATION/RELEASE
1980
GENRE
Fixed shooter
USER INTERFACE OF ORIGINAL GAME - JOYSTICK & BUTTON COMBO
Trackball and fire button
HOW LONG CAN YOU PLAY BEFORE BEING DEFEATED?
19000 points
IS GAMEPLAY PATTERNED OR RANDOM?
random
PUBLISHER/MANUFACTURER?
Atari Inc.
ONE PIECE OF HISTORY FROM DOT EATERS ABOUT THIS GAME:
Centipede was created by Ed Logg (the creator of Asteroids and Gauntlet) and Donna Bailey, one of the only female game designers at the time. It was also the first coin-operated arcade game to have a significant female fanbase.
TITLE – Asteroids Deluxe
YEAR OF PUBLICATION/RELEASE
1980
GENRE
Multi-directional shooter
USER INTERFACE OF ORIGINAL GAME - JOYSTICK & BUTTON COMBO
Trackball, fire button, and shield button
HOW LONG CAN YOU PLAY BEFORE BEING DEFEATED?
19,660 points
IS GAMEPLAY PATTERNED OR RANDOM?
random
PUBLISHER/MANUFACTURER?
Atari Inc.
ONE PIECE OF HISTORY FROM DOT EATERS ABOUT THIS GAME:
Asteroids Deluxe was created only a year after Asteroids, to satisfy the demand of the fans. Asteroids was huge, and everybody wanted a more difficult version.
TITLE -- Adventure
YEAR OF PUBLICATION/RELEASE
1979
GENRE
Action-adventure
USER INTERFACE OF ORIGINAL GAME - JOYSTICK & BUTTON COMBO
Atari VCS controller, with one joystick and one button
HOW LONG CAN YOU PLAY BEFORE BEING DEFEATED?
I beat the easiest mode!
IS GAMEPLAY PATTERNED OR RANDOM?
Patterned. It will have the same maze with the same dragons every time. However, one of the dragons may roam around randomly.
PUBLISHER/MANUFACTURER?
Atari Inc.
ONE PIECE OF HISTORY FROM DOT EATERS ABOUT THIS GAME:
Atari wouldn’t credit its games creators at the time, so Adventure’s designer, Warren Robinett, hid a secret message in the game: “Created by Warren Robinett.” This is arguably the first Easter Egg hidden in a video game. It was also the first game that let you collect multiple items and swap which one you’re using at any time.
TITLE – BattleZone
YEAR OF PUBLICATION/RELEASE
1980
GENRE
First-person shooter
USER INTERFACE OF ORIGINAL GAME - JOYSTICK & BUTTON COMBO
Two joysticks, one for moving forward and backward, one for turning left and right, and a fire button
HOW LONG CAN YOU PLAY BEFORE BEING DEFEATED?
Only 9000 points
IS GAMEPLAY PATTERNED OR RANDOM?
random
PUBLISHER/MANUFACTURER?
Atari Inc.
ONE PIECE OF HISTORY FROM DOT EATERS ABOUT THIS GAME:
A version was created to help the military in training. Some developers refused to work on the game due to its association with the army, including the game’s original designer, Ed Robert, who only came on board after the management promised him he’d never have to work with the military again.
TITLE – Missile Command
YEAR OF PUBLICATION/RELEASE
1980
GENRE
Strategy/shooter
USER INTERFACE OF ORIGINAL GAME - JOYSTICK & BUTTON COMBO
Trackball and fire button
HOW LONG CAN YOU PLAY BEFORE BEING DEFEATED?
Level 4 or so
IS GAMEPLAY PATTERNED OR RANDOM?
random
PUBLISHER/MANUFACTURER?
Atari Inc.
ONE PIECE OF HISTORY FROM DOT EATERS ABOUT THIS GAME:
Missile Command was so popular the arcade machine was still making more money than its competition in the mid-1990s. It’s also a great example of the nuclear apocalypse paranoia that had engrossed popular culture at the time.
TITLE – Pong
YEAR OF PUBLICATION/RELEASE
1972
GENRE
Sports (top-down view of table tennis)
USER INTERFACE OF ORIGINAL GAME - JOYSTICK & BUTTON COMBO
One rotating knob
HOW LONG CAN YOU PLAY BEFORE BEING DEFEATED?
I can win a match by reaching 10 points
IS GAMEPLAY PATTERNED OR RANDOM?
random, either against a computer or a human opponent
PUBLISHER/MANUFACTURER?
Atari Inc.
ONE PIECE OF HISTORY FROM DOT EATERS ABOUT THIS GAME:
Pong was Atari's first game, and years later it got them sued by Ralph Baer.
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