1)
TITLE
Centipede
YEAR OF PUBLICATION/RELEASE
1980
GENRE
Shoot 'Em Up
USER INTERFACE OF ORIGINAL GAME - JOYSTICK & BUTTON COMBO
Trackball and button
HOW LONG CAN YOU PLAY BEFORE BEING DEFEATED?
Play 3 times before Game Over
IS GAMEPLAY PATTERNED OR RANDOM?
Gameplay is both patterned and random. It is patterned because the enemy (centipede) comes from above and descends towards the character, much like Space Invaders; random because the centipede parts come down faster if they come in contact with a mushroom, making the enemy movements more unpredictable and the game more fast-paced.
PUBLISHER/MANUFACTURER?
Atari Inc.
ONE PIECE OF HISTORY FROM DOT EATERS ABOUT THIS GAME:
One of the developers of Centipede was a woman, which was a huge milestone at the time. Incidentally, Centipede had a huge female fan base. Centipede was made available on the personal computer in the early 1990s, part of Microsoft Arcade.
2)
TITLE
Asteroids
YEAR OF PUBLICATION/RELEASE
1979
GENRE
Shoot 'Em Up
USER INTERFACE OF ORIGINAL GAME - JOYSTICK & BUTTON COMBO
Buttons
HOW LONG CAN YOU PLAY BEFORE BEING DEFEATED?
Play 4 times before Game Over
IS GAMEPLAY PATTERNED OR RANDOM?
Gameplay is random; the asteroids and enemy UFOs fly across the screen without prediction. The hero is not constrained in one two-dimensional box; the player may move from the edge of the screen and come out to the opposite end, giving the player more flexibility and fun in gameplay.
PUBLISHER/MANUFACTURER?
Atari Inc.
ONE PIECE OF HISTORY FROM DOT EATERS ABOUT THIS GAME:
Asteroids was a huge hit. The game was so popular and demand so high that Atari put the production of Lunar Lander on hiatus to make more units. Atari sold so many Asteroids units that it exceeded the records made by Space Invaders.
3)
TITLE
Battlezone
YEAR OF PUBLICATION/RELEASE
1980
GENRE
First Person Shoot 'Em Up, Simulator
USER INTERFACE OF ORIGINAL GAME - JOYSTICK & BUTTON COMBO
Trackball and button
HOW LONG CAN YOU PLAY BEFORE BEING DEFEATED?
Play 3 tanks before Game Over
IS GAMEPLAY PATTERNED OR RANDOM?
Gameplay is random because the player does not know when the next tank will spawn
PUBLISHER/MANUFACTURER?
Atari Inc.
ONE PIECE OF HISTORY FROM DOT EATERS ABOUT THIS GAME:
Battlezone paved the way for first person shooters. It was ahead of its time, using "3D" vector graphics. Different versions of the game were made for military training.
4)
TITLE
Adventure
YEAR OF PUBLICATION/RELEASE
1979
GENRE
Action-Adventure
USER INTERFACE OF ORIGINAL GAME - JOYSTICK & BUTTON COMBO
Joystick and button
HOW LONG CAN YOU PLAY BEFORE BEING DEFEATED?
Almost indefinitely, since when you die the game will reset, but certain aspects will be saved, such as placement of items.
IS GAMEPLAY PATTERNED OR RANDOM?
Gameplay is patterned. It is patterned because each colored dragon guards certain objects, therefore the player may predict where the dragons will be. The gameplay itself is pretty straightforward.
PUBLISHER/MANUFACTURER?
Atari Inc.
ONE PIECE OF HISTORY FROM DOT EATERS ABOUT THIS GAME:
Adventure is considered the first action-adventure game. The game's creator, Warren Robinett, was also considered the first to introduce the Easter egg, a fun extra in which many game developers still implement today.
5)
TITLE
Tempest
YEAR OF PUBLICATION/RELEASE
1981
GENRE
Shoot 'Em Up Tube Shooter
USER INTERFACE OF ORIGINAL GAME - JOYSTICK & BUTTON COMBO
Joystick and button
HOW LONG CAN YOU PLAY BEFORE BEING DEFEATED?
Play 3 times before Game Over
IS GAMEPLAY PATTERNED OR RANDOM?
Random
PUBLISHER/MANUFACTURER?
Atari Inc.
ONE PIECE OF HISTORY FROM DOT EATERS ABOUT THIS GAME:
It was the first game to allow players to choose the level of difficulty. Tempest had the illusion of being 3D, with the enemies coming from the center and growing larger as they come closer to the
player in each segment.
6)
TITLE
Crystal Castles
YEAR OF PUBLICATION/RELEASE
1983
GENRE
Isometric maze puzzle
USER INTERFACE OF ORIGINAL GAME - JOYSTICK & BUTTON COMBO
Trackball and button
HOW LONG CAN YOU PLAY BEFORE BEING DEFEATED?
Play 3 times before Game Over
IS GAMEPLAY PATTERNED OR RANDOM?
Patterned, the player knows where the enemies are located and can predict their movements.
PUBLISHER/MANUFACTURER?
Atari Inc.
ONE PIECE OF HISTORY FROM DOT EATERS ABOUT THIS GAME:
Crystal Castles was the first arcade game to have an actual ending. The rasterized graphics show an isometric, psuedo-3D environment, in which Bentley Bear walks through to pick up the gems. The environment also allows the character to move up and down to different heights, giving variety to the environment and challenge.
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