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| Sinise doyStik™/ Apri 1983
NEO.
Q*BERT : 32
Here's how to play the qute, qrazy, qube-hopping
arcade game. By Doug Mahuch.
THE WINNING EDGE
TEMPEST :
Electrifying top-level Tempest strategies by
Eric Ginner.
INNERVIEW
“SILVER SUE” ENGLAND —
‘Scott Phillips chats wih the proprictor of Chicago's
late-night hot spot for''serous players”
FEATURES Fs
DOUBLE YOUR GALAGA FIREPOWER
David Small shows you how to use the Galaga
doubleship for top scores.
WEST COAST GAME MANUFACTURERS
Who's who and what's what inthe Wild West.
By Doug Mahugh
THE ARCADES OF SEATTLE
‘tour of the Jet City’s best game rooms.
‘STAR RAIDERS TRAINING MANUAL
‘Your mission: conquer the Kryions!
Jim Gorzetany and Tadd Rogers show you how.
‘THE GAME DESIGN GAMBLE
Despite creativity and technology, game design
is stil a crapshoct.
THE ARCTIC ANTICS OF PENGO
Steve Sanders’ super snc-bae smashing strategies
PAC-MAN: THE LAST WORD
‘The best of the best Sth-key pattems.
WHEN VIDEO GAMES ARE OUTLAWED,
ONLY OUTLAWS WILL PLAY GAMES
Jim Gorzelany's satirical look at the video game
“temperance movement”
DEPARTMENTS
LETTERS
FUTURE WAVES:
AMOA Expo’82:the arcade beauty pageart.
By Scott Philips.
‘THE HOME FRONT
Jim Gorzelany rates the new game cartridges.
HOME VIDEO
Dariny Goodman pits game systems vs. computers
COMPUTER’ES oe
David and Sandy Small cok at computer network
space games. ;
CARTOON ‘
TECHNOCRACY
JOYSTIK CHARTS — WORLD WAR VIDEO —_ DIFFICULTY MADE
ae EASY
Please convey my appre-_Mhink it woukl be a good
ciation to Issac Asimov for _ideaif you included the aiti-
the surge of exhilaration! oulty settings of any game
experiencedas readthe you ceview. This would spe-
"Dividing the Risk’ segment cifically iiciude adiscus-
ofhis “VideoGamesto —_sionof the difficuty setting
Come’ piece inyour -—_andits effects onthe game.
Novamber issue. Video Does a higher difficulty set
world gaming could be ting change the number of
the mostrapily evolving enemies, their spaced, thoi
tectnocultural phenomena inteligence?Does it speed _
to douse in time the. up everything. or just he
aute-destructfusethat enemy? Does it slow you
‘willnolocaust me eco- “Up of make your controls.
Solver inexorably when sluguish? ;
zefo-sum nuclear world war
gaming bums down to a
launch-on-waming-zero-
response-time grand finale
- Paul Santa-Maria
Monroe, Michigan
thatiscertaintobeteached Ourstrategies are usually
withn this decade. Imagine, _Dased on the most preva-
millions blowing upthe ent difficulty setting for
each game. Space imita-
world every day, with
dons preventus hom pr
human survivors winning
-ownarcade games for
BUY ARCADE GAMES? SPLITSCREEN
: BEATEN!
Being an avid fanot Tread in your last issue
‘about the Pao-Man “splt-
‘screen phenomenon,”
where the right side of the
screen is filed with com-
puter language that hides
_ Defender, can you please
“find out for me whether or
not the average ctizen can
either rent orbuy one of
the arcade games, and
for how much? the dots and distorts the
maze, occuring on the
Ken Takaki 256th board, or 244th key.
Chicago. Il ‘ Thave made ito the 647th
oatd, or 635th key, My
secret”? Ihave found that it
at the end of the 243rd key,
your score has the number
266 located in it, tne game
skips over the 244th key
and goes ono the 245th
‘Ken, we have good news
_and bad news for you. First
the goodnews —youean
indeed purchase your very
home use. The had news is
that twill cost youmega- ey. From here the game
“quaters!o do s6.New —_contnues normally.
machines can run as high
Chris “CCC” Crabtree
28 $4,000 and up: used
Union City, Tennessee
games, of course, can be
had ‘or much less. What's
more, youcannotbuythase Thanks for the tip, Chris —
UN speeches, ceebriy- viding indivicual strategies site ther we've tried it and t works.
ladon diplomatic junkete, ioral diffoully settings. ‘manufacturers; you must So fer, yours isthe best
etc! Or, play cuthow todo However check me. —=—ipurchase them through _ strategy we've seen to get
the mostgeodforpeople —“Technocracy” column in _ video game distributors. past the split-screen. While
with total humanity's up-to- this end tuture JoyStik «Check yourlecalyaliow ‘tis theoretically possible fo
the-minute record of what's issues for in-depth informa: pages under ‘Amusement blinaly maneuver your way
available andhowto use it fon regarding settings for Devices” forthe names _ through the computerlan-
Winner gets to pretend specific games, and numbers of such dis- guage on the right side of
Presidency until another : tthe 356th boord (witha
scores higher on the | there arenone listed, scout guide dog, perhaps), we
accelerating ephemerat-
ization scale,
Imagine the potential or os
electronic interactivism
that vid gaming could thusly
incomporete into the culture |
without lesing
attraction of
fascination.
ast
Spinstar Gynandios °
_ Holoram distributors deal only
San Francisco, CA with amusement operators
and de not call to the
Right you are, Sj ee [general publ
_distriutors across the
around for @ copy of Pray
Meter, the trade magazine
“of the coin-op entertain-
mentindustry (you might be
ableto beg acopy from
yourlocal areade owner)
_ This subscription -only
Jourmalis packed with ads
fomnew and used-game
Still raven’t found & top-
notch player who can do it
Any takeys?
_ country. Finaly, aword
_ of wemning: many of these
Sincere |
seyeuw"/apritges
| ‘ATARI CARTINFO
{I woLid like to see some
‘articles rating the various
Atari 2600 cartridges and
perhaps listings of man
tufacturers whe make better
‘controllers. Wilmy cat-
ttiddes work on the new
‘Atari $200?
Ed Shit
Tarzana, California
Jam exetted ihatone ofine
‘Games forthe Atari5200wil
‘be Star Raiders. Will the:
‘version forthe 5200 be iden-
tipal to the Atari 400/800:
‘camputor vorbion with
nothing let out?
NajeHobart S.Catie'll
Dayton, Ohio
Wes, yes, and again yes
Fst, you note thet this
‘month JoyStik features a
new odlurin,."The Hoine:
Front! which will regularly.
‘review the newestin hore
video games and acces-
sories, including cartridges
forthe Atari 2600 andl 5200
‘Second, by springtime
“Atariwill bo marketing 2
2600.cartidge adaptor for
the-5200 system, similer
fa Colecovision’ much-
hofalded “Expansion
Modile” Before you ask—
10, the games wor look or
play any botterthen they do
onthe 2600, but you wit get
toyplay them with the far=
‘supetior 5200 controllers
Finally, Star Raters wil
indeed be a duplicate ofthe
famous 400/800 computer
‘game. This is because the
‘5200 systems, in effect,
aamell computer that is
every byte as powerful
as the standard factory-
equipped Ata 400,
SoyStik™/Apri 1963,
No “WALL-TO-WALL”
‘ZAXXON.
‘On page 39 of your
Novemberissue you men-
tion "Zaxxon 3-D wallpaper:
|} wa wondering how to get
it, howto order it or wnat.
could Use eight ornine
‘square yards:
Mike Zilner
ia, Ponneylvenla
‘Sorry make, forthe tne
beingyour walls wilPiave to
settle for plain old fatex lat
‘enamel, n the article you
mentioned, we referred
tothe visual eftect of tha
Zaxxon game a8.°9-D.
wallpapering” This means
that, while the background
‘may appest tobe
3-cimensional. itis merely.
decofation—the player
cannot interact with it
‘3.DWollpapar?
VID WOMEN UNITE!
ake to request a feature
‘on women champs for &
‘change: Most arcades post
high scores formen.and
‘wornen. Some may think
thisis sexist (nah-h-h), bat |
thinks quite fair; there are
‘alceacy divisions in sports
{ike swimming, and tennis,
Pon up to 217,000 09 Pac-
Man, and 142,000 (leve!
four)-on Tron (pretty avwe~
‘some fora chick, "huh?).
Incidentally: Lam 25, and
into ELEKTRONIXall the
way. should go back to
‘school andffinishi my degree
(hanks 10 "RAY-GUN,")
ean't etford eolege: no
more CETA), then could
design robots; new video
gamesendallkinds of suft.
Sigh... megabucks(Any=
Way, how ‘bout giving the
tadies a lite recognition in
the world of video? Soro Of
Us happento be ACES!
‘Melanie Jean Mayfeld
(Robet-in-Residence)
Eureka, Calitomia
‘Check the JoyStikchar's
at the back of this issueto
featn the fevorite gemes
‘and high scores of some.
top women video game
players.
VIDEO
TOURNAMENTS
Do you happen to know
‘when the next Donkey Kong,
championship will be held?
have gotten scores aver
300,000 and wouldlike to
‘enter the next contest.
Adamivey
Texas City, Texas
am very anxious to be
Rrotified when there will be
another Tron contest, espe-
Cially in the New York area.
‘Michael Bernard
Brooklyn, New York
Inthe nextieeve of JoyStik,
we'll report on both arcade
‘and home video gerne con-
tests and tournaments on a
localend national scale. We
{ntend to report on them on
‘an ongoing basis thereaf-
tor. # any of you out there
are organizing such con-
fests, please let us know
aboutthem, Please nots
that because of our dead-
fines, we need information
on these tournaments at
least two months before
they are held. Likewise,
please advise us of the
results after the contests
‘Over and the winners are
crowned. ‘The Amusement ae! Music’ ipadeio thar wore, he
Sige was sel benlovembes “(Rit lke allheality.
‘Oppselots: Asson ition: AMORI€ a beauly pageant ° 38-20 at Chicano’ fashion: © ‘pageants, the winnars are
TAMOA) show is efferent 1) Jof the world newes! ‘ble Hyatt Hisgeniey. Overs! few, For some, sussoss at
flor osttrade shiows././ arcade viedo games! fO/exhibhors attentiey|././ > the AMOA shaw was based.
While inariy so-called f eactiuliging big or tible: | othe numbet of orders
Conventions! areiust Thigiwars show Was Hippoldlicontasiants toe; | ted, Bat whal follows here:
for overdiessed: i worltyrofithe best of Bert ‘judged ontheleeauty, i Durevalvation ofthis
Parksiand Ailantic City: The: talent anidimagination, yoar's contestants from a
1 1G eo aS oh aes
lave’ paint of view—the
wbiiners a6 wel aoa few
very inidonative and very
Snsuat hopetuis
Asigitueavith all beauty
Pageants; there canbeonly
bhesninner And the winner
fithis pageant is Buck
Fogess: Planet of Zoom,
inditations of his game's
impending succoss ap
/Pearediearly in the show,
shen spectators stood
foursdeepwalting to play
‘one F Tire than adozen
Buicks” atthe Seas Exnipet
ities ‘ThS Host mmpressive
i ‘spect ot this game is the
Als present waie mote: + |! realisie sensation of fight
{hint #9, 000 judgeg, racety “ Ahat iteroctos. Your point of
Daime distabutors and view is ftom dehind and
picage owners. Miling Sighii/bove your ship. You
‘bout the flashisg-exbibits, - S¢eand feel —every cimb
‘Bach AGNI cEher own’: and every Denking tum
(rfteria lortletstminnng a)? 7 Yourishipipertorms. The
wiriee’ Seine simply. Zaxxonssiyle joystick alows
food Belerdiacontostark | vary comfortable nd very
‘Sudyingits.cold and gor #.aedurate mansuvering. Ané
postion wihipacied ihe speedconitol buttons
yas: Mire inquisitive 1°} atow.you 6 change your
judges woule'gsrity pus a | {ight Speed at any time
Hutorroouiddld 2'bvstick :
‘andineil forthe contestants: Tre graphics ere Impres-
fespenea Andsillisthare |” Swéi\bolh color and com-
inoulé udde'eacteatrant id“ ple, The playing field is
‘a active:way, pauneihg Gn Gomp7ided ct four cifforent
iieroontvols and playing / Settings ia whieh eight cit-
Gach screen forall as worth). JerantBatties ere fought
kok wk wk wk we
ey psa coos of precious time ityoucan
through each seresn. And fimhathe face iap with ame
bonis points are: awarded. 40 spsie: you'llearn the
for destroying allof the: ‘The numibertwe contestant: “ chancete compete in
‘enamine quielly, inthe AMOA Beauly pag” another race (up totour
sari Pole Position, times
“Tne of tie bate jocaiions : ‘erally blows the dapre-off
are near he Surface atthe | any driving/gacne youie
planet There youmaneu- ’ euerexpertenced if you like
er vour ship through nat-'% + Tarba, youll love Pole Posi:
yoWchannels andaround, tion: lt supgessflly sttad-
Noweting spires|"while dls the ine BatNeatt ideo =
under attack fiom allen Gate andiariving simulator
fighters, si torpecoos.and ti
hopping land iovers ‘The - |. The Setting for tic gatrie's
fourth Battle eeation is the FujiSpeecivay-—aiwind=
above the planetiideep'! / Ing Gran Prix tack nestled
Space Here you will among tha foothile of pie
encounter a wide vaniely-of | turesque Mount Fujl: Your
alien ships, asteraids. arid: ccaris.a Formbla Tacer with
You have atime limita get
foathg rings. all the necaseary contrals
Ta@ng-Siyle Steering whee,
Your yoaliStareachiid. |. | teotspeed shift, acedlerator
eighth baile, where you. =: « pedal andifoct brake: (sit
mustbonquerthe Enemy | 'cewn model oniy.
Source Stig’ Thisspex: i
iBoblar display literally fils: | Uke aay race, you muss fest Alt
tha goroot ae you altampt: © tun agualtying tag=inless
todestroy the shipsiour han 73-game seconds:
engines, plus the fighters i (about 30.actun seconds):
launches. Destroying tris» 1) Nou ate then awarded:
shipiearns you exta play. || starting pasiton inataceo!
Aight cars, depending on
The aidio portioniat Buck: '= your qualifying time: The
Aogersiganothar winning’ | rans begins wth the dren
feature The spndota: |: light; You must stat in low:
éollision with eneof the). | Goarandshittaccordirgly.
towering spite" Is real- || | Your gdalis to pass allof the
isticenoughte mae your! tlier dary anid fmistithes lap
edit rt Fin the fastest possible ti:
The itiaginalive combina~ | |Raoinerconidlitonsare very.
tion of strong graphics: Seals. You can slide:
‘goed game play.,and imagi-' through comners Wipe: out
ffativa Sound effects makes’ on aitslicks, anc even 9ase
Buick Rogers:Planel of Lon the: shoalder, Aiati bas:
Zoom thie righifulwienige’ > ingluded “Atari? *Dig-Du
‘f.this pagent. ‘atig ‘Cemipede” Hliboards
‘nthe sides ol the tack as
Wal. of blowing teirown
hora" Striking ope of these
Sights of ariother car resume
ine hefy rash thatrobs you
toe we wk we kek Ok ok ke ok ok ok kok 4TH RUNNER-UP,
RESCUE i
STERN URL.
Wyeure atan of Detendet
and Robatron tut ind tiem
Too difficut io. erapy playing,
youllptobabiylove Fleseue
Youare the pilotof a heli:
oper over dangetous
waters, Your chopret has
the same maneuvering
capabilities ofa Defender
Ship, but fs alleontrojled by
joyalick (ike Robatron)
nd jou can treineigtt
directions. using a second
Jdystick (450 like Flobo'ren),
Sur misbion le to taeoue
avarying qumbét of para
oopers front te water
‘below You must do this
before they are eaten ty
JoyStik apr 183
Sharks. Bewate ot enemy
‘Subs; ships and helicop:ers:
Receua has a numoar of
Sulbloties thatadd chat:
lenge andteatsin canis
play; If your chopper:
fcliches the water with ts
rescue ladder, oreshes:
fying away beore 4 para
Goober is all the weyupmie
faiddet will cause hin 0 fall
olf and atiking a fling
paratrooper with your'chop-
Por cits hin to rptons
“The detailin Rescue's:
bapkground graphics:
comes very close loa tO
ettect Uniortunately, how-
‘ever, the choppers ,para~
noopers, and other gare
elements are less sophis-
ticated,
SUPER PAC-MAN
BALLY/MIDWAY.
Super Pac-Mas, ore of
thiee Pac-Man spinotts
introdiced at the '62 AMOA
Show; is actually a iotally
neW maze game featuring,
‘hie original Pat-Men
characters,
iis similar to the orignal in
Sat Pac Man races around
‘amaze, feading his face
wile outronning monsters.
‘There are alsotunrels io
Fun though and eneray
ats that make the mor-
sles vulnerable to attack:
‘The diferencas.are avlitie
‘there complex. The
Sblocks? that rake up'the
mMeze-ate ted with tultor
‘ther iype8 0 1000. Pac
Manigals these tems
instead of gobbling dots.
Each block, however. is
sealed by one to four
* gates" Eatingthe koye
heat each block opens the
gates, allowing Fac-Man fo
enter and munich,
Butthe biggest ifference in
Siiper Pac-Man is the incly-
Sf of two super dots” per
‘screen. Eating a super dot
‘teinporarily transforms
Pac-Man into Super Pac-
Man. He becomes ien times
Fis hormal size and can
‘gobble. anything in his path.
He is alsotemporaity
‘immune to monsterattack,
‘Anda speed button feature
{gives Super Pac-Man an
Added burst of speed, Tiana Pllouwas a eed,
wiked-about contestant at
this year's pageant, Untor
Aunatily,
game play: ree wequlle
measure up tots polottel
and imaginatize concept;
‘The basic idea of Tithe Pilot
is that as you progress itor
‘sciven to streen, yousiso
progress thraugh ime You
begin the game-in the year
#940, when your sBekjet
isattacker by squadsor
-_ biplanes. Kyou Survive that
halle youthova througha:
aime warp” to 1940 where,
sou batile WW mono
planes, Afterthart. you battle
_shelicoptees inshe year 1970
“> and (ght et planes in 1983.
Finaly, you warp tothe
year20o"—"the age ofthe
UFO! During sach battle
‘you must shoot 86 enernuas
‘BS wollas amonter Abip
he problemwthitime Pitot
2 ag that lacks comptenry oF
“game play. youn "seskiet?
justishittast enough to mus:
for teal escite ment, Itmoves
Ike ah Asteraids hip, but
iS coalrdlled by 3 Sinale
joystick andthe only chal
~ lange oteredsy wu adver
sarias isn sheer numbers:
“Mele ae aiorott
miss cravoca
QUANTUM.
ATARL
Quartumis another dee of
this year’s'contastants (tial
repronanis # nieo Kea, but
fais tooffer adequate came
ey
‘Quantum video's firstiru
crewing: same (Gis wasithe
fest) You sreate lines onthe -
esfoaq at any angi You
otro) the ‘Sparkler ith
‘Aiaits Take Ball leaving &
light iallwherevetyouwish,
Nefiols adyersanies—elac?
tions: photons, oblars
spiitiers: ste ny-snrbesihe:
apate-lke séleen. Drawing
aclosed-ctirve acoundany
(of these elements wilf elim
‘ale i Jfan enemy touohes
your herbefow is a.com
pletetirele the ins disap
‘pests anc youthast icy
“agai Act itany enerty
touches yeu eparkiar you
ose oné of three to-five
fives: Naturally, asthegame
“progresses, Hofesnenies
enter ithe screen and ie
me speeds up:
One nics feature of
‘Guanlurnis me abit.
‘ssicez your own starting
lave Exte fioous pains.
are awarceditor-starting at
‘ahighertilfiuify ever
ISS FACELIFT.
SUPER ZAXXON
SEGA Sea noMcE
Super Zaxtonivill appeal to:
fans.of the original Zaxton
Because hig weiveliy tho
saitie gate with 3 low
aller.
‘The.graphics ofthe “new
gains areonly sirerficrlly
‘better than tse oritinal.
Yéulty along s blue ave
ated citydddging wells:
and shoving enemies
‘Now: however, the rockets:
afe hidden, anctie tira
aun tre ayo tom fete
ing/bases, There ere-as0.
extra nnernies te canton
‘with —Stlying minelayers
ghd “selhsdosiructiia robot
‘spacectalt
The dlimayof Super Zavion,
pale very familiar: But. =
instead oftacing a rocket=
shooting robot, you now bat
‘tolaiiro- treating dragon
Like nis rechanical ances
5, 3 stub (in the mouth).
‘lf n te
‘Aithough Supetr Zaoccon
ipevel vb asadodas-oF
efter thiai-the orininal
Zaxxon, ts sticeisappoint
ing because itis mere
anabered version of thy
erginel,
Pooya "bia Japanese!
is peihians the cutest
‘ponkestant at AMOR "82
lis cartoor-lie anima:
ton, cheery music, and :
torypeok themie.ate all
ery appeanng—but only
to. very young players
‘The'story revolves around «
family Of ttle pink pias that
6 captured by a pack of
wolves. The mame pig, wihe :
Was rot bapwred, atteripts
to Save het chubby itle
farniwy: Amediwitha bow
pact rows, she jumpsinto
erage that moves up and
ownon srope: Meanwhile,
ths wolves use halum bal-
Yooris to fat dowr froma
{tee Inib while throwing
focksat Mama, Naturally,
‘Mis, Pig tries fo shoot the
alloons with her arrows so
‘shat thie wolves crash fo the
round. she misses, the :
‘wolves reach tho cround
Saislvandcimbaledderto
bite Per.
‘Ghitts- Second soreen,
wohuesiuse palloons toflot
tothe topol abighcilf If
eriough oF than reach iho
iff, hey push a large boul:
‘def Ga Matna’s cage turing
her into pressed pork
sJoyStik'/Aprit 1963 J
i]
MISS ILE COMMAND __
LIBERATOR:
ATAR
Rumbas that liberator
iss coneeerion
BALLYiMIDWAY
Exacily rine rionlieaiter
HUW:
ITO AMERICA
wag actually teady for ge
dustin duritg thet960
the introduction of Mc &
Dorrie surprsedit afier
playing sour iret came ot
AMOA pageant Itwas'oibe:
‘rs: Pas Man Baily?
Midiway has introcticed
dune Huptyousuddeniy
‘anger fieraber ot tie
fee! like: yoir've played
A'Super’ version of Missile
Comindndl. Hoylever Atari
Bac-Mantamiy Baby,
hefors: Seu Grotiaby Have:
Supposedly Kept this con
fastant oul of the show ior
fear of itcampeting with the
btiginal Migslis Command.
Aciually, Libaintwyitore
fke.an “Itvelse Missie |
Gommand: Your goats stil
16 protect a nlénertrom
alien attack. but instead of
‘fighting the alien stipstrom
the planets surface: vour
four fghiers arenes both
oii nuistlocate ent! destroy
the enemy “bases: onthe
iiiner's otaling surtare.:
‘ne kailiat Trak Ball con-
‘rolled sursos sill marks the
Spatwhere your ship wil
shoot And your enero
Stiliaht wah slowsmoving,
ils attack insite ey
Aestioy all othe enieiny
“Sases: yourtightars fat a
‘he planot's sortace and you
elect bonus oolnts
Ubetator is. chalengng
(ene cakertaly arn Bat
its best thought ofaé the
sraialio Missile Cornmant,
ari Ol as & new dairies
=e eonceth
soyStik"*/apritt989.
_ Pua object ot is carne:
fas omar
Gidea
Pac-Man,
Shi buns contestant
jeacnial g sombre.
siden pinbal-qane,
cibvisusly mesritio appeal
iebovi types of players,
Untonuralaiy: marching a
palow-barsideosar set with.
“As. equally post piebat!
game doesnot aged
2 game make two wrongs
Stilidont make a ght
play the bane “Danes wider:
‘gaihie fori enintighto snitch
tothe mini-ponball field,
Here youknook dawn an =
_ gengrtmantol tateats, iy
ejderin sain eneraizardots
anid lll, gpanunnels and
am speed When gu rotate
“Anno youtan see ny
Baly/Micway tho ughillve:
| conteblant might be a nine:
nas porhapa the Pee
cab
PacMan i6 sti low youre
Bbeconsiderat sea!
peau)
dubgie Hint 8 merely a
+ tosmesttealiy atesed-teision
Jef dungke tone. The alte
ons wore made whenthe
Edgar Rice Burrocahe
estate the people Who ou
the tlahtsto. Tarzan) s0e0
alld fat eobynahtinteinge-
ment-the drginal Juogle.
King iobked and sounded
too much like 3 Tarzan
stiivio; Gb; TaRG put & wafer
_fecket an the genve'smain
fipractes ehiniiaied the
_ opening Tarzan yelt-enid
Ae ee
inuue, The Gare olla
‘ats the seme But sores:
ssedneg qvines, a nvernt
Andis fore cosine
wasn’ bad enough.
MISS CONSTRUED
‘SINISTAR
WILLIAMS ELECTRONICS
‘Aspckesmantor Wiliams
Electronics claimed that
they originally intended
forthis year's contestant
Sinistas to bo a Detonder
Style space game. He
lait gay they succeeded
Sinisiar’s dark background
and bright elements might
compare visually with
Defender but a more accu:
te companson of game
play. woul Deto Asteroids
7 Busconian. Periaps
Wiliams felt that anytting
that/poKs hike pest suc
teas ill Dea Succe:
Yourmission n/Sinisiat is to
matiénver a Sow-moving
shipihtough # field of rocks
anid enemy ships: Shooting
afuck a certain number oF
forse Causositto vibrate
and sendoff particles of
energy, Punning into these
pailicles awards you points
Wiyou dort pick the partictos.
‘up, youtenemies will use
therrto. construct this:
‘garne's best festure—
Sipistar, the large colortul
face onthe screen shove
Untoctunately, Sinietaris
‘another good ides tha! was
‘ptory Sxecuted—n preity
= game thet fails to ive up to.
‘Wullams’pasi contestants, ALANA oe
SILVER SUE'S:
THE PROFESSIONAL’S
PLACE TO PLAY
De aes
ee ae
Dea ae
Cee Peeking
occupyits inner city and sub-
Pe ead
Seo
Pee eed
approaches mediocrity is
Peters
Pee cs
Cee eg
Perr hie tas
eet et eed
storefront game rooms
Perec ret ken
eeu beet cera)
Pare
CP lloateLe tubes
Pr eee nes
Pereira
Ceca ke
Ce eaaatt eubeucaual
See reeks bebe
Pree rues
aa cee)
two blinking video screens
Cee ee ced
Perr hed
Pee aces cd
Pe a ee
night gaming center for
Cero ecco as
perc icuuateuey
Pre acre
Re eee
cr The founcer of Silver
Sue'sis 95-year-old Susan
Englend. A devoted gamer
herself, Sue is responsible
{or cteating the atmosphere
that attracts, in herwords,
‘serious players” How does
she fecl adoutdesigners
and programmers playing
games al nerarcade?
“Hloveit. Designers aren
thereallthe time, especially
jate al night. Larry [DeMar]
‘comes inand he runs into a
lotof computer artists there
aswell. Eugene Jarvis
ommes in'sometimos, too—
and he is wild. He'll nearly
push agame through the:
wallwhenhe piays. almost
threw hinvout one night
whenhe hit a Defender
scree soatd that it ht the
wall and came bouncing
‘ack at him”
its imiortantto note that
Lanry DeNar and Eugene
Jatvis, authors of Defender,
Stargate, and Robotron,are
parsonal fiends of Sues.
Wheritcemesto the rest of
‘he designers that slay in
hat arcade, Sue is friendly,
but respects their rghtto
anonymity.
46
“Imaintain a real relaxed
aimosphero. People like
Eugene and Larry ike to go
inplaces and be anony-
mous. The ‘celebrities’ who
come here come to play,
not to strut. To some extent
they crave anonymity, And
jean understand that ldon't
like being pointed out as
“Silver Sue’ when }a0
somewhere else, That kind
olatienition can puttoo
much performance pres-
sure on yeu, Of course, I've
seen a designer gooverand
ask a player some quos-
ions about a game, but
thats strictly on a one-to-
one basis. Itis nota see and
‘be.Seen scene. We cater to
serious players
Defining a “serious player”
istricky business, but Sue
‘claims she canspotthem as
b00n as thoy walk through
the door
“When serious player
‘comes in, he doesnt shop
around, butaoes right tothe
gamehe hasin mind. When
he gels there he'll be very
intense, tctally absorbed in
the machine andl totally
unaware‘of the passage of
time, Ita crowd gathers to
watch, hellignore t. Also,
serious players tend to
soream when they lose, Fm
aplayer and | know how it
fecls to lose, sotican
comimiserate”
Accordingto Sue, this type
otplayer only emerges at
night. She canlends that
designers and program.
mers are simply ina difter=
‘ont time zone.
Ityou talk to any computer
people. they'Iliell you they
‘work botter al night and
that they viork al night,
There areno phone cals
or business meetings to
attend. So, I guess coming
tomy game room around
Jor 2 AM is kind of ke their
Junch break. They can relax
‘and concentrate on some-
thing different for a while”
Accordingto Sue, Ine
“tolaxed almosphore" that
she maintains is of prime
‘importance for serious
‘game playing.
“its real dark. there's lots of
trusic, and everybody just
cts realcool and plays a lot
ofgames"
Thats actually an under-
Slatementot Slver Sues:
carefully siructured—and
contrclled environment.
From the momentyou enter
Silver Sue's, your purpose
isoutlinedforyou. The room
istotally dark, except for
the glow from each game's
screen. Its immediately
‘lear that this is strictly @
place for piaying Video
games. According to Sue,
ths effect is no accident.
Peopie like to play video
games in the dark. The
lights ttom the other games
don't interfore with your
game:
Aiter your ayes get used to
the darkness, you'lineed
‘another few seconds ta
adjust your ears to ihe level
ofthe music. Itvaties fre~
quently from hard rook
to jazz to 60s folk tunes
(copending on whos
behind the counter), butthe
volum is always high,
“One of thy employees even
brought in his own tape
deck for us to use, because
he dida't think our system
was good enough. And
some of the other employ
ees spend hours recording
special tapes. So thore’s
alvays plenty of music”
‘Althlough Sue does believe
inmaintaining anorymity
MoyStik™ /aprit 1983 coe cee
‘comes actoss in my game.
room. Thisis everybody's
place to erjoy, andhey
should enjoy it
Ot the players that “enjoy”
Siver Sue's, Chicagos-
video game designers are.
pethaps the most serious
about their games Andot
those designers, Eugene
Jervisis the most outspo-
ken, Inspits of his off the
‘wall sense of hums, he
does have serious teasons
fot playing at Sue's
JoyStik™ / April 1963
“Silver Sue'sis bascally a
ow-key dive with nothing
= todistract you from the
gemes, That's why it
attracts the hackers [pro-
grammers| and the border
line mutants from the open
ward. Plus, Sue is 2 good
dy of ours [Jarvs and
- Latty DeMar|. And her
lace is opon real lato.
brain damagec
sople core out around
tha's when we like
"Tim Skelly, the Chicago
designer of Gottlieb's Reac-
40%, also enjoys Silver Sue's.
“The light level there is very
good, There's ite retioc-
tion from the other cames—
that's really important. | like
johave a feeling that it'sme.
and the game. Buti also
important for me to watch
other people play. And there
are usually alotof people
‘there. And the hours are.
pretty ose, That's impor.
‘tant, too”
And Mike Schwartz,
designer of a future Stem
game, requonts Sue's for
similarteasons.
*Forone thing, it's aplace
‘toseenew games tat has,
ea
ad
really good atmosphere
Ilice the darkness and the
oud music. And Ican tak to
other peopia inthe industry
there’
‘The fact that Silver Sue's
has developed such a
Unique late night crowd of
players is actually some-
thing of an oddity. Five
years ago, when Sve
England first opened her
arcade, she hadnevereven
played coin-o0 game,
Naturally, the games were a
otdifferent back then, but
she remembers the transi-
tion from pinbal roc te
“video arcade.
started out with 12
games—almost al pinball.
Trememiber | had one.
Laguna Racer—that was
ablack and whte video
game | also had Tank and
Breakout. The pinballs went
like crazy, but the videos
didn't get played much,
because you couldn't eam
any extra time on them tack
then. Then Spece Invaders
came out, and afterthat
cemeGalaxianand
Asteroids. Over thenext
two years, people just
‘stopped playing pinball and
{started carrying almost all
couple of the old pins”
‘And as the video industry
‘matured, 60 dié Sue's affin-
ity for video games. She
‘soon became such an avid
player thatshe now only
‘enjoys what she considers
tobe “harcicore” games.
“Ilove Defender, and Hove
Flobotron, but fm bored
with all the cutesy games.
You know, the Dig Dugs.
Flobotron is my averite
game!
‘And when she's not taking
care ofthe business end of
Silver Sue's, that's where
‘Sue can be found, furiously
scoring “almost a million
points’ on Robatron: In fac
‘she’s such a Robotron fan.
that she currently has her
‘own arcade Robotron :
machine inherhome. “Ilike —
being able to play all the
games! want” she says.
Andaccordingto Sue, that’s
probably the bestining.
sasons that Silver Sue's
such asuccess. "Itsbeing
“able tobe aid al tho timel!” Ue
a
ee
Vee tere er ret
Cee MU CC eel Lee L
original game are preserved (so players will know
what to do}, while the game elements are made faster
and fancier. The popularity of Asteroids Deluxe and
Pe eee Rut tm oe) ier fa
Tec ee eC aa EL
thing Galaxian players never even dreamed of: the
to double your firepower by use of the
. Many players don’t even know that
this capability exists, but it is the most important
PUD CCM RCC eC RL: Uy
oe Oe UCT iT iC RL)
to generate a doubleship. Then we'll explain what to
do with it once you have it. The doubleship can bea
Pes ARE ees eu Phe td
it doubles your target area—but following the
Pra eu eR liability into
Puree
Photography by Donna Preis and George Siede en ure
ing. uni@e. and useful
kee
Sta acute
Pecan eae
Seon auras
Ea
renee
Poin
ea egrecwi
Soe muy
pene Cn
Peas
esa
Re eu)
reais
Seen tn TL eee
Albian allel
rete ica.
eter
PCC Ue
Pee el
Pome encod
Pee eure n
PU to
Sn)
ee err
eect
Cuan
eRe ures
Teta
Dee
wae a
Porat)
Cen a
err
Sec eer
Pre nd
Ue
Te ea
erie e
Pie ccna
flagship. At that point,
Cte ca
Gite aes
PO ee icua
Sree en
Raa coan
Sragging your ship
Scar d
ieee
See RES) (eeu cae
Pee aaa
Pou
Puen ua
Poco na
Pinar
efore you beam upto be
Sete ac
een eae
in the enemy formation.
pecs ceca
prec raena
Peace cen ear)
CR nse Cne
acca certs
Peete
conc
eerie)
uk eas
eee oe Ui
Brora on
Reece ey
Dee
ee ee
eters
Again, every Galaga
Aeron
Sei acure ree
poe
TRU
pce ti
Rete eet
etn as
nea Ag
CN aos
Crem aL
Pee aus
ees
Creer
oem
eran
Cen
eee eet
nerd
aliens when they enter!
ree Rue)
Pee ee
roe ead
pear oan
See eer
Pater ta
Be Eur
ea
ea ee!
pepe rire
Pe ea
pees ti
fee errr
eau uct r cur
eco eas
other, with one loop inthe
CC c ec aaa
Pe oun
Peet
gana acd
sea enc ne
your own ship! Wait until
Rep cG ue Gia
Caecum
Pen eur
pee ee aa
ona
Ra
Pico rou
ittwice to destroy it. rit is
Comme
Renee ny
Cone mC ku acas
Peean er t air)
happens, one of the
Poeun eerste
pe een
cee eee ata
errs en
Eig
erect se
eee ee
en errs
Creare)
eee eme tac
Tet
Geet ate
eater eae}
eee aed
pate koa
eee ete
BUCO
itthereafter until at least
ereeae]
ROMs een uence
Peer eee cara
Ee eee
eRe eet
asec ete
amet
Does e Vc
tur eat
ant td
Circo Cin tes
Pere cor oer
Peary
ines
Cy
with your ship in tow
eck
rere neonate!
Reece oa
ree
ER oe
side. Wait until the ship
Pree
Pec ey
pes eee a
carne a a
Pee |
/
|
eee
Ae ead
Pete eo ;
eet ace
Breese
Creer cet
Ceara
en et
Pe rs
Peetu ht
Pr os
ear ‘
er ono :
your captured ship by mary
Pest eC) ;
Sea
Peete etn :
eee ar
eee cea
cn mec
]
|
Now, any enemy ships in
Cree Ree)
eee
ery
eel :
eats
Bice Mic ete
Pee nea ted
PR re} “
eee ees
pee ns A
rts
Be ee
peers
erat re
eee ee rs
ere eu
pettieeee ts f by Doug Mahugh
TiprDpe
TIIRERC:
'W FROM SEGA, ATARI, NINTENDO,
AND OTHERS
Chicago is the center of tne video game world, the home of five of the top eight
game manufacturers, and the host of the biggest coin-op trade show inthe world
{the AMOA expo): Its also the home of JoyStik, and being so close to the heart of
the industry allows us to keep close tabs on what's new and what's next
But—as most players know—the video game industry wasn't born in Chicago, it
just grew up here. The West Coast iswhere it all really started. Whether you point
at Nolani Bushnell and the company tie founded ten years ago in Silicon Valley
(Atari), oF look all of the way back to the origins of the pinball industry—to 1929
when Harry Willams started a route in Los Angeles County—Californiaand the
West Coastcantake credit as the birthplace of coin-op video games. And it didn’t
stop at the beginning; there’s still alot of activity out there. in the offices and
factories of Sega, Atari, Nintendo, and others. We recently sent'a JjoyStik editor
and cameracrewtothe West Coast to see firsthand the latest developments irom
these companies—thisarticle is their report. 9
Phetegraphy by Donna Preis and George Siede Sega Electronics,
SanDiego
‘The mostobvious—and
least significant—develop-
mentat Segais thair name
change. Formerly known as
Sege/Gremlin, they opted
for Soga because the old
combined name was "a bit
‘awkward! according te
‘Chairman of the Board
David Rosen.
Sega has recently started
@ consumer division, which
vwilldesign cartridges forthe
fiercely competitive home
system market. Though
they were 50 strict about
security that we could only
talk to designer Gary Shan-
non ina completely barren
conference room, we were
able 16 lea that their first,
offering will be Star Trek, a
cartridge for the Alar YES,
{ts scheduled for release
some time this year.
New venture notwithstand-
ing, the coin-op department
is where the real activity is
at Sega these days. The
same people that brought
us Zaxxon, Turbo, and
Frogger have recently,
released Pengo, Sub-Roe
3, Tac-Sean, Buck
Rogers, Monster Bash, and
Super Zaxxon. Though they
had not been officially
released yet, we were able
to find the latter four gemes
ata suburban San Diego
shoppingmallarcade called
The Yellow Brick Road.
on
Pengo (covered in detait
(on page 46) is based on a.
rotund penguin batting with
animatedsno-bees in anice
block maze. Sub-Roc 3D
uses. stereoscopic 3D
effect that is more iritating
than entertaining, while
Tac-Scanis amultiple-ship
space game done with color
actors (Ike Tempest)
Buck Rogers won the
JoyStik AMOA Beauty
Pageant (page 6) because
ofits flashy graphics. Super
Zaxxon is justwhtet youd
expoctZarxon with super
ficial enhancements, and
Monster Bash looks like
Donkey Kongin a haunted
house, They're all good
‘games, but with the possi-
bie exception of Tac-Scan
they don't show much
originality
Segahas also been
showing off their latest
development in laser-disc
techrolocy: Astron Bel,
an extremely realistic pro-
totypo of a lasor-dise video
game that uses stored
footage of real explosions.
(See page 62 for more on
Astron Belt)
\, ———
Atari, Sunnyvale
Atari, the grand old man of
Video games, hasa new
‘complex in high-tech,
security-conseious, Sticon
Valley that looks more like a
bunker than a multiemilion
dolla: corporate HO. Squat,
sprawling, and virtually
‘windowless, the building's
architecture reintorcesan
atmosphere of secrecy and
paranoia that is made
explicit in the sign that
dearly forbids cameras,
Hespascers, snd casual
visitors.
‘They seem tobe saying:
"Games are senous busi-
ness! Were nat arauing—
who couldn't take these
games seriously? Withonly
four new games for this
yea, Atari hasmanaged to
Pack in more quality and
variely than any oter man-
facturer. Liberator, Quan~
tum, Milipede, and Pole
Position are the games. ane
they have almost nothing in
‘common except the Atari
label.
Liberator {described in
cetail on page 11) s basi-
cally Missile Command in
roverse, with a fewnew
wists, The most impressive
fend entertaining part of
the gamieis an animated
spaceman face that tels
you how youre doing.
orn
‘Quantum (see page 10)
offers the most original
‘game play of any ofthe Atari
‘games. Is drawing action is
asstep up from Qix (the only
ther true drawing game) in
that itallows youto draw
segments of any length at
‘any anale. The game may
be too subtle for some
players, but itoffers anew
sonsationin the arcades,
Millipede ss the sequel to
Centivede, which came out
in mie-1980. The changes
from Centipede are numer-
‘us, but they are all so sub:
tle that only Centipede
players wil notice them.
‘One of the nicest effects is
the replantingot the mush-
foomfield, which follows the
fules of classic population
dynamics. Allin all, Mit
lipede is a great game that
may never be popular cir
ply because of the strength
of ts predecessor.
JoyStik™/aprit1983 Starpath’stwolatest cas.
settes are Dragon Storm
_ and Escape From:
Pole Position is the last
of the new Atari games,
itis adriving game similar
to Turoa (see page 7 tor,
details), and is more realis-
‘tic than any drivinggame
we've seen to data The
perspective on other cers
when you pass then is par.
ticularly nce—it ghes you a
vary accurate indication of
wihere your car's relative to
the other cars, which even
Turbo ithe best drising
game before Pole Position)
failed do,
Starpath, Santa Clara
indirect contrast to Ata,
the atmosphere at Staroath
(ormerly known as Arcadia)
is classic laid-back Calfor-
rian, completewith Fshirts,
tom jeans anda communal
candy bor. This casual
altitude, however, hasnt
provented Starpath from
gaining a reputation forpro-
ducing high quality games
for the Atari VCS. The
games are allplayed
through @ Supercharger,
mibichincreases the
‘vapatity of the VCS. Com-
rmunist Mutants rom
Space is perhaps Arcadia’s
best known game—
because ofits catchy tite—
but this funky company is
alee reepensibie for winners
lie Phaser Patrol, Suicide
Mission, and Fireball
JoyStik"™/Apell 1963,
‘Master. Both are “multi
lead games, This mies
that several variations on &.
‘common theme are pro:
videdon a single cassette:
After you progress through
‘one level, you ioadithe next
level and automatically start
paying ft
Dragon Master isaDnD
(®ungeons & Dragons)
adventure game. The mo
@bvious difference hotwoen
itand the many other:
dveriture games avail-
able for the VCS are the
Graphics. As usual, Star
path has provided more
Color and detal then any-
‘ane ever expected tram
the VCS.
Bia) a
Escape From The Mind
Master is a “tst-person
perspective maze gama.”
Nou riove through amaze
of coricors: the soreenis a
representation of what you
‘would actually see, To look
around a corner, for exam-
Ble, you must mave to a.
position where you cansee
down the side corridor. This
‘gives the game a very dit-
ferent feel from the Pac.
Man type of maze game, in
whichthe entire maze is
alvays visible.
“the-art computer displays
Videa, Sunnyvale
“There ls alarge technclog-
‘ical gap between siate-of-
nd what is beng Usedin
"the marketplace today. We
-kiow thative can do a ot
betler, andthat is the spark
simcinaled iis SOS:
“hax cordeh cand obi
tic message comes from
Foger Hector, president of
Videa Videa was formed:
alittle over a year ago by
Roger Hector, Ed Rotbera,
and Howie Deknan, three
ex-Atari employees with
thirteen years of collective
‘experience in video game
design behind them, Hector,
the former Corporate Man
ager of Research end
Development at Atari, han-
dies the administrative
chores for Videa Rotberg, a
former Atari programmer
(be designed Battlezone),
is Videa's Vice President ot
Software; Delman's Vice
President of Hardware, and
‘was responsibie for much of
‘the work on Ataris vector
daplay system
‘The combined talents ct
these three men makes
Videaa very promising
‘company. According to
Hector, “We don't wantto
just do iteration after itera-
tion of new games—we see
ourselves doing oniy the
slate-of-the-art games’
‘Ahough he couldn'taive us
any details about the games
they are working on—which
‘willhitthe streets in mid
1983—he did tell us thatthey
wouldbe far beyond the -
technology current found
inthe arcades. Well be
keeping you informed on
“this exciting new company
inthe fut
- Nintendo, Seattle _
_ Whenwe visited Nintendo,
their south Seattle plant
was producing Dorkey
Kong, Jr games literally as
fest as they could get them
“out the door: However, now
that Popeye has been
feleasea the production
‘emphasis will undoubtedly
shift to that game,
Popeye hes a ittle more
color and detail than Don-
key Kong or Donkey Kong,
Ji, and a iitle smoother
animation, Other than that,
itis very Similar to them—
Nintendo seems to believe
that players stil want
another cute character
game Popeyeis as good a
game as either ofits pred-
‘ecessors, but itmay be a
tive ate,
23 by Doug Mahugh
Pac-Man Bob isa man
used towinning. During
the days of Pac-Mania,
when Pac-Man tourna-
ments were being held
almost weekly inevery
major city around the
country, Pac-Nian Bob
traveled from contest to
contest, looting promot-
ers of cash and prizes.
When he heard ofa
Pac-Man contest being
staged in Seattle, he con-
fidently set out for the Jet
City, certain that he
would easily nab the
grand prize—a trip to
Butthe contest
in'tgo
according to Bob's plans.
Had he been any less
confident of himselt, he
might have taken notice
of the fact that the other
contestants weren'tthe
49- to 19-year-olds that
usually attend such
events. They were older,
in their 20's and 30's, and
none seemed particu-
larly nervous or excited
about the prospect of
playing for huge stakes
in front of a large crowd.
ignoring all of this, Bob
justsettled down and
layed one of his best
games ever.
netted him third prize:
dinner for two ata local
restaurant. Welcome to
Seaitle.
Pac-Man Bob's expe-
fience is not unique.
a ee
Most players know their
hometown arcades very
well. They know which
games are popular, what
kind of people play them,
and where the best game
rooms can be found. But
and this comes asa
surprise to many play-
ers—things aren’tthe
same all over. An experi-
enced game player from
Albuquerque, for exam-
ple, might find the
arcades of Chicago dark
andforlorn, it he could
find them atall.
In this and future articles,
we'll be looking at the
areades of various parts
of the country. Howdo
they differ? Which
games ere popular?
What kind of people play
them? We won't be mak:
ing any comparisons or
judgements—we still
think the best place to
play is wherever you
happento be at the time—
but we wantto share with
youthe rich variety of
arcede customs and cus-
tomers that can be found
around the country.
Thai video games are
very popular in Seattle
isn’t surprising. In acity
known for year-round
rain and cloudy weather,
indoor recreation of any
king is sure to be popular. But Seattle's arcades Stocked withover700f — Bogey’s, ontheeast side The arcade game play-
‘offermorethanachance the most popular videos of Lake Union, is another ers around Seattle are
, _ tocomein aut ofthe rain and pins, Amold's offers video game bar with very competitive fortwo
=bycombininglargeand 24-houra-day conve- approximately 40 videos major reasons. First,
modernarcadeswith res- nienceandavarioty of and several pins. many players are stu-
taurantsorbars,many food. Because of its dents at the University of
game rooms in Seattle —_location—nextdoorto —_Inaddiition to these Washington or employ-
allow players toenjoya the School of Computer restaurant/arcadesand ees of high-tech corpora-
mealoradrinkrightat_ —Science,directly between _bar/arcades, Seattle has. tions like Boeing and
the controlsof their tavor- several dormitoriesand —severallarae“conven- _ have technical back-
ite video game. Thisisa the main Universityof tional” arcades. Lectric _ grounds. Second, many
big step—inthe right Washington campus— _Palaceonthenorthside _ arcades give a cash prize.
rection—fromthe stilted Arnold's drawsmorecus- andCommand Center _for the high score of the
andsterile atmosphere tomers inasingleday inthe southern suburbs _ week on selected gamos,
of less progressive than many arcadescan _arebothlarge andwell- _ providing an incentive
arcades, where tood and hope for ina week. decorated, with carpeted for serious players 1o
drink are not even toler floors, mural paintings, improve their game. And
ated, letalone provided. Goldie’s On45th, less____andonly the latest ‘occasionally a major
than two miles westot games. Ivory's. on Fifth _ tournamentwilloffer
Arnold's OnThe Ave, one Arnold's, isanequally Avenue inthe center of players the opportunity
block west of the Univer. popular place to play, town, isalitile less faney to compete for thou-
sityof Washington cam- offering 60ofthe latest butdrawealargecoat- _sands of dollars in cash
Bus, Is one of the biggest, games, Because Goldie's “and-tie clientele from Of prizes. Incentives like
i and possibly the best, of is atest location, itis the surrounding office thatcan turn a soggy
Seattle's eat-in arcades. oftenthe first place in the buildings. Seattlite into a video pro
Pacific Northwest to just ask Pac-Man Bob.
receive anew game, They
the glienteleis sll over 21.
saree ae 3
epee etre ener
a,
pao [wens
Q«bert
Peery
Nobody likes tobe told what to do, and Q+bertis
rte
of the other talking games that we've seen try to
Pre Ero ce cs ay
errepet ree Or uae io rg
pe eer eee a
Peete acuta cod ued
eee ar oe eer
Ce eure ued
POR re eur oe
Cer RU ec
abandon has already made Qsbert the most-
Tee Ce curs
In this article, we describe the many characters
‘the game of Q+bert and explainhow touse
Peer ran ore eer erg
first four levels of the game, and show you what
peperreer athe ead
reading and studying these tips, you'll be able to
Peneres ne CEL ete ect
ere ee Cer
Re au ea
eee eae ere tress Tere
Cer Lee CUBES
Er acd
Puneet?
errr
Perea eren ty
designated color before
peeenrhiaee
Rr Ue
Ec aud
ing on it. Changing a
Cerne
eed
Tren
eet
PU CUsi ca
yuo
Pome kid
PUR unaers
Cee
ree ed
rae ee
RT ne cn
Peete maces
ere Ce
arse atu
of the discs, described
coe
CO Ca
errs et
round, you'llhave these
Purana
react cae)
Sree uM ae
Poet eee)
pee ena
Pioneers
Seal
eae Sais
uC ar’
Perc mS
es
Mth
ia car ne Seas
Ceara
pee ee ten]
ee Tt
Re Crcee tie)
rrr
Nene reas
Pent
Pe
renee
Raereenan
ick a eras
aggressive, and will fol-
rere errs
Peet aed
Caen
poeta
Carr
Paya rer)
Pree act
Reed
bonus and clear the
ued
ee
POE eh eure
Peering
eect
color. Ly Lyme
piers ec Sd
Pee Cae Tacks
round andeveryround _green balls; they land on
eae eos eureka
asset. Jumping on itwill (from the top) and ran-
peas ee ae LC
Cer ee ee TC
will also score 100 points, that these balls are
but the freezing action is deadly to touch. It's easy
what's most important. to remember the differ-
Cee CR ee
Sica ae
eee LCL ea
Pea a ed Ue
ere a
wisely. nS
cer
er
Sent a)
Ree aut
Pee Coa :
recs usr)
ue i a
Pern oe iad |
Set ie
oases
PMI AMIS
ees
scream—when you jump
tothe disc. Eachdise can
ore ea
Pee eat
eee es
Pee)
ee loa
Pee ee
ee ULE
Serratia)
Peisel
begin to appear. They are
ene etc
Pes
ecg hat
CeCe
Pea een co
RO cit)
Pune ate
ak to
eae l
Cer etd
Cre ut
perme eed
Paar ea ca
Samis to jump on him—
Reece rs aaa)
| oor od
LEVEL ONE!#?9)' LEVEL TWO!#?3!?
See oR ory ean Ce ee Lea
Plena ec ea
Se ee ee ee ee mn
Cue y ste Mey err ea eet eS
Cr Mee et tet et eee ee ean
Coe ue Ue Me CLO
cee cee eet Mr ne eee
EC ce me ee eg te Pe NT to eee
hoppingneartheedges Starting withRound3, Ugg, Wrong-Way, Slick colored cubes must be
ee em ce merch CS
eee ae aC ee Se ed)
Ct ee me ee Sd Ra
i use. As explainedearller, which onthis level, so
Pe RACE ey Perce ena refer to the cube inthe
eee ttt eres ni Prue n
Pence eka tr ee Rie Coty
occas ete td Pee
errr Cor Pe eed ane
Porc final goal.
Sree So eaear =
Pee cae pe
tes Pa
bonus increases by 250 os
points for each sub- oe
sequent round. The S
arate hactapinging
Peon eee a a es
eee eit)
Pre POO
Dita ant
f eee |
Carper ee ee eee eee
eo Peers Preston d
ere
een a ee
Pape en rie a eR CUT eh ag
confusing, this level will 2: four ineach of the first
make youwishitwasthat two rounds, and three in
eee Meter teem ey
with Level 3, every hop _ them whenever possible,
Eek CAM eg
change that cube's color. when jumping to. disc.
epee Men es
rece meee eto
Prete Pera Maiko
Coe uae tec
return toit. Then you'll —_ won't fall (literally) for
Cee aed peta
Cur CR Akad
Core as
Petar
players can make itto
ee cna
Pee cela
rere ceed
ect ace
Segoe
Peco
healthy 4000 points in
eRe Ur er
Be ical
et eT)
ree eras
Paes
Peg Oa
the screen of Colly and
cee ri
LEVEL THREE'#?5) LEVEL FOUR!#?2/¢
Pe aac
Se ae
in every single round.
Oey
aun
Corea ec C)
re es ele)
Rem Cu eur ie
Ey Cains
Lota
ee ha Ree ed
SE eu eau
score on machines whakdyerge plays. Aithough
Chee caleekel
eros
ing andfast reactions~ Wileh§t certainly is—we
ee eet post playing
Pree ieee rs Secor
roe oeer nee rice
Ree ce ceed
Se Se ace ices
Secs
tai
Seer
eee)
Ak cL
Pein repteeere rc. teeta
eu Re Ty AC
DE ee)
EaeeeT TATE anette
pres Aa |
Pateecantonenene tet
OU prmore than
pecrecuereectincareen ot) tern
the ond ofa wave. i'you get ofgrwheimed by
ers, uso the supersapper.Bavgyour second
Rina eee acre)
oe
cd ee ees
Se ee eee
eye eae es
columns will cover Zaxxon, Ms. P:
Cn er eae re See ee aed MECLOW Cee sass
“Wo BW érierthes aro nto Receeieee Joust—the best animation in avideogame yet.
a
Anctheroonsideration is the
type af mation to be used
for various etements of the
game. Some charactors
look goad asa single shape
that moves across the
screen, but others are more
realsti¢with animation,
Technically, animation can
be applied to all motion in
video games, since itsimply
means the successive
repositioning of inanimate
objects. Butin video cames,
animation specitically eters
to the effects obtained by
yciing through some set
of different versions of the
same object This is what
makes Joust’s buzzards
appear to flap thelr wings
a they move acioss the
screen
‘The presence of risk-taking
incentives is an important
Partof any game. Si
most players are soore-
oriented, the chance to
receive a large bonus at the
riskot losngatumisagocd
wayto let a player's own
greed limit his playing time.
Many players would rather
have a short, nigh-scoring
game than along, loner-
Scoring one, even though
the latter is obviously a
better bargain.
Speaking of ong playing
times, one of a game
designer's most common
fearsis that players will
Uncover an infinite play
moce—some obscure trick
thatallows them to tie up
a game for hours without
really playing it. “Lurking”
in Asteroids is such a trick
although itisnt necessarily
‘Sy 10 do. The parking
places in Pac-Man are a
more obvious problem,
since the player can even
walk away from the
machine without losing
atum,
Soysuk”™/aprii1963 ‘The player's perspective in
‘a.game can have « radical
effect on the game play. In
Battlezone, for example,
the playeris inside a tank,
looking out in one direction
this is called 1st-person
perspective). The possibil-
ity of opponents coming
from behing, where they
can'tbe seen, iswhat keeps
the game exciting and
interesting. Bettiezone
would probably be very dull
2s a2nd-person game, with
the player watching the
battlefield from above.
Defender, on the other
hand, might have become
hopeless and confusing if
itwere implemented as a
4st-person flying game
(which was, in fact, the
original game concept,
In addition to the above
considerations, there are
three groups of peoplethat
the game designer must
please: the manufacturers,
the operators, andthe
Players,
Once the basic game
concept has been refined,
itis usually presented to
the manutacturer with
storyboards, inthe same.
manner that movie and TV
show ideas are sold, Man-
Ufacturers look for soveral
things in the game: player
appeal, potential public
image or copyright infringe-
ment probiems, and the
ease with which the game
‘can be mass-producec.
Copyright infringements a
particularly importent prob-
Tem—Nintendo and Taito are
two manufacturers that
have had problemswiththis
lately. Nintendo went to
courtover the similarities
between Donkey Kongand
King Kong, and Taito was
forced to change Jungle
King to Jungle Hunt
because of possible
infringement on the copy-
righted Tarzan character.
oyStik™ april 1963
“Once the manufacturer
is convinced that e game
is worth pursuing, the
Gesigner Is teamed up with
the necessary hardware
and software specialists.
While these people work
on creating the game, the
manufacturer begins selling
the idea to operators and
distributors, usually via
ttade publicatonsiike Pay
Meter, or the Amusement &
Music Operators Associa~
ton (2k ANOA) annual
show.
Operators have many of
the same concerns asthe
manvfacturer, but in acdi-
tion they wantto be sure
that the game hardware will
be reliable (basedon the
‘manufacturers reputaton)
and that the game will be a
lasting hit It’s intetesting to
rote that the manufacturers
really dont care about a
game's longevity; since
games are soid, and not
leased orrented, once
the manufacturers have
saturated the market with
machines its almost better
‘or them ifthe game falls in
popularity, théreby making
room for newer games.
The last step, after the
‘game has boon designod
and isin production, isfor
tne operaiors io putitout
in thebats, arcades, and
convenience stores where
the players will be the fal
judges of the game's suc
cass, Despite all ofthe
planning that has gone
into the game at this stage,
thereis never a guaran
teed nitin tne vdeo game
business
The naxt two articles in
this series willcover the
hardware and software
used in the design of video
games.
4
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