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Atari Program Exchange
Atari Program Exchange (APX) was a division of Atari, Inc. that sold software via mail-order for the Atari 8-bit family of home computers. Quarterly APX catalogs were sent to all registered Atari 8-bit owners. APX encouraged any programmer, not just professionals, to submit software for commercial distribution. If selected, a program was added to the catalog, with credit given to the programmer. The top submissions in each category were awarded, and several popular APX titles, such as ''Caverns of Mars'', were moved to Atari's official product line. The brainchild of Dale Yocum, the Atari Program Exchange started in February 1981. In 1982 its management was taken over by Fred Thorlin, who operated it until it closed. APX published quarterly catalogs until 1984, when new Atari CEO James J. Morgan closed down the mail-order division. History When Atari first launched the Atari 8-bit family in late 1979, the company kept most of the hardware details secret. It intended to be the pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atari 8-bit Family
The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The series was successively upgraded to Atari 1200XL , Atari 600XL, Atari 800XL, Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE, Atari 800XE, and Atari XEGS, the last discontinued in 1992. They differ primarily in packaging, each based on the MOS Technology 6502 central processing unit, CPU at and the same custom coprocessor chips. As the first home computer architecture with coprocessors, it has graphics and sound more advanced than most contemporary machines. Video games were a major draw, and first-person space combat simulator ''Star Raiders'' is considered the platform's killer app. The plug-and-play peripherals use the Atari SIO serial bus, with one developer eventually also co-patenting USB. While using the same internal technology, the Atari 800 was sold as a high-end model, while the 400 was more affordable. The 400 has a pressure-sensitive, spillproof membrane keyboar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
De Re Atari
''De Re Atari'' ("All About Atari"), subtitled "A Guide to Effective Programming," is a book written by Atari, Inc. employees in 1981 and published by the Atari Program Exchange in 1982 as an unbound, shrink-wrapped set of three-holed punched pages. Targeted at developers, it documents the advanced features of the Atari 8-bit family of home computers and includes ideas for how to use them in applications. The information in the book was not available in a single, collected source at the time of publication. The information in ''De Re Atari'' was serialized in ''Byte'' beginning in 1981, prior to the book's publication. The release of Atari 8-bit technical details through the magazine and book quickly resulted in other sources being published, such as ''COMPUTE!'s First Book of Atari Graphics'' (1982). Atari released official documentation for the hardware and a source listing of the operating system the same year, 1982, but they were not as easily obtainable as ''De Re Atari ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Front (1941)
''Eastern Front (1941)'' is a computer wargame for the Atari 8-bit family created by Chris Crawford and published through the Atari Program Exchange (APX) in 1981. A scenario editor and assembly language source code for the game were also sold by APX. Recreating the Eastern Front during World War II, ''Eastern Front'' covers the historical area of operations during 1941–1942. The player commands German units at the corps level as they invade the Soviet Union in 1941 and fight the computer-controlled Russians. The game simulates terrain, weather, supplies, unit morale, and fatigue. A killer app for Atari computers, ''Eastern Front'' was among APX's best selling games, selling over 60,000 copies. It was widely lauded in the press and was '' Creative Computing''s Game of the Year in 1981. In 1982, it was licensed by Atari for distribution on game cartridge, then rereleased in 1988 in XEGS styled packaging. Gameplay ''Eastern Front'' is a corps-level simulation of the fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Getaway! (video Game)
''Getaway!'' is a crime-themed, multidirectional-scrolling maze game for the Atari 8-bit family. It was designed by Mark Reid and published by the Atari Program Exchange (APX) in 1982. In ''Getaway!'', the player drives around a large city stealing cash, valuable items, and the contents of armored trucks, then must return the loot to their hideout. Three different police vehicles pursue, getting more aggressive as more crimes are committed. The game won the 1983 $25,000 Atari Star Award for best APX submission, but promotion of the game was affected by the video game crash of 1983. The Atari Program Exchange also sold 2 × 3 foot posters of the ''Getaway!'' city map. Gameplay ''Getaway!'' takes place on multidirectional-scrolling map of a town, 35 screens in size, containing bridges, factories, neighborhoods, and an airport. The player leaves the hideout and drives around the city using up gasoline in the process. Pausing at a gas station refills the tank. Also in the maze are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atari, Inc
Atari, Inc. was an American video game developer and home computer company founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. Atari was a key player in the formation of the video arcade and video game industry. Based primarily around the Sunnyvale, California, area in the center of Silicon Valley, the company was initially formed to develop arcade games, launching with ''Pong'' in 1972. As computer technology matured with low-cost integrated circuits, Atari ventured into the consumer market, first with dedicated home video game console, home versions of ''Pong'' and other arcade successes around 1975, and into programmable consoles using game cartridges with the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS or later branded as the Atari 2600) in 1977. To bring the Atari VCS to market, Bushnell sold Atari to Warner Communications in 1976. In 1978, Warner brought in Ray Kassar to help run the company, but over the next few years, gave Kassar more of a leadership role in the company. Bushn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kangaroo (video Game)
is a four-screen platform game released in arcades in 1982 by Sun Electronics and distributed in North America by Atari, Inc. ''Kangaroo'' is one of the first arcade games similar in style to ''Donkey Kong'' without being a direct clone. The player takes the role of a boxing glove-wearing mother kangaroo who is trying to rescue her joey from fruit-throwing monkeys. Despite featuring jumping, there is no jump button. Instead, the player pushes up on the joystick—or up and diagonally—to jump. Gameplay There are four different levels. Three of them consist of the mother kangaroo on the bottom floor trying to reach the top floor where her joey is being held captive by some monkeys. On each of the levels monkeys throw apples and apple cores, which the mother kangaroo must either jump, duck, or punch. If she gets face to face with one of the monkeys, she can punch it with a boxing glove. There are also pieces of fruit that she can jump up and get for points; if she ju ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avalanche (video Game)
''Avalanche'' is an arcade video game designed by Dennis Koble and released by Atari, Inc. in 1978. The object is to catch falling rocks with a controllable set of paddles that diminish in number and size as the rocks fall faster and faster. The concept gained a much wider audience after Activision released an unauthorized adaptation in 1981 as '' Kaboom!'' for the Atari 2600. The only official home port of ''Avalanche'' is for the Atari 8-bit family. Gameplay ''Avalanche'' is for 1 or 2 players, alternating turns. There are six rows of rocks at the top of the screen. The game starts with a six-storied platform and the player loses one platform per row of rocks cleared. The player scores points for those rocks they prevent from reaching the ground. The farther the row of rocks, the smaller and faster they become. The ultimate goal is to get enough points so that the player can continue the game should they lose their first one. Development According to the manual for the Atari ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gauntlet (arcade Game)
''Gauntlet'' is a 1985 fantasy-themed hack-and-slash arcade game developed and released by Atari Games. It is noted as being one of the first multiplayer dungeon crawl arcade games. The core design of ''Gauntlet'' comes from 1983 Atari 8-bit dungeon crawl game ''Dandy'', which resulted in a threat of legal action. It also bears striking similarities to the action-adventure maze game ''Time Bandit'' (1983). The arcade version of ''Gauntlet'' was released in November 1985 and was initially available only as a dedicated four-player cabinet. Atari distributed a total of 7,848 arcade units. In Japan, the game was released by Namco in February 1986. Atari later released a two-player cabinet variant in June 1986, aimed at operators who could not afford or did not have sufficient space for the four-player version. Gameplay The game is set within a series of top-down, third-person, orthographic mazes where the object is to find and touch the designated exit in every level. An assortme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dandy (computer Game)
''Dandy'' (later ''Dandy Dungeon'') is a dungeon crawl maze game for the Atari 8-bit family published by the Atari Program Exchange in 1983. It is one of the first video games with four-player, simultaneous cooperative play. Players equipped with bows and unlimited arrows fight through a maze containing monsters, monster spawners, keys, locked doors, food, and bombs in search of the exit leading to the next level. If a player dies, they can be revived by finding and shooting a heart. The game includes an level editor, editor for making new dungeons. ''Dandy'' was written by John Howard Palevich for his undergraduate thesis while attending Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, drawing inspiration from ''Dungeons & Dragons'', ''Defender (1981 video game), Defender'', and Arcade video game, arcade maze games. Some of the levels, and level design elements which have become standard in dungeon crawls, were developed by fellow student Joel Gluck. The 1985 Atari Games arcade vide ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Excalibur (video Game)
''Excalibur'' is a 1983 resource-management strategy video game for the Atari 8-bit family. It was designed by Chris Crawford and developed with the help of Larry Summers and Valerie Atkinson. Like Crawford's earlier ''Eastern Front (1941)'', ''Excalibur'' was published by the Atari Program Exchange. Gameplay The object of the game is to unite all of Britain under the rule of King Arthur. The players can invade kingdoms, set tithes for their vassals, send plagues and pestilences (with the help of Merlin) and manage the loyalty of their own Round Table by rewarding their knights or, if they grow too disloyal, by banishing them. Reception ''Electronic Games'' stated that "''Excalibur'' is a grand effort". ''Antic'' stated that the game "easily ranks as the finest programming achievement to date by Chris Crawford ... one of the richest gaming experiences ever". ''Computer Gaming World'' in 1984 called ''Excalibur'' "a magnificent piece of software". It praised the documentation and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ROM Cartridge
A ROM cartridge, usually referred to in context simply as a cartridge, cart, or card, is a replaceable part designed to be connected to a consumer electronics device such as a home computer, video game console or, to a lesser extent, electronic musical instruments. Read-Only Memory, ROM cartridges allow users to rapidly load and access programs and data alongside a floppy drive in a home computer; in a video game console, the cartridges are standalone. At the time around their release, ROM cartridges provided security against Software copyunauthorised copying of software. However, the manufacturing of ROM cartridges was more expensive than floppy disks, and the storage capacity was smaller. ROM cartridges and slots were also used for various hardware accessories and enhancements. The widespread usage of the ROM cartridge in video gaming applications has led it to be often colloquially called a game cartridge. History ROM cartridges were popularized by early home computer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Source Code
In computing, source code, or simply code, is any collection of code, with or without comments, written using a human-readable programming language, usually as plain text. The source code of a program is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source code. The source code is often transformed by an assembler or compiler into binary machine code that can be executed by the computer. The machine code is then available for execution at a later time. Most application software is distributed in a form that includes only executable files. If the source code were included it would be useful to a user, programmer or a system administrator, any of whom might wish to study or modify the program. Alternatively, depending on the technology being used, source code may be interpreted and executed directly. Definitions Richard Stallman's definition, formulated in his 1989 seminal li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
