Protector (video Game)
''Protector'' is a 1981 scrolling shooter for the Atari 8-bit family programmed by Mike Potter and distributed first by Crystalware and then Synapse Software. A VIC-20 port was published by HesWare in 1983. The player attempts to rescue the citizens of a city from an impending volcanic explosion. The design of the game is inspired by '' Defender'' from Williams Electronics, though not a direct clone. The sequel, '' Protector II'', has similar gameplay but is more advanced graphically. Gameplay The gameplay of ''Protector'' is inspired by ''Defender'', with the player controlling a rocket fighter of similar design and the general goal being to pick up civilians from the ground to protect them from the enemy. The game is less action-oriented, however, and contains a more strategic component. ''Protector'' has two stages. In the first, the player flies the "Needlefighter" over a city that is under attack by an indestructible enemy spaceship. The spaceship flies over the city, bea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Synapse Software
Synapse Software Corporation (marketed as SynSoft in the UK) was an American video game development and publishing company founded in 1981 by Ihor Wolosenko and Ken Grant. It initially focused on the Atari 8-bit family, then later developed for the Commodore 64 and other systems. The company was purchased by Broderbund in late 1984, and the Synapse label retired in 1985. After some initial releases directly based on existing games, such as clones of Sega's '' Head On'' and a variant of Atari Inc's ''Avalanche'', 1982's '' Shamus'' established Synapse as a creator of high quality action games. It was followed by additional well-received games including '' Rainbow Walker'', '' Blue Max'', and '' The Pharaoh's Curse'', and some others based on unusual concepts, like ''Necromancer'' and '' Alley Cat''. First-person game '' Dimension X'' was promoted for its "altered perspective scrolling" technology, then released in a cut-down form over nine months later to disappointing reviews. The ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chicken (video Game)
''Chicken'' is a video game for the Atari 8-bit family written by Mike Potter and published by Synapse Software in 1982. The game is similar to the Atari arcade game ''Avalanche'', replacing the buckets and boulders with a hen trying to catch her eggs. Gameplay ''Chicken'' is conceptually a port of the 1978 arcade game ''Avalanche'', but with a number of twists. The player is in control of a chicken that can move horizontally back and forth along the bottom of the playfield, pushing a basket. At the top, a fox drops the chicken's eggs over a series of moving blocks. The eggs fall through gaps between the blocks, which randomize their final drop point. If an egg reaches the ground, it cracks open and hatches into a chick. These form barriers to motion for the player, but the chicken can jump over them by pressing the fire button. If a player steps on a chick, a farmer appears and kicks you off the screen. The action increases in pace until it becomes extremely fast-paced. The gam ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Horizontally Scrolling Shooters
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{{disambiguation ...
Horizontal may refer to: *Horizontal plane, in astronomy, geography, geometry and other sciences and contexts * Horizontal coordinate system, in astronomy *Horizontalism, in monetary circuit theory *Horizontalism, in sociology *Horizontal market, in microeconomics * ''Horizontal'' (album), a 1968 album by the Bee Gees ** "Horizontal" (song)" is a 1968 song by the Bee Gees See also *Horizontal and vertical *Horizontal fissure (other), anatomical features *Horizontal bar, an apparatus used by male gymnasts in artistic gymnastics *Vertical (other) Vertical is a geometric term of location which may refer to: * Vertical direction, the direction aligned with the direction of the force of gravity, up or down * Vertical (angles), a pair of angles opposite each other, formed by two intersecting s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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VIC-20 Games ...
This is a list of games for the VIC-20 personal computer, sorted alphabetically. See lists of video games for other gaming platforms. A section at the bottom contains games written by hobbyists long after the mainstream popularity of the VIC-20 waned. Many of these are unlicensed clones of arcade games or games from other systems. There are 400 commercial and 26 hobbyist-developed games on this list 0–9 *''3 Deep Space'' *''3D Man'' *''3D Maze'' *'' 3D Silicon Fish'' *''3D Time Trek'' A B C D E-F G-H I-J K-L M N-O P Q-R S T U-V W-X-Y-Z Hobbyist-developed games References {{Video game lists by platform Commodore VIC-20 The VIC-20 (known as the VC-20 in Germany and the VIC-1001 in Japan) is an 8-bit home computer that was sold by Commodore International, Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commodore's first p ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Synapse Software Games
In the nervous system, a synapse is a structure that permits a neuron (or nerve cell) to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another neuron or to the target effector cell. Synapses are essential to the transmission of nervous impulses from one neuron to another. Neurons are specialized to pass signals to individual target cells, and synapses are the means by which they do so. At a synapse, the plasma membrane of the signal-passing neuron (the ''presynaptic'' neuron) comes into close apposition with the membrane of the target (''postsynaptic'') cell. Both the presynaptic and postsynaptic sites contain extensive arrays of molecular machinery that link the two membranes together and carry out the signaling process. In many synapses, the presynaptic part is located on an axon and the postsynaptic part is located on a dendrite or soma. Astrocytes also exchange information with the synaptic neurons, responding to synaptic activity and, in turn, regulating neurotransmission. Synap ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Atari 8-bit Family Games
Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French publisher Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc., founded in Sunnyvale, California, in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, was a pioneer in arcade games, home video game consoles and home computers. The company's products, such as ''Pong'' and the Atari 2600, helped define the electronic entertainment industry from the 1970s to the mid-1980s. In 1984, as a result of the video game crash of 1983, the home console and computer divisions of the original Atari Inc. were sold off, and the company was renamed Atari Games Inc. Atari Games received the rights to use the logo and brand name with appended text "Games" on arcade games, as well as the derivative coin-operated arcade rights to the original 1972–1984 arcade hardware properties. The Atari Consumer Electronics Division properties were in turn sold to Jack ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1981 Video Games
Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensive, gaining control of most of Morazán and Chalatenango departments. * January 15 – Pope John Paul II receives a delegation led by Polish Solidarity leader Lech Wałęsa at the Vatican. * January 20 – Iran releases the 52 Americans held for 444 days, minutes after Ronald Reagan is sworn in as the 40th President of the United States, ending the Iran hostage crisis. * January 21 – The first DeLorean automobile, a stainless steel sports car with gull-wing doors, rolls off the production line in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland. * January 24 – An earthquake of magnitude in Sichuan, China, kills 150 people. Japan suffers a less serious earthquake on the same day. * January 25 – In South Africa the largest part of the town La ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Creative Computing
''Creative Computing'' was one of the earliest magazines covering the microcomputer revolution. Published from October 1974 until December 1985, the magazine covered the spectrum of hobbyist/home/personal computing in a more accessible format than the rather technically oriented ''Byte (magazine), Byte''. The magazine was created to cover educational-related topics. Early issues include articles on the use of computers in the classroom, various simple programs like madlibs and various programming challenges, mostly in BASIC programming language, BASIC. By the late 1970s, it had moved towards more general coverage as the microcomputer market emerged. Hardware coverage became more common, but type-in programs remained common into the early 1980s. The company published several books, the most successful being ''BASIC Computer Games'', the first million-selling computer book. Their ''Best of Creative Computing'' collections were also popular. ''Creative Computing'' also published so ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Computer Gaming World
''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through the 1990s and became one of the largest dedicated video game magazines, reaching around 500 pages by 1997. In the early 2000s its circulation was about 300,000, only slightly behind the market leader ''PC Gamer''. But, like most magazines of the era, the rapid move of its advertising revenue to internet properties led to a decline in revenue. In 2006, Ziff announced it would be refocused as ''Games for Windows'', before moving it to solely online format, and then shutting down completely later the same year. History In 1979, Russell Sipe left the Southern Baptist Convention ministry. A fan of computer games, he realized in spring 1981 that no magazine was dedicated to computer games. Although Sipe had no publishing experience, he formed ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shadow World (video Game)
''Shadow World'' is a shoot 'em up for the Atari 8-bit family written by Mike Potter and published by Synapse Software in 1983. The players are in charge of defending their planet from an alien invasion. The game supports two players at once, splitting the screen vertically into two halves, and merging them on the fly when both players are in the same location. Gameplay The game shares elements of Potter's first Atari game, ''Protector'', itself based graphically on the arcade game, ''Defender''. Like ''Defender'', the action is primarily side-scrolling on a map that wraps around to allow continual travel to the left or right. ''Shadow World'' adds a limited amount of vertical scrolling motion as well. Compared to ''Protector'', ''Shadow World'' has much more action with significant numbers of moving objects. The game also shares elements with his earlier game ''Nautilus'', notably the way the planet is laid out onscreen and the way the player has to destroy certain enemies b ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nautilus (video Game)
''Nautilus'' is a video game for the Atari 8-bit family of home computers created by Mike Potter and published by Synapse Software in 1982. The players control a submarine, the ''Nautilus'', or a destroyer, the ''Colossus'', attempting to either destroy or rebuild an underwater city. The game the first to feature a "split screen" display to allow both players to move at the same time. Gameplay ''Nautilus'' starts with player one in control of the submarine, visible in the lower pane of the split-screen display. The joystick allows the player to move left and right or rise and sink. The player can shoot their Thunderbolt torpedoes to the right or left in the direction of travel. The primary task for the player is to move into location beside the various underwater buildings and destroy them with their torpedoes in order to expose their energy core, which can be picked up by moving over it. The player wins the level by collecting all of the cores. Player two, or the computer ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Epyx
Epyx, Inc. was a video game developer and publisher active in the late 1970s and 1980s. The company was founded as Automated Simulations by Jim Connelley and Jon Freeman, originally using Epyx as a brand name for action-oriented games before renaming the company to match in 1983. Epyx published a long series of games through the 1980s. The company is currently owned by Bridgestone Multimedia Group Global. History Formation In 1977, Susan Lee-Merrow invited Jon Freeman to join a Dungeons & Dragons game hosted by Jim Connelley and Jeff Johnson. Connelley later purchased a Commodore PET computer to help with the bookkeeping involved in being a dungeon master, and came up with the idea of writing a computer game for the machine before the end of the year so he could write it off on his taxes. Freeman had written on gaming for several publications, and joined Connelley in the design of a new space-themed wargame. Starting work around August 1978, Freeman wrote the basic rules, missio ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |