Atari 2600
The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocessor- ...
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
designed by
Steve Cartwright
Steve Cartwright is an American video game designer. He is best known as one of the original Activision game designers, credited with such games as ''Barnstorming'', ''Megamania'', ''Seaquest'' and ''Hacker''.
Activision
In 1982, Cartwright joi ...
and published by
Activision
Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...
in
1982
Events January
* January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00).
* January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
. It was the first game designed by Cartwright. The idea for ''Barnstorming'' came to him as he watched a biplane one day while driving home from work.
Gameplay
The player must pilot a
biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...
through a series of
barn
A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Allen G. ...
s in the shortest time possible while dodging
windmill
A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called windmill sail, sails or blades, specifically to mill (grinding), mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and ...
s,
weather vane
A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...
s, and
geese
A goose (plural, : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family (biology), family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera ''Anser (bird), Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (the black geese). Some o ...
. Bumping into anything slows down the plane for a couple of seconds, increasing the overall time.
There are four levels of play determined by the game select switch. Game 1 is ''Hedge Hopper'' (10 barns), game 2 is ''Crop Duster'' (15 barns), game 3 is ''Stunt Pilot'' (15 barns), and game 4 is ''Flying Ace'' (25 barns). In the first three games, the course layout of barns, windmills, and even geese do not change, making it easy to memorize the layout. Game 4 is the only game with a random course.
Originally, a player with a time or better of 33.3 seconds on game 1, 51.0 seconds on game 2, or 54.0 seconds on game 3 could send Activision a picture of their screen and receive membership in the Activision Flying Aces and a Flying Aces patch.
Reception
Richard A. Edwards reviewed ''Barnstorming'' in ''
The Space Gamer
''The Space Gamer'' was a magazine dedicated to the subject of science fiction and fantasy board games and tabletop role-playing games. It quickly grew in importance and was an important and influential magazine in its subject matter from the la ...
'' No. 54. Edwards commented that "This is a game no Atari VCS owner should be without. Buy it."
Reviews
*''
Tilt
Tilt may refer to:
Music
* Tilt (American band), a punk rock group, formed in 1992
* Tilt (British band), an electronic music group, formed in 1993
* Tilt (Polish band), a rock band, formed in 1979
Albums
* ''Tilt'' (Cozy Powell album), 1981
* ...
List of Atari 2600 games
This is a list of games for the Atari Video Computer System, a console renamed to the Atari 2600 in November 1982. Sears licensed the console and many games from Atari, Inc., selling them under different names. A few cartridges were Sears exclu ...