''Capture the Flag'' is a 3D first-person perspective, two player, video game, released for the

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

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 Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commodore's first personal computer, the PE ...

by Sirius Software in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

. It was written by Paul Allen Edelstein as the follow-up to his

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 ...

game, ''

Wayout ''Wayout'' is a 3D First-person (video games), first-person perspective video game programmed by Paul Allen Edelstein, originally published for the Atari 8-bit family, Atari 8-bit computers in 1982. It was released for the Apple II series, Apple ...

'', which has similar maze-based gameplay for one player. Along with its predecessor, ''Capture the Flag'' was among the first 3D

maze games Maze game is a video game genre description first used by journalists during the 1980s to describe any game in which the entire playing field is a maze. Quick player action is required to escape monsters, outrace an opponent, or navigate the maz ...

to offer the player full 360 degree movement, and one of the earliest

multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...

games from a first-person perspective within a 3D rendered environment.

Gameplay

''Capture the Flag'' is essentially a two player version of ''

'', with one player (the "Invader") trying to find the exit (or 'flag') in the maze while the other player (the 'Defender') tries to stop them, a role similar to the computer-controlled "Cleptangle" from the first game. The main difference is that the game's display is

split-screen Split screen may refer to: * Split screen (computing), dividing graphics into adjacent parts * Split screen (video production), the visible division of the screen * Split Screen (TV series), ''Split Screen'' (TV series), 1997–2001 * Split-Scree ...

, allowing each of the two players to view the maze from their own perspective. In the single-player version, the computer takes the role of the defender. Each player is represented within the maze as a simple, rectangular-shaped, blue or green

avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...

. If the Invader finds the flag, or the Defender catches the Invader, a new maze is generated and the chase starts again. Another progression from

is that instead of a finite number of mazes, ''Capture the Flag'' can create an infinite number of randomly generated mazes. ''Capture the Flag'' also uses the mapmaker feature from ''

'', which draws the map in 2D in the lower half of the screen as each of the players move around the map. This allows each player to see the whereabouts of their opponent, but the 2D

automap A mini-map or minimap is a miniature map that is often placed at a screen corner in video games to aid players in orienting themselves within the game world. They are often only a small portion of the screen and must be selective in what details ...

can be switched off to heighten the tension.

Controls

Players can choose to control their character using a

joystick A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. A joystick, also known as the control column, is the principal cont ...

or the

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

utilizing one of two methods; "Compass Movement" or "Walking Movement". Compass Movement allows the player to simply move as they would in a 2D game and watch their movements via the

in the lower half of the screen, whereas Walking Movement allows them to use the 3D view and use the control to move forward and turn left or right. For the two player option, players must use both the

and the

Music

''Capture the Flag'' uses layered

dynamic music In video games, adaptive music (also called dynamic or interactive music) is background music whose volume, rhythm or tune changes in response to specific events in the game. History Adaptive music was first used in the video game ''Frogger'' by ...

which changes depending on the proximity of the two players. It was composed by George Sanger and was one of the first games he worked on.

Reception

''Electronic Fun'' magazine gave a very positive review in its February 1984 issue, scoring the game 4 out of 4, and said that ''Capture the Flag'' was a huge improvement on ''

''. The reviewer wrote, "it's very rare to see a good game design wholly redone by the same designer, rarer still to see him improve on his original in every single respect." In their May 1984 issue review, ''Electronic Games'' magazine emphasised the fun aspect of playing against a human opponent, rather than a computer one, and how the music in the game added to the experience: "the music which gets louder with the close proximity of the opposing player begins to get more frenetic, and so the gamer slams into even more walls."

References

{{reflist

External links

''Capture the Flag''
at Atari Mania 1983 video games Atari 8-bit family games VIC-20 games Maze games Sirius Software games Split-screen multiplayer games Video games developed in the United States Video games scored by George Sanger