ChipWits is a programming game for the

Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...

written by Doug Sharp and Mike Johnston and published by BrainPower software in 1984. Ports to the

Apple II The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...

and

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

were published by Epyx in 1985. The player uses a

visual programming language In computing, a visual programming language (visual programming system, VPL, or, VPS) is any programming language that lets users create programs by manipulating program elements ''graphically'' rather than by specifying them ''textually''. A VP ...

to teach a virtual robot how to navigate various mazes of varying difficulty. The game straddles the line between entertainment and programming education.

Development

The game was developed using the MacFORTH implementation of the

Forth Forth or FORTH may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''forth'' magazine, an Internet magazine * ''Forth'' (album), by The Verve, 2008 * ''Forth'', a 2011 album by Proto-Kaw * Radio Forth, a group of independent local radio stations in Scotla ...

programming language for the

Macintosh 128K The Apple Macintosh—later rebranded as the Macintosh 128K—is the original Apple Inc., Apple Macintosh personal computer. It played a pivotal role in establishing desktop publishing as a general office function. The motherboard, a CRT monit ...

Reception

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 ...

'' preferred ''

Robot Odyssey ''Robot Odyssey'' is a puzzle video game developed by Mike Wallace, Dr. Leslie Grimm and published by The Learning Company in December 1984. It was released for the Apple II, TRS-80 Color Computer, and DOS. Most players have found it incredibly ...

'' to ''ChipWits'' but stated that both were "incredibly vivid simulation experiences". The magazine criticized ''ChipWits'' inability to save more than 16 robots or copy a robot to a new save slot, and cautioned that it "may be too simple for people familiar with programming". The magazine added that the criticism was "more a cry for a more complex Chipwits II game than condemnation of the current product". ''ChipWits'' won multiple awards, including MACazine Best of '85 and MacUser's Editor's Choice 1985 Award, as well as being name
The 8th Best Apple Game of All Time by Maclife

Reviews

*''

Games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

'' #66

Legacy

From 2006 to 2008, Mike Johnston and Doug Sharp developed and released ''ChipWits II'', written in

Adobe AIR Adobe AIR (also known as Adobe Integrated Runtime and is codenamed Apollo) is a cross-platform runtime system currently developed by Harman International, in collaboration with Adobe Inc., for building desktop applications and mobile applicatio ...

. That version featured several innovations including an in-game tutorial, updated graphics, a soundtrack,

isometric The term ''isometric'' comes from the Greek for "having equal measurement". isometric may mean: * Cubic crystal system, also called isometric crystal system * Isometre, a rhythmic technique in music. * "Isometric (Intro)", a song by Madeon from ...

and 3D rendering, several new chips, and new missions. That version is no longer supported, but the original site is archived a

In September 2021, ChipWits, Inc. was formed by Doug Sharp and Mark Roth to create a modern reboot of the game. The new version is being written in Unity (game engine), Unity and is in early access testing.Official website
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References

External links