''Chiller'' is a

light gun A light gun is a pointing device for computers and a control device for arcade and video games, typically shaped to resemble a pistol. Early history The first light guns were produced in the 1930s, following the development of light-sensing ...

arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade v ...

released in 1986 by

Exidy Exidy was a developer and manufacturer of coin-operated amusements. The company was founded by H.R. "Pete" Kauffman and Samuel Hawes in 1973. The name "Exidy" was a portmanteau of the words "Excellence in Dynamics". Notable games released by Exid ...

. An unlicensed

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

was released for the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...

in 1990 by

American Game Cartridges American Game Cartridges (AGC) was an American video game developer and publisher established as a subsidiary of ShareData in 1990. Like ShareData, American Game Cartridges was headquartered in Chandler, Arizona. AGC published three video games f ...

in the US, and in Australia by HES (

Home Entertainment Suppliers Home Entertainment Suppliers Pty. Ltd. (or HES) is an Australian company that distributes computer games and gaming equipment. HES' offices are based in Riverwood, Sydney. HES's founder and managing director is MR Sebastian Giompaolo. They b ...

), with the option of using either the standard controller or the

NES Zapper The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...

. In the game, the player takes on the role of an unseen

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

r who must maim, mutilate, and murder restrained

non-player character A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster o ...

s in a variety of

dungeon A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period. An oubliette (from ...

settings. Few of the NPCs in the game are capable of fighting back, with the challenge element lying in how quickly the player can cause each of the victims to die.

Gameplay

The game consists of four main levels: the ''torture chamber'', the ''rack room'', the ''haunted house hallway'', and the ''graveyard''. If enough score is accumulated by completing these levels successfully, a final ''bonus round'' is unlocked, which consists of a

target practice In the military and in shooting, target practice are exercises in which weapons are shot at a target. The purpose of such exercises is to improve the aim or the weapons handling expertise of the person firing the weapon. Targets being shot at ...

where objects traveling at increasingly high speeds must be shot. Between each level, a bonus score can be obtained by winning at the

slot machine A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively a ...

. The first two levels feature seemingly human NPCs restrained by medieval torture devices. The player must discover how to kill these characters in the shortest possible amount of time. Although it is possible to shoot them to death, this process is inefficient as direct shots only result in chunks of flesh being blown away, leaving the victims alive. Instead, the challenge lies in finding ways to activate the torture devices, resulting in quicker and bloodier deaths. After the first two levels, the game transitions into a more traditional

shooting game Shooter video games or shooters are a subgenre of action video games where the focus is almost entirely on the defeat of the character's enemies using the weapons given to the player. Usually these weapons are firearms or some other long-range ...

; the player must kill

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Nota ...

creatures, such as

zombie A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...

ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

s, and

mummies A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furth ...

Reception

The game sold poorly in the United States because arcade owners refused to purchase it; Exidy successfully marketed it to

third world countries The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the "First W ...

. Modern reviewers often criticize the game for its senseless violence and encouraging the torture and murder of apparently innocent people, as opposed to the gamer fighting enemies capable of defending themselves.

References

External links

* {{NES Zapper 1986 video games Arcade video games Exidy games Unauthorized video games 1980s horror video games Light gun games Nintendo Entertainment System games Obscenity controversies in video games Video games developed in the United States Video games set in castles Video games set in cemeteries