''Name This Game and Win $10,000'', usually shortened to ''Name This Game'', is a

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 ...

developed by

U.S. Games U.S. Games Corporation was a video game company founded by Donald Yu, which originally produced handheld electronic sports games. It pivoted to focus exclusively on video game software in 1981, and was acquired by cereal company Quaker Oats in 19 ...

for the Atari 2600.

Gameplay

The player controls a

scuba diver Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...

who must protect a treasure from an

octopus An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bodied, eight- limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttle ...

at the top of the screen: The octopus tries to capture the treasure with its

tentacle In zoology, a tentacle is a flexible, mobile, and elongated organ present in some species of animals, most of them invertebrates. In animal anatomy, tentacles usually occur in one or more pairs. Anatomically, the tentacles of animals work main ...

s. Meanwhile, a

great white shark The great white shark (''Carcharodon carcharias''), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or simply great white, is a species of large mackerel shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major oceans. It is nota ...

tries to distract the diver by swimming back and forth toward the bottom of the screen. The diver loses a life if he is captured by the shark or the octopus's tentacles, or if the air meter runs out. The diver can refill his air meter by touching a long pole which extends from a boat that appears from time to time.

History

The game was conceived by Rob Dubren in February 1982. He offered it to

Parker Bros. Parker Bros (also known at various times as Parker Brothers Manufacturing Company, Parker Brothers Guns, and Parker Bros. Shotguns) was an American firearms firm, mostly producing shotguns from 1867 to 1942. During these years, approximately 242, ...

, who owned the video game license for ''

Jaws Jaws or Jaw may refer to: Anatomy * Jaw, an opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth ** Mandible, the lower jaw Arts, entertainment, and media * Jaws (James Bond), a character in ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''Moonraker'' * ...

'' at the time. After Parker Bros. lost the license, the game was shown to Jim Wickstead of James Wickstead Design Associates, who programmed it from August to October 1982. Originally developed as ''Treasures of the Deep'', the game was picked up by

as ''Guardians of Treasure''. U.S. Games decided to create a contest around the game, releasing it as ''Name This Game and Win $10,000'' with a cash prize to be awarded to the winning name after April 30, 1983. However, before the contest was completed, U.S. Games ceased operation. Carrere Video Distribution released the game in Europe as ''Octopus''.

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...

also planned to include the game in its ''Power Play Arcade #2'' cartridge under the name ''Galleon's Gold'', but development did not proceed past the prototype stage.

Legacy

In 1994, Digital Press held its own naming contest for the game. The winning title, coined by Russ Perry Jr., was ''Going Under'', which alluded not only to the game content, but to the final days of its publisher.

References

{{Reflist

External links

''Name This Game''
at Atari Mania
''Name This Game''
at AtariAge 1982 video games Action games Atari 2600 games Atari 2600-only games Fictional octopuses Fictional sharks Scuba diving video games Single-player video games U.S. Games games Video games developed in the United States Video games with underwater settings