is a 1980
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 ...
designed by
Universal
Universal is the adjective for universe.
Universal may also refer to:
Companies
* NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company
** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal
** Universal TV, a ...
. Predating Nintendo's ''
Donkey Kong
is a video game franchise created by Shigeru Miyamoto and owned by Nintendo. It follows the adventures of a gorilla named Donkey Kong (character), Donkey Kong and his clan of other Ape, apes and monkeys. The franchise primarily consists of plat ...
'', and lacking a jump mechanic, ''Space Panic'' was the first game involving climbing ladders between walkable platforms. The genre was initially labeled as "climbing games," but later became known as
platform game
A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...
s. A
ColecoVision
ColecoVision is a second-generation home video-game console developed by Coleco and launched in North America in August 1982. It was released a year later in Europe by CBS Electronics as the CBS ColecoVision.
The console offered a closer expe ...
port by
CBS Electronics
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
was released in the winter holiday season of 1982.
The original arcade game was commercially successful in Japan but unsuccessful in North America. ''Space Panic'' inspired a number of clones, most notably ''
Apple Panic
''Apple Panic'' is a game for the Apple II programmed by Ben Serki and published by Broderbund Software in 1981. ''Apple Panic'' is an unauthorized version of the 1980 arcade game ''Space Panic'', the first game with ladders and platforms. While ...
'' which became a top-seller for
home computers. ''
Lode Runner
''Lode Runner'' is a 2D puzzle-platform game, developed by Doug Smith and published by Broderbund in 1983. Its gameplay mechanics are similar to ''Space Panic'' from 1980. The player controls a character who must collect all the gold pieces in a ...
'' (1983) later put its own spin on climbing and digging, a lineage which eventually took on the name
puzzle-platform game
A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...
s.
Gameplay
The main character can move along platforms and climb the ladders between them. The goal is to dig holes in the platforms and lure
alien
Alien primarily refers to:
* Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country
** Enemy alien, the above in times of war
* Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth
** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...
s into them. Hitting a trapped alien with the shovel knocks them out of the hole and off the screen. In later
levels, two or more holes must be lined up vertically in order to dispose of stronger aliens.
There is a limited supply of
oxygen
Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...
, which acts as a
timer
A timer is a specialized type of clock used for measuring specific time intervals.
Timers can be categorized into two main types.
The word "timer" is usually reserved for devices that counts down from a specified time interval, while devices th ...
.
Development
The game's development team included Kazutoshi Ueda, who later went on to design ''
Lady Bug'' (1981) and ''
Mr. Do!
is a 1982 maze game developed by Universal. It is the first arcade video game to be released as a conversion kit for other arcade machines; Taito published the conversion kit in Japan. The game was inspired by Namco's ''Dig Dug'' released earl ...
'' (1982) at Universal and then ''
Bomb Jack
''Bomb Jack'' is a platform video game developed and published by Tehkan for arcades in and later ported to various home systems. The game was a commercial success for arcades and home computers. It was followed by several sequels: the console a ...
'' (1984) and ''
Tehkan World Cup
originally released as in Japan, is an association football video game released to arcades in 1985 by Tehkan, the former name of Tecmo. It features multiplayer gameplay and trackball controllers. It was released in both upright and table arca ...
'' (1985) at
Tehkan
, was a Japanese video game corporation founded in 1967. It had its headquarters in Kudankita, Chiyoda, Tokyo. Its subsidiary, Tecmo Inc, was located in Torrance, California. Tecmo was formerly known as Tehkan.
Tecmo is known for the ''Captain ...
(later known as Tecmo).
The game's concept was inspired by ''
Heiankyo Alien
, known as ''Digger'' in North America, is a maze video game created by the University of Tokyo's Theoretical Science Group (TSG) in 1979.Translation The game was originally developed and released as a personal computer game in 1979, and was then ...
'' (1979), also known as ''Digger'', a top-down
maze game
A maze is a path or collection of paths, typically from an entrance to a goal. The word is used to refer both to branching tour puzzles through which the solver must find a route, and to simpler non-branching ("unicursal") patterns that lea ...
with digging and trapping mechanics. ''Space Panic'' changed it to a side-view gameplay format, while adding platforms and ladders.
Reception
In Japan, ''Space Panic'' was commercially successful. It was tied with ''
Scramble
Scramble, Scrambled, or Scrambling may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Games
* ''Scramble'' (video game), a 1981 arcade game
Music Albums
* ''Scramble'' (album), an album by Atlanta-based band the Coathangers
* ''Scrambles'' (album)
...
'' and ''
Jump Bug
is a 1981 scrolling shooter platform game developed by Alpha Denshi under contract for Hoei Corporation. It was distributed in arcades by Sega in Japan and Europe, and by Rock-Ola in North America. It was the first platform game to include hor ...
'' as the 14th highest-grossing
arcade video game of 1981. In North America, ''Space Panic'' was commercially unsuccessful, which ''
Electronic Games
An electronic game is a game that uses electronics to create an interactive system with which a player can play. Video games are the most common form today, and for this reason the two terms are often used interchangeably. There are other common ...
'' in 1983 attributed to its concepts' novelty to the audience: "not only the first of the climbing games, it was also the first of the digging games. That's quite a load for a player on a new game. No punning intended when I say that the rungs were too high for the average gamer to scale." The magazine reported that the average play time was 30 seconds.
In a retrospective review of the ColecoVision version for ''Digital Press Online'', Kevin Oleniacz concluded, "Coleco had resurrected several short-lived arcade games and transformed them into home favorites, but they should have let ''Space Panic'' rest in peace."
Legacy
While the original arcade game was unsuccessful in North America, the concept found success in the unauthorized home computer version, ''
Apple Panic
''Apple Panic'' is a game for the Apple II programmed by Ben Serki and published by Broderbund Software in 1981. ''Apple Panic'' is an unauthorized version of the 1980 arcade game ''Space Panic'', the first game with ladders and platforms. While ...
'' (1981), which was more successful than the original game in North America.
It also inspired ''
Lode Runner
''Lode Runner'' is a 2D puzzle-platform game, developed by Doug Smith and published by Broderbund in 1983. Its gameplay mechanics are similar to ''Space Panic'' from 1980. The player controls a character who must collect all the gold pieces in a ...
'' (1983),
which has a similar look and also uses the basic premise of digging holes to trap enemies.
Universal revisited the genre with ''
Mr. Do's Castle'' (1983), which expanded upon the play styles explored in ''Space Panic''.
Video game historian Michael Thomasson, writing for ''Old School Gamer Magazine'', considers ''Space Panic'' to be the "foundation of all platformers" despite being "a rather obscure" cult classic, stating that it "revolutionized game design by introducing novel game mechanics and birthed a new genre."
It was also one of the earliest "digging" type games (after ''Heiankyo Alien''), which are variously called "trap 'em up" or "digging games".
''
Horace and the Spiders'' (1983) includes a ''Space Panic'' inspired level.
Clones
References
{{reflist
External links
''Space Panic''at
KLOV
Klov ( uk, Клов) is a Subdivisions of Kyiv#Historical neighborhoods, historical neighbourhood in the Ukraine, Ukrainian capital Kyiv. Nowadays Klov is located in the Subdivisions of Kyiv#Raions of Kyiv, administrative Pecherskyi District.
T ...
1980 video games
Arcade video games
ColecoVision games
Platform games
Video games developed in Japan
Video games about extraterrestrial life
Science fiction video games
Universal Entertainment games
Multiplayer and single-player video games