''Sundance'' is a

puzzle A puzzle is a game, Problem solving, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together (Disentanglement puzzle, or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to arrive at th ...

arcade video game An arcade video game takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. Most arcade video games are coin-operated, housed in an arca ...

using

vector graphics Vector graphics is a form of computer graphics in which visual images are created directly from geometric shapes defined on a Cartesian plane, such as points, lines, curves and polygons. The associated mechanisms may include vector display a ...

released by Cinematronics in 1979. The game consists of two grids floating in a

pseudo-3D 2.5D (two-and-a-half dimensional) perspective refers to gameplay or movement in a video game or virtual reality environment that is restricted to a two-dimensional (2D) plane with little to no access to a third dimension in a space that otherwise ...

space with small

suns Suns may refer to: * Gold Coast Suns, Australian rules football team * Phoenix Suns, basketball team *The Sun, the star of the solar system * Stars, massive balls of plasma * Sun (unit), or cun, a traditional Chinese unit of length *An abbreviatio ...

bouncing between them.

Gameplay

The player scores points by opening a hole in the grid to capture the suns as they danced/bounced. The player can shoot a nova from an open hole, thereby saving time by not having to wait for the sun to bounce into the hole. If the nova misses the sun, it bounces between grids until it is swallowed up into an open hole. There can only be one nova on the screen at any given time. As the suns bounced, the grids moves closer and closer, making gameplay more difficult. The game ends when the grids fully converged.

Release

The game had only a small production run and was plagued with hardware failures due to its unconventional design. According to

Tim Skelly Tim Skelly (February 10, 1951 – death reported March 2, 2020) was a video game designer and game programmer who developed arcade games for Cinematronics from 1978 until 1981. He designed a series of pure action games using black and white vect ...

, the game's designer, ''Sundance'' used an additional

daughterboard In computing, an expansion card (also called an expansion board, adapter card, peripheral card or accessory card) is a printed circuit board that can be inserted into an electrical connector, or expansion slot (also referred to as a bus s ...

that controlled the intensity of certain vectors. This board and its connections were rather fragile and prone to failure. Also, the monitor used a defective carbon coating spray which tended to cause the monitor's tube to arc if it was left in a certain position, destroying the monitor.History of Cinematronics Inc
/ref>

References

External links

* * - Account of the salvage and restoration of a surviving Sundance cabinet and the controversy that ensued. * - An account of the discovery of a cabinet for the Sega licensed version of Sundance that had been converted to Asteroids at a later date. * - Gameplay Video 1979 video games Arcade video games Arcade-only video games Multiplayer and single-player video games Multiplayer hotseat games Vector arcade video games Video games developed in the United States {{puzzle-videogame-stub