''Oink!'' is an

Atari 2600 The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocesso ...

video game designed by Mike Lorenzen and released by

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one ...

in 1983. ''Oink!'' is inspired by the fairy tale "

The Three Little Pigs "The Three Little Pigs" is a fable about three pigs who build three houses of different materials. A Big Bad Wolf blows down the first two pigs' houses which made of straw and sticks respectively, but is unable to destroy the third pig's house t ...

" and casts the player as a pig defending his home from a wolf bent on destroying it.

Gameplay

Three pigs, each with their own house, find themselves being attacked by the nefarious Bigelow B. Wolf ( B. B. Wolf, for short). The wolf attempts to break through the three-layer-deep wall of the pigs' homes by blowing away pieces of the wall. Simultaneously, the pig must collect patches from the top of the screen and drop them into holes in the wall at the bottom, thus protecting the pig from the wolf's breath. If the pig should be hit by the wolf's breath, he will be stunned and start to fall out of the house. A life will be lost if the hole in the wall is big enough for the pig to fall completely through. The wall in the first house is yellow, representing the straw used to build the first little pig's house. Similarly, the wall in the second house is brown, as the second little pig's house was made of sticks, and the wall in the final house is red, since the third pig's house was made of bricks. The player scores four points for each patch applied to the wall. When all the patches are used, a new row of patches appears, and the wolf's attacks speed up. Each time a new row appears, the point value for the patches multiplies; for example, each patch from the third row would be worth twelve points. ''Oink!'' has a total of three gameplay variations. The first game is for one player, and the remaining two are for two players. The second game has the two players alternating playing the role of the pigs. In the third game, one player plays the pigs while the other player controls the wolf. When the wolf is successful in catching a pig, the roles alternate, such that both players assume each role three times. In this variation, the player can only score points when playing as the pigs.

Patch

During the game's original release, players who scored over 25,000 points could photograph their scores on their TV screens and send the pictures to Activision in exchange for an "Oinkers" patch.

Reception

''Oink!'' received "1984 Most Humorous Video Game/Computer Game" award at the 5th annual

Arkie Awards 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 ...

Legacy

''Oink!'' is included in the ''

Activision Anthology ''Activision Anthology'' is a compilation of most of the Atari 2600 games by Activision for various game systems. It also includes games that were originally released by Absolute Entertainment and Imagic, as well as various homebrew games. The ...

'' collection.

References

External links