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Atari Program Exchange
Atari Program Exchange (APX) was a division of Atari, Inc. that sold software via mail-order for Atari 8-bit computers from 1981 until 1984. Quarterly APX catalogs were sent to all registered Atari 8-bit owners. APX encouraged any programmer, not just professionals, to submit video games, educational software, applications, and utilities. A few internally developed Atari products were sold through APX, such as Atari Pascal, the developer handbook '' De Re Atari'', and a port of the arcade video game ''Kangaroo''. If accepted, a submitted program was added to the catalog with credit given to the programmer. The top submissions of the quarter in each category were recognized. One program each year received the top honor: the Atari Star award. APX releases ''Eastern Front (1941)'', '' Caverns of Mars'', and Atari Star winner '' Typo Attack'', were moved to Atari's official product line. The brainchild of Dale Yocum, the Atari Program Exchange started in February 1981. In 1982 its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atari 8-bit Computers
The Atari 8-bit computers, formally launched as the Atari Home Computer System, are a series of home computers introduced by Atari, Inc., in 1979 with the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The architecture is designed around the 8-bit MOS Technology 6502 CPU and three custom coprocessors which provide support for sprites, smooth multidirectional scrolling, four channels of audio, and other features. The graphics and sound are more advanced than most of its contemporaries, and video games are a key part of the software library. The 1980 first-person space combat simulator ''Star Raiders'' is considered the platform's killer app. The Atari 800 was positioned as a high-end model and the 400 as more affordable. The 400 has a pressure-sensitive, spillproof membrane keyboard and initially shipped with a non-upgradable of RAM. The 800 has a conventional keyboard, a second cartridge slot, and allows easy RAM upgrades to 48K. Both use identical 6502 CPUs at ( for PAL versions) and coprocess ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
De Re Atari
''De Re Atari'' (Latin for "All About Atari"), subtitled ''A Guide to Effective Programming'', is a book written by Atari, Inc. employees in 1981 and published by the Atari Program Exchange in 1982 as an unbound, shrink-wrapped set of three-holed punched pages. It was one of the few non-software products sold by APX. Targeted at developers, it documents the advanced features of the Atari 8-bit computers and includes ideas for how to use them in applications. The information in the book was not available in a single, collected source at the time of publication. The content of ''De Re Atari'' was serialized in ''BYTE'' beginning in 1981, prior to the book's publication. The release of Atari 8-bit technical details through the magazine and book quickly resulted in other sources being published, such as ''COMPUTE!'s First Book of Atari Graphics'' (1982). Atari published official documentation for the hardware and a source listing of the operating system the same year, 1982, but th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Getaway! (video Game)
''Getaway!'' is a crime-themed, multidirectional-scrolling maze game for Atari 8-bit computers. It was designed by Mark Reid and published by the Atari Program Exchange (APX) in 1982. In ''Getaway!'', the player drives around a large city stealing cash, valuable items, and the contents of armored trucks, then must return the loot to their hideout. Three different police vehicles pursue, getting more aggressive as more crimes are committed. The game won the 1983 $25,000 Atari Star Award for best APX submission, but promotion of the game was affected by the video game crash of 1983. The Atari Program Exchange also sold foot posters of the ''Getaway!'' city map. Gameplay ''Getaway!'' takes place on multidirectional-scrolling map of a town, 35 screens in size, containing bridges, factories, neighborhoods, and an airport. The player leaves the hideout and drives around the city using up gasoline in the process. Pausing at a gas station refills the tank. Also in the maze are dollar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Front (1941)
''Eastern Front (1941)'' is a computer wargame for Atari 8-bit computers created by Chris Crawford (game designer), Chris Crawford and published through the Atari Program Exchange (APX) in 1981. A scenario editor and assembly language source code for the game were also sold by APX as separate products. Recreating the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front during World War II, ''Eastern Front'' covers the historical area of operations during 1941–1942. The player commands German units at the corps level as they Operation Barbarossa, invade the Soviet Union in 1941 and fight the computer-controlled Russians. The game simulates terrain, weather, supplies, unit morale, and fatigue. A killer app for Atari computers, ''Eastern Front'' was among APX's best selling games, selling over 60,000 copies. It was widely lauded in the press and was ''Creative Computing''s Game of the Year in 1981. In 1982, it was licensed by Atari for distribution on game cartridge, then rereleased in 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Excalibur (video Game)
''Excalibur'' is a resource management strategy video game for Atari 8-bit computers published in 1983. It was designed by Chris Crawford and developed with the help of Larry Summers and Valerie Atkinson. Like Crawford's earlier ''Eastern Front (1941)'', ''Excalibur'' was released through the Atari Program Exchange. Gameplay The object of the game is to unite all of Britain under the rule of King Arthur. The players can invade kingdoms, set tithes for their vassals, send plagues and pestilences (with the help of Merlin) and manage the loyalty of their own Round Table by rewarding their knights or, if they grow too disloyal, by banishing them. Reception ''Electronic Games'' stated that "''Excalibur'' is a grand effort". ''Antic'' stated that the game "easily ranks as the finest programming achievement to date by Chris Crawford ... one of the richest gaming experiences ever". ''Computer Gaming World'' in 1984 called ''Excalibur'' "a magnificent piece of software". It praised the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bristles (video Game)
''Bristles'' is a non-scrolling platform game by Fernando Herrera for Atari 8-bit computers. It was published in 1983 as the second release from the company he co-founded, First Star Software. It was ported to the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, and as an arcade video game using Exidy's Max-A-Flex system. As Peter the Painter, the player uses ladders and elevators move through a cutaway view of a house to paint all the walls. Gameplay The player controls Peter the Painter with the goal of painting the walls of eight different houses within a time limit. To move between the different floors Peter can ride an elevator or climb a ladder. If he gets caught in an open elevator shaft, Peter is sent to the bottom of the building. Dangerous objects that hinder Peter's task include "flying half pints" that knock him down and "dumb buckets" that steal Peter's brush. Later levels add "Brenda the Brat", who leaves handprints all over the freshly painted walls, and the "Bucket Chucker" who n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Video Game Crash Of 1983
The video game crash of 1983 (known in Japan as the Atari shock) was a large-scale recession in the video game industry that occurred from 1983 to 1985 in the United States. The crash was attributed to several factors, including market saturation in the number of video game consoles and available games, many of which shovelware, were of poor quality. Waning interest in console games in favor of personal computers also played a role. Home video game revenue peaked at around $3.2 billion in 1983, then fell to around $100 million by 1985 (a drop of almost 97%). The crash abruptly ended what is retrospectively considered the second generation of console video gaming in North America. To a lesser extent, the arcade video game market also weakened as the golden age of arcade video games came to an end. Lasting about two years, the crash shook a then-booming video game industry and led to the bankruptcy of several companies producing home computers and video game consoles. Analysts of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Source Code
In computing, source code, or simply code or source, is a plain text computer program written in a programming language. A programmer writes the human readable source code to control the behavior of a computer. Since a computer, at base, only understands machine code, source code must be Translator (computing), translated before a computer can Execution (computing), execute it. The translation process can be implemented three ways. Source code can be converted into machine code by a compiler or an assembler (computing), assembler. The resulting executable is machine code ready for the computer. Alternatively, source code can be executed without conversion via an interpreter (computing), interpreter. An interpreter loads the source code into memory. It simultaneously translates and executes each statement (computer science), statement. A method that combines compilation and interpretation is to first produce bytecode. Bytecode is an intermediate representation of source code tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ROM Cartridge
A ROM cartridge, usually referred to in context simply as a cartridge, cart, cassette, or card, is a replaceable part designed to be connected to a consumer electronics device such as a home computer, video game console or, to a lesser extent, electronic musical instruments. Read-Only Memory, ROM cartridges allow users to rapidly load and access programs and data alongside a floppy drive in a home computer; in a video game console, the cartridges are standalone. At the time around their release, ROM cartridges provided security against Software copyunauthorised copying of software. However, the manufacturing of ROM cartridges was more expensive than floppy disks, and the storage capacity was smaller. ROM cartridges and slots were also used for various hardware accessories and enhancements. The widespread usage of the ROM cartridge in video gaming applications has led it to be often colloquially called a game cartridge. History ROM cartridges were popularized by early home ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atari, Inc
Atari, Inc. was an American video game developer and home computer company founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. Atari was a key player in the formation of the video arcade and video game industry. The company was founded in Sunnyvale, California, in the center of Silicon Valley, to develop arcade games, starting with ''Pong'' in 1972. As computer technology matured with low-cost integrated circuits, Atari ventured into the consumer market, first with dedicated home video game console, home versions of ''Pong'' and other arcade successes around 1975, and into programmable consoles using game cartridges with the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS or later branded as the Atari 2600) in 1977. To bring the Atari VCS to market, Bushnell sold Atari to Warner Communications in 1976. In 1978, Warner brought in Ray Kassar to help run the company, but over the next few years, gave Kassar more of a leadership role in the company. Bushnell was fired in 1978, with Kassar name ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dandy (computer Game)
''Dandy'' (later ''Dandy Dungeon'') is a dungeon crawl maze video game for Atari 8-bit computers published by the Atari Program Exchange in 1983. It is one of the first video games with four-player, simultaneous cooperative play. Players equipped with bows and unlimited arrows fight through a maze containing monsters, monster spawners, keys, locked doors, food, and bombs in search of the exit leading to the next level. If a player dies, they can be revived by finding and shooting a heart. The game includes an editor for making new dungeons. ''Dandy'' was written by John Howard Palevich for his undergraduate thesis while attending MIT, drawing inspiration from ''Dungeons & Dragons'', '' Defender'', and arcade maze games. Some of the levels, and level design elements which have become standard in dungeon crawls, were developed by fellow student Joel Gluck. The 1985 Atari Games arcade video game '' Gauntlet'' built upon the core design of ''Dandy'', and a lawsuit from Palevich was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astro Chase
''Astro Chase'' is a multidirectional shooter written by Fernando Herrera for Atari 8-bit computers. It was published by First Star Software in 1982 as the company's first game. Parker Brothers licensed it, releasing cartridge versions for the Atari 8-bit computers and Atari 5200 console in 1983 and a Commodore 64 version in 1984. Exidy licensed it for arcade use with its Max-A-Flex cabinet. Gameplay takes place on a 2D scrolling map of space around Earth, which the player has to defend from an alien force. The primary target is a number of Mega-Mines, which approach the Earth and must be destroyed. Contemporaneous reviewers were impressed by the graphics, but retrospective evaluations have called the game simplistic. Gameplay The game opens with the player looking at a scene at a spaceport, in a simulated 3D view. A flying saucer is hovering just to the right of center, and the player's character is seen exiting a terminal building on the left, walking to the spaceship, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
