''Slime'' 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, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
for the
Atari 8-bit family
The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The series was successively upgraded to Atari 1200XL , Atari 600XL, Atari 800XL, Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE, Atari 800XE ...
of home computers written by Steve Hales and published by
Synapse Software in 1982. The player attempts to protect their ship from a rain of enormous drops of slime by deflecting them into canisters, while fending off attacks by an alien flying saucer. A
TI-99/4A port was developed as Super Storm, but not released.
Gameplay
The player is in control of a ship floating in the
Sargasso Sea
The Sargasso Sea () is a region of the Atlantic Ocean bounded by four currents forming an ocean gyre. Unlike all other regions called seas, it has no land boundaries. It is distinguished from other parts of the Atlantic Ocean by its char ...
, which is now filled with a slime created by the evil alien Plexarian Invincibles. The game opens with a slime storm approaching, which causes huge drops of slime to slowly fall from the top of the screen. The slime is deadly, destroying the player's ship if it hits it. To the left and right of the ship, constraining its motion to the center of the screen, are Gamma-Tube Absorbers which can destroy the falling slime if the drops fall into it. Any slime that does not fall into the Absorbers causes the sea level to rise, moving all of the action up the screen.
left, Opening scene of ''Slime'', with the initial set of wedges in place. A single drop has made it by the wedges and is about to fall into the sea. The red triangle shape is the cursor.
The player's task is to cause the slime to fall into the Absorbers using a total of 20 wedges that deflect the slime to the side as it falls. At the start of each level, a number of these wedges are already in place forming diagonal barriers, although there is always a hole in the middle that is left unprotected. The player's joystick controls an on-screen cursor that can be positioned in the empty areas, and pressing the fire button causes a new wedge to appear if that location is empty, or remove one if it is already there. Lines of wedges can be produced by holding down the fire button and moving the joystick in the desired direction.
Additionally, the Plexians have sent a
flying saucer
A flying saucer (also referred to as "a flying disc") is a descriptive term for a type of flying craft having a disc or saucer-shaped body, commonly used generically to refer to an anomalous flying object. The term was coined in 1947 but has g ...
that creates large
lightning bolts that destroy some of the wedges it hits. The bolts can also destroy the ship, but they only reach about halfway down the screen so they are only dangerous if the sea level has risen. At higher levels, the saucer also fires fireballs that can destroy individual wedges no matter where they are, and can also seal the Absorbers. In the latter case, a helicopter will appear to attempt to open the Absorber again, and must be protected from the slime.
All of the enemies in the game, including the slime drops, can be destroyed by triggering a wedge on them. Since the wedges appear slowly and the enemies move fairly rapidly, this is not an easy task.
Development
Synapse Software's first success was 1981's ''
Protector'', and quickly followed by a number of games written by a small number of programmers. ''Slime'' was one of the many games released during this earlier period. The basic concept was developed by Synapse's president, Ihor Wolosenko.
[
The project was originally given to a new member of the Synapse team and some progress was made, but the programmer decided to leave the company. Hales had been working on another game, '' Fort Apocalypse'', and was pulled off its development to finish ''Slime''.][ The resulting delay meant Broderbund's '' Choplifter'' reached the market first, and ''Fort Apocalypse'' was often considered a me-too effort.
]
Ports
Atari, Inc. ported ''Slime'', renamed ''Super Storm'', to the TI-99/4A for its Atarisoft label.Jack Tramiel
Jack Tramiel ( ; born Idek Trzmiel; December 13, 1928 – April 8, 2012) was an American businessman and Holocaust survivor, best known for founding Commodore International. The Commodore PET, VIC-20 and Commodore 64 are some home compu ...
.
Reception
'' Antic'' said "Slime is a fiendishly clever, delightfully disgusting game that's guaranteed to give you green dreams for weeks after you get it", but complained about the controls, saying they became difficult to use at higher levels and suggested using a trackball
A trackball is a pointing device consisting of a ball held by a socket containing sensors to detect a rotation of the ball about two axes—like an upside-down ball mouse with an exposed protruding ball. Users roll the ball to position the on ...
might be a solution.
References
Bibliography
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External links
{{Portal, Video games
''Slime''
at Atari Mania
1982 video games
Alien invasions in video games
Atari 8-bit family games
Atari 8-bit family-only games
Fixed shooters
Naval video games
Synapse Software games
Video games developed in the United States
Multiplayer and single-player video games
