''Threshold'' is a space-themed fixed shooter written by Warren Schwader and Ken Williams for the

Apple II The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...

and published by

On-Line Systems In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" or ...

in 1981. Inspired by

Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...

's ''

Astro Blaster ''Astro Blaster'' is a space-themed fixed shooter released in arcades by Sega in 1981. It was designed and programmed by Gary Shannon and Barbara Michalec. The game uses speech synthesis and during attract mode a voice says "Fighter pilots n ...

'' arcade video game, ''Threshold'' introduces many enemy ship types and wave formations as the game progresses. Reviewers found the variety distinguished the game from the many similar shoot 'em ups. Ports to other systems were released on ROM cartridge:

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, ...

and

VIC-20 The VIC-20 (known as the VC-20 in Germany and the VIC-1001 in Japan) is an 8-bit home computer that was sold by Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commodore's first personal computer, the PE ...

in 1981,

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

in 1983, and ColecoVision and Thomson computers in 1984. An Atari 2600 adaptation was published by

Tigervision Tigervision was a subsidiary of Tiger Toys which produced video games for the Atari 2600, Atari 8-bit family, TI-99/4A, VIC-20 and Commodore 64. Most of their games were ports. '' Polaris'' and '' River Patrol'' were originally arcade games from ...

in 1982. Schwader also wrote the 1983 Apple II platform game '' Sammy Lightfoot''.

Gameplay

The player controls the spaceship ''Threshold'', using its laser weapon to destroy waves of alien attackers. When a wave is eliminated, another appears. As in ''Astro Blaster'', firing the laser increases its temperature, and it cools when not in use. If the temperature bar fills completely, then the weapon cannot be used until it fully cools. Once per ship, pulling back on the joystick activates a "warp drive" that slows the action down.

Development

The game was inspired by Ken Williams playing an ''

'' arcade machine in a store and calling Warren Schwader. In an interview in '' Halcyon Days'', Schwader said: It took two months to implement. Williams only worked on the project for two weeks of that time, writing the Apple II animation routines.

Reception

''Threshold'' sold approximately 25,000 copies. Tigervision's Atari 2600 port received a "Certificate of Merit" in the "Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Videogame" category of the 1983 Arcade Awards. Reviewing the Apple II original for ''

Creative Computing ''Creative Computing'' was one of the earliest magazines covering the microcomputer revolution. Published from October 1974 until December 1985, the magazine covered the spectrum of hobbyist/home/personal computing in a more accessible format th ...

'', David Lubar wrote, "The animation in ''Threshold'' is superb", and he found the number of enemy types and waves to be a strong point. ''The Book of Atari Software 1983'' gave the Atari 8-bit port a B rating: "It's the usual scenario, with this exception: the game offers unusual depth and variety." They found they sometimes mistook the stars in the animated background as enemy bullets. In '' Ahoy!'' magazine, R.J. Michaels led off his review with, "Only humor saves this game from being a run of the mill slide-and-shoot burn-the-alien-invaders game." Appraising the Atari 8-bit computer version, '' Electronic Games'' noticed the ''Astro Blaster'' connection and wrote "The graphics in ''Threshold'' are tremendous." The reviewer disliked the loading that occurs every so often between levels and found the game overall too difficult.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite web , title=The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers, url=https://dadgum.com/giantlist/ , last1=Hague , first=James {{cite journal , last1=Lubar , first1=David , title=Let the Games Begin , journal=Creative Computing , date=April 1982 , volume=8 , issue=4 , page=56 , url=https://archive.org/details/creativecomputing-1982-04-a/page/n57/mode/2up {{cite book , title=Halcyon Days: Interviews with Classic Computer and Video Game Programmers , date=1997 , url=https://dadgum.com/halcyon/BOOK/SCHWADER.HTM

Softalk ''Softalk'' () was an American magazine of the early 1980s that focused on the Apple II computer. Published from September 1980 through August 1984, it featured articles about hardware and software associated with the Apple II platform and the peo ...

''
Review
in ''

'' 1981 video games Alien invasions in video games Apple II games Atari 8-bit family games Atari 2600 games VIC-20 games Commodore 64 games ColecoVision games Fixed shooters Video game clones Video games developed in the United States Tigervision games

Gameplay

Development

Reception

References

External links