Alley Cat is a video game created by Bill Williams and published by Synapse Software for Atari 8-bit computers in 1983. The player controls Freddy the Cat, who enters people's homes through open windows to perform various tasks in order to reach his love, Felicia. A port for the IBM PC as a self-booting disk and the IBM PCjr were published in 1984 by IBM. These use four-color CGA graphics.
Tempest is a 1981 arcade video game by Atari, Inc., designed and programmed by Dave Theurer. It takes place on a three-dimensional surface divided into lanes, sometimes as a closed tube, and viewed from one end. The player controls a claw-shaped "blaster" that sits on the edge of the surface, snapping from segment to segment as a rotary knob is turned, and can fire blaster shots to destroy enemies and obstacles by pressing a button.
The Seven Cities of Gold is a strategy video game created by Danielle Bunten Berry and Ozark Softscape and published by Electronic Arts in 1984. The player takes the role of a late 15th-century explorer for the Spanish Empire, setting sail to the New World in order to explore the map and interact with the natives in order to win gold and please the Spanish court. The name derives from the "seven cities" of Quivira and Cíbola that were said to be located somewhere in the Southwest United States. It is considered to be one of the earliest open world video games.
Crystal Castles is an arcade video game released by Atari, Inc. in 1983. The player controls Bentley Bear who has to collect gems located throughout trimetric-projected rendered castles while avoiding enemies, some of whom are after the gems as well.
Starquake is an action-adventure platform game written by Stephen Crow for the ZX Spectrum and published by Bubble Bus Software in 1985. It was ported to the Commodore 64, MSX, Amstrad CPC, Atari 8-bit computers, Tatung Einstein, BBC Micro (1987), and IBM compatibles and Atari ST.
H.E.R.O. is a video game designed by John Van Ryzin and published by Activision for the Atari 2600 in March 1984. The game has players control Roderick Hero who traverses a mineshaft avoiding enemies and hazards to rescue trapped miners. He travels through the mines equipped with a hoverpack that allows him to traverse the game levels as well as bombs and laser that let him destroy walls and defeat enemies respectively.
Donald Duck's Playground is a 1984 Sierra educational game. The player takes the role of Donald Duck, whose job is to earn money so that he can buy playground items for his nephews. To do this, Donald can get himself a job in any of four different work places. Each job shift lasts from one to eight minutes, as the player wants, in which time Donald has to earn as much as he can.
Raiders of the Lost Ark is an action-adventure game for the Atari 2600 released in 1982, based on the 1981 film of the same name. The game was designed by Howard Scott Warshaw.
Synapse Software Corporation was an American software developer and publisher founded in 1981 by Ihor Wolosenko and Ken Grant. Synapse published application software and developer tools and was primarily known for video games. It initially focused on the Atari 8-bit computers, then later developed for the Commodore 64 and other systems. Synapse was purchased by Broderbund in late 1984 and the Synapse label retired in 1985.
Rally Speedway is a top-down racing game developed by John Anderson for Atari 8-bit computers. It was published by Adventure International in 1983 as 16K ROM cartridge. A port to the Commodore 64 was published by Commodore in 1985. The game includes options for changing how vehicles handle, such as top speed, acceleration, and whether roads are wet, dry, or icy. There's also an integrated editor for creating and saving race tracks.
Superman is a video game programmed by John Dunn for the Atari Video Computer System and released in 1979 by Atari, Inc. The player controls Superman, whose quest is to explore an open-ended environment to find three pieces of a bridge that was destroyed by Lex Luthor, capture Luthor and his criminal gang, and return to the Daily Planet building. The game world is populated by antagonists such as a helicopter that re-arranges the bridge pieces and roving kryptonite satellites that cause Superman to revert into Clark Kent.
Oink! is an Atari 2600 video game designed by Mike Lorenzen and released by Activision in 1983. Oink! is inspired by the fairy tale "The Three Little Pigs" and casts the player as a pig defending his home from a wolf bent on destroying it.
Wayout is a 3D first-person perspective video game programmed by Paul Allen Edelstein and published for the Atari 8-bit computers in 1982. It was released for the Apple II and Commodore 64 in 1983. Wayout is among the first maze games to offer full 360 degree 3D perspective and movement, and its graphics were considered state-of-the-art upon its release. There were many pseudo-3D maze games at the time, but they used a fixed perspective and limited the player to four orientations.
Capture the Flag is a 3D first-person perspective, two player, video game, released for the Atari 8-bit computers and VIC-20 by Sirius Software in 1983. It was written by Paul Allen Edelstein as the follow-up to his 1982 game, Wayout, which has similar maze-based gameplay for one player. Along with its predecessor, Capture the Flag was among the first 3D maze games to offer the player full 360 degree movement, and one of the earliest multiplayer games from a first-person perspective within a 3D rendered environment.
Protector is a 1981 scrolling shooter for Atari 8-bit computers programmed by Mike Potter and distributed first by Crystalware and then Synapse Software. A VIC-20 port was published by HesWare in 1983.
Rainbow Walker is an action game designed by Steve Coleman for Atari 8-bit computers and published by Synapse Software in 1983. A Commodore 64 port followed. The player hops along a rainbow, changing monochromatic squares to color, while avoiding dangerous creatures and gaps in the surface. Coloring the entire rainbow ends the level. There are bonus rounds between levels.
Dolphin is a side-scrolling video game created by Matthew Hubbard for the Atari 2600 and released by Activision in 1983. Dolphin requires the player to use audio cues in order to survive.
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.
Shadow World is a shoot 'em up for Atari 8-bit computers written by Mike Potter and published by Synapse Software in 1983. Players are defending their planet from an alien invasion. The game supports two players at once, splitting the screen vertically into two halves, and merging them on the fly when both players are in the same location.
Fortress is a video game published by Strategic Simulations in 1983 for the Atari 8-bit computers and Apple II. It was written by Jim Templeman and Patty Denbrook. A Commodore 64 port followed in 1984.
