| Apple-Oids | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | California Pacific |
| Publisher(s) | California Pacific |
| Programmer(s) | Tom Luhrs [1] |
| Platform(s) | Apple II |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | Multidirectional shooter |
Apple-Oids (also written as Apple-oids) is a clone of Atari, Inc.'s Asteroids arcade video game. It was written by Tom Luhrs for the Apple II and published by California Pacific Computer Company in 1980. The asteroids in Apple-oids are in the shape of apples. [2]
The ship is rotated with the paddle knob and propelled forward with the paddle button. [3] Firing is done via the keyboard, with the asterisk key. Pressing any other key warps the ship to a random location—a.k.a. hyperspace.
Forrest Johnson reviewed Apple-Oids in The Space Gamer No. 42. [2] Johnson commented that "I have never figured out why anyone would send a perfectly good ship to shoot at asteroids, but if that's your scene, you will enjoy this game". [2]
In a Creative Computing review alongside The Asteroid Field and Asteron, the authors concluded: "For those who like Asteroids, any of these three games is a good choice". [3]
Asteroids is a space-themed multidirectional shooter arcade video game designed by Lyle Rains and Ed Logg released in November 1979 by Atari, Inc. The player controls a single spaceship in an asteroid field which is periodically traversed by flying saucers. The object of the game is to shoot and destroy the asteroids and saucers, while not colliding with either, or being hit by the saucers' counter-fire. The game becomes harder as the number of asteroids increases.
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 than the rather technically oriented Byte.
Sneakers is a fixed shooter video game for the Apple II written by Mark Turmell and published by Sirius Software in 1981. An Atari 8-bit family version was released the same year. Sneakers was Turmell's first published game. He later was the lead designer and programmer of 1993's NBA Jam.
Swashbuckler is a fighting game created by Paul Stephenson for the Apple II and published by Datamost in 1982. The player controls a sword-wielding swashbuckler who must fight and dispatch various attackers. Combat occurs in a wooden-beamed ship's hold littered with skeletons and cobwebs, which the player views from the side.
Oids is a multidirectional shooter developed and self-published by FTL Games in 1987. The game was originally released on the Atari ST, followed by a B&W version for the classic 68k Macintosh in 1990. The Atari ST version, written by Dan Hewitt, was a cult favourite in the UK, where it received rave reviews.
Serpentine is a video maze game written by David Snider for the Apple II and published by Broderbund in 1982. Serpentine's gameplay and visuals are similar to the Konami arcade game, Jungler, released the previous year. It was ported to the Commodore 64 and the Atari 8-bit family. A VIC-20 version was licensed to Creative Software.
Bill Budge's Space Album is a collection of four Apple II action games written by Bill Budge and published by California Pacific in 1980. The games are Death Star, Asteroids, Tail Gunner, and Solar Shootout. Death Star was based around a scenario similar to the Death Star "trench battle" that formed the climax of the 1977 film, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Asteroids was a variant of the popular arcade video game of the same title.
Galaxy Invasion is a clone of Namco's Galaxian arcade game written by Big Five Software founders Bill Hogue and Jeff Konyu for the TRS-80 16K and published in 1980. It is the first game from Big Five to include sound and music. Galaxy Invasion was followed by an enhanced version in 1982, Galaxy Invasion Plus, which includes voice.
Hellfire Warrior is a dungeon crawl video game for the Apple II, Commodore PET, and TRS-80 published by Automated Simulations in 1980. An Atari 8-bit family port was released in 1982. Hellfire Warrior is the direct sequel to 1979's Temple of Apshai.
The Warp Factor is a 1980 video game published by Strategic Simulations.
Milestones is a 1981 video game published by Creative Computing for the Apple II.
Alkemstone is a puzzle video game published by Level-10 for the Apple II in 1981. It is a puzzle in a dungeon which the character explores to determine the location of the Alkemstone.
Voyage of the Valkyrie is a video game for the TRS-80 and Apple II published in 1981 by Advanced Operating Systems. It was written by Leo Christopherson.
Star Maze is a space-themed shooter taking place in a multidirectional scrolling maze published by Sir-Tech in 1982. It was written by Canadian programmer Gordon Eastman for the Apple II, based on a design by Robert Woodhead. Atari 8-bit family and Commodore 64 versions followed in 1983.
Planetoids is a clone of Atari, Inc.'s Asteroids arcade game published by Adventure International for the Apple II in 1980 and TRS-80 in 1981. Each was originally an independently sold game, neither of which was titled Planetoids. The Apple II version, written by Marc Goodman, was published as Asteroid. The TRS-80 game was written by Greg Hassett as Fasteroids by Adventure Works. Fasteroids was still sold by Adventure Works at the same time Planetoids was available through Adventure International. The TRS-80 version includes features not present on the Apple II or arcade original.
Seafox is a shoot 'em up written by Ed Hobbs and published by Broderbund in 1982 for the Apple II and as a cartridge for the Atari 8-bit family. A VIC-20 port, also on cartridge, was released in 1983.
Twerps is a shoot 'em up written by Dan Thompson for the Apple II and published by Sirius Software in 1982. It was ported to the Atari 8-bit family by Joe Kelly.
Threshold is a space-themed fixed shooter written by Warren Schwader and Ken Williams for the Apple II and published by On-Line Systems in 1981. Inspired by Sega's Astro Blaster 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.
Pool 1.5 is a pool simulation video game written for the Apple II and published by Innovative Design Software in 1981. An Atari 8-bit family port was released the same year. Pool 1.5 allows 1 to 4 people to play one of 4 variations: straight pool, eight-ball, nine-ball, and rotation. A trimmed down version was released on cartridge for the Atari 8-bit computers in 1982 as Pool 400. The "400" refers to the Atari 400 computer, which shipped with less memory than the more expensive Atari 800.