| Atari Video Cube | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publisher(s) | Atari [1] |
| Platform(s) | Atari 2600 |
| Release | 1983 |
| Genre(s) | Puzzle [1] |
Atari Video Cube is a puzzle video game developed by for the Atari 2600 and published by Atari in 1983. Atari Video Cube was sold exclusively through the Atari Club, run by Atari itself. It was later re-released as Rubik's Cube.
The game implements a Pocket Cube, Rubik's Cube and Rubik's Revenge.[ citation needed ] The player takes control of "Hubie the Cube Master" as he tries to solve a scrambled "Video Cube". Hubie's method for solving the cube is to pick up the colored segments one-by-one and place them in their correct spaces. Picking up a square, however, limits Hubie's movements; he cannot move onto a square that matches the color of the one he is carrying.
The game manual encourages players to try and solve the cube in as few moves as possible, with their total number of moves being counted at the bottom of the screen. [2] Atari Video Cube has several game modes that alter the difficulty of the game, such as square count and color range.
 | This section needs additional citations for verification .(October 2024) |
Atari Video Cube was developed by Doug Macrae. [3] Macrae was one of the founders of General Computer Corporation (GCC). [4] Following legal disputes with Atari, Inc. the company hired him to create games. He was told Atari would pay them $50,000 a month for two years to develop games, with no stipulation of how many games were to be developed. [5] This led to GCC making arcade games Food Fight (1982) and Quantum (1982) for Atari. [6]
Macrae said that as a lot of Atari programmers left to work at Activision and Imagic, this led to Atari asking GCC to develop games for Atari's home consoles. Macrae reflected on this in an interview published in 2024 sating "being the young, arrogant engineers out of MIT and Harvard that we were, we said, "Of course, absolutely."" [6]
Atari Video Cube was initially released in 1983 and was only available through mail to Atari Club members. [1] [7] The game was later re-released as Rubik's Cube, a licensed title based on Rubik's Cube, a popular toy in the 1980s. [1] [8] in a form Tim Lapetino in Art of Atari described as a "marginally different" form than Atari Video Cube. Both releases features the same artwork on the packaging. [8]
Atari Video Cube has been re-released for consoles and home computers in video game compilations, such as the Atari Anthology (2004) for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, and as downloadable content in 2024 for Atari 50 (2022) for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Steam, and Xbox One. [9] [10] [11] It was also available in compilations for handheld formats, such as Atari Greatest Hits Volume 1 (2010) for the Nintendo DS and Atari's Greatest Hits for various iOS-based devices. [12] [13]
From retrospective reviews, Brett Weiss in his book Classic Home Video Games, 1972-1984 (2011) found the game had crude sound that grew annoying, while complimenting the 3D-like effect of the cube turning as impressive. [1] On reviewing the first two volumes of Atari Flashback Classics for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, Channing King specifically highlighted Atari Video Cube as one of the many Atari 2600 games that have aged poorly. [14]
Kaboom! is an action video game published in 1981 by Activision for the Atari 2600. The game involves a Mad Bomber dropping bombs at increasing speeds as the player controls a set of water buckets to catch them. The gameplay was based on the Atari arcade video game Avalanche (1978). Kaboom! was programmed by Larry Kaplan with David Crane coding the graphics for the buckets and Mad Bomber. It was the last game designed by Kaplan for Activision, who left the company shortly after it was released. The game was later ported by Paul Wilson for the Atari 5200 system.
Solaris is a space combat video game for the Atari 2600 published in 1986 by Atari. The game involves a player seeking out the planet Solaris via their starship. To accomplish this, the player must navigate the galactic scanner to explore quadrants of a map. Doing so allows them to explore Federation planets to refuel their ship, and engage in combat with hostile aliens known as the Zylons.
Pitfall! is a video game developed by David Crane for the Atari 2600 and released in 1982 by Activision. The player controls Pitfall Harry, who has a time limit of 20 minutes to seek treasure in a jungle. The game world is populated by enemies and hazards that variously cause the player to lose lives or points.
Miner 2049er is a 1982 platformer game developed and published by Big Five Software in December 1982. It is set in a mine, where the player controls the Mountie Bounty Bob. The player controls Bounty Bob through multiple levels of a mine, with the goal of traversing all of the platforms in each level all while avoiding enemies and within a set amount of time.
Jr. Pac-Man is an arcade video game developed by General Computer Corporation and released by Bally Midway in 1983. It has the same gameplay as prior entries in the series, but the maze in Jr. Pac-Man scrolls horizontally and has no escape tunnels. The bonus item which moves around the maze changes dots into a form which slows Jr. Pac-Man as they are being eaten.
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.
Combat is a 1977 video game by Atari, Inc. for the Atari Video Computer System. In the game, two players controlling either a tank, a biplane, or a jet fire missiles at each other for two minutes and sixteen seconds. Points are scored by hitting the opponent, and the player with more points when the time runs out wins. Variations on the gameplay introduce elements such as invisible vehicles, missiles that ricochet off of walls, and different playing fields.
Demon Attack is a fixed shooter video game created by Rob Fulop for the Atari 2600 and published by Imagic in 1982. The game involves the player controlling a laser cannon from the surface of a planet, shooting winged demons that fly down and attack the player in different sets of patterns.
David Crane is an American video game designer and programmer. Crane grew up fascinated by technology and went to DeVry Institute of Technology. Following college, he went to Silicon Valley and got his first job at National Semiconductor. Through his friend Alan Miller he learned about potential video game design work at Atari, Inc. and began work there in 1977.
Golf is a 1980 sports video game programmed by Michael Lorenzen for Atari, Inc. and the Atari 2600. It is based on the traditional sport of golf. The game allows one or two players to play nine holes of the game, featuring various obstacles.
Keystone Kapers is a platform game developed by Garry Kitchen for the Atari 2600 and published by Activision in 1983. The game involves a Keystone Cops theme, with the player controlling police officer Kelly, who traverses the many levels of a department store, dodging objects to catch the escaped thief Harry Hooligan.
Haunted House is a 1982 adventure video game programmed by James Andreasen for the Atari Video Computer System and published by Atari. The player controls an avatar shaped like a pair of eyes who explores a mansion seeking out parts of an urn to return to the entrance. The game world is populated by roaming enemies including vampire bats, tarantulas, and a ghost. Haunted House was among the first games to use player-controlled scrolling between large portions of the visual space.
River Raid is a video game developed by Carol Shaw for the Atari Video Computer System and released in 1982 by Activision. The player controls a fighter jet over the River of No Return in a raid behind enemy lines. The goal is to navigate the flight by destroying enemy tankers, helicopters, fuel depots and bridges without running out of fuel or crashing.
Air-Sea Battle is a fixed shooter developed and published by Atari, Inc. for the Atari Video Computer System. The game was designed by Larry Kaplan who joined Atari in 1976. It was the first game he developed for the company. Air-Sea Battle involves the player controlling a gun to shoot down various targets to earn points in different themed areas. In the various gameplay modes, the player can either control the angle of the gun or move the gun across the screen or adjust the guns speed as it automatically moves for aiming.
Basic Math is an educational video game for the Atari Video Computer System. The game was developed at Atari, Inc. by Gary Palmer. The game involves a series of ten arithmetic problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. The player can edit different gameplay modes to alter how the numbers in the problem are chosen, or if their questions are timed. The game was released in 1977 as one of the earliest releases for the console.
Blackjack is a video game simulation of the card game blackjack. It was designed by Bob Whitehead for the Atari Video Computer System. The game allows up to three players to play a variation of blackjack. All players are given 200 chips which they can use to bet 1 to 25 during each round. The game ends for a player when they either run out of chips or earns 1000 chips or more.
Surround is a video game programmed by Alan Miller and published by Atari, Inc. for the Atari Video Computer System. In the game, players navigate a continuously moving block around an enclosed space as a wall trails behind it. Every time the opposite player hits a wall with their block, the other player earns a single point. The first player to reach ten points is the winner.
Yars' Revenge is a 1982 fixed shooter video game developed by Howard Scott Warshaw and published by Atari, Inc. for the Atari Video Computer System. Set in the Razak solar system, it focuses on the confict between the Yars, a fly-like humanoid alien race, and the Qotile, who have destroyed their habitable planets. The player controls a Yar tasked with destroying the Qotile's energy shield, and finishing off the enemy with the Zorlon cannon.
Backgammon is a video game adaptation of the board-game backgammon developed by Atari, Inc. for the Atari Video Computer System and released in 1979. The game was one of the earliest electronic versions of Backgammon.
Outlaw is a 1978 video game developed at Atari by David Crane. The game has a Western-setting, where one or two players either aim at targets or fellow gunsfighters to reach 10 points in a set time. Several modes are available allowing for different obstacles an rules varying how the players move, how their bullets act and how the obstacles block the bullets.