| Beany Bopper | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Sirius Software |
| Publisher(s) | Fox Games |
| Designer(s) | Mark Turmell |
| Programmer(s) | Grady Ward |
| Platform(s) | Atari 2600 |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | Multidirectional shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Beany Bopper is a multidirectional shooter for the Atari 2600 from California-based developer Sirius Software and published by 20th Century Fox Games in 1982. [1]
The player controls the "bopper", which is a ball that traverses a playing field with rectangular obstacles in it, and is tasked with preventing "beanies" (so called because they wear propeller beanie hats) from reaching the bottom of the screen. To do this the player must shoot the "beanies" with a stun-gun that can pivot through 360 degrees, and then touch them to capture them. [2] Two play-modes are possible: a first in which the "beanies" can not move through the obstructions, and a second in which they can. Objects fall from the top of the screen that can be collected by the player for additional points. [1] [3] Once sufficient "beanies" have been captured, "Bouncing Orange Eyes" start bouncing around the play-area that must be avoided. [4]
Initial design for the game was done by Mark Turmell, then twenty years old. [5] It was programmed by Grady Ward. [6] Launch of the game was accompanied by a television advertising campaign which portrayed a boy being absorbed into the electronic world of the game. [7] The game was part of a series of games launched by 20th Century Fox for the Atari 2600 including Deadly Duck , Worm War I , and Fast Eddie . [6]
Writing in Electronic Fun With Computers and Games in March 1983, Ed Hulse praised the game as offering "a lot of enjoyment" and being very challenging. [3] Writing retrospectively in 2011, Brett Weiss criticised the game as having excessively simplistic graphics and sound and having game-play that was "limited in scope". [1]
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.
Berzerk is a video game designed by Alan McNeil and released for arcades in 1980 by Stern Electronics of Chicago. The game involves a Humanoid Intruder who has to escape maze-like rooms that are littered with robots that slowly move towards and shoot at the Humanoid. The player can shoot at the robots to try and escape the room. Along with the robots, a smiley face known as Evil Otto appears to hunt down the player within each room.
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Sirius Software was a California-based publisher of video games for the Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, Commodore 64, and VIC-20. Most games were written for the Apple II, then ported to other systems. The company was founded in 1980 by Jerry Jewell and Terry Bradley and released over 160 games before folding in 1984. Sirius also developed games for the Atari 2600 which were published in 1982 and 1983 by 20th Century Fox Video Games. Fox's failure to pay Sirius resulted in company's downfall. Nasir Gebelli wrote some of the early hits from Sirius, establishing his reputation as an Apple II game programmer.
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