| Chicken | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publisher(s) | Synapse Software |
| Programmer(s) | Mike Potter [1] |
| Platform(s) | Atari 8-bit |
| Release | 1982 |
| Genre(s) | Action |
| Mode(s) | 1-4 players alternating turns |
Chicken is a video game for Atari 8-bit computers written by Mike Potter and published by Synapse Software in 1982. [1] The game is similar to Atari, Inc.'s. 1978 arcade video game Avalanche , replacing the buckets and boulders with a hen trying to catch her eggs.
Chicken follows the design of the 1978 arcade game Avalanche, but with a number of twists. The player is in control of a chicken that can move horizontally back and forth along the bottom of the playfield, pushing a basket. At the top, a fox drops the chicken's eggs over a series of moving blocks. The eggs fall through gaps between the blocks, which randomize their final drop point.
If an egg reaches the ground, it cracks open and hatches into a chick. These form barriers to motion for the player, but the chicken can jump over them by pressing the fire button. If a player steps on a chick, a farmer appears and kicks you off the screen. The action increases in pace until it becomes extremely fast-paced. [2]
The game can be played with a joystick, but is best played with a paddle controller. Up to four players can be in a single game, but they take turns using the single controller. [2]
Mike Potter joined Synapse in 1981 after writing the game Protector and initially distributing it through another company, Crystalware. When he questioned his royalties, they released the game back to him. He rereleased a version through Synapse with a number of bug fixes. [3]
Chicken was his first game written entirely at Synapse, and the first whose idea was given to him by Synapse's founder, Ihor Wolosenko. Wolosenko's primary inspiration was arcade games, and many of Synapse's releases from this era are adaptations of contemporary games for the Atari platform.
Creative Computing called the game "silly, but fun" and noted that the players often broke out laughing. They also noted its pace, saying "Ever hear the term 'twitch game?' This game may be its namesake." [2]
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 family, 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.
Avalanche is an arcade video game designed by Dennis Koble and released by Atari, Inc. in 1978. The object is to catch falling rocks with a controllable set of paddles that diminish in number and size as the rocks fall faster and faster. The concept gained a much wider audience after Activision released an unauthorized adaptation in 1981 as Kaboom! for the Atari 2600. The only official home port of Avalanche is for the Atari 8-bit family.
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Picnic Paranoia is an action game written by Russ Segal for both Atari 8-bit computers and Apple II and published by Synapse Software in 1982. A version for the TI-99/4A was published by Atarisoft in 1983. Although the gameplay is identical, all three versions of the game utilize slightly different graphics.
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