| Gorgon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Sirius Software |
| Publisher(s) | Sirius Software |
| Designer(s) | Nasir Gebelli [1] |
| Platform(s) | Apple II |
| Release | June 1981 |
| Genre(s) | Scrolling shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Gorgon is a clone of the arcade game Defender , a horizontally-scrolling shooter, for the Apple II. It was programmed by Nasir Gebelli and published by Sirius Software [2] in June 1981. [1]
In Gorgon, the player flies a spaceship across a side-scrolling landscape while protecting civilians on the ground from aliens that drop down from the top of the screen to try to carry them off. [3]
The game uses keyboard controls, with the A, Z, and left/right arrow keys for movement and the space bar for firing. [3]
The graphics were drawn with Sirius's own E-Z Draw software (1980). [3]
By June 1982 Gorgon had sold 23,000 copies, making it one of the best-selling computer games at the time. [4] Bill Kunkel of Electronic Games called the game "another winner from ace designer Nasir" and "fine home version" of Defender, only criticizing the Apple II's lack of joystick support at the time. [5] BYTE stated that Gorgon "is well programmed and much more enjoyable than the arcade version [and] should provide many hours of enjoyment ... Rest assured that you Nasir Gebelli fans will not be disappointed by this one!" [2]
Asteroids is a space-themed multidirectional shooter arcade 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.
Zaxxon is an isometric shooter arcade game, developed and released by Sega in 1982, in which the player pilots a ship through heavily defended space fortresses. Japanese electronics company Ikegami Tsushinki is also credited for having worked on the development of the game.
Pinball Construction Set is a video game by Bill Budge written for the Apple II. It was originally published in 1982 through Budge's own company, BudgeCo, then was released by Electronic Arts in 1983 along with ports to the Atari 8-bit family and Commodore 64.
Miner 2049er is a platform game created by Bill Hogue that was released in 1982 by Big Five Software. It was developed for the Atari 8-bit family and widely converted to other systems. The title "Miner 2049er" evokes a 21st-century take on the circa-1849 California Gold Rush in which the gold miners and prospectors were nicknamed "49ers". It was the first Atari computer game, and by far the biggest release, from the previously TRS-80 focused company.
Defender is a scrolling shooter video game developed by Williams Electronics in 1980 and released for arcades in 1981. A side-scrolling shooter, the game is set on either an unnamed planet or city where the player must defeat waves of invading aliens while protecting astronauts. Development was led by Eugene Jarvis, a pinball programmer at Williams; Defender was Jarvis' first video game project and drew inspiration from Space Invaders and Asteroids. Defender was demonstrated in late 1980, before entering production in early 1981. It was distributed in Japan by Taito.
Choplifter is military themed scrolling shooter developed by Dan Gorlin for the Apple II and published by Broderbund in 1982. It was ported to the Atari 8-bit family the same year and also to the VIC-20, Commodore 64, Atari 5200, ColecoVision, MSX, and Thomson computers.
Rad Racer, known as Highway Star in Japan, is a racing video game developed and published by Square for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1987. In this game, players drive a Ferrari 328 or a generic Formula One racing machine through a racecourse. The game was released in North America and Europe months after its debut. The title became well known for being one of two titles from Square that made use of stereoscopic 3D, which was made possible by wearing a pair of anaglyph glasses. Square president Masafumi Miyamoto initially conceived the game as an opportunity for developer Nasir Gebelli to demonstrate his 3D programming skills. Gebelli developed, and often drew by hand, the graphics for the game's 3D mode.
Moon Patrol is a 1982 arcade video game developed and released by Irem. It was licensed to Williams for distribution in North America. The player controls a moon buggy which can jump over and shoot obstacles on a horizontally scrolling landscape as well as shoot aerial attackers. Designed by Takashi Nishiyama, Moon Patrol is often credited with the introduction of full parallax scrolling in side-scrolling games. Most of the home ports were from Atari, Inc., sometimes under the Atarisoft label.
1982 was the peak year for the golden age of arcade video games as well as the second generation of video game consoles. Many games were released that would spawn franchises, or at least sequels, including Dig Dug, Pole Position, Mr. Do!, Zaxxon, Q*bert, Time Pilot and Pitfall! The year's highest-grossing video game was Namco's arcade game Pac-Man, for the third year in a row, while the year's best-selling home system was the Atari 2600. Additional game consoles added to a crowded market, notably the ColecoVision and Atari 5200. Troubles at Atari late in the year triggered the video game crash of 1983.
Fueled by the previous year's release of the colorful and appealing Pac-Man, the audience for arcade games in 1981 became much wider. Pac-Man influenced maze games began appearing in arcades and on home systems. Pac-Man was again the year's highest-grossing video game for the second year in a row. Nintendo released the arcade game Donkey Kong, which defined the platformer genre. Other arcade hits released in 1981 include Defender, Scramble, Frogger, and Galaga. The year's best-selling home system was Nintendo's Game & Watch, for the second year in a row.
1980 saw the release of a number of games with influential concepts, including Pac-Man, Battlezone, Crazy Climber, Mystery House, Missile Command, Phoenix, Rally-X, Space Panic, Stratovox, Zork, Adventure, and Olympic Decathlon. The year's highest-grossing video game was Namco's arcade game Pac-Man, while the best-selling home system was Nintendo's Game & Watch. The Atari VCS also grew in popularity with a port of Space Invaders and support from new third-party developer Activision.
Caverns of Mars is a vertically scrolling shooter for the Atari 8-bit family of home computers. It was programmed by Greg Christensen, with some features added by Richard Watts, and published by the Atari Program Exchange (APX) in 1981. Caverns of Mars became the best selling APX title of all-time and was moved into Atari, Inc.'s official product line, first on diskette and later on cartridge.
Sirius Software was a video game publisher of Apple II, Atari 8-bit family, Commodore 64, and VIC-20 games in the early 1980s. Sirius also developed games for the Atari 2600 which were published by 20th Century Fox Video Games.
Apple Panic is a game for the Apple II programmed by Ben Serki and published by Broderbund Software in 1981. Apple Panic is an unauthorized version of the 1980 arcade game Space Panic, the first game with ladders and platforms. While the arcade original remained obscure, Apple Panic became a top seller for home computers. It was ported to the Atari 8-bit family, VIC-20, IBM PC, and TRS-80.
Space Eggs is a fixed shooter video game for the Apple II computer programmed by Nasir Gebelli and published by Sirius Software in 1981. An Atari 8-bit family port by Dan Thompson was released the same year. Space Eggs is an unofficial version of the arcade video game Moon Cresta.
Repton is a Defender-inspired game written by Dan Thompson and Andy Kaluzniacki for the Apple II and published by Sirius Software in 1983. It was ported to the Atari 8-bit family, and Commodore 64.
Nasir Gebelli is an Iranian-American programmer and video game designer usually credited in his games as simply Nasir. Gebelli wrote Apple II games for Sirius Software, created his own company Gebelli Software, and worked for Squaresoft. He became known in the early 1980s for producing fast action games for the Apple II, including 3D shooters.
In video games, first person is any graphical perspective rendered from the viewpoint of the player's character, or a viewpoint from the cockpit or front seat of a vehicle driven by the character. The most popular type of first-person video game today is the first-person shooter (FPS), in which the graphical perspective is an integral component of the gameplay. Many other genres incorporate first-person perspectives, including other types of shooter games, adventure games, amateur flight simulations, racing games, role-playing video games, and vehicle simulations.
Wavy Navy is a video game designed by Rodney McAuley for the Apple II and published by Sirius Software in 1983. Atari 8-bit family and Commodore 64 versions were released the same year. Wavy Navy is a nautically themed fixed shooter with left and right controls to move the player's PT boat, but there is an additional vertical element as the boat moves up and down with the large ocean waves that scroll beneath it. The direction and speed of the waves vary per level.