Megamania is a fixed shooter video game developed by Steve Cartwright for the Atari 2600. It was published by Activision in 1982. A pilot of an intergalactic space cruiser has a nightmare where his ship is being attacked by food and household objects. Using the missile launcher from their space cruiser, the pilot fends off the attackers. The game was later released for the Atari 5200 and Atari 8-bit computers.
Cartwright initially found inspiration for Megamania's gameplay from the arcade game Astro Blaster (1981). After completing a variation of the game, the team at Activision felt it should be taken on a different form to separate itself from various space shooter games on the market, eventually leading to Activision's ad agency developing the food-induced nightmare theme. The game took nine months for Cartwright to develop.
Initial response to Megamania had critics split with early reviews complimenting the graphics and varied movement of the enemies, while others felt it was another game in an already oversaturated field of games influenced by Space Invaders (1978). The game would receive the "Most Humorous Home Arcade Game" at the 4th annual Arkie Awards, while Video and Computer Gaming Illustrated declared Megamania as the best Atari 2600 game.
Gameplay
Atari 2600 gameplay. The player's ship—the blue object at the bottom—is being attacked by enemy hamburgers.
In Megamania, the player is a pilot of an intergalactic space cruiser. After a day of work, the pilot gorges themselves on food ranging from ice cream to pizzas and began to hallucinate.[3] At home after falling asleep, the player finds themselves in a nightmare being attacked by various food and house hold objects such as hamburgers, steam irons and bow ties. The player must control their fleet of mobile blasters that are under attack from these objects.[2][3]
Megamania can be played with one player, or two players taking turns. The goal of Megamania is to accumulate points by knocking out as many enemy objects as possible by firing their missile launcher at them before the players own fleet of three space cruisers is destroyed. The player can earn an extra space cruiser in reserve for every 10,000 points earned.[2]
There are eight waves of enemies which move with different frequency and attack patterns.[2][4] Each level has the point value of each object increase, until the "Space Dice" level, after which, all enemies are worth 90 points each and the enemies palette color and patterns change. The game is timed by an energy bar at the bottom of the screen that gradually depletes during each wave. If it runs out, the player loses a blaster. Bonus points are rewarded after each round for how much energy is left in each bar.[2]
Using the game options on the Atari, the player can choose between guided missiles, or straight missiles. In guided missiles, the missiles can be steered by following your joystick movement. With straight missiles, they streak straight up.[2]
Megamania was designed by Steve Cartwright for Activision. Prior to working at the company, Cartwright had gone to college with David Crane at the DeVry Institute of Technology in Phoenix.[6][7] When Crane and Alan Miller created their own company Activision, they found quick success leading them to hire new employees, which included Crane's friend Cartwright.[8] After being hired by Activision, Cartwright had to develop a game.[8]Megamania was his second game released following Barnstorming (1982). [5] He recalled the influence to create the game was after he had seen Astro Blaster at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant.[9] Cartwright developed a ship similar to that of Astro Blaster. On designing the ship, he realized how simple the graphics had to be for the system with eight bits and one color for the ship.[10]
Developing for the Atari 2600 was difficult, with Cartwright stating that the code to define how the objects displayed was very complicated, noting it required multiple objects moving horizontally, passing each other vertically, missiles passing vertically through rows of objects, which Cartwright explained as "might seem like a trivial task using today's technology actually took months of late-night coding to figure out."[11]Megamania was coded to fit a 4 kilobyte ROM for its graphics, code and sound.[12] It took over nine months to code.[13]
After completing code for gameplay, Cartwright felt that the market was over loaded with outerspace-themed shooter games but were confident in the gameplay of Megamania and thought of ways to make it stand out in the marketplace. Some ideas were to title the game Space Game as an anti-marketing effort. Tom Lopez at Activision suggested the title GadZooks! which led to Activision's ad agency unveiling its concept that the game was about a spaceship commander who had nightmare after eating too much junk food, leading to enemy ships becoming objects like hamburgers, spinning dice, tires and bowties. After this, the game was then titled Megamania.[12]
Release
Megamania was released for the Atari 2600 on September 24, 1982.[14]Electronic Games listed Megamania along with Robot Tank (1983), Enduro (1983), River Raid (1982) and Pitfall! (1982) as being among the biggest hits for Activision in 1983.[15]Jim Levy did not include Megamania as being among Activision's game that had sold over one-million in an interview in June 1984.[16]
Ports of the game were announced for consoles like the ColecoVision, Atari 5200 and computers such as the Commodore 64 and MSX.[17]Megamania was released for the Atari 5200 in November 1983.[18] Game critic Lou Hudson reported that Atari 5200 version of the game was not planned to be heavily promoted until after the Christmas season, to keep it from competing with the Atari 2600.[19] The Atari 8-bit version was released in 1984.[20] Both releases were adapted by Glyn Anderson. [4][21]
Megamania was included in several game compilations such as Activision Anthology (2002) for Windows, PlayStation 2, and Game Boy Advance and Activision Hits Remixed (2006) for the PlayStation Portable.[22][23][24] A version of Megamania developed by the South American group Ivolgamus appeared in Arcade Zone (2009) for the Wii. Their version of the game game features altered play control and new graphics.[25]
Reception
Critical response to the game was split. Critics who enjoyed the game complimented the graphics and variation on the genre. In JoyStik, an anonymous reviewer called "one of the most original variations of the bottom-shooter concept ever created exclusively for home console" and that "even the best Invaders players will find surprising new challenges".[26] The reviewer gave the game high ratings for game play, longevity and graphics.[26]The Video Game Update declared the game a "dazzling and relentless action game" praising the challenge and sound effects.[27]Bill Kunkel and Arnie Katz of Electronic Games described it as "an example of Activision at its whimsical best" and praised the varied gameplay, graphics and sound effects, declaring that it was one of the most addicting games they had played in a long time.[5][28] Lou Hudson writing in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram gave the game a mixed-review, finding it too derivative of Space Invaders and that the graphic and theme was better than the game itself, while also describing it as "Space Invaders with a vengeance", noting the more complicated patterns that enemies approach you in Megamania. Hudson concluded that "It's a nightmare all right, and in terms of color, detail, variety and toughness, it's a very good nightmare. I just can't get all that excited over [Space Invaders] games any more."[19]
Video magazine reviewed the Atari 8-bit version in 1984, describing it "hardly different" in terms of gameplay from the original Atari 2600 version, but emphasizing its "visually enhanced" graphics that allow players "to clearly distinguish what each wave of attacking objects is supposed to represent".[29] Reviewing the Atari 8-bit Computer version of the game, Computer Entertainer stated that it was even better than the Atari 2600 version of the game, noting challenging gameplay, fast-paced action, high quality sound effects and the graphic and humor, specifically noting details like treads on the tire enemies as they spin. The review concluded "the variations on the invasion game are many, but few have the graphic excellence and superb challenge of Megamania."[4] Michael Blanchet gave a negative review of the Atari computer and 5200 versions of the game, writing that the game was not significantly better than the Atari 2600 version. While praising the graphics, Blanchet stated that the claims of the game being a parody of shoot-'em ups was weak, writing that "at first the idea of fighting off hamburgers might solicit a nervous giggle or two. But any amusement quickly fades. Facades and hype aside, Megamania is just another shoot-'em-up."[30]
The Atari 2600 version of Megamania received an award for "Most Humorous Home Arcade Game" at the 4th annual Arkie Awards.[31] The editors and writers of the magazine Video and Computer Gaming Illustrated listed Megamania as the best Atari 2600 game in March 1984, specifically highlighting the games various enemy designs, attack patterns, and sound effects.[32][33] It was also the runner-up as the "Best Game for Consoles", only being beaten by Centipede.[34]
From retrospective reviews, Computer and Video Games reviewed the game in 1989, stating the gameplay was slick and fast Megamania remained a simple and addictive shoot 'em up.[35] Scott Alan Marriott of Allgame echoed earlier favorable reviews that what set Megamania apart was the variety of patterns the enemies had, and declared it "one of the most enjoyable games in Activision's impressive library" for the Atari 2600.[1] Brett Weiss in his book The 100 Greatest Console Video Games 1977-1987 (2014) did not include the game in his top 100, finding that it did not rank up with other console games such as Space Invaders (1980) or Communist Mutants from Space (1982). Weiss described the Atari 5200 version as superior, as its graphics let you recognize the objects you were shooting at.[36]
Legacy
Following the release of Megamania, Cartwright would continue work at Activision, making games such as Plaque Attack (1983), Frostbite (1983), Hacker (1985) and Aliens: The Computer Game (1986).[37] Like Megamania, his other games such as Seaquest (1982) and Frostbite would have roots in arcade games, such as Defender (1981) and Frogger (1981) respectively.[38][39] Cartwright would re-use the code for Megamania for Plaque Attack.[40] He would later work on other series for other companies such as the Les Manley series for Accolade and the PGA Tour for Electronic Arts.[37]
Cartwright later reflected on his Atari 2600 games in 2016, saying that "Many people consider Megamania, Seaquest and Frostbite to be the three best fast action games ever done for the Atari 2600. I certainly would never argue with that."[41]
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 a 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 the release of the game. The game was later ported by Paul Wilson for the Atari 5200 system.
Star Raiders is a space combat simulator video game created by Doug Neubauer and published in 1980 by Atari, Inc. Originally released for the Atari 400/800 computers, Star Raiders was later ported to the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, and Atari ST. The player assumes the role of a starship fighter pilot, who must protect starbases from invading forces called Zylons. Piloting and combat are shown in the 3D cockpit view, while a 2D galactic map shows the state of the Zylon invasion. Neubauer made the game in his spare time at Atari, inspired by contemporary media such as Battlestar Galactica and Star Wars, as well as the 1971 mainframe game Star Trek.
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 platform game game developed by Big Five Software. 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.
Phoenix is a fixed shooter video game developed for arcades in Japan and released in 1980 by Taito. The player controls a space ship shooting at incoming enemies that fly from the top of the screen down towards the player's ship. There are five stages which repeat endlessly. The fifth is a fight against a large enemy spaceship, making Phoenix one of the first shooters with a boss battle, an element that would become common for the genre.
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.
Kangaroo is a four-screen platform game released as an arcade video game 1982 by Sun Electronics and distributed in North America by Atari, Inc. Kangaroo is one of the first arcade games similar in style to Donkey Kong without being a direct clone. The player takes the role of a boxing glove-wearing mother kangaroo who is trying to rescue her joey from fruit-throwing monkeys. Jumping is integral to the game, but there is no jump button. Instead, the player pushes up on the joystick—or up and diagonally—to leap. The arcade version of Kangaroo has visible glitches in the graphics, such as sprites briefly flickering.
Starmaster is a video game written for the Atari 2600 by Alan Miller and published in June 1982 by Activision. The game involves the player travelling through space attacking enemy starfighters who are invading starbases. The player traverses through a map called the galactic chart to destroy all the enemies and survive against oncoming enemy attacks and crashing with meteors.
Robot Tank is a first-person shoot 'em up written by Alan Miller for the Atari 2600 and published by Activision in 1983. It is similar in design to Atari, Inc.'s Battlezone tank combat arcade video game and more so to its 2600 port. Robot Tank adds different systems which can individually be damaged—instead of the vehicle always exploding upon being shot—and weather effects.
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.
Chopper Command is a horizontally scrolling shooter released by Activision for the Atari 2600 in June 1982. It was written by Bob Whitehead. The player flies a helicopter left and right over a scrolling, wraparound landscape, shooting down enemy airplanes to protect a convoy of trucks below.
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.
Pitfall II: Lost Caverns is a video game developed by David Crane for the Atari 2600. It was released in 1984 by Activision. The player controls Pitfall Harry, who must explore in wilds of Peru to find the Raj Diamond, and rescue his niece Rhonda and their animal friend Quickclaw. The game world is populated by enemies and hazards that variously cause the player to lose points and return to a checkpoint.
Vanguard is a scrolling shooter arcade video game developed by TOSE. It was released by SNK in Japan and Europe 1981, and licensed to Centuri for manufacture in North America in October and to Zaccaria in Italy the same year. Cinematronics converted the game to cocktail arcade cabinets in North America.
Frostbite is a 1983 action game designed by Steve Cartwright for the Atari 2600, and published by Activision in 1983. The game has a player control Frostbite Bailey, who must hop across several ice floes to collect ice while avoiding falling in the water and avoiding the hazardous natural elements such polar bears and snow geese.
Astro Chase is a multidirectional shooter written by Fernando Herrera for Atari 8-bit computers. It was published by First Star Software in 1982 as the company's first game. Parker Brothers licensed it, releasing cartridge versions for the Atari 8-bit family and Atari 5200 console in 1983 and a Commodore 64 version in 1984. Exidy licensed it for arcade use with its Max-A-Flex cabinet.
Enduro is a racing video game designed by Larry Miller for the Atari 2600 and published by Activision in 1983. The object of the game is to complete an endurance race, passing a certain number of cars each day to continue the next day. The visuals change from day to night, and there is occasional inclement weather.
Space Cavern is a 1982 fixed shooter video game for the Atari 2600 developed and released by Games by Apollo. Players control a spaceship commander who has landed on a planet and must defend the ship against its hostile creatures. Games by Apollo founder Pat Roper was impressed by the game Demon Attack and tasked Apollo member Dan Oliver with making a game very similar to it.
Yars' Revenge is a video game designed by Howard Scott Warshaw for the Atari Video Computer System . The game involves a fly-like humanoid alien race known as Yars attacking their arch-rivals the Qotile who have destroyed their habitable planets in their solar system. The players control a Yar and fire or devour an energy shield protecting the Qotile to finish off the enemy with their Zorlon cannon.
RealSports Baseball is a 1982 sports video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. originally for the Atari 2600. It was also launched on the Atari 5200 and 7800 machines. A version for the Atari 8-bit computers was in development, but cancelled.
Megamania (Back cover). Activision. 1983. Steve Cartwright's classic bestseller has now been adapted for the Atari 5200 by Glyn Anderson
"More Great Games for Other Systems". Activision Fun Club News. Activision. Spring 1984.
Activision (1995). Activision's Atari 2600 Action Pack 2 (Macintosh). Activision. Level/area: Help > History > Steve Cartwright on "Plaque Attack". So I basically took a lot of code from MegaMania and reworked it
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