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 computers and Commodore 64.
The KoalaPad is a graphics tablet, released in 1983 by US company Koala Technologies Corporation, for the Apple II, TRS-80 Color Computer, Atari 8-bit computers, Commodore 64, and IBM PC compatibles.
First Star Software, Inc. was a Chappaqua, New York based video game development, publishing and licensing company, founded by Richard Spitalny, Billy Blake, Peter Jablon, and Fernando Herrera in 1982. It is best known for the series Boulder Dash, which began on the Atari 8-bit computers, and Spy vs. Spy, which first appeared on the Commodore 64. Games were ported to or written for home computers, consoles, and later for Macintosh, Microsoft Windows, and portable devices. Millions of units have been sold in both the Boulder Dash and Spy vs. Spy series of games.
Rocky's Boots is an educational logic puzzle game by Warren Robinett and Leslie Grimm, published by The Learning Company in 1982. It was released for the Apple II, TRS-80 Color Computer, Commodore 64, IBM PC and the IBM PCjr. It was followed by a more difficult sequel, Robot Odyssey. It won Software of the Year awards from Learning Magazine (1983), Parent's Choice magazine (1983), and Infoworld, and received the Gold Award from the Software Publishers Association. It was one of the first educational software products for personal computers to successfully use an interactive graphical simulation as a learning environment.
Will Harvey's Music Construction Set (MCS) is a music composition notation program designed by Will Harvey for the Apple II and published by Electronic Arts in 1983. Harvey wrote the original Apple II version in assembly language when he was 15 and in high school. MCS was conceived as a tool to add music to his previously published game, an abstract shooter called Lancaster for the Apple II.
Eastern Front (1941) is a computer wargame for Atari 8-bit computers created by Chris Crawford and published through the Atari Program Exchange (APX) in 1981. A scenario editor and assembly language source code for the game were also sold by APX as separate products.
Caverns of Mars is a vertically scrolling shooter for Atari 8-bit computers. It was written by Greg Christensen, with some features later added by Richard Watts, and published by the Atari Program Exchange (APX) in 1981. Caverns of Mars became the best selling APX software of all-time and was moved into Atari, Inc.'s official product line, first on diskette, then on cartridge.
Lemonade Stand is a business simulation game created in 1973 by Bob Jamison of the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (MECC). In it, the player moves through several rounds of running a lemonade stand, beginning each round by making choices dependent on their current amount of money about their stock, prices, and advertising. In each round, the results are randomized based on the player's inputs, as well as affected by random events such as thunderstorms and street closures. Each round ends with a summary of the player's current status, and the game ends after 12 rounds.
Typo Attack is an educational video game for Atari 8-bit computers designed to improve typing skill. It was written by David Buehler and published by the Atari Program Exchange in 1982. Buehler was seventeen years old when the game won the US$25,000 Atari Star Award for the best APX program of 1982. In 1984, Atari, Inc. moved Typo Attack into its official line as a cartridge.
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.
Jawbreaker is a Pac-Man clone programmed by John Harris for Atari 8-bit computers and published by On-Line Systems. Released in 1981 before an official version of Pac-Man was available, it was widely lauded by reviewers and became a major seller. The story of its creation and Harris's Atari 8-bit implementation of Frogger form a portion of Steven Levy's 1984 book, Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution.
Atari Program Exchange (APX) was a division of Atari, Inc. that sold software via mail-order for Atari 8-bit computers from 1981 until 1984. Quarterly APX catalogs were sent to all registered Atari 8-bit owners. APX encouraged any programmer, not just professionals, to submit video games, educational software, applications, and utilities. A few internally developed Atari products were sold through APX, such as Atari Pascal, the developer handbook De Re Atari, and a port of the arcade video game Kangaroo.
Agent USA is an adventure game designed to teach children spelling, US geography, time zones, and state capitals. It was developed by Tom Snyder Productions and published in 1984 by Scholastic for the Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, Commodore 64, and IBM PC.
Many games, utilities, and educational programs were available for Atari 8-bit computers. Atari, Inc. was primarily the publisher following the launch of the Atari 400/800 in 1979, then increasingly by third parties. Atari also distributed "user written" software through the Atari Program Exchange from 1981 to 1984. After APX folded, many titles were picked up by Antic Software.
De Re Atari, subtitled A Guide to Effective Programming, is a book written by Atari, Inc. employees in 1981 and published by the Atari Program Exchange in 1982 as an unbound, shrink-wrapped set of three-holed punched pages. It was one of the few non-software products sold by APX. Targeted at developers, it documents the advanced features of the Atari 8-bit computers and includes ideas for how to use them in applications. The information in the book was not available in a single, collected source at the time of publication.
The Dovetail Group, Inc. was one of the earliest video game developers to specialize in music video games. The Dovetail Group's products were designed for systems such as the Atari 8-bit computers and the Commodore 64. Notable games developed by The Dovetail Group include Halftime Battlin' Bands (1984), Coco-Notes (1984), and Movie Musical Madness (1984). These games represent some of the earliest examples of the music management subgenre of music video games.
Movie Musical Madness is a computer program that was published by The Dovetail Group
Getaway! is a crime-themed, multidirectional-scrolling maze game for Atari 8-bit computers. It was designed by Mark Reid and published by the Atari Program Exchange (APX) in 1982. In Getaway!, the player drives around a large city stealing cash, valuable items, and the contents of armored trucks, then must return the loot to their hideout. Three different police vehicles pursue, getting more aggressive as more crimes are committed.
Snooper Troops is a series of two 1982 adventure/educational video games developed by Spinnaker Software and published by Computer Learning Connection. They were released for the Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, Commodore 64, and MS-DOS. The first case was entitled Snooper Troops: Case #1: The Granite Point Ghost and the second case entitled Snooper Troops: Case #2 - The Case of the Disappearing Dolphin was released later that year.
Early Games is an educational video game by Counterpoint Software and Springboard Software and released for Atari 8-bit computers in 1982. It was designed by John Paulson. The game contains educational mini-games targeted at preschoolers and designed to teach basic math, language, and logic skills. It was part of the Skill Builder series, along with Fraction Factory, Match Maker, and Piece of Cake.
