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| Oink! | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Activision |
| Publisher(s) | Activision |
| Designer(s) | Mike Lorenzen [1] |
| Platform(s) | Atari 2600 |
| Release | 1983 [2] |
| Genre(s) | Action |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Oink! is an Atari 2600 video game designed by Mike Lorenzen and released by Activision in 1983. [1] Oink! is inspired by the fairy tale "The Three Little Pigs" and casts the player as a pig defending his home from a wolf bent on destroying it.
Three pigs, each with their own house, find themselves being attacked by the nefarious Bigelow B. Wolf (B. B. Wolf, for short). [2] The wolf attempts to break through the three-layer-deep wall of the pigs' homes by blowing away pieces of the wall. Simultaneously, the pig must collect patches from the top of the screen and drop them into holes in the wall at the bottom, thus protecting the pig from the wolf's breath. If the pig should be hit by the wolf's breath, he will be stunned and start to fall out of the house. A life will be lost if the hole in the wall is big enough for the pig to fall completely through.
The wall in the first house is yellow, representing the straw used to build the first little pig's house. Similarly, the wall in the second house is brown, as the second little pig's house was made of sticks, and the wall in the final house is red, since the third pig's house was made of bricks. [2]
The player scores four points for each patch applied to the wall. When all the patches are used, a new row of patches appears, and the wolf's attacks speed up. Each time a new row appears, the point value for the patches multiplies; for example, each patch from the third row would be worth twelve points.
Oink! has a total of three gameplay variations. The first game is for one player, and the remaining two are for two players. The second game has the two players alternating playing the role of the pigs. In the third game, one player plays the pigs while the other player controls the wolf. When the wolf is successful in catching a pig, the roles alternate, such that both players assume each role three times. In this variation, the player can only score points when playing as the pigs.
During the game's original release, players who scored over 25,000 points could photograph their scores on their TV screens and send the pictures to Activision in exchange for an "Oinkers" patch. [2]
Oink! received the "Most Humorous Video Game/Computer Game" award at the 5th annual Arkie Awards in 1984. [3] : 29
Oink! is included in the Activision Anthology collection.
Millipede is a fixed shooter video game released in arcades by Atari, Inc. in 1982. The sequel to 1981's Centipede, it has more gameplay variety and a wider array of insects than the original. The objective is to score as many points as possible by destroying all segments of the millipede as it moves toward the bottom of the screen, as well as eliminating or avoiding other enemies. The game is played with a trackball and a single fire button which can be held down for rapid-fire.
Kaboom! is an action video game published in 1981 by Activision for the Atari 2600. The gameplay was based on the Atari arcade video game Avalanche (1978), with the game now involving a Mad Bomber who drops bombs instead of falling rocks. 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.
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.
Breakout is an arcade video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. and released on May 13, 1976. It was designed by Steve Wozniak, based on conceptualization from Nolan Bushnell and Steve Bristow, who were influenced by the seminal 1972 Atari arcade game Pong. In Breakout, a layer of bricks lines the top third of the screen and the goal is to destroy them all by repeatedly bouncing a ball off a paddle into them. The arcade game was released in Japan by Namco. Breakout was a worldwide commercial success, among the top five highest-grossing arcade video games of 1976 in both the United States and Japan and then among the top three highest-grossing arcade video games of 1977 in the US and Japan. The 1978 Atari VCS port uses color graphics instead of a monochrome screen with colored overlay.
H.E.R.O. is a video game designed by John Van Ryzin and published by Activision for the Atari 2600 in March 1984. It was ported to the Apple II, Atari 5200, Atari 8-bit computers, ColecoVision, Commodore 64, MSX, and ZX Spectrum.
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.
Freeway is an action video game written by David Crane for the Atari 2600 and published by Activision in 1981.
In the history of video games, the second-generation era refers to computer and video games, video game consoles, and handheld video game consoles available from 1976 to 1992. Notable platforms of the second generation include the Fairchild Channel F, Atari 2600, Intellivision, Odyssey 2, and ColecoVision. The generation began in November 1976 with the release of the Fairchild Channel F. This was followed by the Atari 2600 in 1977, Magnavox Odyssey² in 1978, Intellivision in 1980 and then the Emerson Arcadia 2001, ColecoVision, Atari 5200, and Vectrex, all in 1982. By the end of the era, there were over 15 different consoles. It coincided with, and was partly fuelled by, the golden age of arcade video games. This peak era of popularity and innovation for the medium resulted in many games for second generation home consoles being ports of arcade games. Space Invaders, the first "killer app" arcade game to be ported, was released in 1980 for the Atari 2600, though earlier Atari-published arcade games were ported to the 2600 previously. Coleco packaged Nintendo's Donkey Kong with the ColecoVision when it was released in August 1982.
Private Eye is an action video game developed and published by Activision and released in 1984 for the Atari 2600 video game system. Designed by Bob Whitehead, who also wrote Chopper Command, Private Eye requires players to track down clues and recover items stolen by a master criminal, ultimately leading to his capture and arrest.
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.
Bowling is a sports video game published in 1979 by Atari, Inc. for the Atari VCS. It was programmed by Larry Kaplan who left Atari to co-found Activision the same year. The game is an interpretation of the sport bowling, playable by one or two players.
Beamrider is a fixed shooter written for the Intellivision by David Rolfe and published by Activision in 1983. The game was ported to the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 8-bit computers, ColecoVision, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, and MSX.
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 of the attackers. The game was later released for the Atari 5200 and Atari 8-bit computers.
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 Atari 8-bit computers.
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.
The Activision Decathlon is a sports video game written by David Crane for the Atari 2600 and published by Activision in 1983. It was ported to the Atari 8-bit computers, Atari 5200, Commodore 64, ColecoVision, and MSX. Up to four players compete in the ten different events of a real-life decathlon, either in sequence or individually.
Stampede is a video game written by Bob Whitehead for the Atari Video Computer System and published by Activision in 1981. Stampede is a left-to-right, horizontally-scrolling, action game with a cattle round-up theme. An Intellivision version was released the following year.
Seaquest is an Atari 2600 video game designed by Steve Cartwright and published by Activision in 1983. The game is an underwater shooter in which the player controls a submarine.
Laser Blast is a single-player video game developed and published by Activision in March 1981 for the Atari VCS console. Designed by David Crane, one of Activision's co-founders, Laser Blast places players in control of flying saucers attacking land targets.
