| Othello | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Atari, Inc. |
| Publisher(s) | Atari, Inc. |
| Programmer(s) | Ed Logg Carol Shaw |
| Platform(s) | Atari 2600 |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | Strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, two-player |
Othello is a 1980 video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. for its Atari Video Computer System (later called the Atari 2600). It is based on the variant of Reversi of the same name, originally created in 1971. [1] [2] [3] The VCS game was programmed by Ed Logg and Carol Shaw.
The game broadly resembles the game originally developed by Parker Brothers in that it is set on an 8x8 board on which the player must capture squares by sandwiching their opponent's counters between their own. [1] The game has four skill levels. [4] Both one-player and competitive two-player modes are included in the game. [4] The player can create their own problem by depositing pieces on the board, and select whether to go first or not. [5]
The game was programmed by Ed Logg, who had studied artificial intelligence at the Stanford University AI Lab, [6] and Carol Shaw, who later created River Raid . Shaw programmed the visuals for Othello. [7] [8] The cover-art for the cartridge was created by Steve Hendricks. [2] [9]
A review in the Autumn 1983 edition of UK magazine TV Gamer criticised the AI, saying that, "the computer can manage only average ability even at its highest level of play", and that by that point the game was showing its age, but also said that the game would suit those who enjoyed that kind of strategy game. [1] Electronic Games editors Arnie Katz and Bill Kunkel assessed the game as "moderately challenging", calling the AI "a fair, if unexceptional, opponent." [10] Conversely, a review in the 1983 Book of Atari Software described the game as "a very sophisticated and challenging game" and gave the game a rating of "A" overall. [11]
A review in the January 1983 issue of Tilt, the French video-games magazine, was broadly positive, particularly praising the ability to set up a problem before starting the game as an advantage over other electronic games of Othello, though it noted that the "expert" difficulty setting merely equated to the level of a good beginner. [5] Conversely, a review in the Autumn 1983 issue of Creative Computing Video & Arcade Games was praising of the AI, describing the opponent on "Expert" setting as "capable of beating the pants off of you". [12]
Centipede is a 1981 fixed shooter arcade video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. Designed by Dona Bailey and Ed Logg, it was one of the most commercially successful games from the golden age of arcade video games and one of the first with a significant female player base. The primary objective is to shoot all the segments of a centipede that winds down the playing field. An arcade sequel, Millipede, followed in 1982.
Tennis is a sports video game for the Atari VCS which was written by Activision co-founder Alan Miller and published by Activision in 1981.
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.
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.
Haunted House is a 1982 adventure video game programmed by James Andreasen for the Atari Video Computer System and published by Atari. The player controls an avatar shaped like a pair of eyes who explores a mansion seeking out parts of an urn to return to the entrance. The game world is populated by roaming enemies including vampire bats, tarantulas, and a ghost. Haunted House was among the first games to use player-controlled scrolling between large portions of the visual space.
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.
Air-Sea Battle is a fixed shooter developed and published by Atari, Inc. for the Atari VCS. Air-Sea Battle is partially based on the 1975 Atari arcade video game Anti-Aircraft where each player uses a ground-based gun to shoot passing aircraft. The cartridge adds other variants, such as planes dropping bombs on ships and a carnival-themed shooting gallery.
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.
Ice Hockey is an ice hockey video game designed by Alan Miller for the Atari VCS, and published by Activision in 1981. Actor and comedian Phil Hartman starred in the commercial for the game.
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.
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.
Carol Shaw is one of the first female game designers and programmers in the video game industry. She is best known for creating the Atari 2600 vertically scrolling shooter game River Raid (1982) for Activision. She worked for Atari, Inc. from 1978 to 1980, where she designed multiple games including 3-D Tic-Tac-Toe (1978) and Video Checkers (1980), both for the Atari VCS before it was renamed to the 2600. She left game development in 1984 and retired in 1990.
Eggomania is an action video game released in January 1983 by U.S. Games for the Atari 2600. Similar in design to Kaboom!, which itself is a derivative of the arcade game Avalanche, the objective is to catch eggs in a hat which are thrown by a chicken.
Superman is a video game programmed by John Dunn for the Atari Video Computer System and released in 1979 by Atari, Inc. The player controls Superman, whose quest is to explore an open-ended environment to find three pieces of a bridge that was destroyed by Lex Luthor, capture Luthor and his criminal gang, and return to the Daily Planet building. The game world is populated by antagonists such as a helicopter that re-arranges the bridge pieces and roving kryptonite satellites that cause Superman to revert into Clark Kent.
Demons to Diamonds is a fixed shooter for the Atari 2600 produced by Atari, Inc. and released in 1982. It was programmed by Nick Turner with graphics designed by Alan Murphy. Nick Turner previously ported Super Breakout to the 2600. The manual states that the game was primarily designed for children in the 6 to 12 age range.
Surround is a video game programmed by Alan Miller and published by Atari, Inc. for the Atari Video Computer System. In the game, players navigate a continuously moving block around an enclosed space as a wall trails behind it. Every time the opposite player hits a wall with their block, the other player earns a single point. The first player to reach ten points is the winner.
Home Run is a 1978 sports video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. for the Atari Video Computer System. It was the first baseball-themed game released for an Atari platform. The game received mostly negative critical reception due to its unrealistic portrayal of the sport. It was one of the games used by console competitor Mattel to show the quality improvement of Intellivision sports games over the Atari VCS.
Video Checkers is a video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. in 1980 for the Atari VCS, renamed to Atari 2600.
I also did the graphics for the Othello game that Ed Logg did.
