Salmon Run (video game)

Last updated
Salmon Run
Salmon Run Coverart.png
Developer(s) Bill Williams
Publisher(s) Atari Program Exchange
Synapse Software (VIC)
Platform(s) Atari 8-bit, VIC-20
Release1982: Atari 8-bit
1983: VIC-20
Genre(s) Action
Mode(s)1-4 player

Salmon Run is a 1982 video game for Atari 8-bit computers created by Bill Williams and distributed via the Atari Program Exchange. Salmon Run was the first game in Williams's career, followed by a string of successes noted for their oddball concepts. [1] The player takes the role of Sam the Salmon, swimming upriver to mate. Along the way he encounters waterfalls, a bear, fishermen, and seagulls.

Contents

In 1983, Salmon Run was released for the VIC-20 by Synapse Software under the Showcase Software label. [2]

Gameplay

Sam the Salmon being chased by a black bear (Atari 8-bit) Salmon Run Atari 8-bit PAL screenshot.png
Sam the Salmon being chased by a black bear (Atari 8-bit)

Salmon Run is an overhead view, vertically scrolling game. As the river scrolls, the player primarily moves side-to-side to avoid obstacles.

Each player starts with one life and gains another for each successful round. [3] Hitting the rocks or bank of the river drains Sam's life slightly. Along the way there are a series of rapids which will stop Sam's motion upriver until he jumps them by pressing the fire button. After landing, Sam dips underwater, and can stay there by holding down the button. More dangerous are the bears, fishermen and seagulls that will kill Sam instantly if caught, but can be avoided by careful swimming or hiding underwater.

On reaching the end of the map, Sam meets and kisses Samantha, and the round starts over with a new map and more enemies.

Reception

In 1982, Softline remarked on the unusual gameplay of saving things, not destroying them. The magazine praised the "outstanding ... remarkably lifelike" sound effects, and concluded that "Salmon Run is a charming game that gives the player a genuine sense of ecological accomplishment; it's also quick to learn and quite contagious". [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Star Raiders</i> 1980 video game

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.

<i>Centipede</i> (video game) 1981 video game

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.

<i>Defender</i> (1981 video game) 1981 video game

Defender is a horizontally scrolling shooter developed by Williams Electronics in 1980 and released as an arcade video game in 1981. 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's first video game project and drew inspiration from Space Invaders and Asteroids. Defender was demonstrated in late 1980 and was released in March 1981. It was distributed in Japan by Taito.

<i>Choplifter</i> 1982 video game

Choplifter is a military themed scrolling shooter developed by Dan Gorlin for the Apple II and published by Broderbund in 1982. It was ported to Atari 8-bit computers the same year and also to the VIC-20, Commodore 64, Atari 5200, ColecoVision, MSX, and Thomson computers.

<i>Jungle Hunt</i> 1982 video game

Jungle Hunt, is a side-scrolling action game developed by Taito for arcades. It was originally distributed in 1982 as Jungle King, then quickly modified and re-released as Jungle Hunt following a copyright dispute over the player character's likeness to Tarzan. Taito also distributed a less successful rebranding of the game as Pirate Pete in 1982. Jungle King, along with Moon Patrol released a month earlier, is one of the first video games which has parallax scrolling.

<i>Moon Patrol</i> 1982 video game

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. Cabinet art for the Williams version was done by Larry Day. Most of the home ports were from Atari, Inc., sometimes under the Atarisoft label.

Bill Williams was an American video game designer, programmer, composer, and author born with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder. According to a medical encyclopedia Williams consulted when he was 12, people with cystic fibrosis weren't expected to live past the age of 13.

<i>Shamus</i> (video game) 1982 video game

Shamus is a shooter with light action-adventure game elements written by Cathryn Mataga and published by Synapse Software. The original Atari 8-bit computer version was released on disk and tape in 1982. According to Synapse co-founder Ihor Wolosenko, Shamus made the company famous by giving it a reputation for quality. "Funeral March of a Marionette", the theme song from Alfred Hitchcock Presents, plays on the title screen.

<i>Caverns of Mars</i> 1981 video game

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.

Synapse Software Corporation was an American software developer and publisher founded in 1981 by Ihor Wolosenko and Ken Grant. Synapse published application software and developer tools and was primarily known for video games. It initially focused on the Atari 8-bit computers, then later developed for the Commodore 64 and other systems. Synapse was purchased by Broderbund in late 1984 and the Synapse label retired in 1985.

<i>Crossfire</i> (1981 video game) 1981 video game

Crossfire is a multidirectional shooter created by Jay Sullivan for the Apple II and published by On-Line Systems in 1981. Using keyboard-based twin-stick shooter controls, the player maneuvers a ship in a grid-like maze. Versions with joystick-control use the stick for movement and switch to firing mode when the button is held down.

<i>Astro Chase</i> 1982 video game

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.

<i>Fort Apocalypse</i> 1982 video game

Fort Apocalypse is a multidirectional scrolling shooter for Atari 8-bit computers created by Steve Hales and published by Synapse Software in 1982. Joe Vierra ported it to the Commodore 64 the same year. The player navigates an underground prison in a helicopter, destroying or avoiding enemies and rescuing prisoners. A contemporary of Choplifter, it has similarities to that game as well as the arcade games Scramble and Super Cobra.

<i>Legionnaire</i> (video game) 1982 video game

Legionnaire is a computer wargame for Atari 8-bit computers created by Chris Crawford released through Avalon Hill in 1982. Recreating Julius Caesar's campaigns in a semi-historical setting, the player takes command of the Roman legions in real-time battles against the barbarians.

<i>Serpentine</i> (video game) 1982 video game

Serpentine is a maze video game written by David Snider for the Apple II and published by Broderbund in 1982. Serpentine's gameplay and visuals are similar to the Konami arcade game, Jungler, released the previous year. It was ported to the Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit computers. A VIC-20 version was licensed to Creative Software.

<i>Lunar Leepers</i> 1982 video game

Lunar Leeper, also released as Lunar Leepers, is a horizontally scrolling shooter written by Chuck Bueche and published under Sierra On-Line's SierraVision label in 1982. It was released for the Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, Commodore 64, and VIC-20. The Apple II version was copy-protected using Sierra's Spiradisc system.

<i>Shamus: Case II</i> 1983 video game

Shamus: Case II is a 1983 video game for Atari 8-bit computers written by Cathryn Mataga and published by Synapse Software. Mataga also wrote the original Shamus and the scrolling shooter Zeppelin. A port to the Commodore 64 by Joe Vierra was released in 1984. Although ostensibly a sequel to Shamus, the gameplay is very different, combining aspects of platform games, maze games, and even Breakout. Case II was as well received as the original.

<i>Hazard Run</i> 1982 video game

Hazard Run is a 1982 racing video game developed by Dennis R. Zander and published by Artworx for Atari 8-bit computers. In 1984, Artworx considered re-publishing the game as a tie-in to the television series The Dukes of Hazzard.

<i>Track Attack</i> 1982 video game

Track Attack is a train-themed action game written by Chris Jochumson for the Apple II. It was published in 1982 by Broderbund, as was a port for Atari 8-bit computers by Bill Hooper. Track Attack contains both overhead maze levels and side-scrolling platform game levels. In the latter, the player controls a character who runs along the top of a train, performing acrobatic leaps between the cars. Jochumson co-authored The Arcade Machine which was released the same year.

<i>A.E.</i> (video game) 1982 video game

A.E. is a fixed shooter written by Jun Wada and Makoto Horai for the Apple II and Atari 8-bit computers and published by Broderbund in 1982. Versions followed for the VIC-20 (1983) and MSX (1984). Unlike most earlier shooters which have a solid color or starfield as a background, the action in A.E. takes place in front of science fiction scenes. Attacking creatures emerge from points in the image, often appearing to come from behind objects. Combined with a slight scaling as they advance, there is the impression of depth.

References

  1. ↑ Hague, James (May 13, 1999). "Bill Williams Remembered".
  2. ↑ "VIC-20 Cartridge Rarity & Gameplay list". Digital Press.
  3. 1 2 Bang, Derrick (November 1982). "Salmon Run". Softline. pp. 20–21. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.