Spare Change (video game)

Last updated
Spare Change
Spare Change (video game) Cover Art.jpg
Publisher(s) Broderbund
Designer(s) Dan Zeller
Mike Zeller
Platform(s) Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, FM-7, Sharp X1
Release1983: Apple II, Atari 8-bit, C64
1985: FM-7, Sharp X1
Genre(s) Action

Spare Change is an action game designed by Dan and Mike Zeller and published in 1983 by Broderbund [1] for the Apple II and Atari 8-bit home computers. A Commodore 64 version was written by Steven Ohmert [1] and released the same year. Ports for FM-7 and Sharp X1 were released in 1985. The difficulty of Spare Change can be customized through seven settings at the "Zerks Control Panel". [2]

Contents

Plot

Spare Change is a game in which the player is the owner of the Spare Change Arcade and is trying to keep two animated characters called Zerks from stealing enough game tokens to retire after escaping from their game. [3]

Gameplay

The player is competing with the Zerks to collect tokens. If the Zerks get five tokens stored in their piggy bank, then they win and the game ends. [2] If the player fills the two token bins with a total of ten tokens, then the level advances. The Zerks can be distracted by the jukebox, popcorn machine, and pay phone—each of which is operated with tokens. Activating the jukebox causes the Zerks to dance. The player also needs to keep the arcade operating by refilling the token machines and cash register. When ten tokens are collected, the Zerk Show booth is unlocked, which allows the opportunity to steal tokens from the Zerks. [2]

Reception

David Stone reviewed the game for Computer Gaming World , and stated that "In sum, SCA is an exceptionally good game because it has increasing levels of difficulty, strategy is required to outwit the Zerks, and you are given rewards (the cartoons) for mastering each level." [3] Keith Valenza called it "zany fun" in the August 1984 issue of Antic . [4] He criticized the lack of visual detail in the Zerks and the slow progression of game difficulty, but liked the tuning afforded by the Zerks Control Panel.

Reviews

Related Research Articles

<i>Star Wars</i> (1983 video game) 1983 video game

Star Wars is a first-person rail shooter video game designed by Mike Hally and released in arcades in 1983 by Atari, Inc. It uses 3D color vector graphics to simulate the assault on the Death Star from the 1977 film Star Wars. Developed during the Golden Age of Arcade Games, Star Wars has been included on lists of the greatest video games of all time.

<i>Spelunker</i> (video game) 1983 video game

Spelunker is a 1983 platform video game developed by Timothy G. Martin of MicroGraphic Image. It is set in a colossal cave, with the player starting at the cave's entrance at the top, and the objective is to get to the treasure at the bottom.

<i>Caverns of Mars</i> 1981 Atari 8-bit family video game

Caverns of Mars is a vertically scrolling shooter for the Atari 8-bit family of home computers. It was programmed by Greg Christensen, with some features added by Richard Watts, and published by the Atari Program Exchange (APX) in 1981. Caverns of Mars became the best selling APX title of all-time and was moved into Atari, Inc.'s official product line, first on diskette and later on cartridge.

<i>Drol</i> 1983 video game

Drol is a video game published by Broderbund in 1983. It was originally written for the Apple II by Benny Aik Beng Ngo, and was ported to the Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit family. It appeared for the SG-1000 in 1985 and Amiga in 1991.

Synapse Software Corporation was an American video game development and publishing company founded in 1981 by Ihor Wolosenko and Ken Grant. It initially focused on the Atari 8-bit family, then later developed for the Commodore 64 and other systems. The company was purchased by Broderbund in late 1984 and the Synapse label retired in 1985.

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

Fort Apocalypse is a multidirectionall scrolling shooter for the Atari 8-bit family 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>Serpentine</i> (video game) 1982 video game

Serpentine is a video maze 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 family, and a VIC-20 version was licensed to Creative Software.

<i>Karateka</i> (video game) 1984 video game

Karateka is a 1984 martial arts action game by Jordan Mechner and is his first published game, created for the Apple II while attending Yale University. The game was published in North America by Broderbund and in Europe by Ariolasoft. Along with Karate Champ and Yie-Ar Kung Fu, Karateka is one of the earliest martial arts fighting games. It was inspired by Japanese culture and by early Disney animated films and silent pictures.

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

Bandits is a 1982 fixed shooter written by Tony and Benny Ngo for the Apple II and published by Sirius Software. The game is a clone of Taito's 1980 Stratovox arcade video game where the goal is to prevent aliens from stealing objects. Bandits was ported to the Atari 8-bit family, Commodore 64, and VIC-20.

<i>Drelbs</i> 1983 video game

Drelbs is a maze game written by Kelly Jones for the Atari 8-bit family and published by Synapse Software in 1983. An Apple II port by Jonathan Tifft was released the same year. A Commodore 64 version followed in 1984 implemented by Miriam Nathan and William Mandel. The core objective is to move the walls of the maze to make boxes. Some reviewers found the overall collection of elements to be eccentric and unique.

<i>Gumball</i> (video game) 1983 video game

Gumball is a video game written for the Apple II by Veda Hlubinka-Cook and published by Broderbund in 1983. It was ported to the Atari 8-bit family, and Commodore 64. The player controls the valves of a maze-like machine to sort gumballs by color.

<i>Wavy Navy</i> (video game) 1983 video game

Wavy Navy is a video game designed by Rodney McAuley for the Apple II and published by Sirius Software in 1983. Atari 8-bit family and Commodore 64 versions were released the same year. Wavy Navy is a nautically themed fixed shooter with left and right controls to move the player's PT boat, but there is an additional vertical element as the boat moves up and down with the large ocean waves that scroll beneath it. The direction and speed of the waves vary per level.

<i>Hockey</i> (1981 video game) 1981 sports video game

Hockey is a 1981 sports video game published by Gamma Software for the Atari 8-bit family. Gamma also released an Atari 8-bit soccer game the following year.

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

Seafox is a shoot 'em up written by Ed Hobbs and published by Broderbund in 1982 for the Apple II and as a cartridge for the Atari 8-bit family. A VIC-20 port, also on cartridge, was released in 1983.

<i>Operation Whirlwind</i> (video game) 1983 video game

Operation Whirlwind is a 1983 video game published by Broderbund Software.

<i>Starbowl Football</i> 1982 video game

Starbowl Football is a 1982 sports video game published by Gamestar for the Atari 8-bit family. An earlier version of the game was sold by Arcade Plus as Arcade Pro Football.

<i>Bristles</i> (video game) 1983 video game

Bristles is a video game written by Fernando Herrera for the Atari 8-bit family and published by the company he cofounded, First Star Software, in 1983. It was ported to the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, and Exidy's Max-A-Flex arcade system. In Bristles, the player uses ladders and elevators to move Peter the Painter through a cutaway view of a house to paint all the walls.

<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 family and published by Broderbund in 1982. Versions for the VIC-20 (1983) and MSX (1984) followed. 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.

<i>Kid Grid</i> 1982 video game

Kid Grid is a grid capture game which borrows heavily from the 1981 arcade video game Amidar. Written by Arti Haroutunian for the Atari 8-bit family, it was published by Tronix in 1982. A Commodore 64 port from the same programmer was released in 1983.

<i>Stealth</i> (1984 video game) 1984 video game

Stealth is a pseudo-3D rail shooter designed by Tracy Lagrone and Richard Sansom. The game was published in 1984 by Broderbund for the Atari 8-bit and Commodore 64 home computers.

References

  1. 1 2 Hague, James. "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers".
  2. 1 2 3 Spare Change Manual (Atari). Atari Mania. Broderbund. 1983.
  3. 1 2 Stone, David (October 1984). "Atari Playfield". Computer Gaming World. Vol. 1, no. 18. p. 24.
  4. ↑ Valenza, Keith (August 1984). "Product Reviews: Spare Change". Antic. 3 (4): 57.
  5. ↑ "Spare Change Review". Electronic Fun with Computers & Games. Vol. 2, no. 5. March 1984.
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.