Tubeway

Last updated
Tubeway
Tubeway cover.jpg
Developer(s) Datamost
Publisher(s) Datamost
Programmer(s) David Arthur Van Brink [1]
Platform(s) Apple II
Release1982
Genre(s) Fixed shooter
Mode(s) Single-player

Tubeway (sometimes stylized as Tubeway ][) is a video game for the Apple II programmed by David Arthur Van Brink and published by Datamost in 1983. [1] It is similar to the 1981 Atari arcade game Tempest .

Contents

Gameplay

The third level Tubeway.png
The third level

Tubeway is a tube shooter in which the player uses paddles to move a small white crosshair around the top of a "tube" or wall while firing down at the computer-controlled opponents attempting to scale their way up it. The opponents, known as the Tubeway Army (one of several references to Gary Numan in the game),[ citation needed ] consist of triangular green homers (100 points) and triangular blue seekers (200 points), both of which can return fire. A special opponent called the germ occasionally emerges from a white box in the lower left corner of the screen. The goal of the game is to clear as many levels as possible before running out of lives. An extra life is granted every 20,000 points.

Reception

In an 8 out of 10 review, the January 1983 Arcade Express newsletter mentioned the similarity to Tempest, but called it "just different enough to stand as an independent program within the same gaming genre." [2]

In 1984, Softline readers named Tubeway the sixth-worst Apple program of 1983. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Minter</span> British video game designer

Jeff Minter is an English video game designer and programmer who often goes by the name Yak. He is the founder of software house Llamasoft and has created dozens of games during his career, which began in 1981 with games for the ZX80. Minter's games are shoot 'em ups which contain titular or in-game references demonstrating his fondness of ruminants. Many of his programs also feature something of a psychedelic element, as in some of the earliest "light synthesizer" programs including Trip-a-Tron.

<i>Archon: The Light and the Dark</i> 1983 video game

Archon: The Light and the Dark is a 1983 video game developed by Free Fall Associates and one of the first five games published by Electronic Arts. It is superficially similar to chess, in that it takes place on a board with alternating black and white squares, but instead of fixed rules when landing on another player's piece, an arcade-style fight takes place to determine the victor, and each piece has different combat abilities. The health of the player's piece is enhanced when landing on a square of one's own color.

<i>Zaxxon</i> 1982 video game

Zaxxon is a scrolling shooter developed and released by Sega as an arcade video game in 1982. The player pilots a ship through heavily defended space fortresses. Japanese electronics company Ikegami Tsushinki was also involved in the game's development.

<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>Lode Runner</i> 1983 video game

Lode Runner is a 2D puzzle-platform game, developed by Doug Smith and published by Broderbund in 1983. Its gameplay mechanics are similar to Space Panic from 1980. The player controls a character who must collect all the gold pieces in a level and get to the end while being chased by a number of enemies. It is one of the first games to include a level editor.

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

Tempest is a 1981 arcade video game by Atari, Inc., designed and programmed by Dave Theurer. It takes place on a three-dimensional surface divided into lanes, sometimes as a closed tube, and viewed from one end. The player controls a claw-shaped "blaster" that sits on the edge of the surface, snapping from segment to segment as a rotary knob is turned, and can fire blaster shots to destroy enemies and obstacles by pressing a button.

<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>Tag Team Wrestling</i> 1983 arcade video game

Tag Team Wrestling, known as The Big Pro Wrestling! in Japan, is a wrestling video game developed by Technōs Japan and released for arcades in 1983. The arcade version was published by Data East both in Japan and North America, but only the North American version mentions the name of Data East in-game. It was later ported in the mid-1980s to computers and the Famicom/NES.

<i>Mr. Do!</i> 1982 video game

Mr. Do! is a 1982 maze video game developed by Universal. It is the first arcade video game to be released as a conversion kit for other cabinets; Taito published the conversion kit in Japan. The game was inspired by Namco's Dig Dug released earlier in 1982. Mr. Do! was a commercial success in Japan and North America, selling 30,000 arcade units in the US, and it was followed by several arcade sequels.

<i>Hard Hat Mack</i> 1983 video game

Hard Hat Mack is a platform game developed by Michael Abbot and Matthew Alexander for the Apple II which was published by Electronic Arts in 1983. Ports for the Atari 8-bit computers and Commodore 64 were released simultaneously. It is part of the first batch of five games from Electronic Arts, and the company called it out as "truly EA's first game." Versions for the Amstrad CPC and IBM PC compatibles followed in 1984.

Starcade is an American game show where contestants competed against one another by playing arcade video games. The series originally aired on WTBS from 1982 to 1983, followed by a run in syndication for the following season.

<i>Star Trek</i> (arcade game) 1983 video game

Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator is a space combat simulation arcade video game based on the original Star Trek television program and movie series, and released by Sega in 1983. Star Trek uses color vector graphics for both a 2D display and a 3D first-person perspective. The player controls the Starship Enterprise and must defend sectors from invading Klingon ships. The game includes synthesized speech

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

Sneakers is a fixed shooter video game for the Apple II written by Mark Turmell and published by Sirius Software in 1981. A version for Atari 8-bit computers was released the same year. Sneakers was Turmell's first published game. He later was the lead designer and programmer of 1993's NBA Jam.

<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>Cube Quest</i> 1983 video game

Cube Quest is a shoot 'em up arcade laserdisc game by American company Simutrek released in 1983. It was primarily designed and programmed by Paul Allen Newell, who previously wrote some Atari 2600 games. It was introduced at Tokyo's Amusement Machine Show in September 1983 and then the AMOA show the following month, before releasing in North America in December 1983.

<i>Axis Assassin</i> 1983 video game

Axis Assassin is a video game written by John Field for the Apple II and published by Electronic Arts in 1983. Ports for Atari 8-bit computers and Commodore 64 were released alongside the Apple II original. The game is similar in concept and visuals to Atari, Inc.'s 1981 Tempest arcade video game.

<i>Galactic Gladiators</i> 1982 video game

Galactic Gladiators is a 1982 computer wargame published by Strategic Simulations for the Apple II and IBM PC.

<i>Black Belt</i> (1984 video game) 1984 video game

Black Belt is a 1984 video game published by Earthware Computer Services for the Apple II and Commodore 64. A taekwondo simulator, this title allows a player to spar with another human or computer opponent while strictly adhering to the rules of the sport including scoring and penalties. Black Belt is the fourth game from Earthware and the second programmed by Kevin Ryan for the company. The game was released as an educational supplement to real life taekwondo training.

References

  1. 1 2 Hague, James. "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers".
  2. "The Hotseat" (PDF). The Arcade Express. 1 (11). January 2, 1983.
  3. "The Best and the Rest". St.Game. Mar–Apr 1984. p. 49. Retrieved 28 July 2014.