| Video Checkers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Atari, Inc. |
| Publisher(s) | Atari, Inc. |
| Programmer(s) | Carol Shaw |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | Strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Video Checkers is a video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. in 1980 for the Atari VCS, renamed to Atari 2600. [1] [2]
The game is based on the traditional game of checkers, called draughts outside North America. It has 19 variations of play. [3]
The game was developed by Carol Shaw at Atari. She was one of Atari's earliest female programmers, and Video Checkers and 3D Tic-Tac-Toe are two of the first commercially-released video games written by a woman. [4] She accepted the project because Bob Whitehead was working on Video Chess at the time. Working with 4 kilobytes of ROM and the system's 128 bytes of RAM, her algorithm uses alpha–beta pruning. This is more sophisticated than the algorithm developed at the same time by Activision co-founder Alan Miller for his version of Checkers, which uses 2 kilobytes of ROM. Miller later called Shaw to offer her a job at Activision, impressed with her work on Video Checkers. [5]
The artwork for the game was done by Steve Hendricks. [2] [6] The game's release was announced at Consumer Electronics Show in June 1980. [7]
Writing in The Player's Strategy Guide to Atari VCS Home Video Games in 1982, Electronic Games editors Arnie Katz and Bill Kunkel called the game "moderately challenging", remarking that the computer player "is usually capable of matching the skill level of just about any player". [8] In a June 1983 review of Video Checkers, the game was described as "rather limited in its interest [...] unless you are an addict of the game". [3] In the 1984 German book, Das grosse Handbuch der Video Spiele, Harmut Huff gave the game a middling score. [9]
In the 2011 book Classic Home Video Games, 1972-1984 A Complete Reference Guide, Brett Weiss praised the computer player, saying it did "a reasonably good job", but criticized the way the screen blanks while planning its turn. [1] In the 2018 book The A-Z of Atari 2600 Games: Volume 2, Kieren Hawken gave a negative review, criticizing the "sluggish" controls, the slow speed at which the computer takes its turns, and the basic graphics, giving the game a score of 3/10 overall. [10]
Video Checkers was re-released in 2003 for Windows in the collection Atari: 80 Classic Games in One! [11] and in 2017 on the Atari Flashback series of consoles. [12]
Kaboom! is an action video game published in 1981 by Activision for the Atari VCS. It was programmed by Larry Kaplan, and David Crane coded the overlaid sprites. The game was well received and sold over one million cartridges by 1983.
Pitfall! is a video game developed by David Crane for the Atari Video Computer System 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.
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 programmed by Rob Fulop for the Atari 2600 and published by Imagic in 1982. It sold over 2 million cartridges. Demon Attack was ported to the Intellivision, Magnavox Odyssey 2, Atari 8-bit family, VIC-20, Commodore 64, Tandy 1000, TRS-80, IBM PCjr, and TRS-80 Color Computer. There is also a port for the TI-99/4A titled Super Demon Attack.
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 enemies while collecting fuel and not crashing.
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.
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.
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 an Atari 2600 game by Steve Cartwright and published by Activision in 1982. Versions were released for the Atari 5200 and Atari 8-bit family in 1983. Megamania is similar to Sega's 1981 arcade title Astro Blaster. Both games have nearly identical patterns of approaching enemies with the player relying on an "energy" meter. The player's ships are remarkably similar in both games.
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 game written by David Crane for the Atari 2600 and published by Activision in 1983. It was ported to the Atari 8-bit family, 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 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.
Video Chess is a chess game for the Atari VCS programmed by Larry Wagner and Bob Whitehead and released by Atari in 1979. Both programmers later developed games for Activision.
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.
Dragster, released in 1980 for the Atari Video Computer System, is one of the first video games developed by Activision.
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.
Othello is a 1980 video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. for its Atari Video Computer System. It is based on the variant of Reversi of the same name, originally created in 1971. The VCS game was programmed by Ed Logg and Carol Shaw.
Radar Lock is a 1989 video game developed and published by Atari for the Atari 2600.
RealSports Baseball is a 1982 sports video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. originally for the Atari 2600. It was also launched on the Atari 5200 and 7800 machines. A version for the Atari 8-bit family of home computers was also in development, but it was cancelled.
