A light gun is a pointing device for computers and a control device for arcade and video games, typically shaped to resemble a pistol.
Joust is an action game developed by Williams Electronics and released in arcades in 1982. While not the first two-player cooperative video game, Joust's success and polished implementation popularized the concept. Players assume the role of knights armed with lances and mounted on large birds, who must fly around the screen and defeat enemy knights riding buzzards.
Tapper, also known as Root Beer Tapper, is an arcade video game developed by Marvin Glass and Associates and released in 1984 by Bally Midway. Tapper puts the player in the shoes of a bartender who must serve eager, thirsty patrons while collecting empty mugs and tips. It was distributed in Japan by Sega in 1984.
Stargate is a horizontally scrolling shooter released as an arcade video game in 1981 by Williams Electronics. Created by Eugene Jarvis and Larry DeMar, it is a sequel to Defender which was released earlier in the year. It was the first of only three productions from Vid Kidz, an independent development house formed by Jarvis and DeMar. Some home ports of Stargate were renamed to Defender II for legal reasons.
Robotron: 2084 is a multidirectional shooter developed by Eugene Jarvis and Larry DeMar of Vid Kidz and released in arcades by Williams Electronics in 1982. The game is set in the year 2084 in a fictional world where robots have turned against humans in a cybernetic revolt. The aim is to defeat endless waves of robots, rescue surviving humans, and earn as many points as possible.
Tron is a coin-operated arcade video game manufactured and distributed by Bally Midway in 1982. The game consists of four subgames inspired by the events of the Walt Disney Productions motion picture Tron released earlier in the summer. The lead programmer was Bill Adams. The music programmer was Earl Vickers.
Rampage is a 1986 arcade video game by Bally Midway. Inspired by monster films, players control a trio of monsters: George, Lizzie, and Ralph, humans turned into creatures due to various experimental mishaps. The objective is to destroy cities and combat military forces while maintaining their health. The game is set across 128 days in cities across North America, with each cycle repeating five times. Gameplay includes destroying buildings, eating humans, and avoiding damage.
Sinistar is a 1983 multidirectional shooter arcade game developed and manufactured by Williams Electronics. It was created by Sam Dicker, Jack Haeger, Noah Falstein, RJ Mical, Python Anghelo, and Richard Witt. Players control a space pilot who battles the eponymous Sinistar, a giant, anthropomorphic spacecraft. The game is known for its use of digitized speech and high difficulty level.
Joust 2: Survival of the Fittest is an arcade game developed by Williams Electronics and released in 1986. It is a sequel to Williams' 1982 game Joust. Like its predecessor, Joust 2 is a 2D aerial combat game with platforms to land on. The player uses a button and joystick to control a knight riding a flying ostrich. The object is to progress through levels by defeating groups of enemy knights riding buzzards. Joust 2 features improved audio-visuals and new features such as mutant buzzards created by eggs falling into lava, the ability to transform from an ostrich to a flying horse, and differently themed levels. Waves no longer seamlessly flow into each other; the gameplay is divided into separate screens with transitions between them.
Bank Panic is an arcade shooter game developed by Sanritsu Denki and released by Sega in 1984. Bally-Midway manufactured the game in the US. The player assumes the part of an Old West sheriff who must protect a bank and its customers from masked robbers.
Wizard of Wor is an arcade video game released in 1981 by Midway. Up to two players fight together in a series of monster-infested mazes, clearing each maze by shooting the creatures. The game was ported to the Atari 8-bit computers, Commodore 64, Atari 2600, and Atari 5200 and renamed to The Incredible Wizard for the Bally Astrocade. The original cartridge came with a cash prize offer to the first person to complete the game.
Reactor is an arcade video game released in 1982 by Gottlieb. The object of the game is to cool down the core of a nuclear reactor without being pushed into its walls by swarms of subatomic particles. Reactor was developed by Tim Skelly, who previously designed and programmed a series of vector graphics arcade games for Cinematronics, including Rip Off. It was the first arcade game to credit the developer on the title screen. Reactor was ported to the Atari 2600 by Charlie Heath and published by Parker Brothers the same year as the original.
Warp & Warp is a multidirectional shooter arcade video game developed and published by Namco in 1981. It was released by Rock-Ola in North America as Warp Warp. The game was ported to the Sord M5 and MSX. A sequel, Warpman, was released in 1985 for the Family Computer with additional enemy types, power-ups, and improved graphics and sound.
The Grid is a 2000 arcade game by Midway. It is a third-person shooter which consists of a super-violent television game show hosted by a Smash TV-like host. The game centres around deathmatches. Players control their character using a joystick with a trigger for shooting, a top button for jumping and trackball for aiming. The object of each match is to accumulate the most points by eliminating other opponents. Local multiplayer with up to six players is possible by linking up multiple cabinets. Computer-controlled bots can also be used in place of human opponents. Players can collect cash that is used to upgrade player attributes. Individual player progress and statistics can be saved and retrieved through unique account numbers that are entered on a keypad.
Bubbles is a 2D action game developed by Williams Electronics and released arcades in 1982. The player uses a joystick to control a bubble in a kitchen sink. The object is to progress through levels by cleaning the sink while avoiding enemies.
Xybots is a 1987 third-person shooter arcade game by Atari Games. In Xybots, up to two players control "Major Rock Hardy" and "Captain Ace Gunn", who must travel through a 3D maze and fight against a series of robots known as the Xybots whose mission is to destroy all mankind. The game features a split screen display showing the gameplay on the bottom half of the screen and information on player status and the current level on the top half. Designed by Ed Logg, it was originally conceived as a sequel to his previous title, Gauntlet. The game was well received, with reviewers lauding the game's various features, particularly the cooperative multiplayer aspect. Despite this, it was met with limited financial success, which has been attributed to its unique control scheme that involves rotating the joystick to turn the player character.
Aztarac is a scrolling multidirectional shooter with color vector graphics. It was developed by Tim Stryker (1954–1996) and released in arcades by Centuri in 1983. The player commands an intergalactic race of mutant humans whose mode of transport is a tank. Its turret is independently controlled, allowing the player to move in one direction while shooting in another. The mission is to guard space outposts from hordes of incoming enemy ships. Aztarac's color vector graphics were impressive at the time of release, and a circular plastic lens over the screen accentuates the visuals. Few machines were produced, though the exact number is unclear. Centuri only developed two vector games; Aztarac was the second.
Satan's Hollow is a fixed shooter released in arcades by Bally Midway in 1982. The arcade game uses the same flight-controller style joystick with built-in trigger as Midway's Tron, released the same year. The player shoots attacking demons while attempting to build a bridge to the next screen to fight a fire-breathing devil head. A Commodore 64 port was published in 1984.
Kozmik Krooz'r is a shoot 'em up video game developed by Bally Midway and released in arcades in 1982. The spaceship, a core element of the gameplay, is not an in-game graphic, but a physical plastic model. A series of mirrors projects the mothership just above the game's monitor.
Twin-stick shooter is a subgenre of shoot 'em up video games. It is a multidirectional shooter in which the player character is controlled using two joysticks: the first for movement on a flat plane and the second to shoot in the direction the joystick is pushed. Usually shots are fired as soon as the second joystick is moved, but in some games there is an additional button which must be held. Keyboard and mouse or touch input may supplant one or both joysticks. A few games, such as 1981's Vanguard, don't have a second joystick for shooting, but provide four buttons arranged in a diamond to fire in the cardinal directions.
