| Tax Dodge | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Free Fall Associates |
| Publisher(s) | Island Graphics |
| Designer(s) | Jon Freeman Anne Westfall |
| Platform(s) | Atari 8-bit |
| Release | 1982 |
| Genre(s) | Maze |
Tax Dodge is a maze video game for Atari 8-bit computers published by Island Graphics in 1982. [1] It is the first game created by Free Fall Associates, a developer best known for Archon: The Light and the Dark .
Tax Dodge is a game in which the player navigates a maze collecting the stacks of coins. [2] Having accumulated money, the player then tries to keep as much of it as possible out of the hands of four tax agents who are in constant pursuit.
When asked about the genesis of the concept, designer Jon Freeman replied:
we wanted to create a few maze games that weren't Pac-Man clones. The subject matter came from spending too much time doing our taxes, and the details were there partly to illustrate the absurdities of the tax code. The layout was designed to combine the Atari 800's scrolling capabilities with the feel of a board game. [3]
Allen Doum reviewed the game for Computer Gaming World , and stated that "As a game, Tax Dodge starts easy but becomes quite difficult starting with the fourth year. From there on out, players are going to have to work out patterns and, tricks to stay in the game. My only real complaint is that it seems much harder to 'corner' in this game than in most games — even with practice. Tax Dodge is a good, solid game that makes the most of its'[ sic ] theme and somewhat overdone play mechanics." [2]
Jon Freeman, of Free Fall Associates, said that the game appealed to adults, "but the average young gamer just didn't get it." [3]
Kaboom! is an action video game published in 1981 by Activision for the Atari 2600. The gameplay was based on the Atari arcade video game Avalanche (1978), with the game now involving a Mad Bomber who drops bombs instead of falling rocks. Kaboom! was programmed by Larry Kaplan with David Crane coding the graphics for the buckets and Mad Bomber. It was the last game designed by Kaplan for Activision, who left the company shortly after the release of the game. The game was later ported by Paul Wilson for the Atari 5200 system.
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.
Epyx, Inc. was a video game developer and video game publisher active in the late 1970s and 1980s. The company was founded as Automated Simulations by Jim Connelley and Jon Freeman, originally using Epyx as a brand name for action-oriented games before renaming the company to match in 1983. Epyx published a long series of games through the 1980s. The company is currently owned by Bridgestone Multimedia Group Global.
Jon Freeman is a game designer and co-founder of software developer Automated Simulations, which was later renamed to Epyx and became a major company during the 8-bit era of home computing. He is married to game programmer Anne Westfall, and they work together as Free Fall Associates. Free Fall is best known for Archon: The Light and the Dark, one of the earliest titles from Electronic Arts.
Anne Westfall is an American video game programmer and software developer, known for 1983's Archon: The Light and the Dark, originally written for the Atari 8-bit computers. Westfall and her spouse, fellow game developer Jon Freeman, together founded Free Fall Associates.
Free Fall Associates was a video game developer of the 1980s and early 1990s founded in 1981 in Palo Alto, California by game designer Jon Freeman, game programmer Anne Westfall, and game designer Paul Reiche III. Westfall and Freeman are married. To start the new company, Freeman and Westfall left Epyx, the company Freeman co-founded in 1978. Free Fall Associates is best known for Archon: The Light and the Dark (1983), which was one of the first games from new publisher Electronic Arts.
Robot Tank is a first-person shoot 'em up written by Alan Miller for the Atari 2600 and published by Activision in 1983. It is similar in design to Atari, Inc.'s Battlezone tank combat arcade video game and more so to its 2600 port. Robot Tank adds different systems which can individually be damaged—instead of the vehicle always exploding upon being shot—and weather effects.
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.
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.
Murder on the Zinderneuf is a video game designed by Jon Freeman and Paul Reiche III and one of the first six games published by Electronic Arts in 1983. It was developed for the Apple II, Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit computers, and IBM PC.
Towering Inferno is an Atari 2600 game designed by Jeff Corsiglia and programmed by Paul Allen Newell and released by US Games in 1982. The player controls a fireman going through a burning skyscraper to save victims and put out the fires. The game was produced under a licence obtained from 20th Century Fox by Quaker Oats, the parent company of US Games, for the video game rights to the movie of the same name.
Worms? is a puzzle video game written by David Maynard for Atari 8-bit computers and ported to the Commodore 64. It was released in 1983 as one of the first publications from Electronic Arts. Worms? is an interactive version of Paterson's Worms.
Monster Maze is a first-person maze game written by Robert Schilling and published in 1982 by Epyx for the Atari 8-bit family and VIC-20.
Wayout is a 3D first-person perspective video game programmed by Paul Allen Edelstein and published for the Atari 8-bit computers in 1982. It was released for the Apple II and Commodore 64 in 1983. Wayout is among the first maze games to offer full 360 degree 3D perspective and movement, and its graphics were considered state-of-the-art upon its release. There were many pseudo-3D maze games at the time, but they used a fixed perspective and limited the player to four orientations.
Attack at EP-CYG-4 is a shoot 'em up video game created by Mike Edwards for Atari 8-bit computers and published by his company BRAM, Inc. in 1982. It allows two players to cooperatively control the action against a computer enemy, in a fashion similar to Synapse Software's Survivor, also released in 1982. EP-CYG-4 was the first of Edwards' game efforts, and its success led to the creation of Zombies, which was published by Electronic Arts as Realm of Impossibility.
Hockey is a ice hockey video game published by Gamma Software for Atari 8-bit computers in 1981. Gamma released the Atari 8-bit game Soccer the following year.
Soccer is a sports video game for Atari 8-bit computers published in 1982 by Gamma Software.
Protector II is a video game written by Mike Potter for Atari 8-bit computers and published by Synapse Software in 1982. It is a sequel to 1981's Protector; both games are horizontally scrolling shooters inspired by the arcade video game Defender. Protector II was ported to the Commodore 64, TI-99/4A, and TRS-80 Color Computer.
Claim Jumper is a video game written by Gray Chang for Atari 8-bit computers and published by Synapse Software in 1982. It is primarily designed as a two-player competitive game, but includes a separate shoot 'em up mode for either one or two players.
PlatterMania is a video game written by Michael Farren for Atari 8-bit computers and published by Epyx in 1982.