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Exidy
Exidy, Inc. was an American developer and manufacturer of coin-operated electro-mechanical and video games which operated from 1973 to 1999. They manufactured many notable titles including '' Death Race'' (1976), ''Circus'' (1978), '' Star Fire'' (1978), '' Venture'' (1981), '' Mouse Trap'' (1981), ''Crossbow'' (1983), and ''Chiller'' (1986). They were also the creators of the Exidy Sorcerer (1978) home computer platform. History Harold Ray “Pete” Kauffman had worked in the technological field at Data Disc Corporation with Charles McEwan and John Metzler. When the two broke off to form the graphics terminal company Ramtek Corporation in Sunnyvale, California, Kauffman joined them as a marketing executive. In late 1972, Kauffman was one of a handful of engineers sent to examine the prototype of Atari Inc’s ''Pong'' (1972) in the Andy Capp’s Tavern in Sunnyvale. Kauffman recalled of the experience: "I was really excited when I first saw the ''Pong'' game on test at a lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Exidy Sorcerer
The Sorcerer is a home computer system released in 1978 by the video game company Exidy, of Sunnyvale, California, and later marketed as a small business computer system under their Exidy Systems subsidiary. Based on the Zilog Z80 and the general layout of the emerging S-100 standard, the Sorcerer was comparatively advanced when released, and especially when compared to the contemporary and more commercially successful Commodore PET and TRS-80. Sorcerer sales worldwide, of around 20,000 units, is comparable to the TRS-80 model II, both targeting Small or Home Business Computer users. The overall concept originated with Paul Terrell, formerly of the Byte Shop, a pioneering computer store. Coincidentally, the TRS-80 model I was designed by Steve Leininger, a former Byte Shop employee. Lacking financial investment from its parent company, which was focused on the coin-operated arcade game market, and which, unlike Apple, did not wish to seek venture capital, the Sorcerer was sold p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Death Race (1976 Video Game)
''Death Race'' is an arcade driving video game developed and released by Exidy in the United States, first shipping to arcade distributors in April 1976. The game was a modification of Exidy's 1975 game '' Destruction Derby'' in which players crashed into cars to accrue points. In ''Death Race'', the objective became to run into "gremlins" to gain score. The game could be played with one or two players controlling different cars. The original working title for the game which appeared on some early advertisements was ''Death Race 98''. The game attracted a great deal of controversy over the content of the game which was centered around killing humanoid figures. In July 1976, newspapers and civic organizations began to attack the game for facilitating violence in virtual form. Gameplay In the game, one or two players control an on-screen car with a steering wheel and an acceleration pedal. The object is to run down "gremlins" who are fleeing the vehicle. As the player hits them, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Star Fire
''Star Fire'' is a first-person arcade coin-operated space combat video game created by Technical Magic for Midway-Bally and licensed for manufacture to Exidy in December 1978. It was distributed in Japan by Taito and Esco Trading in 1979. Designed by Ted Michon and David Rolfe and inspired by the film ''Star Wars'', the game is not based on a licensed property. ''Star Fire'' was a major success for Exidy, and became the first arcade video game to use an enclosed sit-down cockpit cabinet, the first to allow a highest scoring player to enter their initials in a high score table, and one of the first to be built on a reprogrammable microprocessor based game system with full screen color graphics. It was followed by an updated version, ''Star Fire II'', with fixes. It was then ported by Epyx to Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit computers in a bundle with ''Fire One'', another Exidy game. Gameplay The player flies through starfields, zapping enemy starfighters out of existence. The p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Terrell
Paul Terrell is an American businessman. In December 1975, he founded Byte Shop, the first personal computer retailer shop. He helped popularize personal computing to the hobbyist and home computing markets, and was the first retailer to sell an Apple Computer, the Apple I. The Byte Shop Paul Terrell started the Byte Shop in Mountain View, California in December 1975. By January, he was approached by individuals who wanted to open their own stores. He signed dealership agreements with them, whereby he would take a percentage of their profits, and soon there were Byte Shops in Hayward, Santa Clara, San Jose, Palo Alto, Fresno, and Portland, Oregon. In March 1976, Terrell incorporated as Byte, Inc. and was one of the four big computer retailers, along with Dick Heisers, ("The Computer Store"), Peachtree in Atlanta, and Dick Brown. Apple I The Byte Shop was the first retailer of the original Apple I computer. At the time Steve Jobs was planning to sell bare circuit boar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chiller (video Game)
''Chiller'' is a light gun arcade game released in 1986 by Exidy. An unlicensed port was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990 by American Game Cartridges in the US, and in Australia by HES ( Home Entertainment Suppliers), with the option of using either the standard controller or the NES Zapper. In the game, the player takes on the role of an unseen torturer who must maim, mutilate, and murder restrained non-player characters in a variety of dungeon settings. Few of the NPCs in the game are capable of fighting back, with the challenge element lying in how quickly the player can cause each of the victims to die. Gameplay The game consists of four main levels: the ''torture chamber'', the ''rack room'', the ''haunted house hallway'', and the ''graveyard''. If enough score is accumulated by completing these levels successfully, a final ''bonus round'' is unlocked, which consists of target practice where objects traveling at increasingly high speeds must be sho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crossbow (video Game)
''Crossbow'' is a light gun shooter released as an arcade video game by Exidy in 1983. It was later published by Absolute Entertainment for the Commodore 64 and MS-DOS, and by Atari Corporation for the Atari 2600, Atari 7800, and Atari 8-bit computers starting in 1987. The game is controlled via a positional gun that resembles a full-sized crossbow. Exidy promoted ''Crossbow'' to arcade operators as being convertible to new themes released in the future. Five themed conversion kits were created, each commencing with the letter 'c': ''Cheyenne'', ''Combat'', ''Crackshot'', ''Clay Pigeon'', and the controversial ''Chiller''. Several more games were also released for the system: Hit 'n Miss, Showdown, Top Secret, and Who Dunnit. Gameplay The player protects a band of adventurers from afar by shooting objects that threaten them. The adventurers enter from the left-hand side of the screen and attempt to cross the screen unharmed. If the player helps them reach the opposite side ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cinematronics
Cinematronics Incorporated was an arcade game video game developer, developer that primarily released vector graphics games in the late 1970s and early 1980s. While other companies released games based on raster graphics, raster displays, early in their history, Cinematronics and Atari, Inc. released vector-display games, which offered a distinctive look and a greater graphic capability (at the time), at the cost of being only black and white (initially). Cinematronics also published ''Dragon's Lair (1983 video game), Dragon's Lair'' in 1983, the first major LaserDisc video game. History Cinematronics Inc. was founded on April 1, 1975, by two players of the San Diego Chargers football team, Dennis Partee and Gary Garrison, as well as Jimmie Dale “Jim” Pierce (1937–2011) in San Diego, California. Garrison initially served as president until Pierce assumed that role. The company first entered the market creating clones of ''Pong'', selling them in the local area. Their fir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ramtek Corporation
Ramtek Corporation was a California-based manufacturer of computer display terminals founded in 1971. Co-founders Charles E. McEwan and John W. Metzler had previously worked together at the computer graphics division of Data Disc, Inc., and founded Ramtek to create devices for displaying information from computer systems. Their major business was in medical monitors, as well as creating high-end graphical terminals for industrial and academic use. In 1973, they became one of the earliest manufacturers of video games, and manufactured coin-operated games until 1979. They became a publicly traded company starting in 1979. In 1981, it was reported Ramtek was the top company in the field of raster graphics display terminals.Now Eyeing Graphics, Ramtek Searches for Cash As Loral Deal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Targ (video Game)
''Targ'' is a maze shoot 'em up developed by Exidy and released as an arcade video game in 1980. It depicts vehicular combat in a future world. It was released in North America by Exidy in June 1980 and in Japan by Sega in July. It was listed by '' Play Meter'' as one of only two maze games among the top 20 highest-grossing arcade video games of 1980, which was dominated by space shoot 'em ups. Its success prompted Exidy to release '' Spectar'', a sequel with improved graphics, in July 1980. A port of ''Targ'' was developed for the Atari 2600 by CBS Games, but never released. Gameplay The locale, described by the game cabinet as "The Crystal City", is a 10x10 grid of roads demarcated by square buildings. The player, piloting the ''Wummel'', which looks like a small green car, maneuvers through the maze trying to shoot enemies and avoid collisions with them. Most of the enemies consist of angry-looking red wedges known as ''Targs''. Occasionally, a small cyan-colored Spectar S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mouse Trap (1981 Video Game)
''Mouse Trap'' is a maze video game developed by Exidy and released in arcades in 1981. It is similar to ''Pac-Man'', with the main character replaced by a mouse, the dots with cheese, the ghosts with cats, and the energizers with bones. After collecting a bone, pressing a button briefly turns the mouse into a dog. Color-coded doors in the maze can be toggled by pressing a button of the corresponding color. A hawk periodically flies across the maze, unrestricted by walls. Coleco ported ''Mouse Trap'' to ColecoVision as a 1982 launch title, then later to the Intellivision and Atari 2600. Gameplay The player uses a four-position joystick to maneuver a mouse throughout a maze and eat pieces of cheese scattered along the paths. Six cats patrol the maze and chase the player, with two present at the outset and four more being released one at a time. The maze has three sets of color-coded doors, which the player can open or close by pressing the corresponding buttons in order to bloc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Head On (video Game)
''Head On'' is an arcade video game developed by Sega/Gremlin and released by Sega in 1979. It was the first maze video game where the goal is to run over dots. Designed by Lane Hauck at Sega/Gremlin in the United States, it was the fourth highest-grossing arcade game of 1979 in both Japan and the US. Sega released a sequel, ''Head On Part II'', later the same year. The original inspired a number of clones, as well as Namco's '' Rally-X'' (1980). Gameplay Arcade screenshot Two cars continuously drive forward through rectangular channels in a simple maze. At the four cardinal directions are gaps where a car can change lanes. The player goal is to collect all dots in the maze while avoiding collisions with the computer-controlled car that is travelling in the opposite direction. Development The game was developed by Sega/Gremlin in the United States, designed by Lane Hauck. He brainstormed the concept in 1978, roughly around the time that Sega purchased Gremlin Industries. Af ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Venture (video Game)
''Venture'' is a fantasy-themed action game released as an arcade video game in 1981 by Exidy. Each level consists of a playable, overhead map view. Upon entering one of the rooms shown on the map, the game zooms in until the room fills the screen. As a round smiley-face named Winky, the goal is to collect the treasure in each of the rooms. Winky can shoot arrows at enemies which turn into slowly disintegrating corpses when hit. Corpses are deadly to the touch. Each room has a different layout, treasure, and enemies, and some rooms have special features, such as moving walls. A port was released as a launch title for the ColecoVision in 1982, followed by versions for the Atari 2600 and Intellivision. Gameplay Winky is equipped with a bow and arrow and explores a dungeon with rooms and hallways. The hallways are patrolled by large, tentacled monsters named Hallmonsters, which cannot be killed, injured, or stopped in any way. Once in a room, Winky may kill monsters, avoid traps ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
