''Sea Wolf'' is an

arcade video game An arcade video game is an arcade game that takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. All arcade video games are coin-oper ...

designed by Dave Nutting and released by Midway in 1976. It is a video game update of an electro-mechanical Midway game, ''Sea Devil'', itself based on

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

's 1966 electro-mechanical arcade submarine simulator ''

Periscope A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position. In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...

''. The game was released in Japan by

Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, Toy, toys, arcade cabinets, and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, Vending machine, vending machines, and Juk ...

. In ''Sea Wolf'', the player, piloting an unseen submarine, launches torpedoes vertically in an attempt to sink ships moving horizontally across the screen before time runs out. The screen is viewed through a faux periscope mounted on the cabinet. The game sold 10,000

arcade cabinet An arcade cabinet, also known as an arcade machine or a coin-op cabinet or coin-op machine, is the housing within which an arcade game's electronic hardware resides. Most cabinets designed since the mid-1980s conform to the Japanese Amusement Ma ...

s and was the highest-grossing arcade video game of 1976 and 1977 in the United States and Japan's fifth highest-grossing arcade video game of 1976. Midway released a color arcade sequel, ''Sea Wolf II'', in 1978. In 1982,

Commodore International Commodore International Corporation was a home computer and electronics manufacturer with its head office in The Bahamas and its executive office in the United States founded in 1976 by Jack Tramiel and Irving Gould. It was the successor compan ...

produced cartridge ports of ''Sea Wolf'' for the

VIC-20 The VIC-20 (known as the VC-20 in Germany and the VIC-1001 in Japan) is an 8-bit entry level home computer that was sold by Commodore International, Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commod ...

and then-new

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

computers.

Gameplay

The player looks through a large periscope to aim at ships moving across the virtual sea line at the top of the screen, using a thumb button on the right handle of the scope to shoot torpedoes. The periscope swivels to the right and left, providing horizontal motion of a targeting cross-hair. The cabinet features a mixture of video game and older electro-mechanical technology for player feedback. Using back-lit transparencies reflected inside the scope, the number of torpedoes remaining are displayed, as well as a red "RELOAD" light which illuminates momentarily when the player has launched five torpedoes. Additionally, when a ship is hit, a corresponding "explosion" light is reflected onto the screen image at the ship's approximate position. A blue overlay is affixed to the screen to provide a "water color" to the sea. Sounds include a sonar ping, the "whoosh" of launched torpedoes, torpedo explosions, and the klaxon sound of the PT boat racing across the screen. ''Sea Wolf'' is time-limited, with the player having an opportunity to win bonus time by reaching an operator-set score. The player's score is shown on the bottom half of the screen as well as the high score, one of the first known instances of a high score in a video game. Targets include destroyers, a fast-moving PT boat, and mines floating across the screen that serve as obstructions.

History

''Sea Wolf'' was developed by Dave Nutting Associates head David Nutting and programmer Tom McHugh. The two had previously worked together on '' Gun Fight'' (1975), an adaptation of Taito’s ''Western Gun'' (1975) re-engineered with a

microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor (computing), processor for which the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit (IC), or a small number of ICs. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, a ...

. The hardware for ''Gun Fight'' was developed by Jeffery Frederiksen, an

Intel 8080 The Intel 8080 is Intel's second 8-bit computing, 8-bit microprocessor. Introduced in April 1974, the 8080 was an enhanced successor to the earlier Intel 8008 microprocessor, although without binary compatibility.'' Electronic News'' was a week ...

-based system utilizing a framebuffer. They decided to use this hardware system for several subsequent games, including ''Sea Wolf''. David Nutting got the idea for ''Sea Wolf'' from distributor Joe Robbins, who suggested that they create a video game upgrade of the classic electro-mechanical game ''

'' (1965). As with a number of prior target shooting games that had a submarine theme, a periscope viewing device directed the player's view onto the screen. The periscope had markers for depth level to help players judge the distance, as well as an analog graphical effect for the explosions. According to programmer Tom McHugh, he got sick towards the very end of developing the game. The final stages of the program were put together by Jamie Fenton, but Fenton does not recall working on the game. ''Sea Wolf'' is one of the first video games to include a high score feature, saving the highest value achieved prior to powering off. A button on the control panel allows the player to reset this score to zero.

Reception

In the United States, ''Sea Wolf'' was the highest-grossing arcade video game for two years in a row: 1976 and 1977. It was the third highest-grossing arcade game of 1978 according to '' Play Meter'', or the year's fourth highest according to ''RePlay''. In Japan, ''Sea Wolf'' was a commercial success for Taito. On the first annual '' Game Machine'' arcade chart, ''Sea Wolf'' was the fifth highest-grossing arcade video game of 1976 in Japan, below Taito's ''Ball Park'' (''Tornado Baseball'') and ''Speed Race DX'' (''Wheels''),

's '' Heavyweight Champ'', and '' Breakout'' (licensed by

Namco was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company founded in 1955. It operated video arcades and amusement parks globally, and produced video games, films, toys, and arcade cabinets. Namco was one of the most influential c ...

from

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French holding company Atari SA (formerly Infogrames) and its focus is on "video games, consumer hardware, licensing and bl ...

). ''Sea Wolf'' eventually sold a total of 10,000

s. ''Sea Wolf II'' sold another 4,000 units.

Legacy

''Sea Wolf'' was followed by ''Sea Wolf II'' in 1978. In 1983,

Epyx Epyx, Inc. was a video game developer and video game publisher active in the late 1970s and 1980s. The company was founded in 1978 as Automated Simulations by Jim Connelley and Jon Freeman, publishing a series of tactical combat games. The Epyx ...

ported ''Sea Wolf II'' and another Midway game, '' Gun Fight'', to the

Atari 8-bit computers The Atari 8-bit computers, formally launched as the Atari Home Computer System, are a series of home computers introduced by Atari, Inc., in 1979 with the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The architecture is designed around the 8-bit MOS Technology 650 ...

and released them in an "Arcade Classics" compilation. In 2008, Coastal Amusements released a retro video

redemption game Redemption games are typically arcade games of skill that reward the player proportionally to their score in the game. The reward most often comes in the form of tickets, with more tickets being awarded for higher scores. These tickets can th ...

based on the original ''Sea Wolf''.

High score

The current world record holder for ''Sea Wolf'' is Alan Radue with a score of 11,300 points. The record was set on October 2, 2011, at the Tranquility Base Arcade and verified by Twin Galaxies International on October 9.

References

External links

* {{KLOV game, id=9459, name=Sea Wolf 1976 video games Arcade video games Commodore 64 games VIC-20 games Midway video games Naval video games Submarine simulation video games Video games developed in the United States Video games set underwater Dave Nutting Associates games