''Serpentine'' is a

maze video game This is a list of maze video games by type. Top-down maze games While the character in a maze would have a limited view, the player is able to see much or all of the maze. ''Maze chase games'' are a specific subset of the overhead perspective. T ...

written by David Snider for the

Apple II Apple II ("apple Roman numerals, two", stylized as Apple ][) is a series of microcomputers manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1977 to 1993. The Apple II (original), original Apple II model, which gave the series its name, was designed ...

and published by Broderbund in 1982. ''Serpentine''s gameplay and visuals are similar to Konami's 1981 arcade game, ''Jungler'', released the previous year. It was ported to the

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 ...

and

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 ...

. A

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 ...

version was licensed to Creative Software.

Gameplay

The player controls (rides, by game description ) a multi-segmented blue 'good' serpent in a maze with the objective of eating all computer-controlled 'evil' (red or orange or green) serpents. Eating the tail segments of serpents makes them shorter, and a red or orange serpent turns green when shorter than the player. Hitting a green serpent headfirst eliminates it, and causes the player's serpent to grow an additional segment. Hitting a red or orange serpent headfirst causes the player's serpent to die. A frog appears at random intervals and gives any serpent eating it an additional segment. Once all opponents have been eliminated, the player's serpent automatically returns to a protected area. As the game progresses, opposing serpents are faster and longer, increasing the difficulty, and each advancing level the existing players serpent gets slower. If the player's serpent dies, the replacement regains its original speed, but loses any additional segments gained by the previous incarnation. One unique aspect of the game is how extra lives are gained. The playing serpent will lay an egg (losing a segment in the process) and, if the egg is still on screen when the player re-enters the protected area at the end of a level, the egg hatches into another serpent, which hurries to the protected area. Enemy serpents will also lay eggs; if one hatches, a new two-segment opponent appears. It is possible to lose the last segment to an egg, resulting in the death of that serpent, but this can only happen to the player's serpent. If a frog happens to appear while an egg is on the map, it will head towards the egg and eat it as well. This will occur even at the end of a level when the player's serpent is operating on autopilot, making the choice of position where the last enemy serpent is killed tactically important. Most versions of the game include 20 different mazes, but the Atari cartridge version only has 5.

Reception

''Serpentine'' ranked #13 for most popular game of 1982 according to ''

Softalk ''Softalk'' () was an American magazine of the early 1980s that focused on the Apple II computer. Published from September 1980 through August 1984, it featured articles about hardware and software associated with the Apple II platform and the p ...

'' magazine. '' Softline'' in 1982 called ''Serpentine'' "devilishly addicting, being endowed with the qualities that make arcade games worth the bother".

Michael Cranford Michael Cranford (born June 5, 1963) is a video game designer and programmer. As a designer and programmer his works include ''The Bard's Tale, The Bard's Tale II, and Dark Seed.'' Cranford left the video game industry in 1992 to pursue an aca ...

reviewed the game for ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American Video game journalism, computer game magazine that was published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 199 ...

'', and stated that "in my opinion, ''Serpentine'' is far better than the sum of its inspirations". ''The Commodore 64 Home Companion'' in 1984 said that "it's easy to get hooked on this one". ''

InfoWorld ''InfoWorld'' (''IW'') is an American information technology media business. Founded in 1978, it began as a monthly magazine. In 2007, it transitioned to a Web-only publication. Its parent company is International Data Group, and its sister pu ...

's Essential Guide to Atari Computers'' cited it as among the best Broderbund arcade games. Karl Westerholm reviewed ''Serpentine'' in ''

Space Gamer ''The Space Gamer'' was a magazine dedicated to the subject of science fiction and fantasy board games and tabletop role-playing games. It quickly grew in importance and was an important and influential magazine in its subject matter from the la ...

'' No. 65. Westerholm commented that "''Serpentine'' is unquestionably a game worth owning, and if there are any weaknesses or bugs, I have yet to find them. I definitely recommend this game, as it promises to provide fun and excitement for a very long time".

References

{{Reflist 1982 video games Apple II games Atari 8-bit computer games Broderbund games Commodore 64 games Creative Software games Maze games Single-player video games VIC-20 games Video game clones Video games about reptiles Video games developed in the United States