''Slot Machine'' is a 1979 video game written by David Crane for the Atari VCS (renamed to the

Atari 2600 The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocess ...

in 1982) and published by

Atari, Inc. Atari, Inc. was an American video game developer and home computer company founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. Atari was a key player in the formation of the video arcade and video game industry. Based primarily around the Sunny ...

Along with ''

Star Ship ''Star Ship'' is a first-person space combat simulator video game programmed by Bob Whitehead and published by Atari, Inc. for its Video Computer System (later known as the Atari 2600). The game was one of the nine launch titles offered when ...

'' and ''

Miniature Golf Miniature golf, also known as minigolf, mini-putt, crazy golf, or putt-putt, is an offshoot of the sport of golf focusing solely on the putting aspect of its parent game. The aim of the game is to score the lowest number of points. It is played ...

'', it was one of the first Atari VCS games to be discontinued.

Gameplay

The game has one-player and two-player modes. Gameplay options include ''Jackpot'' and ''Payoff'' modes. The game continues until the player runs out of tokens.

Development

The game was written by David Crane, who went on to develop ''

Pitfall! ''Pitfall!'' is a platform video game designed by David Crane for the Atari 2600 and released by Activision in 1982. The player controls Pitfall Harry and is tasked with collecting all the treasures in a jungle within 20 minutes. The world co ...

''. Crane developed the game for his mother, who was a lover of slot-machine games. Programming the game to represent the different symbols of a traditional fruit-machine proved difficult given that the Atari 2600 could only render 8 monochrome pixels for each sprite, so Crane made use of differing shapes that were easily distinguishable, such as cacti.

Reception

In a July 1983 review in ''

Electronic Games An electronic game is a game that uses electronics to create an interactive system with which a player can play. Video games are the most common form today, and for this reason the two terms are often used interchangeably. There are other common ...

'' magazine, Joyce Worley and Tracie Forman described the graphics as "workman-like if unspectacular". A December 2000 review of the game in ''Classic Gamer Magazine'' written by Leonard Herman was highly critical of the game, including it in a list of games that he "loved to hate" and criticising the lack of tension in the gameplay and the poor graphics.

References

{{Reflist 1979 video games Atari 2600 games Atari 2600-only games Video games developed in the United States Multiplayer and single-player video games Video games designed by David Crane (programmer)

Gameplay

Development

Reception

See also

References