|
Ballblazer
''Ballblazer'' is a futuristic sports game created by Lucasfilm Games and published in 1985 by Epyx. Along with '' Rescue on Fractalus!'', it was one of the initial pair of releases from Lucasfilm Games, ''Ballblazer'' was developed and first published for the Atari 8-bit family. The principal creator and programmer was David Levine. The game was called ''Ballblaster'' during development; some pirated versions bear this name. It was ported to the Apple II, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and MSX. Atari 5200 and Atari 7800 ports were published by Atari Corporation. A version for the Famicom was released by Pony Canyon. Gameplay ''Ballblazer'' is a simple one-on-one sports-style game bearing similarities to basketball and soccer. Each side is represented by a craft called a "rotofoil", which can be controlled by either a human player or a computer-controlled "droid" with ten levels of difficulty. The game allows for human vs. human, human vs. droid, and droid vs. dro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ballblazer Atari 8-bit PAL Screenshot
''Ballblazer'' is a futuristic sports game created by Lucasfilm Games and published in 1985 by Epyx. Along with ''Rescue on Fractalus!'', it was one of the initial pair of releases from Lucasfilm Games, ''Ballblazer'' was developed and first published for the Atari 8-bit family. The principal creator and programmer was David Levine. The game was called ''Ballblaster'' during development; some pirated versions bear this name. It was ported to the Apple II, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and MSX. Atari 5200 and Atari 7800 ports were published by Atari Corporation. A version for the Famicom was released by Pony Canyon. Gameplay ''Ballblazer'' is a simple one-on-one sports-style game bearing similarities to basketball and soccer. Each side is represented by a craft called a "rotofoil", which can be controlled by either a human player or a computer-controlled "droid" with ten levels of difficulty. The game allows for human vs. human, human vs. droid, and droid vs. droid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rescue On Fractalus!
''Rescue On Fractalus!'' is a 1985 first-person shooter computer game created by Lucasfilm Games. It was originally released for the Atari 8-bit family and the Atari 5200 games console. It was also ported to other popular platforms of the day, such as the Apple II, ZX Spectrum (by Dalali Software Ltd), Amstrad CPC, Tandy Color Computer 3 and Commodore 64. The game was one of the first two products from the fledgling Lucasfilm Computer Division Games Group led by Peter Langston. David Fox was the project leader and designer. Music was mainly composed by Charlie Kellner. Gameplay Flying The game uses fractal technology to create the craggy mountains of an alien planet, where the visilibility was drastically reduced by the dense atmosphere. The player controls a fictional "Valkyrie" space fighter (converted for search and rescue duty) from a first-person view, attempting to land and pick up downed Ethercorps pilots. Some of these mountains hold anti-aircraft guns, which have to b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucasfilm Games
Lucasfilm Games (known as LucasArts between 1990 and 2021) is an American video game licensor that is part of Lucasfilm. It was founded in May 1982 by George Lucas as a video game development group alongside his film company; as part of a larger 1990 reorganization of the Lucasfilm divisions, the video game development division was grouped and rebranded as part of LucasArts. LucasArts became known for its line of adventure games based on its SCUMM engine in the 1990s, including '' Maniac Mansion'', the '' Monkey Island'' series, and several '' Indiana Jones'' titles. A number of influential game developers were alumni of LucasArts from this period, including Brian Moriarty, Tim Schafer, Ron Gilbert, and Dave Grossman. Later, as Lucasfilm regained control over its licensing over the ''Star Wars'' franchise, LucasArts produced numerous action-based ''Star Wars'' titles in the late 1990s and early 2000s, while dropping adventure game development due to waning interest in the g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Russell Lieblich
Russell Lieblich (March 2, 1953 – January 26, 2005) was a game designer, programmer and musician who first came to prominence for his music for Activision and Intellivision games, as well as doing the Commodore 64 (C64) music translation of one of LucasArts first titles, ''Ballblazer''. He graduated with a Master's Degree in Music from UC San Diego. His work spans more than 30 game titles; including '' Stealth ATF'' for the Nintendo Entertainment System. A well known musician/composer from the demoscene remixed Lieblich's C64 version of the ''Ballblazer'' music with a Beastie Boys vocal track, producing one of the most popular tracks featured on Remix64. from Remix64.com He died on January 26, 2005, after a |
Atari 7800
The Atari 7800 ProSystem, or simply the Atari 7800, is a home video game console officially released by Atari Corporation in 1986 as the successor to both the Atari 2600 and Atari 5200. It can run almost all Atari 2600 cartridges, making it one of the first consoles with backward compatibility. It shipped with a different model of joystick from the 2600-standard CX40 and ''Pole Position II'' as the pack-in game. Most of the announced titles at launch were ports of 1981–83 arcade video games. Designed by General Computer Corporation, the 7800 has significantly improved graphics hardware over Atari's previous consoles, but the same Television Interface Adaptor chip that launched with the 2600 in 1977 is used to generate audio. In an effort to prevent the flood of poor quality games that contributed to the video game crash of 1983, cartridges had to be digitally signed by Atari. The Atari 7800 was first announced by Atari, Inc. on May 21, 1984, but a general release was shelv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Langston
Peter Langston (born 1946) is a computer programmer who wrote and distributed for free several games for Unix systems in the 1970s, including one of the earliest text adventure video games ''Wander'', the original version of ''Empire'' and the program "Oracle" upon which the later net-wide Oracle was modeled. He is also an experienced jazz, rock, and folk musician. In 1982, he was hired by the Computer Division of Lucasfilm to start Lucasfilm Games. He hired the programming and design teams and wrote the music for and contributed to the game design of Lucasfilm Games' first two releases, '' Ballblazer'' and '' Rescue on Fractalus!''. In fact, for ''Ballblazer'', Langston created an algorithmic composition system, which allowed the game to improvise music (from an initial set of musical snippets contributed by famous musicians) based on what is happening in the game. Langston later left Lucasfilm Games for Bellcore iconectiv is a supplier of network planning and network mana ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colour'' and ''ZX82'', it was launched as the ''ZX Spectrum'' to highlight the machine's colour display, which differed from the black and white display of its predecessor, the ZX81. The Spectrum was released as six different models, ranging from the entry level with 16 KB RAM released in 1982 to the ZX Spectrum +3 with 128 KB RAM and built in floppy disk drive in 1987; altogether they sold over 5 million units worldwide (not counting unofficial clones). The Spectrum was among the first home computers in the United Kingdom aimed at a mainstream audience, and it thus had similar significance to the Commodore 64 in the US and the Thomson MO5 in France. The introduction of the ZX Spectrum led to a boom in companies producing softwar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible de facto standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a team of engineers and designers directed by Don Estridge in Boca Raton, Florida. The machine was based on open architecture and third-party peripherals. Over time, expansion cards and software technology increased to support it. The PC had a substantial influence on the personal computer market. The specifications of the IBM PC became one of the most popular computer design standards in the world. The only significant competition it faced from a non-compatible platform throughout the 1980s was from the Apple Macintosh product line. The majority of modern personal computers are distant descendants of the IBM PC. History Prior to the 1980s, IBM had largely been known as a provider of business computer systems. As the 1980s opened, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atari 8-bit Computers
The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The series was successively upgraded to Atari 1200XL , Atari 600XL, Atari 800XL, Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE, Atari 800XE, and Atari XEGS, the last discontinued in 1992. They differ primarily in packaging, each based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU at and the same custom coprocessor chips. As the first home computer architecture with coprocessors, it has graphics and sound more advanced than most contemporary machines. Video games were a major draw, and first-person space combat simulator ''Star Raiders'' is considered the platform's killer app. The plug-and-play peripherals use the Atari SIO serial bus, with one developer eventually also co-patenting USB. While using the same internal technology, the Atari 800 was sold as a high-end model, while the 400 was more affordable. The 400 has a pressure-sensitive, spillproof membrane keyboard and initially shipped ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Sunnyvale, California, area in the center of Silicon Valley, the company was initially formed to develop arcade games, launching with '' Pong'' in 1972. As computer technology matured with low-cost integrated circuits, Atari ventured into the consumer market, first with dedicated home versions of ''Pong'' and other arcade successes around 1975, and into programmable consoles using game cartridges with the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS or later branded as the Atari 2600) in 1977. To bring the Atari VCS to market, Bushnell sold Atari to Warner Communications in 1976. In 1978, Warner brought in Ray Kassar to help run the company, but over the next few years, gave Kassar more of a leadership role in the company. Bushnell was fir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tug Of War
Tug of war (also known as tug o' war, tug war, rope war, rope pulling, or tugging war) is a sport that pits two teams against each other in a test of strength: teams pull on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal being to bring the rope a certain distance in one direction against the force of the opposing team's pull. Terminology The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' says that the phrase "tug of war" originally meant "the decisive contest; the real struggle or tussle; a severe contest for supremacy". Only in the 19th century was it used as a term for an athletic contest between two teams who haul at the opposite ends of a rope. Prior to that, ''French and English'' was the commonly used name for the game in the English-speaking world. Origin The origins of tug of war are uncertain, but this sport was practised in Cambodia, ancient Egypt, Greece, India and China. According to a Tang dynasty book, ''The Notes of Feng'', tug of war, under the name "hook pulling" (牽鉤), was used ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Compute!
''Compute!'' (), often stylized as ''COMPUTE!'', was an American home computer magazine that was published from 1979 to 1994. Its origins can be traced to 1978 in Len Lindsay's ''PET Gazette'', one of the first magazines for the Commodore PET computer. In its 1980s heyday ''Compute!'' covered all major platforms, and several single-platform spinoffs of the magazine were launched. The most successful of these was ''Compute!'s Gazette'', which catered to VIC-20 and Commodore 64 computer users. History ''Compute!''s original goal was to write about and publish programs for all of the computers that used some version of the MOS Technology 6502 CPU. It started out in 1979 with the Commodore PET, VIC-20, Atari 400/800, Apple II+, and some 6502-based computers one could build from kits, such as the Rockwell AIM 65, the KIM-1 by MOS Technology, and others from companies such as Ohio Scientific. Coverage of the kit computers and the Commodore PET were eventually dropped. The plat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
