''Frostbite'' is a 1983 action game designed by

Steve Cartwright Steve Cartwright is an American video game designer. He is best known as one of the original Activision game designers, credited with such games as ''Barnstorming'', ''Megamania'', ''Seaquest'' and ''Hacker''. Activision In 1982, Cartwright joi ...

for the Atari 2600, and published by Activision in 1983. Combining elements of '' Frogger'' and '' Q*bert'' in an arctic setting, the goal is to help Frostbite Bailey build

igloo An igloo (Inuit languages: , Inuktitut syllabics (plural: )), also known as a snow house or snow hut, is a type of shelter built of suitable snow. Although igloos are often associated with all Inuit, they were traditionally used only b ...

s by jumping on ice floe. Thwarting this endeavor are clams, snow geese,

Alaskan king crab The red king crab (''Paralithodes camtschaticus''), also called Kamchatka crab or Alaskan king crab, is a species of king crab native to the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska. It was introduced to the Barents Sea. It grows to a leg span of , and is ...

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...

s, and the rapidly dropping temperature.

Gameplay

The bottom two thirds of the screen is water with four rows of ice blocks floating horizontally. The player moves by jumping from one row to another while avoiding foes. Landing on a row of white ice changes it to blue and adds a piece to the igloo on the shore. When all the ice is blue, it reverts to white. After 15 pieces, the igloo is complete, and the player must enter it to end the level. The direction ice is flowing can be changed via the joystick button, but it costs a piece of an incomplete igloo. Occasional fish can be collected for points. Each level must be completed in 45 seconds (represented as the declining temperature). The faster a level is completed the more bonus points are awarded. Levels alternate between large ice blocks and little ice pieces. The large blocks have gaps that the player can fall in. Starting in the fourth level, a polar bear prowls the shore.

Activision patch

The game manual included a chance to become an ''Arctic Architect'', by scoring 40,000 points or more. If the player took a photo of the TV screen showing the score and sent it to Activision, they would receive an Arctic Architects emblem.

References

External links

''Frostbite''
at Atari Mania

*{{IAg, atari_2600_frostbite_1983_activision_steve_cartwright_ax-031, platform=Atari 2600 1983 video games Activision games Atari 2600 games Atari 2600-only games Multiplayer and single-player video games Multiplayer hotseat games North America-exclusive video games Video games designed by Steve Cartwright Video games developed in the United States