''Gorgon'' is a clone of the

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 ...

'' Defender'', a horizontally

scrolling shooter Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs) are a subgenre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of character m ...

, 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 ...

. It was programmed by Nasir Gebelli and published by Sirius Software in June 1981.

Gameplay

In ''Gorgon'', the player flies a spaceship across a side-scrolling landscape while protecting civilians on the ground from aliens that drop down from the top of the screen to try to carry them off. The game uses keyboard controls, with the A, Z, and left/right arrow keys for movement and the space bar for firing.

Development

The graphics were drawn with Sirius's own E-Z Draw software (1980).

Reception

By June 1982, ''Gorgon'' had sold 23,000 copies, making it one of the best-selling computer games at the time. Bill Kunkel of ''

Electronic Games ''Electronic Games'' was the first dedicated video game magazine published in the United States and ran from October 15, 1981, to 1997 under different titles. It was co-founded by Bill Kunkel, Joyce Worley, and Arnie Katz. History The h ...

'' called the game "another winner from ace designer Nasir" and "fine home version" of ''Defender'', only criticizing the Apple II's lack of joystick support at the time. ''

BYTE The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable un ...

'' stated that ''Gorgon'' "is well programmed and much more enjoyable than the arcade version ndshould provide many hours of enjoyment ... Rest assured that you Nasir Gebelli fans will not be disappointed by this one!"

References

{{reflist 1981 video games Apple II games Apple II-only games Horizontally scrolling shooters Single-player video games Sirius Software games Video game clones Video games developed in the United States