Lunar Lander (video Game Genre)
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Lunar Lander is a genre of
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
s loosely based on the 1969 landing of the
Apollo Lunar Module The Apollo Lunar Module (LM ), originally designated the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), was the lunar lander spacecraft that was flown between lunar orbit and the Moon's surface during the United States' Apollo program. It was the first crewed sp ...
on the
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
. In Lunar Lander games, players control a spacecraft as it falls toward the surface of the Moon or other
astronomical body An astronomical object, celestial object, stellar object or heavenly body is a naturally occurring physical object, physical entity, association, or structure that exists within the observable universe. In astronomy, the terms ''object'' and ...
, using thrusters to slow the ship's descent and control its horizontal motion to reach a safe landing area. Crashing into obstacles, hitting the surface at too high a velocity, or running out of fuel all result in failure. In some games in the genre, the ship's orientation must be adjusted as well as its horizontal and vertical velocities. The first Lunar Lander game was a text-based game published under many names, including the ''Lunar Landing Game'', written in the FOCAL programming language for the
Digital Equipment Corporation Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC ), using the trademark Digital, was a major American company in the computer industry from the 1960s to the 1990s. The company was co-founded by Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson in 1957. Olsen was president until ...
(DEC)
PDP-8 The PDP-8 is a family of 12-bit minicomputers that was produced by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). It was the first commercially successful minicomputer, with over 50,000 units sold during the model's lifetime. Its basic design follows the pi ...
minicomputer A minicomputer, or colloquially mini, is a type of general-purpose computer mostly developed from the mid-1960s, built significantly smaller and sold at a much lower price than mainframe computers . By 21st century-standards however, a mini is ...
by Jim Storer while a high school student in the fall of 1969. Several other versions were written soon after by other programmers in FOCAL and
BASIC Basic or BASIC may refer to: Science and technology * BASIC, a computer programming language * Basic (chemistry), having the properties of a base * Basic access authentication, in HTTP Entertainment * Basic (film), ''Basic'' (film), a 2003 film ...
. The original ''Lunar Landing Game'' was converted to BASIC by David H. Ahl, who included three versions in his 1973 book '' 101 BASIC Computer Games''. By the end of the decade, the type of game was collectively known as a "lunar lander" game. In 1973, DEC commissioned the creation of a real-time, graphical version of ''Lunar Lander'', which was intended to showcase the capabilities of their new DEC GT40 graphics terminals. The game, written by Jack Burness and named ''Moonlander'', was distributed with DEC computers and displayed at trade shows. In 1979,
Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French holding company Atari SA (formerly Infogrames) and its focus is on "video games, consumer hardware, licensing and bl ...
released a vector graphics
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 ...
version of the concept as ''
Lunar Lander A lunar lander or Moon lander is a Lander (spacecraft), spacecraft designed to Moon landing, land on the surface of the Moon. As of 2024, the Apollo Lunar Module is the only lunar lander to have ever been used in human spaceflight, completing s ...
''. It has a fuel-for-money system allowing the player to purchase more fuel to continue their current game. Lunar Lander games were a popular concept for home computer systems. Commodore published a version called '' Jupiter Lander'' for their
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 ...
in 1981. That same year, ''
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 ...
'' wrote that "sometimes it seems as though every company capable of copying a cassette is trying to sell a game on this theme."


Text games

The original Lunar Lander game was a 1969 text-based game published under many names, including the ''Lunar Landing Game''. It was originally written in the FOCAL programming language for the
Digital Equipment Corporation Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC ), using the trademark Digital, was a major American company in the computer industry from the 1960s to the 1990s. The company was co-founded by Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson in 1957. Olsen was president until ...
(DEC)
PDP-8 The PDP-8 is a family of 12-bit minicomputers that was produced by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). It was the first commercially successful minicomputer, with over 50,000 units sold during the model's lifetime. Its basic design follows the pi ...
minicomputer A minicomputer, or colloquially mini, is a type of general-purpose computer mostly developed from the mid-1960s, built significantly smaller and sold at a much lower price than mainframe computers . By 21st century-standards however, a mini is ...
by Jim Storer while a student at Lexington High School in the fall of 1969, and uploaded to the system library as ''Rocket'' after Christmas break. His computer teacher submitted the game under the name ''FOCAL Lunar Landing Simulation (APOLLO)'' to the DEC users' newsletter, which distributed the
source code In computing, source code, or simply code or source, is a plain text computer program written in a programming language. A programmer writes the human readable source code to control the behavior of a computer. Since a computer, at base, only ...
to readers under the name ''Apollo''. Different versions of the game were later submitted by other authors, including ''Apollo II'' and ''Apollo 12''. DEC published a book of FOCAL-8 programs in 1970 and included the game as ''Lunar Module''. Other versions of the concept were written soon after: a version called ''Rocket'' was written in
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by Eric Peters at DEC, and another BASIC version, ''LEM'', was written by William Labaree II, among others. The text-based games require the player to control a rocket attempting to land on the
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
by entering instructions to the rocket in a turn-based system in response to the textual summary of its current position and velocity relative to the ground. In the original ''Lunar'', players controlled only the amount of vertical thrust to apply, based on their current vertical velocity and remaining fuel, with each round representing ten seconds of travel time. ''Rocket'' added a simple text-based graphical display of the distance from the ground in each round, while ''LEM'' added horizontal velocity and the ability to apply thrust at an angle. In 1970 and 1971, DEC employee and editor of the newsletter David H. Ahl converted two early mainframe games, ''Lunar'' and '' Hamurabi'', from the FOCAL language to BASIC, partially as a demonstration of the language on the DEC PDP-8 minicomputer. Their popularity led him to start printing BASIC games in the DEC newsletter, both his own and reader submissions. In 1973, Ahl released the book '' 101 BASIC Computer Games'', which contained the source code of computer games written in BASIC. The games included were written by both Ahl and others and included both games original to the language and games ported from other languages such as FOCAL. ''101 BASIC Computer Games'' was a landmark title in computer games programming and was a best-selling title with more than 10,000 copies sold. Its second edition in 1978, titled ''BASIC Computer Games'', was the first million-selling computer book. As such, the BASIC ports of mainframe computer games included in the book were often more long-lived than their original versions or other mainframe computer games. Included in the book were all three versions of ''Lunar Lander'', under the names ROCKET (Storer version), ROCKT1 (Peters version), and ROCKT2 (Labaree version). Ahl and Steve North then converted all three versions to
Microsoft BASIC Microsoft BASIC is the foundation software product of the Microsoft company and evolved into a line of BASIC interpreters and compiler(s) adapted for many different microcomputers. It first appeared in 1975 as Altair BASIC, which was the first v ...
and published them in ''
Creative Computing ''Creative Computing'' was one of the earliest magazines covering the microcomputer revolution. Published from October 1974 until December 1985, the magazine covered the spectrum of hobbyist/home/personal computing in a more accessible format t ...
'' magazine and the ''Best of Creative Computing'' collection in 1976; they were reprinted in the 1978 edition of ''BASIC Computer Games'' as ''Lunar'', ''LEM'', and ''Rocket'' as the most popular of the existing versions of the game. The first known use of the name ''Lunar Lander'' for a video game of this type was in the 1975 book ''What to Do After You Hit Return'', a collection of BASIC computer games by the
People's Computer Company People's Computer Company (PCC) was an organization, a newsletter (the ''People's Computer Company Newsletter'') and, later, a quasiperiodical called the ''Dragonsmoke''. PCC was founded and produced by Dennis Allison, Bob Albrecht and George Fi ...
similar to Ahl's book, which included versions named ''Crash'' and ''Lunar Lander''. Prior to that, in 1970, the name was used for an
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arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily game of skill, games of skill and in ...
by Cointronics, in which the player uses a joystick to land a lunar lander model on targets, though it is unclear if the game was inspired by the video games or solely by the actual lunar lander. Another ''Lunar Lander'' video game was commercially distributed for some
programmable calculator Programmable calculators are calculators that can automatically carry out a sequence of operations under the control of a stored computer programming, program. Most are Turing complete, and, as such, are theoretically general-purpose computers. ...
s such as in 1975 for the Hewlett-Packard HP-25. With the advent of
home computer Home computers were a class of microcomputers that entered the market in 1977 and became common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a s ...
s in 1977, the game concept soon moved to those systems as well, with ''Moon Lander'' (1977) for the
MK14 The MK14 (Microcomputer Kit 14) was a computer kit sold by Science of Cambridge of the United Kingdom, first introduced in 1977 for £39.95. The price was very low for a complete computer system at the time, and Science of Cambridge eventually ...
computer kit, which displayed the lander's speed, height, and fuel consumption on an eight-character calculator-style display, as an early example. While Ahl did not list a common name for the three similar titles in his book, the style of game was collectively seen as its own subgenre, with ''
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'' referring to ''LEM'' in February 1979 as "a lunar lander" and ''
Antic Alphanumeric Television Interface Controller (ANTIC) is an LSI ASIC dedicated to generating 2D computer graphics to be shown on a television screen or computer display. Under the direction of Jay Miner, the chip was designed in 1977–1978 b ...
'' terming the set of text-based games as "Lunar Landers" in 1986.


Graphical games

In 1973, DEC commissioned the creation of a real-time, graphical version of ''Lunar Lander'', which was intended to showcase the capabilities of their new DEC GT40 graphics terminals, when connected to their
PDP-10 Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC)'s PDP-10, later marketed as the DECsystem-10, is a mainframe computer family manufactured beginning in 1966 and discontinued in 1983. 1970s models and beyond were marketed under the DECsystem-10 name, especi ...
or
PDP-11 The PDP–11 is a series of 16-bit minicomputers originally sold by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) from 1970 into the late 1990s, one of a set of products in the Programmed Data Processor (PDP) series. In total, around 600,000 PDP-11s of a ...
minicomputers. The game was written by Jack Burness, a DEC consultant and former employee, and named ''Moonlander''; it was distributed with DEC computers and displayed at trade shows. Unlike the previous turn-based, textual games, ''Moonlander'' is a real-time graphical game. The goal remains to correctly land an
Apollo Lunar Module The Apollo Lunar Module (LM ), originally designated the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), was the lunar lander spacecraft that was flown between lunar orbit and the Moon's surface during the United States' Apollo program. It was the first crewed sp ...
on the surface of the Moon using the game's
telemetry Telemetry is the in situ collection of measurements or other data at remote points and their automatic transmission to receiving equipment (telecommunication) for monitoring. The word is derived from the Greek roots ''tele'', 'far off', an ...
data. If the player miscalculates the module's landing, the module will either fly off into space or crash into the Moon's surface. The game is controlled with a
light pen A light pen is a computer input device in the form of a light-sensitive wand used in conjunction with a computer's cathode-ray tube (CRT) display. It allows the user to point to displayed objects or draw on the screen in a similar way to a to ...
, and the output display was a
vector graphics Vector graphics are a form of computer graphics in which visual images are created directly from geometric shapes defined on a Cartesian plane, such as points, lines, curves and polygons. The associated mechanisms may include vector displ ...
system; the light pen allowed adjusting the throttle value and the angle of the lunar lander. Burness completed the game on February 25, 1973, after spending ten days developing it plus one day visiting the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...
, which had co-designed the actual
Apollo Lunar Module The Apollo Lunar Module (LM ), originally designated the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), was the lunar lander spacecraft that was flown between lunar orbit and the Moon's surface during the United States' Apollo program. It was the first crewed sp ...
. There, he got the actual specifications for the lander, which he used to create the calculations of the fuel consumption for maneuvering the rocket. Burness has said that he does not recall playing the original ''Lunar'', but that by 1973 there were numerous versions of the game which he had played. A few months prior to making the game, he attended the December 6 launch of the
Apollo 17 Apollo 17 (December 7–19, 1972) was the eleventh and final mission of NASA's Apollo program, the sixth and most recent time humans have set foot on the Moon. Commander Gene Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt walked on the Moon, ...
Moon landing mission, which may have inspired the creation of the game. ''Moonlander'' was the first multiple-perspective video game; when the lander gets close to the Moon, the view changes to a close-up view of the surface and lander. If the player successfully lands the spaceship, an astronaut climbs out to stand on the surface—the first depiction of a human in a video game and possibly the first
cutscene A cutscene or event scene (sometimes in-game cinematic or in-game movie) is a sequence in a video game that is not interactive, interrupting the gameplay. Such scenes are used to show conversations between characters, set the mood, reward the ...
in a video game. ''Moonlander'' was also the first video game to include an
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; if the player flies their ship horizontally enough in the close-up view, they encounter a
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restaurant which the astronaut will visit upon landing and which the player can destroy by crashing the lander into it. Modified versions of ''Moonlander'' were made, with at least one renaming it to a variant of "Lunar Lander" such as ''RT-11 Lunar Lander'', and another removing the McDonald's, as seen in a 1979 Dutch short film ''Mens en computer'' (''Human and Computer''). A port for the
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was released for free by Paradigm Systems in 2013. In August 1979, Atari, Inc. produced an
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 ...
version of the concept as ''
Lunar Lander A lunar lander or Moon lander is a Lander (spacecraft), spacecraft designed to Moon landing, land on the surface of the Moon. As of 2024, the Apollo Lunar Module is the only lunar lander to have ever been used in human spaceflight, completing s ...
''. It uses monochrome
vector graphics Vector graphics are a form of computer graphics in which visual images are created directly from geometric shapes defined on a Cartesian plane, such as points, lines, curves and polygons. The associated mechanisms may include vector displ ...
and allows the player to rotate the ship right or left and fire thrusters via proportional throttle control system using a joystick with a spring. Like ''Moonlander'', both a graphical display of a repeating mountainous surface as well as a text readout of the ship's speed, altitude, and remaining fuel are displayed. Once a game begins, it only ends when a player runs out of fuel, rather than due to a time limit; players can insert quarters to add fuel to their current game. Bonus points are awarded for landing on difficult parts of the map. The game features four levels of difficulty in controlling the ship. ''Lunar Lander'' was Atari's first vector graphics game. The vector engine was inspired by ''
Space Wars ''Space Wars'' is a shooter game released in arcades by Cinematronics in 1977. It is based on the PDP-1 game '' Spacewar!'' (1962) but instead uses vector graphics for the visuals. The hardware developed for ''Space Wars'' became the platform ...
'' (1978) and created by Rick Moncrief and Wendi Allen,' who developed ''Lunar Lander'' alongside Rich Moore. The idea for the game came from Allen, who had seen a graphical version of the game, likely ''Moonlander'', a few years prior; Atari employees had also seen ''Moonlander'' years prior at the
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and attempted to create an arcade version with
raster graphics upright=1, The Smiley, smiley face in the top left corner is a raster image. When enlarged, individual pixels appear as squares. Enlarging further, each pixel can be analyzed, with their colors constructed through combination of the values for ...
in 1975. Another arcade game based on the ''Lunar Lander'' concept from around the same time is '' Lunar Rescue'' (1979) by
Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, Toy, toys, arcade cabinets, and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, Vending machine, vending machines, and Juk ...
. Graphical Lunar Lander games have been produced for other systems. Although some were named ''Lunar Lander'', many were not; regardless, the name of the type of game continued to be "lunar landers". Bill Budge developed ''Tranquility Base'' for the Apple II in 1980. Commodore published '' Jupiter Lander'', a raster version of the game, in 1981 for the
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 ...
and 1982 for 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 ...
.
IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
released ''Rocket Lander'' for the
IBM PC The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the List of IBM Personal Computer models, IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible ''de facto'' standard. Released on ...
in 1982. ''
Ahoy! ''Ahoy!'' was a computer magazine published between January 1984 and January 1989 in the US, covering on all Commodore color computers, primarily Commodore 64 and Amiga. History The first issue of ''Ahoy!'' was published in January 1984. The ...
'' magazine published a
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version of the game for 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 ...
in April 1984. Tom Hudson wrote ''Retrofire'', a more elaborate version of the lander concept for
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 ...
in 1983; it uses a 3D isometric view, so there are three velocities to control (along the X, Y, and Z axes). Other games include ''Apollo 11'' (1983) for the
ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...
, ''Marslander'' (1983) for the
Acorn Electron The Acorn Electron (nicknamed the Elk inside Acorn and beyond) was introduced as a lower-cost alternative to the BBC Micro educational/home computer, also developed by Acorn Computers, to provide many of the features of that more expensive mach ...
and
BBC Micro The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a family of microcomputers developed and manufactured by Acorn Computers in the early 1980s as part of the BBC's Computer Literacy Project. Launched in December 1981, it was showcased across severa ...
, and versions of ''Lunar Lander'' for the
Commodore PET The Commodore PET is a line of personal computers produced starting in 1977 by Commodore International. A single all-in-one case combines a MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor, Commodore BASIC in read-only memory, keyboard, monochrome monitor ...
and
TRS-80 The TRS-80 Micro Computer System (TRS-80, later renamed the Model I to distinguish it from successors) is a desktop microcomputer developed by American company Tandy Corporation and sold through their Radio Shack stores. Launched in 1977, it is ...
. '' Lunar Rescue'' (1988) for the Macintosh combines Lunar Lander gameplay with an economic model and trade simulation. George Moromisato developed ''Lander'' for
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in 1990,
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released a version of ''Lunar Lander'' for the
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that same year, and
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released a 3D, commercial version for
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in 1999 titled '' Lander''. Modern versions and
remakes A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same s ...
have been made for computers, consoles such as the
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,
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, Android, mobile phones, and browsers.


Reception

In the 1978 edition of ''BASIC Computer Games'', David Ahl described the text-based version of ''Lunar Lander'' as "by far and away the single most popular computer game" of the time. ''Moonlander'' was similarly popular among users of DEC graphics terminals. The ''Lunar Lander'' arcade game proved popular and commercially successful, selling approximately 4,700 cabinets. Atari's ''
Asteroids An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...
'' (1979) became so much more popular, however, that 300 ''Asteroids'' games were released in ''Lunar Lander'' cabinets. ''
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 ...
'' described ''Lunar Lander'' in 1982 as one of the first fun programs entry level programmers start with and continually improve upon as they improve their skills. By 1973, there were numerous versions of the text-based game, and so many versions of the graphical game existed by 1981 that ''
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 ...
'', in a review of a version by
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for Atari 8-bit computers and the TRS-80, claimed it was "yet another entry in a field as crowded as the category of ''Space Invaders'' imitators. Sometimes it seems as though every company capable of copying a cassette is trying to sell a game on this theme." ''Moon Lander'' for the MK14 was one of the first three commercial games in Britain for home computers. At least one
metagame A metagame, broadly defined as "a game beyond the game", typically refers to either of two concepts: a game which revolves around a core game; or the strategies and approaches to playing a game. A metagame can serve a broad range of purposes, a ...
exists; ''Antic'' in March 1986 published ''Lunar Lander Construction Set'' for Atari 8-bit, in which the player constructs a custom graphical Lunar Lander. In ''Science Fiction Video Games'' (2014), while discussing the games' lack of science fiction concepts like aliens or unrealistic physics, Neal Roger Tringham described the series as "one of the few video games to be based on a real space program, as opposed to the many games inspired by fictional forms of space exploration".


See also

* ''
Gravitar ''Gravitar'' is a color vector graphics multidirectional shooter arcade video game released by Atari, Inc. in 1982. Using the same "rotate-and-thrust" controls as ''Asteroids (video game), Asteroids'' and ''Space Duel'', the game was known for ...
'' (1982), an arcade game from Atari based on similar concepts * '' Space Taxi'' (1984), a more fanciful spin on thrust-controlled landings


Notes


References


Notes


Sources

* * * * * * *


External links


Lunar Lander Simulator
- recoding of Jim Storer's Lunar Landing game from 1969
Text game source code
in ''BASIC Computer Games'' (1978)
Official online version
of Atari's ''Lunar Lander'' arcade game *
Source code
(in MACRO-11) of GT40 ''Moonlander'', February 1973, an
port
to
RT-11 RT-11 (Real-time 11) is a discontinued small, low-end, single-user real-time operating system for the full line of Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-11 16-bit computers. RT-11 was first implemented in 1970. It was widely used for real-time compu ...
by Al Kossow, January 1980.
Lunar Lander: The Full Story of the Legendary Game and Genre
Christopher Garcia, FictionPhile.com {{Video game genre 1969 video games 1973 video games Apple II games Arcade video games Atari 8-bit computer games CP/M games Game Boy games Mainframe games Public-domain software with source code Space flight simulator games Video games developed in the United States Video games set on the Moon Video games with textual graphics Science fiction video games