is a 1980

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 ...

developed by Universal. Predating Nintendo's ''

Donkey Kong is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto for Nintendo. It follows the adventures of Donkey Kong (character), Donkey Kong, a large, powerful gorilla, and other members of the List of Don ...

'', and lacking a jump mechanic, ''Space Panic'' was the first game involving climbing ladders between walkable platforms. The genre was initially labeled "climbing games", but later became known as

platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...

s. A ColecoVision port by CBS Electronics was released in the winter holiday season of 1982. The original arcade game was commercially successful in Japan. It was an obscure release in North America, but a clone, '' Apple Panic'', became a top-seller for

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. '' Lode Runner'' (1983) later put its own spin on climbing and digging, a lineage which eventually took on the name puzzle-platform games.

Gameplay

The main character can move along platforms and climb the ladders between them. The goal is to dig holes in the platforms and lure aliens into them. Hitting a trapped alien with the shovel knocks them out of the hole and off the screen. In later levels, two or more holes must be lined up vertically in order to dispose of stronger aliens. There is a limited supply of

oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...

, which acts as a

timer A timer or countdown timer is a type of clock that starts from a specified time duration and stops upon reaching 00:00. It can also usually be stopped manually before the whole duration has elapsed. An example of a simple timer is an hourglass ...

Development

The game's development team included Kazutoshi Ueda, who later designed '' Lady Bug'' (1981) and '' Mr. Do!'' (1982) at Universal and then '' Bomb Jack'' (1984) and '' Tehkan World Cup'' (1985) at Tehkan (later known as Tecmo). The game's concept was inspired by '' Heiankyo Alien'' (1979), also known as ''Digger'', a top-down maze game with digging and trapping mechanics. ''Space Panic'' changed it to a side-view gameplay format, while adding platforms and ladders.

Reception

In Japan, ''Space Panic'' was commercially successful. It was tied with '' Scramble'' and ''

Jump Bug is a 1981 scrolling shooter platform game developed by Alpha Denshi under contract for Hoei Corporation. It was distributed in arcades by Sega in Japan and Europe, and by Rock-Ola in North America. The player controls a bouncing Volkswagen- ...

'' as the 14th highest-grossing arcade video game of 1981. In North America, ''Space Panic'' was commercially unsuccessful, which ''

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 1983 attributed to its concepts' novelty to the audience: "not only the first of the climbing games, it was also the first of the digging games. That's quite a load for a player on a new game. No punning intended when I say that the rungs were too high for the average gamer to scale." The magazine reported that the average play time was 30 seconds. In a retrospective review of the ColecoVision version for ''Digital Press Online'', Kevin Oleniacz concluded, "Coleco had resurrected several short-lived arcade games and transformed them into home favorites, but they should have let ''Space Panic'' rest in peace."

Reviews

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Games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

'' #41 *''

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Legacy

While the original arcade game was unsuccessful in North America, the concept found popularity in the unauthorized home computer version, '' Apple Panic'' (1981), which was more successful than the original game in North America. It also inspired '' Lode Runner'' (1983), which has a similar look and also uses the basic premise of digging holes to trap enemies. Universal revisited the genre with ''

Mr. Do's Castle ''Mr. Do's Castle'' is a platform game released in Arcade video game, arcades by Universal Entertainment, Universal in September 1983. In Japan, the game is titled ''Mr. Do! versus Unicorns''. Marketed as a sequel to the original ''Mr. Do!'' rel ...

'' (1983), which expanded upon the play styles explored in ''Space Panic''. Video game historian Michael Thomasson, writing for ''Old School Gamer Magazine'', considers ''Space Panic'' to be the "foundation of all platformers" despite being "a rather obscure" cult classic, stating that it "revolutionized game design by introducing novel game mechanics and birthed a new genre." It was also one of the earliest "digging" type games (after ''Heiankyo Alien''), which are variously called "trap 'em up" or "digging games". '' Horace and the Spiders'' (1983) includes a ''Space Panic'' inspired level.

Clones

References

{{reflist

External links

''Space Panic''
at KLOV 1980 video games Arcade video games Coleco games ColecoVision games Multiplayer and single-player video games Multiplayer hotseat games Platformers Science fiction video games Universal Entertainment games Video games about extraterrestrial life Video games developed in Japan CBS Electronics games