Star Raiders (1979)

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Star Raiders
Publisher Atari, Inc.
Senior Developer Douglas Neubauer
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 Probably 1979
platform Atari 8-bit home computer
genre 3D space combat simulation
Game mode Single player
control Joystick , computer keyboard
medium Plug-in module, compact cassette
language English

Star Raiders is a computer game by Douglas Neubauer and one of the first to be released for the Atari 400 and 800 home computers . The publisher was Atari, Inc. itself. Thematically and visually it is based on the television series Spaceship Enterprise and the movie Star Wars . Introduced to a wider audience as early as 1979, the space combat game with strategic elements quickly developed into a best seller from 1980 onwards.

The space game environment shown in first person perspective is comparatively primitive - celestial bodies, for example, are only shown with low resolution, as pixels - in their time, however, the use of three-dimensional graphics was new and groundbreaking. The game is therefore seen in retrospect as a classic in video game history. For example, the American Stanford University Star Raiders is one of the ten most important computer games in history in its History of Science and Technology Collections published in 2007 .

In 1982, versions for the Atari 2600 and Atari 5200 game consoles appeared, and in 1986 for the Atari ST home computer .

Action and gameplay

The player slips into the role of the pilot of Cruiser 7 , a spaceship of the galaxy-ruling Atari Federation . You have to repel the invasion of the hostile Cylons and defend your own starbases. The player navigates through different areas of the home galaxy with the aim of confronting and destroying opposing squadrons. The selection of the areas to be defended requires strategic considerations, for example in order to prevent the enemy from moving starbases and thus to keep supply routes and repair options open. The battles taking place within a selected area in a three-dimensional environment, on the other hand, require skill and good hand-eye coordination. For example, the player has to avoid meteors and enemy fire, but at the same time use photon torpedoes to turn off enemy spaceships. When all Cylon squadrons have been destroyed, the goal of the game is achieved. When the enemy Cylons have destroyed or captured all starbases, the game is also over.

  • Atari joystick

  • Atari 400 keyboard

The strategic part of the game is using the Galactic Map (English Galactic chart ), which can be called by the player controlled. This screen-filling two-dimensional map is in turn divided into different sectors, the quadrants. Each of these box-shaped quadrants can contain a symbol that represents units such as starbases, Cylon ships or your own spaceship. All changes in the position of your own spaceship within the galaxy are controlled using this map, while the movement of enemy units is handled by the computer using artificial intelligence . To change the quadrant, a flashing cursor, which symbolizes your own spaceship, is moved to the quadrant to be approached by a joystick and the flight there is initiated. The game will now switch to a different visual mode. Within this three-dimensional representation of the star field is first FTL jump to the target quadrant by the from the TV series Star Trek known Hyperwarp accompanied animation to the immersion to strengthen. After arriving in the target sector, the game moves on to the action-oriented part, the battle.

In the three-dimensional star field representation, which is used throughout the battle part of the game, the player only sees the immediate stellar surroundings of the spaceship and this from the first -person perspective of a pilot known from the movie Star Wars . The spaceship can be rotated freely in all directions using joystick movements and accelerated or decelerated using the computer keyboard. A small area of ​​the lower part of the screen shows the flight instruments and damage displays as well as a mini-map in a highly schematic manner. The latter shows the presence and relative position of enemy spaceships in the immediate vicinity of your own spaceship. A crosshair located in the middle of the screen enables targeting and shooting at an enemy spaceship. If, on the other hand, the enemy forces are out of sight, you can switch to another overview map - the Long Range Sector Scan - by pressing a button . This shows the positions of all important units in the current quadrant and makes it easier to position the enemy. If your own spaceship has been damaged after the ensuing duels or if the fuel is running low, the player must go to a star base for repairs or refueling and, if necessary, change the quadrant beforehand with the help of the galaxy map. Except for the change of direction of the spaceship and the shooting of the photon torpedoes, the control of the action in the combat part is done with the help of the computer keyboard.

In contrast to most other contemporary arcade and computer games, no points are awarded at the end of the game, but a rank is assigned to the player according to his performance. This ranges from Galactic Cook Class 5 (German Galactic Cook fifth class ) to Star Commander Class 1 (German star commander, first class ), the highest possible classification. This rating depends on various factors, for example the duration of individual battles and damage to your own spaceship. Several visual modes and aids are available within a real-time environment to accomplish the game tasks. Different levels of difficulty that can be selected at the start of the game require different levels of skill on the part of the player. It is not possible to save the game.

Development and marketing

During the development work on the Atari 800 home computer, the engineer Douglas Neubauer began the first software-based tests at the end of 1978. This was intended to ensure the proper functioning of the hardware architecture with its various innovative special electronic modules POKEY , ANTIC and CTIA . Since many of the functionalities to be tested had been designed for the creation of games, Neubauer decided on his own responsibility to combine future tests in a game to be programmed by him. This should also enable a simple demonstration of the graphical capabilities of the new computer. As a basis, Neubauer chose the text-based strategy game Star Trek , which ran on mainframes at the time and was very popular with students , and which is thematically based on the television series of the same name. With the help of Atari's new, powerful hardware, he planned to replace the still highly abstracted and also turn-based space battle scenes contained therein with such in a three-dimensional real-time environment. The recently released film Star Wars and a slot machine not specified by Neubauer served as visual inspiration . The first work on the game began in early 1979 on an Atari 800 development system with special hand-wired components.

Screenshot of the previous game Star Trek in text display

Neubauer decided to use the 3D environment planned in the game in a first person perspective, i.e. H. from the perspective of the player. Neubauer first had to elaborate all the graphical principles and the mathematical formulas required for this on his own, as the technology built into the Atari 800 does not support 3D display, for example, by special graphics processors. The calculations for changing the three-dimensional game world and their representation in first person perspective are done by the main processor of the computer, the MOS 6502 . Since its computing capacity is limited, Neubauer simplified the graphic elements considerably and used special techniques in order to be able to implement movements that appear to be fluid in the game. Celestial bodies far away from the spaceship are only shown in a highly schematic manner, as individual pixels, and explosions as point clouds. For objects in closer proximity such as meteors, Cylon ships, star bases and photon torpedoes, no three-dimensional modeling is required. Instead, only their position within the three-dimensional environment is calculated and then a two-dimensional image that has been adjusted in size depending on the distance is copied into the three-dimensional representation. Here is also on Sprites (in Atari jargon as a player / Missiles resorted referred to), their use also offloads the main processor. The program solutions ("hacks") that Neubauer later described as provisional led to the display being slowed down, especially in the explosion animations. The maximum size of the program, which was limited to 8192 bytes , caused further problems, which meant that narrative cutscenes and extensive sound effects were no longer necessary. As early as May 1979, a prototype of the game could be demonstrated together with pre-production samples of the Atari 800 computer at the US computer fair West Coast Computer Faire .

In August 1979 Neubauer left Atari for private reasons. The final work on the largely completed game was completed by Atari in the months that followed and the game was presented in January 1980 at what was then the most important consumer electronics fair, the Consumer Electronics Show , in Las Vegas, USA. In March, the Star Raiders game name was granted trademark status . Occasionally, the official sales start of the game is also given in March, but the majority of publications on the topic assume an earlier date in 1979.

Atari game Star Raiders as a plug-in module. The picture on the right shows the circuit board installed inside with two ROM modules that contain the program and the data.

For the distribution of Star Raiders, Atari initially chose the easy-to-use, but expensive cartridge as a data carrier. In contrast to compact cassettes and floppy disks , which were also common at the time, but were much cheaper , a plug-in module was primarily characterized by its higher reliability. In addition, the program content was available immediately after the computer was switched on, eliminating the need for minute-long loading times such as when using compact cassettes. The plug-in module supplied by Atari contains two read-only memory components ( ROM ), each comprising 4096 bytes , in which the data and the program code of Star Raiders are stored. The modularly structured program code contains the entire game control, including the artificial intelligence algorithms for the movement of the Cylon units, the routines for generating the graphics and processing, for example, user inputs. Together with a twelve-page manual and packaging designed by the artist McCormack , the cartridge cost US $ 59.95. From 1981 Star Raiders was also available as a bundle offer with the arcade game Missile Command and two joysticks, from 1983 instead with the arcade game Pac-Man . 1986 Atari reissued Star Raiders as a cassette game. In the same year, the official successor Star Raiders II appeared .

At the Consumer Electronics Show in June 1982, Atari presented the in-house implementation of the game for the popular Atari 2600 game console for the first time . Due to the low performance of the device, which was released in 1977, this porting carried out by Carla Meninsky was associated with restrictions both audiovisual and technical in nature. Since the console, unlike home computers, does not have its own keyboard for control, Atari delivered the game in the late autumn of 1982 together with a special control panel, the Video Touch Pad CX-21 . At Christmas of the same year, an implementation for the Atari 5200 game console, which had recently been introduced in the USA, appeared . Except for minor graphical improvements, this version created by Joe Copson was largely identical to the one for the home computer. In 1986 Atari released another, audiovisually enhanced version for the Atari ST under the same game name . Robert Zdybel was responsible for the technical implementation of the program, images and animations were provided by Jerome Domurat.

reception

Contemporary

Even before the official start of sales, Star Raiders, which Atari's staff “proudly” presented at several computer fairs, caused a sensation and crowded exhibition stands. The trade press also took notice of the as yet unpublished game which, according to an initial assessment by the US computer magazine SoftSide Magazine, was "so good that no attempt should even be made to describe it".

From the spring of 1980, more detailed reviews followed in the USA. Among other things, this certified the game to bring the technical possibilities of the new Atari home computers to full advantage. The “brilliant” and “breathtaking” audiovisual presentation was also highlighted. The color representation - not a matter of course for home computer games at the time - and above all the new three-dimensional game scenes with the "coherent" background noise were, in the opinion of the critics, unparalleled among other home computers and video game consoles. The biggest competition, the arcade machines very popular at the time , Star Raiders was at best equal in terms of graphics and sound technology, but far superior in terms of game depth. According to many reviewers, this strategic element of Star Raiders, the adjustable level of difficulty and the rating system guaranteed long-lasting fun. All in all, Star Raiders is very versatile and has something for everyone, the purchase was recommended.

The game quickly became a huge hit. Similar to the Visicalc application program for the Apple II , Star Raiders had quickly become the strongest selling point for Atari's home computers in the opinion of many contemporary US observers. The extraordinarily high popularity of Star Raiders, which in the spring of 1981 was even called the best game of all time by the American magazine Byte , was also reflected in the reader popularity surveys of various computer magazines. In the US Electronic Games, for example, Star Raiders took a top position over a period of several years. The same magazine also attributed historical significance to the Star Raiders, which she called “revolutionary” at the end of 1982:

“Yet Star Raiders is more than just a great game. It also has its share of historical importance. Its introduction sent shock waves throughout the electronic games world ... "

“Yet Star Raiders is more than just a great game. Rather, it is also of historical importance. His appearance caused shock waves in the world of electronic entertainment ... "

- Electronic Games (October 1982)

In early 1983, Star Raiders was still considered one of the best games by many, according to Your Computer magazine , a view shared a year later by US computer magazines Antic and St. Game .

Retrospective

In retrospect, Star Raiders is often received in the context of general video game history. In the opinion of many authors, later games such as Elite (1984), Wing Commander (1990), Star Wars: X-Wing (1993) and the Freespace series (1998) differ only in degrees from Star Raiders. Over time, only additional storylines, refined graphics and more sophisticated playful elements have been added. The freely explorable game world and all other basic game mechanics have already combined Star Raiders. For this reason, Star Raiders is considered by many to be the founder of the genre of 3D space combat games . In addition, the introduction of the first-person perspective into the computer game world by Star Raiders has led to a great surge in development in simulation games in general. This great influence of Star Raiders - Chris Crawford called the game a "milestone in computer game history" in 2003 - makes it a classic among video games and has a significant cultural and historical significance. In 2007 Stanford University ranked Star Raiders among the ten most important computer games in history in its History of Science and Technology Collections .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Brenda Laurel: Star Raiders: Dramatic Interaction in a Small World. In: Noah Wardrip-Fruin and Nick Montfort (Eds.) The New Media Reader. MIT Press, Cambridge / London 2003, ISBN 0-262-23227-8 , p. 571.
  2. ^ Doug Neubauer: Star Raiders. Dougneubauer.com, Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  3. ^ Douglas Neubauer: The Atari Years. Dougneubauer.com, accessed October 3, 2018.
  4. ↑ Star Raiders. SoftLine, January 1982, p. 32.
  5. ^ A b Marty Goldberg and Curt Vendel: Atari Inc. Business is Fun. Syzygy Company Press, 2012, ISBN 978-0-9855974-0-5 , p. 526.
  6. ^ A b c Lee Pappas: An interview with Doug Neubauer. Analog Computing, October 1986, p. 89 f.
  7. ↑ a b c d James Hague: Doug Neubauer. Dadgum.com, accessed October 3, 2018.
  8. ^ Marty Goldberg and Curt Vendel: Atari Inc. Business is Fun. Syzygy Company Press, 2012, p. 527.
  9. ↑ Jeffrey Flemming: Video Games' First Space Opera: Exploring Atari's Star Raiders. Gamasutra.com, September 20, 2007, accessed October 3, 2018.
  10. ↑ a b c Lorenz Wiest: Reverse Engineering Star Raiders. PoC || GTFO 0x13, October 2016, pp. 5–20.
  11. ↑ Robert LaFerla: Player Missile Graphics: A Step Beyond. Analog Computing, January 1982, p. 33.
  12. ^ A b c Gregg Williams: Star Raiders. Byte, May 1981, p. 106.
  13. ↑ Joretta Klepfer: Star Raiders Defend The Galaxy. Compute !, March / April 1980, p. 75.
  14. ↑ Terry Costlow: Computers Become A Force at Consumer Electronics Show. Interface Age, February 1980, p. 49.
  15. ↑ Outgoing Mail. SoftSide Magazine, April 1980, p. 6.
  16. ↑ STAR RAIDERS - Trademark Details. Trademarks.justia.com, accessed October 3, 2018.
  17. ↑ Star Raiders. Giantbomb.com, accessed October 3, 2018.
  18. ↑ Steve Fulton: Atari: The Golden Years - A History, 1978-1981. Gamasutra.com, accessed October 9, 2018.
  19. ^ Hat Chamberlain: Manual quality is relative. InfoWorld, June 21, 1982, p. 21.
  20. ↑ Cartridge design. Antic, February 1984, p. 83.
  21. ^ Doug Neubauer: Star Raiders. Dougneubauer.com, July 29, 2009, accessed October 24, 2018.
  22. ↑ Tim Lapetino: Art of Atari. Dynamite Entertainment, 2016, ISBN 978-1-5241-0103-9 , p. 194.
  23. ↑ a b c George Blank: Outpost: Atari. Creative Computing, June 1980, p. 162.
  24. ^ New Software Kits From Atari. Atari Connection, Spring 1983, p. 11.
  25. ^ Arthur Leyenberger: Winter CES 1986. Analog Computing, April 1986, p. 96.
  26. ↑ TXP7100 - Compilation Tape. Gamebytes.co.uk, accessed October 3, 2018.
  27. ^ Danny Goodman: Video Games Update. Creative Computing Video & Arcade Games, Spring 1983, p. 33.
  28. ↑ Jim Gorzelany: Star Raiders Training Manual. Joystick Magazine, Apr 1983, p. 27.
  29. ↑ The Story of Atari. Atari-computermuseum.de, August 7, 2018, accessed on November 4, 2018.
  30. ↑ Jim Gorzelany: Star Raiders Training Manual. Joystick Magazine, Apr 1983, p. 28.
  31. ↑ Star Raiders. Steemit.com, March 2018, accessed November 4, 2018.
  32. ↑ Joe Hafner: Star Raiders Academy. Antic, July 1983, p. 76.
  33. ^ Adventure and other games. Byte, December 1980, p. 230.
  34. ↑ Outgoing Mail. SoftSide Magazine, April 1980, p. 6.
  35. ↑ Joretta Klepfer: Star Raiders Defend the Galaxy. Compute !, March / April 1980, p. 74.
  36. ↑ a b Computer Playland. Electronic Games, Winter 1981, p. 58.
  37. ↑ Arnie Katz and Bill Kunkel: Star Raiders. Electronic Games, February 1983, p. 31.
  38. ↑ Atari 400/800 software. Electronic Games, November 1982, p. 51.
  39. ↑ Videogames Hall of Fame. Electronic Games, October 1982, p. 59.
  40. ^ Jack Schofield: Atari Software. Your Computer, February 1983, p. 50.
  41. ↑ Star Raiders. Antic, April 1984, p. 46.
  42. ^ The Most Popular Program of 1983. St. Game, March / April 1984, p. 49.
  43. ↑ James Anthony: The computer games canon. The Guardian, March 15, 2007.
  44. ^ A b c Jan Van Looy: Understanding Computer Game Culture: The Cultural Shaping of a New Medium. Lambert Academic Publishing, February 1, 2010, ISBN 978-3-8383-3213-0 , p. 213.
  45. ^ Neal Tringham: Science Fiction video games. CRC Press, Boca Raton, 2015, ISBN 978-1-4822-0389-9 , pp. 414, 428, 429.
  46. ^ Ivan Mosca: Boards, Outer-Space, and Freedom in Video Games. Oslo, 2009, p. 10.
  47. ↑ Chris Crawford: Chris Crawford on Game Design. New Riders Publishing, 2003, ISBN 0-13-146099-4 , p. 21.
  48. ↑ Heather Chaplin: Is That Just Some Game? No, it's a cultural artifact. In: The New York Times . March 27, 2007, accessed January 21, 2019 .
  49. ↑ Christian Keichel: Stark verpixelt: What was left of the game (s) (computer archeology) - Volume 2. Projekt Verlag, 2017, ISBN 978-3-89733-410-6 , p. 13.
This article was added to the list of excellent articles in this version on May 11, 2019 .