Ball blazer
| Ball blazer | |
|---|---|
| Studio | Lucasfilm Games |
| Publisher | Atari Corporation |
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
1985 |
| platform | Apple II , Atari ST , Atari 8-Bit , Atari 5200 , Atari 7800 , Amstrad CPC , ZX Spectrum , C64 , Amiga , DOS , MSX |
| genre | Sports simulation |
| Game mode | Multiplayer |
| language | English |
Ballblazer is a two-player computer sports game from 1985 that was developed by Lucasfilm Games and is a futuristic adaptation of the soccer game. Each player controls a kind of hovercraft (“rotofoil”) with which the ball (“plasmorb”) has to be brought into the opposing goal as often as possible.
Ballblazer was distinguished by its particularly realistic display of game physics compared to other games from the home computer era. Effects such as acceleration, inertia, recoil and elastic shocks as well as the curvature of the earth were convincingly displayed and integrated into the game in such a way that they had to be taken into account by the player and, if used skillfully, would give him a playful advantage.
Also noteworthy is the algorithmically generated music, in which the computer virtually improvises without ever repeating itself exactly.
Game action
According to the background story, the playing field is on an asteroid. Although only the rectangular playing field with a checkerboard pattern is passable in the game, the curvature of the horizon of a small celestial body can be recognized by the limited visibility and the disappearance of distant objects below the notch and this has a clear impact on the game. The goals are not visible from the center line of the pitch and, as the goals are moving, players must estimate their position in the first phase of an attack. A goal that is scored while the player is so far away that he is behind the horizon is worth a particularly high number of points.
Technical details
To enable a two-player game, the screen is divided horizontally ( split screen ) and the view of the player or the opponent is shown in each part of the screen. Some of the tactics possible in the game rely on tracking the image in the opponent's half of the screen, such as: B. taking advantage of the recoil when shooting the ball to collide with the pursuing opponent and slow him down. The game was originally written for the Atari 8-bit systems, such as the Atari 800 and Atari 5200 . It was later ported to many of the home computers popular at the time, such as the Apple II , ZX Spectrum , Amstrad CPC , Commodore 64 and the Atari 7800 .
In 1990 LucasArts and Rainbow Arts released a follow-up game called Masterblazer . The game appeared on the Amiga , Atari ST and PC computer platforms .
In 1997 a remake for the PlayStation was released under the title Ballblazer Champions , also published by LucasArts.
Web links
- Ballblazer at MobyGames (English)
- AtariMagazine story about the production of Ballblazer
- Video from 1984 from the Lucasfilm press conference on Ballblazer
- Information on the follow-up game Masterblazer at MobyGames
- English instructions for the game Ballblazer at AtariAge
- Video of the game Ballblazer on the Atari 800