Break Dance (computer game)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Break Dance (or Breakdance ) is a computer game for the Commodore 64 that was developed by Stephen Beck (Beck-Tech) and published in 1984 by American publisher Epyx . The game is based on the breakdance dance form that was just becoming popular at the time .

Gameplay

This computer game picks up on contemporary hip-hop music and breakdancing from the 1980s. The player controls a pawn who is dancing in the street in front of a block. To funk music, the breakdance dance movements of computer-controlled opponents have to be imitated by joystick movements. The game offers three game modes: Hot Feet Dance Contest , Battle of the Rocket Crew and Perfections Dance Puzzle .

In one of the game modes, the player has to imitate the movements of a single character, which is made more difficult by constantly longer dance sequences. The Battle of the Rocket Crew mode confronts the player with a whole gang of opposing dancers. At first the ranks of the opponents dance synchronously, later they begin to perform individual dance movements, which increases the level of difficulty considerably. Another component of the game lets the player create their own breakdance sequences from popular elements such as moonwalk , turtle , floor flip or suicide.

In the cassette version only one player can compete.

background

The dance form breakdance had achieved worldwide fame the year before with the film Flashdance and in the same year with Beat Street .

Later games like PaRappa the Rapper (1996) or Mad Maestro (2002) also tried to combine music and dance movements with game mechanics, but only Dance Dance Revolution achieved great success through the use of a dance mat .

criticism

The American game magazine Computer Gaming World called the game a product that “combines an extraordinary concept with exceptionally good gameplay”.

The British computer magazine Practical Computing called the graphics of the game "great" ( brilliant ).

Tim Onosko wrote in the Commodore magazine Commodore Microcomputers that breakdance stands out due to the game mode, in which players can freely create breakdance choreographies.

Similar games

  • Break Street (1984, for C64)
  • B-Boy (2006, for PSP)
  • Flow: Urban Dance Uprising for EyeToy (PS2)

See also music game .

Individual evidence

  1. Taking a Peek . In: Computer Gaming World . tape 4 , no. 6 , December 1984, pp. 6-7 .
  2. ^ Scott Mace: Fractals and the Phosphotron . In: InfoWorld . No. 43 , 1984, pp. 38 ( books.google.de ).
  3. ^ Bill Loguidice, Matt Barton: Vintage Games . Focal Press, Waltham 2009, ISBN 0-240-81146-1 , pp. 34 ( books.google.de ).
  4. Charles Ardai: Titans of the Computer Gaming World . In: Computer Gaming World . No. 36 , April 1987, pp. 13 .
  5. Practical Computing . No. 8 , 1985, pp. 37 ( books.google.de ).
  6. Tim Onosko: Steve Beck: Renaissance Man of the Future . In: Commodore Microcomputers . No. 35 , 1985, pp. 81 .

Web links