Marble Madness

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Marble Madness
MarbleMadness logo.svg
Studio Atari Games
Publisher Atari
Senior Developer Mark Cerny
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 December 1984
genre Skill game
Game mode 1 or 2 players at the same time
control Trackball
casing default
Arcade system Atari System I = CPU : 68010 (@ 7.15909 MHz)
Sound CPU: M6502 (@ 1.789772 MHz)
Sound chips: YM2151, Pokey , TMS5220
monitor Raster resolution 336 × 240 (4: 3 horizontal); Color palette: 1024

Marble Madness is a slot machine game released by Atari Games in 1984 . It was later ported to many home computers .

Game description

The play figure is a ball that can be moved on a three-dimensional surface using a trackball (with computers using a mouse or joystick ) and is exposed to influences such as acceleration, deceleration, impact against a wall or falling into an abyss. There are also special level effects, such as ice surfaces or mechanisms that propel the game ball into the air.

In single player mode, the player's ball is occasionally distracted by balls controlled by the computer. There are a total of six levels in the game: Practice , Beginner , Intermediate , Aerial , Silly and Ultimate . At the practice level, the player only familiarizes himself with the controls and can gain bonus points if his ball is skillfully guided. In the penultimate level ( Silly ), the rules of the game and the law of gravity are turned upside down: the player ball chases miniature versions of the opponents and runs up ramps by itself.

The 3D view is isometric . The game is designed by Mark Cerny , who was 18 years old when it was developed.

Arcade hardware was, as with Gauntlet , the Atari System I.

The Amiga version was the first 1: 1 implementation of the machine on a home computer, as far as the graphics are concerned. Only the sound and the speed of the game flow had to be accepted on the Amiga. On all other platforms at that time, the game had to be implemented with compromises.

successor

In 1991, a prototype Marble Madness 2: Marble Man was developed. This was intended for three players and contains an underwater level. There is at least one functioning machine. The owner has made a commitment not to publish the game's ROMs . There are numerous similar versions for modern PCs or other systems.

Similar games

  • Marble Maze (for Tandy TRS-80 Color Computer)
  • Neverball (for Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, Mac OS X and Dreamcast)
  • Trackballs for Linux and Windows
  • Gyroscope (for C64, 1985 by Catalyst Coders)
  • Spindizzy (for C64, 1986 by Electric Dreams)
  • Super Monkey Ball (Sega)
  • Katamari Damacy
  • Kororinpa (for Hudson's Wii)
  • Hamster Ball for Windows
  • Oxide (distantly related)
  • Rock'n'Roll (for Amiga)

Web links