AtariAge at 2005 Philly vgXpo

Swoops! is a collection of three 1K minigames that Thomas Jentzsch (Thrust+ Platinum) submitted in the 2004 Minigame Competition. Two of the games in this collection won first and second place in the 1K competition: Cave 1K won the category, and Splatform came in second place. All three of these games offer addicting gameplay that will keep you coming back for me! Swoops! contains a menu that allows you to select which game to play, and ultimately will contain a mode that will allow you to play all three games in succession. The games are:

• Cave 1K - Can you navigate a helicopter through a treacherous cave at a nail-biting pace, avoiding obstacles in your path as well as well as the floor and ceiling? As you progress through the cave, the obstacles get closer together and your speed increases! How far into the cave can you get?
  
  
• Splatform 2600 - Splatform is a simple, but fun platform jumping game where your goal is to jump from platform to platform while moving to the right as quickly as you can. You lose points for bouncing in place, giving you an incentive to keep moving!
  
  
• Crash 'n' Dive - Help little Toto to survive while falling down an endless tunnel. Score points by collecting sequences of identical colored platforms and bonus platforms and avoid deadly platforms. Starts slow, but gets extremly fast later. If you can survive that long!

Swoops! features an original label and manual created by Dave Exton.

Cave 1K	Cave 1K
Splatform	Splatform
Crash 'n' Dive	Crash 'n' Dive

For though he was gentle and kind, it was Quasimodo's crime to have been born hideously deformed. But one day his heart would prove to be a thing of rare beauty. She was Esmerelda. The victim of a coward's jealous rage, she is unjustly convicted of a crime she didn't commit. Her sentence is death by hanging. Only one man can save her --Quasimodo. Victor Hugo

Hunchy II is a sequel to the 1982 classic arcade game "Hunchback" which is loosely based on the novel "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1831) by Victor Hugo. Your task is to guide the hunchbacked Quasimodo in his quest to rescue the gypsy girl Esmeralda from the cathedral of Notre Dame. To succeed, you must collect all of the bells in each cathedral room. You must also avoid any incoming missiles and the fearsome cathedral guards. The game contains 14 levels of increasing difficulty.

Hunchy II features an original label by Justin Hairgrove and a manual by Tony Morse and Chris Walton.

The Atari 2600 won't win any awards for raw computing horsepower, but there is one game that's well suited to its AI capabilities: Rock, Paper, Scissors! You heard right, Billy Eno (author of Warring Worms: The Worm (Re)Turns) has developed a version of this classic schoolyard game for the Atari 2600. Would you believe that there's a World RPS Society that actively promotes Rock, Paper, Scissors, including tournaments held at both local and international levels?

Game play works as follows: The game is started when both players are holding their fire buttons down. This causes the fists to rise, or "start the prime." Once one of the players releases their fire button, the down stroke begins, which sets the timing of each of the subsequent "primes." During the final down stroke, or the "approach," the players choose their final throw by pressing left for paper, right for scissor, or nothing for rock.� The winner is indicated on the screen.

Game variations include a single-player mode, and for choosing the number of rounds to be played. With several computer opponents to choose from, you will never be short of competition. You can play Joe, your average player. Or get tough with Rocky. Then there is the ever wily Simon. And you can't forget, the ultimate RPS opponenent, Kasparov. Beat him, and only then can you consider yourself a master of the game!

RPS features an original label and manual by Nathan Strum.

Atari 2600 fans Chris Walton (cd-w), Fred Quimby (batari), Bob Montgomery (vdub_bobby), and Zach Matley (Zach) submitted several 1K entries for the 2005 Minigame Competition. They have now teamed up to release their seven 1K games in a single 2005 Minigame Multicart, complete with an on-screen menu that allows easy selection of the games as well as instructions. The included games are:

• Hunchy - Hunchy is inspired by the classic arcade game Hunch Back (released 1982), which is loosely based on the novel "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1831) by Victor Hugo. You play the role of the hunchbacked bell-ringer Quasimodo in his quest to rescue the gypsy girl Esmeralda from the cathedral of Notre Dame. To succeed, you must jump across the roof of the Notre Dame, avoiding the guards and an assortment of missiles. There are 16 screens to complete, increasing in difficulty as you progress. Hunchy has an infinite number of lives, and you will need them all! You can learn more about Hunchy here.
  
  
• Jetman - In Jetman you play a battle-hardened gas station attendant in outer space! Your job is to refuel the rockets as quickly as possible, while coming under heavy fire from forces unknown. Jetman is inspired by the classic Ultimate 8-bit game JetPac (released 1983). There are 16 space craft to refuel in increasingly hostile conditions. You can learn more about Jetman here.
  
  
• Nightrider - As the Nightrider, you must ride for freedom or die! Hostile government forces are in helicopter pursuit as you make your futile bid for freedom. To stop or hesitate will mean certain death, but the rugged terrain will also bite you without warning. The faster and further you ride, the more your freedom is worth. You can learn more about Nightrider here.
  
  
• Zirconium - An exotic alien species is invading our galaxy! The cubic zirconia, based on elemental zirconium instead of carbon, have tried to block your approach to their boxy mothership with their geometrically perfect space mines. You, as the intrepid space captain Joe Diamond, must think outside the box as you battle your way through their blocky blockade. Your ship's armor can only withstand a few collisions, so take good aim at the obstacles and don't miss the power packs spread throughout the galaxy! You can learn more about Zirconium here.
  
  
• Rocket Command - Interterrestrial beings are erupting from the earth's core in an attempt to take over the surface! As the Rocket Commander, you have installed a battalion of rockets at the top of the volcanic crater where the magma beings are launching their craft. It's up to you to destroy these molten enemies before they launch into the sky! If your rockets destroy enough invaders, your leader will allow you to install more rockets to continue your campaign. You must be on your toes, because there's not much time to aim when you are down to your last few rockets! You can learn more about Rocket Command here.
  
  
• M-4 - Back in 1977, Midway released an arcade game titled M-4. This is a pretty simple game, where you take control of a tank where your goal is to accumulate as many points as you can within a 90 second period of time. You can score points for hitting the wall (well, you only get one point for this), hitting an opposing tank, hitting a car, and hitting an airplane (which scores the most). Every time you or hte other tank gets hit, the walls are rebuilt and the tanks are retgurned to their starting positions. The timer then pauses for a moment, and the game then resumes. You can learn more about M-4 here.
  
  
• Marble Jumper - Marble Jumper is a classic puzzle game played on a board with 33 squares. The goal is to clear the board with the last marble in the center. Marbles move by jumping horizontally or vertically. As in checkers, the jump is valid if the adjacent position is occupied and the position two squares away is clear. During a jump, the adjacent marble is removed from the board. Diagonal jumps are not allowed. Marble Jumper contains 24 puzzles, including the original where all squares but the center are filled. You can learn more about Marble Jumper here.

The 2005 Minigame Multicart features an original label and manual created by Nathan Strum.

Menu	Jetman	M-4
Nightrider	Zirconium	Marble Jumper
Rocket Command	Hunchy