Activision library observation -- no maze games at all!!!

[mos6507]

The approach Activision took with the 2600 is what gives its games its unique look and feel. While it did constrain their game designs some, it's hard to say that it made their games any less fun overall.

 

I am surprised to find out about Sky Jinks' use of the 1-bit objects. That's really innovative stuff there.

[D.Yancey]

The Activision games mentioned as being close to maze games are what I consider to be "obstacle courses". You can add Keystone Kapers to that list too.

[Rik]

Perhaps it was just a case of Activision wanting to avoid another law suit with Atari over a baltant Pac Man clone? Imagic never had any maze games either so perhaps the lessons of K C Munchkin were learnt after all?

Yeah,that too!

[Student Driver]

Perhaps it was just a case of Activision wanting to avoid another law suit with Atari over a baltant Pac Man clone? Imagic never had any maze games either so perhaps the lessons of K C Munchkin were learnt after all?

 

Atari were protective over their other games, too... which always made me wonder why they ignored Activision's Dragster and Kaboom!, which were both pretty blatantly based on Atari arcade games. (Then again, it's not like Atari's Outlaw, Circus Atari, and Dodge 'Em were purely original, either.)

 

Back in the day, I'd always heard Freeway was heavily based on Atari's Space Race, an arcade unit I've never seen/played. Anyone know the machine, and if the inference could be made?

[Starhopper]

Pitfall II has maze-like qualities.

'Labyrinthine' is the word that comes to mind.

[A.J. Franzman]

Back in the day, I'd always heard Freeway was heavily based on Atari's Space Race, an arcade unit I've never seen/played. Anyone know the machine, and if the inference could be made?

The Killer List of Videogames> - Space Race

 

Other than the asteroids only coming from the left (giving the right player a huge advantage), the gameplay is described as almost exactly like Freeway.

[supercat]

I would aruge Barnstorming, HERO, Pitfall, Pitfall II and Private Eye are all maze type games - Maybe Barnstorming is stretching a bit but it requires one to know have to navigate the maze of obstacles to complete the game.

 

IMHO, "maze games" as exemplified by Pac Man, Lock and Chase, Mousetrap, etc. (or even Maze Craze, for that matter) involve characters constrained to the centerlines of hallways. This is very different from "obstacle-course" games, whose objectives involve controlling characters to stay within boundaries they would otherwise exceed.