I officially like Karateka!

[DracIsBack]

Question for mfeldman:

 

Was Choplifter originally started while Atari was still owned by Warner? In reviewing 7800 documentation and looking at the early game releases and marketing collateral, one gets the sense that the games released in 1986 were actually complete in 1984 and held back and that the games released in 1987 (including Ballblazer, One on One etc) were underway in 1984 but finished up when the Tramiels threw the 7800 back at the market.

[Tempest]

ack Sandberg was the lead programmer on the Kareteka and Hat Trick Atari projects. I believe Jon Turner was lead on Choplifter. I was their boss at the time and I remember doing the PC version of Hat Trick that Jack ported to the 7800.

 

That explains why I see Jack's name in all the Ibid games except Choplifter.

 

Do you know why GATO was cancelled? Did Atari decide that it wasn't the type of game they wanted (a submarine simulator)?

 

I didn't know there was a PC version of Hat Trick. Was that ever released?

 

Tempest

[oesii]

http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?id=495

[mfeldman]

What games did Ibid do for the 7800? I know of Choplifter, Karateka, Hat Trick, and GATO (which was never released).

 

Just those three were released. I had completely forgotten about Gato.

[Room 34]

It's not a port... it's exactly the same version.  The XEGS was just a new hardware design for Atari's aging 8-bit computer line.

 

Yes, I'm aware of that too! My appologies for not being correct in my terminology.

 

I am quite aware that the XEGS was a reboxed 65XE, which in turn, was a "low cost" replacement for the 800XL.

 

[mfeldman]

Question for mfeldman:  

 

Was Choplifter originally started while Atari was still owned by Warner? In reviewing 7800 documentation and looking at the early game releases and marketing collateral, one gets the sense that the games released in 1986 were actually complete in 1984 and held back and that the games released in 1987 (including Ballblazer, One on One etc) were underway in 1984 but finished up when the Tramiels threw the 7800 back at the market.

 

 

I think we did all three games about the same time (around 1987) and all of them for the Tramiels.

[Trip_Cannon]

I think there is a lot of things we won't ever know about the climate of Atari back in those days. With respect to mfeldman, I thought Karateka was a terrible port. Even back then (8 years old) I thought it was pretty bad. I remember playing it on an Apple 2 and falling in love. It was one of the original reasons for choosing a 7800.

 

But why was 7800 Karateka so different than Apple, C64, and all the rest? It was obvious the game could have been done like the others but it wasn't. Like mfeldman said the Tramiels were all about cost and it could be that Kareteka's memory was cut in half, not enough time, not enough documentation.. . Only speculation but who knows?

[DracIsBack]

I think there is a lot of things we won't ever know about the climate of Atari back in those days. With respect to mfeldman, I thought Karateka was a terrible port.

 

Hate to pick on the programmers, but I have to agree. While I get that the Tramiels were brutal clients and GCC created a "limited" machine (console to play computer ports), Ken Grant worked under the same conditions and created ALIEN BRIGADE.

 

ALIEN BRIGADE vs. CHOPLIFTER and KARATEKA? Hmm ...