AIthough Atari's coin-op division remained profitable throughout the US videogame crash of 1983, there were lay-offs from the department, and this resulted in a fantasy RPG-style arcade game that Ed Logg had started designing late in the year being put on the backburner. By the time Ed had the staff he required it was early 1985, and soon after, coder Bob Flanagan replaced an Atari legend on Ed's team. "I got on to the project about three months in," Bob recalls. "Dave Theurer had been doing the work with Ed and then I took over. Dave had built the level editor, and I think some of the initial mazes. Then my job was to maintain the editor and extend it, and also create mazes and do other coding."
Naturally, Bob assessed the work that had been done before his arrival. The inspiration for its theme and heroes were obvious to him, and some earlier coin-ops came to mind as he analysed its gameplay. "Gauntlet was based on Dungeons & Dragons-type games, and all the characters were based on typical D&Dtype characters," Bob observes. "It reminded me a little of Berzerk and Frenzy, with a bit of Robotron but much less high-adrenaline. Pat McCarthy had done the hardware, and he came up with the brilliant idea of how to have so many objects on the screen at the same time. That was instrumental in being able to accomplish what Ed wanted, which was a screen just swarming with characters."
This story is from the Issue 261 edition of Retro Gamer.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Issue 261 edition of Retro Gamer.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2009
Initially debuting on the PC in 1998,games began appearing on consoles from 2001 with the release of Cabela's Big Game Hunter: Ultimate Challenge for Sony's PlayStation.
ModRetro Chromatic
Meet the new handheld aiming to provide the ultimate Game Boy experience
ULTIMATE GUIDE Project Rub
OF ALL THE GAMES THAT LAUNCHED WITH THE NINTENDO DS, NONE WERE AS INVENTIVE, CHARMING, OR OVERLOOKED AS PROJECT RUB. TWENTY YEARS LATER, SONIC TEAM'S DS DEBUT REMAINS ONE OF THE SYSTEM'S MOST ENJOYABLE AND ENDEARING GAMES
Wii Balance Board
During the era of the DS and Wii, Nintendo didn't just want to sell games consoles - it wanted to sell the dream that self-improvement could be fun, whether you were exercising your mind in Dr Kawashima's Brain Training or your body with Wii Sports.
THE MAKING OF JACKIE CHAN STUNTMASTER
MOST GAMES WITH A REAL PERSON'S NAME IN THE TITLE HAVE ACTUALLY VERY LITTLE TO DO WITH THEM. BUT THERE ARE SOME STARS WHOSE INFLUENCE ON A GAME GOES FAR BEYOND THEIR FACE AND VOICE. ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT OF THESE IS THE GREAT ACTION GOD HIMSELF: JACKIE CHAN
Future Classic
Modern games you'll still be playing in years to come
SUPER VEHICLE-001 METAL SLUG TACTICS
SNK'S METAL SLUG SERIES IS ONE OF THE MOST ICONIC RUN-AND-GUNS AROUND WITH A LEGACY AS RICH AS ITS METICULOUS 2D ART. SO WHAT CONVINCED SNK TO GREENLIGHT AN ISOMETRIC TACTICAL RPG? WE SPEAK TO LEIKIR STUDIO'S CREATIVE DIRECTOR AURÉLIEN LOOS TO FIND OUT MORE
MAGAZINE CRAFT PAUL DAVIES
In the first of a brand-new series, we interview the game journalists behind the most iconic gaming magazines of the past. We kick off by speaking to Paul Davies about his time as editor of CVG. We discuss the videogames that hooked him growing up, his time in the industry, and how he became an unlikely hero in revamping the iconic multiformat mag
THE MAKING OF Wizardry PROVING GROUNDS OF THE MAD OVERLORD
THE CREATORS OF THE INFLUENTIAL 1981 RPG WHICH WENT ON TO INSPIRE COUNTLESS TITLES, FROM DRAGON QUEST TO FINAL FANTASY EXPLAIN HOW IT HAD ITS ORIGIN IN SOME OF THE EARLIEST ONLINE EXPERIENCES, AND WAS ONE OF THE FIRST COMPUTER GAMES TO COME IN A BOX
20 Years of The NINTENDODS
NINTENDO'S QUIRKY HARDWARE DESIGN MAY HAVE RAISED A FEW EYEBROWS TWO DECADES AGO, BUT THE BRILLIANT GAMES IT ENABLED DREW IN PLAYERS REGARDLESS OF AGE OR GENDER. RETRO GAMER SPEAKS TO THE PEOPLE WHO MADE, SOLD AND DEVELOPED GAMES FOR THE DS AS WE CELEBRATE THE BEST-SELLING HANDHELD EVER
