Andrew Newton on the video games we were playing in April 1980…
Back in March 1980 home computer enthusiasts in the UK had the chance to part with their hard earned money and purchase the Acorn Atom from Acorn Computers. This little marvel had 2 KB of ram (upgradable to 12 KB) and could be purchased in both a kit form for those who wanted to build it themselves, and ready assembled. This little gem ran until 1982 and was replaced by Acorn’s much more powerful BBC Micro.
Dog Fight – Acornsoft
This two player game looks very basic but is guaranteed to be lots of fun. Each player took control of one of the little aircraft and guided it around the screen attempting to shoot the opposition whilst also avoiding their bullets. It’s a simple little game but one that has plenty of replay value, providing a second person could be found to share half of the tiny keyboard.
Dog Fight and games like it became regular titles on the very early computers. I recall playing Bandits at 3 O’Clock, one very similar game on the Acorn Electron (and one we will look at in a future article) just a few short years later.
If you want to see what Dog Fight looked like then gamesdatabase.org have all screenshots and a little gameplay video that can be seen by clicking here.
Ball / Toss Up – Game & Watch / Time Out
If you were to stroll through a department store’s electrical department during April, you may have seen a little handheld game called Ball. This was the first of Nintendo’s Game & Watch LCD games although in the UK (due to distribution issues) it was first known under the name of Toss Up with a brand name of Time Out. Ball/ Toss Up put players in charge of a little man, or more precisely the very long arms of a little man, as he juggles balls. The balls travel in different arcs so quick reflexes are not essential but certainly useful.
Nintendo’s Game & Watch LCD series of games proved to be incredibly popular with games containing iconic characters such as Donkey Kong and Mario making their appearance later on.
Want to see what Toss Up actually looked like then check Steve Benway’s video below….
Night Driver – Atari
Night Driver is a first person racing game initially released by Atari for the arcades and released on the Atari 2600 in 1980. Inspired by an earlier German coin-op called Nürburgring, Night Driver had players control a car and race it along the road at night. Making it nighttime was a smart move on the programmers part as it meant they didn’t have to dedicate so much time and memory to environmental details. Unlike the arcade the Atari 2600 version added in other features for players to enjoy such as additional cars to avoid and roadside scenery such as houses and trees which more or less scaled as players raced along. Collision with the cars or roadside scenery resulted in a massive flash.
The Atari 2600 port of the game also featured 8 different game modes with some being timed and some not. One particular timed mode had players trying to score as highly as possible in a mere 90 seconds.
It’s certainly not the best racing game ever but it’s not the worst one either. If you want to see how good (or bad) it actually was watch Steve Benway’s video below….
The 80s were a wonderful time to be into gaming, and computers as a whole. It was certainly the decade that saw the start of the UK’s love affair with home computing.
Thanks again to Steve Benway and make sure to join us again soon. Stay safe!
Andrew Newton
