Software:Slot Machine (video game)
| Slot Machine | |
|---|---|
 Cover art by John Enright[1] | |
| Developer(s) | Atari, Inc. |
| Publisher(s) | Atari, Inc. |
| Programmer(s) | David Crane |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | Slot machine |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Slot Machine is a 1979 video game written by David Crane for the Atari VCS (renamed to the Atari 2600 in 1982) and published by Atari, Inc.[2][1] Along with Star Ship and Miniature Golf, it was one of the first Atari VCS games to be discontinued.[3]
Gameplay
The game has one-player and two-player modes. Gameplay options include Jackpot and Payoff modes. The game continues until the player runs out of tokens.[4]
Development
The game was written by David Crane, who went on to develop Pitfall!. Crane developed the game for his mother, who was a lover of slot-machine games.[5][6] Programming the game to represent the different symbols of a traditional fruit-machine proved difficult given that the Atari 2600 could only render 8 monochrome pixels for each sprite, so Crane made use of differing shapes that were easily distinguishable, such as cacti.[7]
Reception
In a July 1983 review in Electronic Games magazine, Joyce Worley and Tracie Forman described the graphics as "workman-like if unspectacular".[4]
A December 2000 review of the game in Classic Gamer Magazine written by Leonard Herman was highly critical of the game, including it in a list of games that he "loved to hate" and criticising the lack of tension in the gameplay and the poor graphics.[3]
See also
- List of Atari 2600 games
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lapetino, Tim (26 October 2016). Art of Atari (Deluxe). Dynamite Entertainment. pp. 104. ISBN 9781524101060. https://archive.org/details/book_art_of_atari/page/104/mode/2up?q=slot+machine. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- ↑ Weiss, Bret (20 December 2011). Classic Home Video Games, 1972–1984 A Complete Reference Guide. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. p. 105. ISBN 9780786487554. https://books.google.com/books?id=BzxTtml8Jq4C. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Herman, Leonard (December 2000). "Games We Love To Hate". Classic Gamer Magazine (5): p. 13. https://archive.org/details/Classic_Gamer_Magazine_Volume_1_Issue_5_2000-09_Classic_Gamer_US/page/n11/mode/2up?q=%22Slot+Machine%22.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Worley, Joyce; Forman, Tracie (July 1983). "Video Casino". Electronic Games (Reese Communications) (17): p. 98. https://archive.org/details/Electronic_Games_Volume_01_Number_17_1983-07_Reese_Communications_US/page/n97/mode/2up?q=%22Slot+Machine%22.
- ↑ Dave (17 November 2018). "Exclusive Interview with Activision Founder David Crane!". https://www.retroinjection.com/post/exclusive-interview-with-david-crane. "My mother was the typical little old lady who liked to play slot machines when in Vegas, so I made Slot Machine for her to play at home."
- ↑ "In the chair with... David Crane". Retro Gamer UK (79): p. 89. https://archive.org/details/Retro_Gamer_UK_79/page/88/mode/2up?q=%22Slot+Machine%22.
- ↑ Montfort, Nick; Bogost, Ian (2009). Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System. The MIT Press. pp. 99, 108. ISBN 9780262012577. https://archive.org/details/The.MIT.Press.Racing.the.Beam.The.Atari.Video.Computer.System/page/n119/mode/2up?q=%22slot+machine%22. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
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