Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Though it had a lot of competition, Atari was the biggest player in the coin-operated video game market that exploded in the late 1970s and reached its zenith in the early 1980s. At their peak, how much money did arcade video games take in every year?
2. In the days before all-purpose sound chips, Atari engineers had to create hardwire circuits for each sound. This limited sonic palate made the games' "soundtracks" somewhat repetitive. With the arcade classic "Asteroids", introduced in 1979, this feature was eerily effective. According to co-creator Howard Delman, what was the "Asteroids" background sound intended to resemble?
3. "Asteroids" was such a success that its creators would later introduce a revised version called "Asteroids DeLuxe". Which of these features was new to the DeLuxe version?
4. Released in 1981, "Centipede" would be a widely hailed hit. Among its innovations were an increased use of screen color and a whimsical mushroom world that contrasted with the more militaristic tone of earlier arcade games. Innovative as it was, "Centipede" was also familiar. Upon what phenomenally popular progenitor was "Centipede" based?
5. "Centipede" was created by two programmers. One was veteran Ed Logg, who had also created "Asteroids". What was (relatively) unique about Logg's collaborator on the game?
6. One interesting wrinkle in the rules for "Centipede" was the number of points the player got for shooting its erratically dancing spider; the closer you got to the spider, the more you scored. Which of these was not a point value for the spider?
7. Almost by accident, Atari made a profound contribution to US military training in the 1980s. One of their popular combat simulations so impressed Army brass that the Pentagon ordered modified versions of the game for use in field instruction. What game was this?
8. Originally titled "Armageddon", this arcade game was Atari's contribution to the fears of atomic attack that pervaded the world's mentality (particularly that of the youth) at the time of the game's 1980 release. It was an unrelentingly pessimistic game, since no matter how well the players performed they would always end up with a mushroom cloud at the game's conclusion. What was this apocalyptic video success?
9. What complex, geometric Atari game asked its players to use their Blaster and SuperZapper to obliterate aliens pouring into the universe through cosmic tubes?
10. In 1982, Atari handled the United States distribution of a unique game developed by Namco that featured a burrowing hero that inflated his opponents until they exploded; for variety, they could also be vanquished by falling rocks. What was the title of this surreal arcade mainstay?
Source: Author
stuthehistoryguy
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor
Diamondlance before going online.
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