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Anteater (Arcade Game)
Encyclopedia
Anteater is a maze arcade game
released in 1982
by Tago Electronics.
that elongates his proboscis
through maze-like anthills
eating ants. The player can only eat ants with the tip of the anteater's proboscis. If an ant bites your proboscis at any other location you lose a life. Pressing the second button will quickly retract the anteater's proboscis. Worms will not harm you unless eaten head first, in which case you lose a life. Worms can be safely eaten from behind. Eating queen ant
s at the very bottom of the nest will temporarily clear all ants and worms from the screen. Once you've cleared approximately half of the screen, a spider will appear which prevents you from retracting your proboscis. The object is to eat all of the larvae before time runs out, clearing the screen.
by Mattel
in 1983 but never released. No official ports were released but Datamost
's Ardy The Aardvark (1983), which is almost identical, was written for the Apple II
by Anteaters creator Chris Oberth
. That game was also converted to the Commodore 64
and Atari 8-bit by Jay Ford.
A similar game, Ant Eater, was released by Romox for the Commodore VIC-20
, Texas Instruments TI-99/4A
and Atari 8-bit home computers but, while it was inspired by Anteater, it plays differently.
Other games that more closely resemble Anteater, while changing the setting are Sierra
's Oil's Well
(1983) and Blue Ribbon
's Diamond Mine II (1985). A more straight forward clone is Bug-Byte
's Aardvark (1986).
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
released in 1982
1982 in video gaming
-Events:* December 27 - Starcade, a video game television game show, debuts on TBS in the United States.-Notable releases:*October 13 - Mystique releases the Custer's Revenge adult video game for the Atari 2600 home console....
by Tago Electronics.
Gameplay
The player controls an anteaterAnteater
Anteaters, also known as antbear, are the four mammal species of the suborder Vermilingua commonly known for eating ants and termites. Together with the sloths, they compose the order Pilosa...
that elongates his proboscis
Proboscis
A proboscis is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In simpler terms, a proboscis is the straw-like mouth found in several varieties of species.-Etymology:...
through maze-like anthills
Ant colony
An ant colony is an underground lair where ants live, eat and mate. Colonies consist of a series of underground chambers, connected to each other and the surface of the earth by small tunnels. There are rooms for nurseries, food storage, and mating...
eating ants. The player can only eat ants with the tip of the anteater's proboscis. If an ant bites your proboscis at any other location you lose a life. Pressing the second button will quickly retract the anteater's proboscis. Worms will not harm you unless eaten head first, in which case you lose a life. Worms can be safely eaten from behind. Eating queen ant
Queen ant
A queen ant is an adult, reproducing female ant in an ant colony; generally she will be the mother of all the other ants in that colony. Some female ants do not need to mate to produce offspring, reproducing through asexual parthenogenesis or cloning and all of those offspring will be female.Ant...
s at the very bottom of the nest will temporarily clear all ants and worms from the screen. Once you've cleared approximately half of the screen, a spider will appear which prevents you from retracting your proboscis. The object is to eat all of the larvae before time runs out, clearing the screen.
Ports and clones
The game was ported to the Atari 2600Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
by Mattel
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
in 1983 but never released. No official ports were released but Datamost
Datamost
Datamost was a software design company founded by David Gordon and based in Chatsworth, California. Datamost operated in the early 1980s producing games and other software mainly for the Apple II, Commodore 64 and Atari platforms, with some for the IBM PC...
's Ardy The Aardvark (1983), which is almost identical, was written for the Apple II
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
by Anteaters creator Chris Oberth
Christian Oberth
Chris Oberth is a game programmer and the creator of a number of software titles, including games for the Apple II family of personal computers published in the late 1970s and early 1980s.-Software:Programma, 1978* Phasor Zap* 3-D Docking Mission...
. That game was also converted to the Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
and Atari 8-bit by Jay Ford.
A similar game, Ant Eater, was released by Romox for the Commodore VIC-20
Commodore VIC-20
The VIC-20 is an 8-bit home computer which was sold by Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commodore's first personal computer, the PET...
, Texas Instruments TI-99/4A
Texas Instruments TI-99/4A
The Texas Instruments TI-99/4A was an early home computer, released in June 1981, originally at a price of USD $525. It was an enhanced version of the less-successful—and quite rare—TI-99/4 model, which was released in late 1979 at a price of $1,150...
and Atari 8-bit home computers but, while it was inspired by Anteater, it plays differently.
Other games that more closely resemble Anteater, while changing the setting are Sierra
Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment Inc. was an American video-game developer and publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams...
's Oil's Well
Oil's Well
Oil's Well is a computer game distributed by Sierra On-Line in 1983, and again in 1990. The game was programmed by Thomas J. Mitchell and Bill Sargent. Bill Sargent went on to work on such projects as The Sims, and SimCity 2000....
(1983) and Blue Ribbon
Blue Ribbon (software house)
Blue Ribbon was the budget computer software publishing label of CDS Micro Systems.The label launched in 1985 mostly made up of games from the MRM Software back catalogue. MRM had been a label producing games for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron. Blue Ribbon reissued these and also converted them...
's Diamond Mine II (1985). A more straight forward clone is Bug-Byte
Bug-Byte
Bug-Byte Software Ltd. was a company founded in 1980 by Tony Baden and Tony Milner, two Oxford chemistry graduates. It was one of the first to develop a range of 8-bit computer games during the early 1980s, for Sinclair, Commodore and other home computer brands, particularly for the Spectrum...
's Aardvark (1986).