Battlezone
Encyclopedia
Battlezone is an arcade game
from Atari released in 1980. It displays a wireframe
view (using vector graphics
rather than raster graphics
) on a horizontal black and white (with green and red sectioned color overlay) vector monitor
. Due to its novel gameplay and look, this game was very popular for many years.
, and Sente
.
A version called The Bradley Trainer (also known as Army Battlezone or Military Battlezone) was also designed for use by the U.S. Army
as targeting training for gunners on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Approaching Atari in December 1980, some developers within Atari
refused to work on the project because of its association with the Army, most notably original Battlezone programmer Ed Rotberg. Rotberg only came on board after he was promised by management that he would never be asked to do anything with the military in the future. Only two were produced; one was delivered to the army and is presumed lost, and the other is in the private collection of Scott Evans who found it by a dumpster in the rear parking lot at Midway Games. The gunner yoke was based on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle control and was later re-used in the popular Star Wars game. The Bradley Trainer differs dramatically from the original Battlezone as it features helicopters, missiles, and machine guns; furthermore, the actual tank does not move—the guns simply rotate.
Also, one cocktail version of Battlezone was developed as a prototype. This is also in a private collection.
Because of its use of first-person
pseudo 3D graphics combined with an actual "viewing goggle" that the player puts his face into, Battlezone is widely considered the first virtual reality
arcade game. Likewise, The Bradley Trainer is considered the first VR training device used by the U.S. Army.
Gameplay is on a plain with a mountainous horizon featuring a memorable erupting volcano, distant crescent moon, and various geometric solids (in vector outline) like pyramids and blocks. The player views the screen, which includes an overhead radar
view to find and destroy the rather slow tanks, or the faster moving supertanks. Saucer-shaped UFO
s and guided missiles occasionally appear for a bonus opportunity. The saucers differ from the tanks in that they do not fire upon the player, and do not appear on radar. The player can hide behind the solids or maneuver in rapid turns once fired on to buy time with which to fire himself. Common play in the US could run from 25 cents to a dollar per game, depending on machine setting. The typical setting is for 25 cent play, with three tanks.
Scoring points in Battlezone is simple. A standard enemy tank is worth 1,000 points when destroyed; a supertank is worth 3,000 points; and the flying saucer is worth 5,000 points. The guided missile is worth 2,000 points when destroyed. Each of these targets can be destroyed with a single shot from the player's tank. One bonus tank (a bonus "life" or "man") is awarded when the player's score reaches 15,000 points; an additional tank is then awarded at 100,000 points. No additional tanks are awarded until the score counter turns over at ten million, at which time the machine "thinks" the score is zero, and additional bonus tanks are awarded at indicated scores of 15,000 and 100,000. The game only includes one hostile enemy on the game board at all times; the player never has to battle two enemy tanks at once, or a tank and guided missile. The UFO can appear on the screen at the same time as an enemy tank, and it can occasionally be destroyed by enemy fire.
The geometric solid obstacles are indestructible, and could block the movement of a player's tank. However, they are also useful as shields, as they block enemy fire as well.
There was a bug in some machines which caused very high phony scores into the seven digits to be posted (after a player would enter his initials). Good players could actually reach this level after an hour or two of play.
The music heard in the high score initials prompt is from Tchaikovsky
's 1812 Overture
.
Battlezone was housed in a standard upright arcade cabinet
with a novel "periscope
" viewfinder which the player used to view the game. The game action could also be viewed from the sides of the viewfinder for spectators to watch. A later, less common version of the cabinet removed the periscope to improve visibility to non-players and improve the ergonomics for players who could not reach the periscope. This modification also was welcomed by some operators, who felt that the small windows present in the "periscoped" version did not attract enough attention to the game when played.
A smaller version of the cabinet (known as a "cabaret cabinet") also existed with the screen angled upwards, and no periscope. A cocktail table version was tested as a prototype but not produced; it lacked the color overlays as the display would have to flip for opposing players.
The controls consisted of left and right joystick
s, which could only be moved in the Y (vertical) axis, each controlling the treads on that side of the player's tank. One joystick contained a button used to fire projectiles at enemy targets.
to several home computer
systems (usually on the Atarisoft
label), including DOS, the Apple II, Atari ST
, the Commodore 64
, the Sinclair ZX Spectrum
, and the Atari XEGS.
An Atari 2600
port was also released, but has colored raster graphics due to limitations and the view is behind the tank rather than inside it.
A Game Boy
port was made including a port of Breakout.
An Atari 5200
port was in the works, but was cancelled when Jack Tramiel
took over Atari.
The Atari Lynx had the deluxe port Battlezone 2000 (within that version is a hidden game with scaled sprites instead of vector graphics).
Battlezone was included in Microsoft Arcade
.
On April 16, 2008 an updated port of Battlezone was released on Xbox Live Arcade
. The game was developed by Stainless Games
and published by Atari Inc.. It features 1080i graphics, Dolby 5.1 audio and an online mode to play against 2 - 4 friends in Deathmatch and Capture the Flag modes, and incorporates Xbox Live Vision support. This version received an ESRB
: E (Everyone) rating.
Battlezone was also re-released to Microsoft's
Game Room
download service for the Xbox 360
and Windows-based
PC
s in May 2010.
was released on several home computer
platforms in the 1980s. Its sequel, Nova 9, was later released on the Amiga
and DOS
by Sierra Online. Stellar 7 has a number of features which were to be in the never-released Battlezone II or Battlezone Deluxe by Atari, including a variety of enemies and multiple enemies on the field at once.
In the mid-1980s, Electronic Arts
released a similar game named Arcticfox
for several platforms, with multiple enemies on the field at once like Stellar 7, but with a varied landscape of mountains and valleys and crevasses to traverse.
A game by the name of Robot Tank
was released by Activision in 1983 for the Atari 2600, and was very similar to the Atari 2600 version of Battlezone.
A Battlezone clone named 3D Tank Zone was released on the Acorn Electron
and BBC Micro
in 1983 by Dynabyte.
A Battlezone clone named 3D Tank Duel was released on the Sinclair Spectrum in 1984 by Realtime Games Software
.
A clone of Battlezone for DOS called "bzone.exe" circulated through the BBS
community in the 1980s.
The TRS-80 Color Computer
clone is called Rommel 3D and was released in 1985.
A Battlezone clone for Apollo Domain/OS
called bzone was written by Justin S. Revenaugh in 1986 and re-written for the X Window System
by Todd Mummert in 1990. The X Window System version, cbzone, differed from the original arcade version in that the player could be attacked by more than one enemy tank at the same time.
The 1991 Macintosh
tank game Spectre
and its sequels such as Spectre VR owed much to Battlezone for their gameplay and appearance.
The SGI
workstations had a Battlezone derived game in the early 1990s called BZ which added network play. BZ also had guided missiles, where the player would fly the missile after launch, returning to the tank on impact.
Activision
, the video game publishing
giant, released a game for Microsoft Windows
inspired by and named Battlezone in 1998. Aside from the name, however, the game bears little resemblance to the original arcade game.
A "re-imagining" of Battlezone was developed by Paradigm Entertainment
and released for the PlayStation Portable
.
A similar game, Tank Hunter, has been available in recent years for online play only.
A Java
version was written in "1996 as a challenge to write BattleZone, the once well-known Atari arcade game, in 24 hours," according to the Cyberdyne Systems web site.
The Java version can be played online. Reportedly, since Java programming downloads the .jar zip file to the client computer, all that is needed to play the Cyberdyne version is to visit the website, and after playing the game online, search the client computer for the zip file. It can then be used to play the game offline, in the classic single player mode.
CMGResearch developed another modern version, "Tanks!" (Palm Pre
/Pixie) or "Tanks! Mayhem" (Apple iOS). "Tanks!" is a deliberate homage to and update of the original Battlezone which features wire-frame raster graphics and a flat playing field. The obstacles include yurt-like huts which are indestructible, and pine trees which are destructible. Computer-enemies include one class of tanks and helicopters. Available power-ups include shields, cloaking devices, healing, depleted uranium rounds, and homing missiles. Local network play is supported among multiple players.
23,000,000 points while playing at The Game Room arcade in Citrus Heights, California
. This game took 23 hours, at the end of which he quit with four tanks still left. On June 28, 1985, Palmer achieved a score of 10,000,000 in the 1985 Video Game Masters Tournament, the score from which was subsequently published in the 1986 and 1987 Guinness Book of World Records (he quit at that score, after ten hours of play and without losing a single tank, because of time limitations in the tournament and the need to compete on other games).
Palmer also holds world record
s in a number of other first-person simulator-type games, namely Red Baron
, Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back
, Star Rider
, Firefox
, SubRoc-3D
and TX-1
.
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...
from Atari released in 1980. It displays a wireframe
Wire frame model
A wire frame model is a visual presentation of a three dimensional or physical object used in 3D computer graphics. It is created by specifying each edge of the physical object where two mathematically continuous smooth surfaces meet, or by connecting an object's constituent vertices using straight...
view (using vector graphics
Vector graphics
Vector graphics is the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and shapes or polygon, which are all based on mathematical expressions, to represent images in computer graphics...
rather than raster graphics
Raster graphics
In computer graphics, a raster graphics image, or bitmap, is a data structure representing a generally rectangular grid of pixels, or points of color, viewable via a monitor, paper, or other display medium...
) on a horizontal black and white (with green and red sectioned color overlay) vector monitor
Vector monitor
A vector monitor or vector display is a display device used for early computers. It is a type of CRT, similar to the oscilloscope, but typically uses magnetic, rather than electrostatic, deflection...
. Due to its novel gameplay and look, this game was very popular for many years.
Development
The vector technique is similar to the visuals of games such as Asteroids. The game was designed by Ed Rotberg, who designed many games for Atari Inc., Atari GamesAtari Games
Atari Games Corporation was an American producer of arcade games, and originally part of Atari, Inc..-History:When, in 1984, Warner Communications sold the Atari Consumer division of Atari Inc...
, and Sente
Sente Technologies
Sente Technologies was an arcade game developer. Founded as Videa in 1982 by several ex-Atari employees, the company was bought by Nolan Bushnell and made a division of his Pizza Time Theatre company in 1983. In 1984 the division was acquired by Bally Midway who continued to operate it until...
.
A version called The Bradley Trainer (also known as Army Battlezone or Military Battlezone) was also designed for use by the U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
as targeting training for gunners on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Approaching Atari in December 1980, some developers within Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
refused to work on the project because of its association with the Army, most notably original Battlezone programmer Ed Rotberg. Rotberg only came on board after he was promised by management that he would never be asked to do anything with the military in the future. Only two were produced; one was delivered to the army and is presumed lost, and the other is in the private collection of Scott Evans who found it by a dumpster in the rear parking lot at Midway Games. The gunner yoke was based on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle control and was later re-used in the popular Star Wars game. The Bradley Trainer differs dramatically from the original Battlezone as it features helicopters, missiles, and machine guns; furthermore, the actual tank does not move—the guns simply rotate.
Also, one cocktail version of Battlezone was developed as a prototype. This is also in a private collection.
Because of its use of first-person
First person (video games)
In video games, first person refers to a graphical perspective rendered from the viewpoint of the player character. In many cases, this may be the viewpoint from the cockpit of a vehicle. Many different genres have made use of first-person perspectives, ranging from adventure games to flight...
pseudo 3D graphics combined with an actual "viewing goggle" that the player puts his face into, Battlezone is widely considered the first virtual reality
Virtual reality
Virtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...
arcade game. Likewise, The Bradley Trainer is considered the first VR training device used by the U.S. Army.
Gameplay
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
view to find and destroy the rather slow tanks, or the faster moving supertanks. Saucer-shaped UFO
Unidentified flying object
A term originally coined by the military, an unidentified flying object is an unusual apparent anomaly in the sky that is not readily identifiable to the observer as any known object...
s and guided missiles occasionally appear for a bonus opportunity. The saucers differ from the tanks in that they do not fire upon the player, and do not appear on radar. The player can hide behind the solids or maneuver in rapid turns once fired on to buy time with which to fire himself. Common play in the US could run from 25 cents to a dollar per game, depending on machine setting. The typical setting is for 25 cent play, with three tanks.
Scoring points in Battlezone is simple. A standard enemy tank is worth 1,000 points when destroyed; a supertank is worth 3,000 points; and the flying saucer is worth 5,000 points. The guided missile is worth 2,000 points when destroyed. Each of these targets can be destroyed with a single shot from the player's tank. One bonus tank (a bonus "life" or "man") is awarded when the player's score reaches 15,000 points; an additional tank is then awarded at 100,000 points. No additional tanks are awarded until the score counter turns over at ten million, at which time the machine "thinks" the score is zero, and additional bonus tanks are awarded at indicated scores of 15,000 and 100,000. The game only includes one hostile enemy on the game board at all times; the player never has to battle two enemy tanks at once, or a tank and guided missile. The UFO can appear on the screen at the same time as an enemy tank, and it can occasionally be destroyed by enemy fire.
The geometric solid obstacles are indestructible, and could block the movement of a player's tank. However, they are also useful as shields, as they block enemy fire as well.
There was a bug in some machines which caused very high phony scores into the seven digits to be posted (after a player would enter his initials). Good players could actually reach this level after an hour or two of play.
The music heard in the high score initials prompt is from Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
's 1812 Overture
1812 Overture
The Year 1812, Festival Overture in E flat major, Op. 49, popularly known as the 1812 Overture or the Overture of 1812 is an overture written by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1880 to commemorate Russia's defense of Moscow against Napoleon's advancing Grande Armée at the Battle of...
.
Myths
There was a persistent rumor/myth that one could actually drive to the erupting volcano in the background, up the side, into the crater and discover a castle inside. This was false, but plans to include such a feature in future versions were inspired by this myth. A similar rumor insisted if one kept driving in the same direction for at least an hour without dying, one would eventually reach the mountains and see a "tank factory" pumping out enemy tanks. Others involved the UFO, including one in which a mothership would attack after a set number of UFOs were destroyed.Cabinet
Arcade cabinet
A video game arcade cabinet, also known as a video arcade machine or video coin-op, is the housing within which a video arcade game's hardware resides. Most cabinets designed since the mid-1980s conform to the JAMMA wiring standard...
with a novel "periscope
Periscope
A periscope is an instrument for observation from a concealed position. In its simplest form it consists of a tube with mirrors at each end set parallel to each other at a 45-degree angle....
" viewfinder which the player used to view the game. The game action could also be viewed from the sides of the viewfinder for spectators to watch. A later, less common version of the cabinet removed the periscope to improve visibility to non-players and improve the ergonomics for players who could not reach the periscope. This modification also was welcomed by some operators, who felt that the small windows present in the "periscoped" version did not attract enough attention to the game when played.
A smaller version of the cabinet (known as a "cabaret cabinet") also existed with the screen angled upwards, and no periscope. A cocktail table version was tested as a prototype but not produced; it lacked the color overlays as the display would have to flip for opposing players.
The controls consisted of left and right joystick
Joystick
A joystick is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. Joysticks, also known as 'control columns', are the principal control in the cockpit of many civilian and military aircraft, either as a center stick or...
s, which could only be moved in the Y (vertical) axis, each controlling the treads on that side of the player's tank. One joystick contained a button used to fire projectiles at enemy targets.
Ports
Throughout the 1980s, Battlezone was portedPorting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
to several home computer
Home computer
Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977, and becoming increasingly common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user...
systems (usually on the Atarisoft
Atarisoft
Atarisoft was a brand name used by Atari, Inc in 1983 and 1984 to market video games they published for home systems made by their competitors. Each platform had a specific color attributed by Atarisoft for its game packages...
label), including DOS, the Apple II, Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
, 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...
, the Sinclair ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
, and the Atari XEGS.
An Atari 2600
Atari 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...
port was also released, but has colored raster graphics due to limitations and the view is behind the tank rather than inside it.
A Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
port was made including a port of Breakout.
An Atari 5200
Atari 5200
The Atari 5200 SuperSystem, commonly known as the Atari 5200, is a video game console that was introduced in 1982 by Atari Inc. as a higher end complementary console for the popular Atari 2600...
port was in the works, but was cancelled when Jack Tramiel
Jack Tramiel
Jack Tramiel is an American businessman, best known for founding Commodore International - manufacturer of the Commodore PET, Commodore 64, Commodore 128, Commodore Amiga, and other Commodore models of home computers.-Biography:...
took over Atari.
The Atari Lynx had the deluxe port Battlezone 2000 (within that version is a hidden game with scaled sprites instead of vector graphics).
Battlezone was included in Microsoft Arcade
Microsoft Arcade
Microsoft Arcade is a series of classic arcade game compilations, the first of which was released in 1993 on a single 1.44MB floppy. Available for both Microsoft Windows 3.1 and the Apple Macintosh, it contained versions of Tempest, Battlezone, Asteroids, Centipede, and Missile Command...
.
On April 16, 2008 an updated port of Battlezone was released on Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
. The game was developed by Stainless Games
Stainless Games
Stainless Games is a British video game developer based on the Isle of Wight that specialises in developing downloadable games for Microsoft Windows and the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade...
and published by Atari Inc.. It features 1080i graphics, Dolby 5.1 audio and an online mode to play against 2 - 4 friends in Deathmatch and Capture the Flag modes, and incorporates Xbox Live Vision support. This version received an ESRB
Entertainment Software Rating Board
The Entertainment Software Rating Board is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings, enforces industry-adopted advertising guidelines, and ensures responsible online privacy principles for computer and video games as well as entertainment software in Canada, Mexico and...
: E (Everyone) rating.
Battlezone was also re-released to Microsoft's
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
Game Room
Game Room
Game Room is a gaming service for the Xbox 360 video game system, Microsoft Windows PCs, and Windows Phone 7. Launched on March 24, 2010, Game Room lets players download classic video games and compete against each other for high scores...
download service for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and Windows-based
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
s in May 2010.
Clones
A Battlezone-inspired game named Stellar 7Stellar 7
Stellar 7 is a futuristic tank simulation computer game based on the arcade game Battlezone in which the player assumes the role of a tank pilot. The enemies include anything from other tanks to mechanical birds. Several years later a sequel game, Nova 9 was released...
was released on several home computer
Home computer
Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977, and becoming increasingly common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user...
platforms in the 1980s. Its sequel, Nova 9, was later released on the Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
and DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
by Sierra Online. Stellar 7 has a number of features which were to be in the never-released Battlezone II or Battlezone Deluxe by Atari, including a variety of enemies and multiple enemies on the field at once.
In the mid-1980s, Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
released a similar game named Arcticfox
Arcticfox
Arcticfox is a computer game developed by Dynamix and published in by Electronic Arts. It was published in Europe by Ariolasoft.It was first developed for the Amiga, but was quickly ported to other popular platforms of the era such as the Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, PC and Apple IIe...
for several platforms, with multiple enemies on the field at once like Stellar 7, but with a varied landscape of mountains and valleys and crevasses to traverse.
A game by the name of Robot Tank
Robot Tank
Robot Tank is a 1983 video game for the Atari 2600. It was designed and programmed by Alan Miller and published by the then-fledgling Activision.-Description:...
was released by Activision in 1983 for the Atari 2600, and was very similar to the Atari 2600 version of Battlezone.
A Battlezone clone named 3D Tank Zone was released on the Acorn Electron
Acorn Electron
The Acorn Electron is a budget version of the BBC Micro educational/home computer made by Acorn Computers Ltd. It has 32 kilobytes of RAM, and its ROM includes BBC BASIC along with its operating system....
and BBC Micro
BBC Micro
The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers for the BBC Computer Literacy Project, operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation...
in 1983 by Dynabyte.
A Battlezone clone named 3D Tank Duel was released on the Sinclair Spectrum in 1984 by Realtime Games Software
Realtime Games Software
Realtime Games Software Ltd. is a defunct British video game developer. It was founded in 1984 by three Leeds University students, Ian Oliver, Andrew Onions and Graeme Baird....
.
A clone of Battlezone for DOS called "bzone.exe" circulated through the BBS
Bulletin board system
A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...
community in the 1980s.
The TRS-80 Color Computer
TRS-80 Color Computer
The Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Computer was a home computer launched in 1980. It was one of the earliest of the first generation of computers marketed for home use in English-speaking markets...
clone is called Rommel 3D and was released in 1985.
A Battlezone clone for Apollo Domain/OS
Domain/OS
Domain/OS is the operating system used by the Apollo/Domain line of workstations manufactured by Apollo Computer, Inc. during the late 1980s, as the successor to the one previously used, AEGIS. It was one of the early distributed operating systems...
called bzone was written by Justin S. Revenaugh in 1986 and re-written for the X Window System
X Window System
The X window system is a computer software system and network protocol that provides a basis for graphical user interfaces and rich input device capability for networked computers...
by Todd Mummert in 1990. The X Window System version, cbzone, differed from the original arcade version in that the player could be attacked by more than one enemy tank at the same time.
The 1991 Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
tank game Spectre
Spectre (computer game)
Spectre was a computer game for the Apple Macintosh, developed in 1990 by Peninsula Gameworks and published in 1991 by Velocity Development. It was a 3D tank battle reminiscent of the arcade game Battlezone...
and its sequels such as Spectre VR owed much to Battlezone for their gameplay and appearance.
The SGI
Silicon Graphics
Silicon Graphics, Inc. was a manufacturer of high-performance computing solutions, including computer hardware and software, founded in 1981 by Jim Clark...
workstations had a Battlezone derived game in the early 1990s called BZ which added network play. BZ also had guided missiles, where the player would fly the missile after launch, returning to the tank on impact.
Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
, the video game publishing
Video game publisher
A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
giant, released a game for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
inspired by and named Battlezone in 1998. Aside from the name, however, the game bears little resemblance to the original arcade game.
A "re-imagining" of Battlezone was developed by Paradigm Entertainment
Paradigm Entertainment
Paradigm Entertainment was an American video game development company. Paradigm is perhaps best known for its vehicle simulation games. Founded as a 3D computer graphics company in 1990, Paradigm primarily worked on realistic flight simulation technology for major space and aviation clients...
and released for the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
.
A similar game, Tank Hunter, has been available in recent years for online play only.
A Java
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
version was written in "1996 as a challenge to write BattleZone, the once well-known Atari arcade game, in 24 hours," according to the Cyberdyne Systems web site.
The Java version can be played online. Reportedly, since Java programming downloads the .jar zip file to the client computer, all that is needed to play the Cyberdyne version is to visit the website, and after playing the game online, search the client computer for the zip file. It can then be used to play the game offline, in the classic single player mode.
CMGResearch developed another modern version, "Tanks!" (Palm Pre
Palm Pre
The Palm Pre is a multimedia smartphone designed and marketed by Palm with a multi-touch screen and a sliding keyboard. The smartphone was the first to use Palm's Linux based mobile operating system, webOS...
/Pixie) or "Tanks! Mayhem" (Apple iOS). "Tanks!" is a deliberate homage to and update of the original Battlezone which features wire-frame raster graphics and a flat playing field. The obstacles include yurt-like huts which are indestructible, and pine trees which are destructible. Computer-enemies include one class of tanks and helicopters. Available power-ups include shields, cloaking devices, healing, depleted uranium rounds, and homing missiles. Local network play is supported among multiple players.
High score
On August 30, 1985, David Palmer, of Auburn, California scored a world recordWorld record
A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...
23,000,000 points while playing at The Game Room arcade in Citrus Heights, California
Citrus Heights, California
Citrus Heights is a city in Sacramento County, California, USA. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 83,301, down from 85,071 at the 2000 census....
. This game took 23 hours, at the end of which he quit with four tanks still left. On June 28, 1985, Palmer achieved a score of 10,000,000 in the 1985 Video Game Masters Tournament, the score from which was subsequently published in the 1986 and 1987 Guinness Book of World Records (he quit at that score, after ten hours of play and without losing a single tank, because of time limitations in the tournament and the need to compete on other games).
Palmer also holds world record
World record
A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...
s in a number of other first-person simulator-type games, namely Red Baron
Red Baron (arcade game)
Red Baron is an arcade game developed by Atari, Inc and released in 1980. A first first-person flight simulator game, the player takes the role of a World War I ace in a biplane fighting on the side of the Allies. The game is named after the nickname of Manfred von Richthofen, German flying ace...
, Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (arcade game)
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back is the sequel to the vector graphics Star Wars arcade game. It was released by Atari Games in 1985 as a conversion kit for the original game. As in Star Wars, the player takes the role of Luke Skywalker in a set of familiar battle sequences in a first-person...
, Star Rider
Star Rider
Star Rider is a laserdisc based arcade video game created by Computer Creations and Williams in 1984. The object of the game is to steer a motorcycle type vehicle in a race around a track in various surrealistic settings. The tracks themselves and the background graphics were actually video played...
, Firefox
Firefox (arcade game)
Firefox is a single player arcade laserdisc game based on the 1982 Clint Eastwood movie of the same name. It was produced by Atari in 1984 and was Atari's only laserdisc game...
, SubRoc-3D
Subroc-3D
SubRoc-3D is an arcade game released in 1982 by Sega, and the first such game to provide a three-dimensional image to the player, using a display that delivers individual images to each eye...
and TX-1
TX-1
TX-1 is a 1983 racing arcade video game developed by Tatsumi. It was licensed to Namco, who in turn licensed it to Atari for release in the United States, thus the game is considered a successor to Pole Position II...
.
See also
- Battlezone, a 3D remake from 1998 which changed the game from an arcade game to a more complicated tank piloting strategy game.
- Battlezone II: Combat CommanderBattlezone II: Combat CommanderBattlezone II: Combat Commander, often abbreviated to BZII or BZ2, is a 1999 computer game released by Pandemic Studios as a sequel to Activision's 1998 Battlezone. Like Activision's Battlezone, Battlezone II is a hybrid tank shooter, first-person shooter and real-time strategy game...
, another sequel to Battlezone released by Pandemic StudiosPandemic StudiosPandemic Studios was founded as an independent developer in 1998, it became an Electronic Arts-owned developer from 2007 to 2009, when it was officially closed. It was an Australian and American video game developer with offices in Brisbane, Australia and Los Angeles, California...
in 1999. - Red Baron (arcade game)Red Baron (arcade game)Red Baron is an arcade game developed by Atari, Inc and released in 1980. A first first-person flight simulator game, the player takes the role of a World War I ace in a biplane fighting on the side of the Allies. The game is named after the nickname of Manfred von Richthofen, German flying ace...
, a pseudo-sequel to Battlezone released by Atari in 1980, which uses much of the Battlezone hardware. - Tanarus, a game released in 1997
- BZFlagBZFlagBZFlag is a free, open source, online multiplayer video game.A first-person tank battle game, similar in concept to Battlezone, it was originally written by Chris Schoeneman for SGI graphics workstations running IRIX, but has now been ported to other operating systems including...
, an open source computer game based on Battlezone gameplay. - X, a similar tank-based combat game with vector graphics for the Game BoyGame BoyThe , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
- Stellar 7Stellar 7Stellar 7 is a futuristic tank simulation computer game based on the arcade game Battlezone in which the player assumes the role of a tank pilot. The enemies include anything from other tanks to mechanical birds. Several years later a sequel game, Nova 9 was released...
, a home computer game inspired by Battlezone
External links
- Play Battlezone online for free at Atari's site (Adobe FlashAdobe FlashAdobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
) - Battlezone World Record High Scores at Twin Galaxies
- Battlezone at The Great Game Database
- Arcade Games–this article on arcade games names Battlezone as "the first truly interactive 3-D environment"