Pitfall!
Encyclopedia
Pitfall! is a video game released by Activision
for the Atari 2600
in 1982. It is the second best selling game made for the Atari 2600, with over 4 million copies sold.
(Pitfall Harry) through a maze
-like jungle in an attempt to recover 32 treasures in a 20-minute time period. Along the way, he must negotiate numerous hazards, including pits, quicksand
, rolling logs, fire, rattlesnake
s, scorpion
s, and crocodile
s. Harry may jump over or otherwise avoid these obstacles by climbing, running, or swinging on a vine to avoid them. Treasure includes gold and silver bars, diamond rings, and bags of money. Under the jungle there is a tunnel which Harry can access through ladders found at various places. This is required to get around some surface areas that have no way across otherwise. The tunnels are filled with dead-ends blocked by brick walls, forcing the player return to the surface at one of the ladders, and try to find a way around again. The tunnels also contain treasure to collect and scorpions Harry must avoid.
There are eight of each treasure. A perfect score by claiming all 32 treasures without losing points is 114,000.
Points are deducted by either falling in a hole (100 points) or coming in contact with either stationary or rolling logs; point loss depends on how long contact is made with the logs.
The player loses a life if Harry comes in contact with any obstacle (except logs, see above) or falls into a tar pit
, quicksand, water hole, or mouth of a crocodile.
The game ends when either all 32 treasures have been collected, all three turns have been lost, or time runs out.
, a programmer
who worked for Activision in the early 1980s. In a November 2003 interview with Edge he described how in 1979 he had developed the technology to display a realistic little running man and in 1982 was searching for a suitable game in which to use it:
Its technical achievements included non-flickering, multicolored, animated sprite
s on a system with notoriously primitive graphics hardware. Innovative techniques were used to keep the codespace within the 4k limit, including polynomials to create 256 screens within 50 bytes of code. The Atari "bullet" was used to draw the vine in higher resolution than permitted with sprites.
Pitfall! was a massive success for the 2600. Several port
s were made for computer systems (such as the Commodore 64
, Atari 800, and TRS-80 Color Computer
), as well as for home console
s (such as the ColecoVision
and the Intellivision
).
the following year. It sold well, though not as well as the original. Unlike most games of its day, it had a definite ending.
In 1985, Activision licensed Pitfall! to Sega
, which made an arcade version of Pitfall II: Lost Caverns. The game, which is now quite rare, is thoroughly remade with a first level resembling the original Pitfall!, a second level resembling the caverns of Pitfall II, and later levels that were completely original. This version was adapted for the SG-1000
.
Pitfall! was also created for the Commodore 64
and Apple II
home computers using Activision Gamemaker
as a demonstration of the game building software.
Pitfall! appeared on the Nintendo Entertainment System
in 1987 as Super Pitfall
, but it was not successful and received poor reviews.
The series sequel, Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure
, made its debut on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
(SNES) and Genesis-Mega Drive systems in 1994, also showing up on the subsequent Sega 32X
system a short time afterward. Having proved its popularity, the game was ported to the Windows 95
operating system and the Atari Jaguar
the following year. Its most recent release was in 2001 on the Game Boy Advance
. The Mayan Adventure was well known for having the original Pitfall! available to play on it.
In 1998, Pitfall 3D: Beyond the Jungle
for the Sony
PlayStation
, featuring the voice of Bruce Campbell
as Pitfall Harry, was released.
In 2004, a sequel was released for PlayStation 2
, Nintendo GameCube
, and Xbox
. It was titled Pitfall: The Lost Expedition
, featuring many cartoony effects with tributes to the original Pitfall!. The first two Pitfall! games are playable in this title as well. A port, Pitfall: The Big Adventure, was released for the Nintendo Wii on September 23, 2008.
The original Pitfall! appears in 1994's The Jungle Book
game for the Super Nintendo, where it is a hidden mini-game. In 2006, the original Pitfall! resurfaced as a mini-game in Arcade
's Murderworld in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
. There is a sequence where the player has to rescue Jean Grey
from an arcade machine. The player has to go through a Pitfall!-type game in order to reach Jean and free her from the machine.
Game Room
service for its Xbox 360
console and for Windows-based
PC
s in May 2010. It was also ported as both a Game Room
and Xbox Live
title on Windows Phone
in April 2011.
' Saturday Supercade
cartoon lineup, under the name Pitfall Harry. The basic plotline involved Harry, his niece Rhonda, and his cowardly mountain lion Quickclaw exploring various lands for hidden treasure. After only one season, Pitfall Harry and Frogger
were replaced by Kangaroo
and Space Ace
. The series has not been officially released on DVD or VHS.
a picture of his or her television screen to receive a Pitfall! Harry Explorer Club patch. The television commercial
for Pitfall featured then child actor Jack Black
at age 13 in his first TV role.
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...
for the 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...
in 1982. It is the second best selling game made for the Atari 2600, with over 4 million copies sold.
Gameplay
The player must maneuver a characterPlayer character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
(Pitfall Harry) through a maze
Maze
A maze is a tour puzzle in the form of a complex branching passage through which the solver must find a route. In everyday speech, both maze and labyrinth denote a complex and confusing series of pathways, but technically the maze is distinguished from the labyrinth, as the labyrinth has a single...
-like jungle in an attempt to recover 32 treasures in a 20-minute time period. Along the way, he must negotiate numerous hazards, including pits, quicksand
Quicksand
Quicksand is a colloid hydrogel consisting of fine granular matter , clay, and water.Water circulation underground can focus in an area with the optimal mixture of fine sands and other materials such as clay. The water moves up and then down slowly in a convection-like manner throughout a column...
, rolling logs, fire, rattlesnake
Rattlesnake
Rattlesnakes are a group of venomous snakes of the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus of the subfamily Crotalinae . There are 32 known species of rattlesnake, with between 65-70 subspecies, all native to the Americas, ranging from southern Alberta and southern British Columbia in Canada to Central...
s, scorpion
Scorpion
Scorpions are predatory arthropod animals of the order Scorpiones within the class Arachnida. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping claws and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back, ending with a venomous stinger...
s, and crocodile
Crocodile
A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
s. Harry may jump over or otherwise avoid these obstacles by climbing, running, or swinging on a vine to avoid them. Treasure includes gold and silver bars, diamond rings, and bags of money. Under the jungle there is a tunnel which Harry can access through ladders found at various places. This is required to get around some surface areas that have no way across otherwise. The tunnels are filled with dead-ends blocked by brick walls, forcing the player return to the surface at one of the ladders, and try to find a way around again. The tunnels also contain treasure to collect and scorpions Harry must avoid.
Scoring
The player starts with 2,000 points and has three lives to complete the course within the 20 minute time limit. Each treasure collected varies in points:- Money bag: 2,000 points
- Silver bar: 3,000 points
- Gold bar: 4,000 points
- Diamond ring: 5,000 points
There are eight of each treasure. A perfect score by claiming all 32 treasures without losing points is 114,000.
Points are deducted by either falling in a hole (100 points) or coming in contact with either stationary or rolling logs; point loss depends on how long contact is made with the logs.
The player loses a life if Harry comes in contact with any obstacle (except logs, see above) or falls into a tar pit
Tar pit
A tar pit, or more accurately known as an asphalt pit or asphalt lake, is a geological occurrence where subterranean bitumen leaks to the surface, creating a large area of natural asphalt.-Known tar pits:...
, quicksand, water hole, or mouth of a crocodile.
The game ends when either all 32 treasures have been collected, all three turns have been lost, or time runs out.
History and development
Pitfall! was created by David CraneDavid Crane (programmer)
David Crane is a video game designer and programmer.Crane started his programming career at Atari, making games for the Atari 2600. After meeting co-worker Alan Miller in a tennis game, Miller told Crane about a plan he had to leave Atari and found a company that would give game designers more...
, a programmer
Programmer
A programmer, computer programmer or coder is someone who writes computer software. The term computer programmer can refer to a specialist in one area of computer programming or to a generalist who writes code for many kinds of software. One who practices or professes a formal approach to...
who worked for Activision in the early 1980s. In a November 2003 interview with Edge he described how in 1979 he had developed the technology to display a realistic little running man and in 1982 was searching for a suitable game in which to use it:
Sprite (computer graphics)
In computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene...
s on a system with notoriously primitive graphics hardware. Innovative techniques were used to keep the codespace within the 4k limit, including polynomials to create 256 screens within 50 bytes of code. The Atari "bullet" was used to draw the vine in higher resolution than permitted with sprites.
Pitfall! was a massive success for the 2600. Several port
Porting
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...
s were made for computer systems (such as 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...
, Atari 800, and 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...
), as well as for home console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
s (such as the ColecoVision
ColecoVision
The ColecoVision is Coleco Industries' second generation home video game console which was released in August 1982. The ColecoVision offered arcade-quality graphics and gaming style, and the means to expand the system's basic hardware...
and the Intellivision
Intellivision
The Intellivision is a video game console released by Mattel in 1979. Development of the console began in 1978, less than a year after the introduction of its main competitor, the Atari 2600. The word intellivision is a portmanteau of "intelligent television"...
).
Sequels
Crane also produced a popular sequel, Pitfall II: Lost CavernsPitfall II: Lost Caverns
Pitfall II: Lost Caverns is a platforming video game originally released for the Atari 2600 video game console in 1984. It is the sequel to the popular Pitfall!. Both games were designed and written by David Crane and published by Activision...
the following year. It sold well, though not as well as the original. Unlike most games of its day, it had a definite ending.
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
, which made an arcade version of Pitfall II: Lost Caverns. The game, which is now quite rare, is thoroughly remade with a first level resembling the original Pitfall!, a second level resembling the caverns of Pitfall II, and later levels that were completely original. This version was adapted for the SG-1000
SG-1000
The SC-3000 was the computer equivalent of the SG-1000.The SC-3000 sold for ¥29,800 in 1983 and was marketed as a computer for beginners...
.
Pitfall! was also created for 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 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...
home computers using Activision Gamemaker
Activision Gamemaker
Garry Kitchen's GameMaker was an IDE for the Commodore 64 created by Garry Kitchen and released by Activision in 1985. It was the first sophisticated game design product for the average consumer...
as a demonstration of the game building software.
Pitfall! appeared on the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
in 1987 as Super Pitfall
Super Pitfall
is a 1986 Japanese video game for the Nintendo Famicom and PC-8801 by Pony Inc. It was released for the Famicom as platformer with seamless scrolling in September 1986. Two months later, the PC8801 version was released with switching screens...
, but it was not successful and received poor reviews.
The series sequel, Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure
Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure
Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure is a 1994 video game developed and published by Activision. A sequel to Activision's classic game Pitfall! for the Atari 2600, the player controls Pitfall Harry, Jr., son of the protagonist of the original game, as he attempts to rescue his father from a Mayan jungle...
, made its debut on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
(SNES) and Genesis-Mega Drive systems in 1994, also showing up on the subsequent Sega 32X
Sega 32X
The Sega 32X, codenamed Project Mars, is an add-on for the Mega Drive/Genesis video game console by Sega. Its aim was to increase the lifespan of the aging Mega Drive/Genesis system, which was facing stiff competition from the SNES...
system a short time afterward. Having proved its popularity, the game was ported to the Windows 95
Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products...
operating system and the Atari Jaguar
Atari Jaguar
The Atari Jaguar is a video game console that was released by Atari Corporation in 1993. It was the last to be marketed under the Atari brand until the release of the Atari Flashback in 2004. It was designed to surpass the Mega Drive/Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and the Panasonic...
the following year. Its most recent release was in 2001 on the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
. The Mayan Adventure was well known for having the original Pitfall! available to play on it.
In 1998, Pitfall 3D: Beyond the Jungle
Pitfall 3D: Beyond the Jungle
Pitfall 3D: Beyond the Jungle is a video game released in 1998 for the PlayStation by Activision and in 1999 for the Game Boy Color by Crave Entertainment...
for the Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
, featuring the voice of Bruce Campbell
Bruce Campbell
Bruce Lorne Campbell is an American film and television actor. As a cult movie actor, Campbell starred as Ashley J. "Ash" Williams in Sam Raimi's Evil Dead series of films and he has starred in many low-budget cult films such as Crimewave, Maniac Cop, Bubba Ho-tep, Escape From L.A. and Sundown:...
as Pitfall Harry, was released.
In 2004, a sequel was released for PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
, and Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
. It was titled Pitfall: The Lost Expedition
Pitfall: The Lost Expedition
Pitfall: The Lost Expedition is an action-adventure video game for the Game Boy Advance, GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. It was released by Activision on February 18, 2004 in North America and February 20, 2004 in the PAL region. The PC version was released on October 15, 2004 only in North...
, featuring many cartoony effects with tributes to the original Pitfall!. The first two Pitfall! games are playable in this title as well. A port, Pitfall: The Big Adventure, was released for the Nintendo Wii on September 23, 2008.
The original Pitfall! appears in 1994's The Jungle Book
The Jungle Book (video game)
Walt Disney's The Jungle Book is a series of video games based on the 1967 Disney animated film The Jungle Book, primarily released in 1994. It was first released by Virgin Interactive in 1993 for the Sega Master System...
game for the Super Nintendo, where it is a hidden mini-game. In 2006, the original Pitfall! resurfaced as a mini-game in Arcade
Arcade (comics)
Arcade is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics Universe created by Chris Claremont and John Byrne. Arcade first appeared in Marvel Team-Up, vol...
's Murderworld in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is an action role-playing game developed for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox and Xbox 360 by Raven Software and published by Activision. The game was simultaneously ported to the PlayStation Portable and Wii by Vicarious Visions, and to Microsoft Windows by Beenox...
. There is a sequence where the player has to rescue Jean Grey
Jean Grey
Jean Grey-Summers is a fictional comic book superheroine appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. She has been known under the aliases Marvel Girl, Phoenix, and Dark Phoenix and is best known as one of five original members of the X-Men, for her relationship with Cyclops, and for her...
from an arcade machine. The player has to go through a Pitfall!-type game in order to reach Jean and free her from the machine.
Ports
Pitfall was made available on Microsoft'sMicrosoft
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...
service for its 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...
console and for 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. It was also ported as both a 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...
and Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
title on Windows Phone
Windows Phone
Windows Phone is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft, and is the successor to its Windows Mobile platform, although incompatible with it. Unlike its predecessor, it is primarily aimed at the consumer market rather than the enterprise market...
in April 2011.
Television adaptation
In 1983, Pitfall! made its animated television debut as a segment on CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
' Saturday Supercade
Saturday Supercade
Saturday Supercade is an animated television series produced for Saturday mornings by Ruby-Spears Productions. It ran for two seasons on CBS beginning in 1983...
cartoon lineup, under the name Pitfall Harry. The basic plotline involved Harry, his niece Rhonda, and his cowardly mountain lion Quickclaw exploring various lands for hidden treasure. After only one season, Pitfall Harry and Frogger
Frogger
Frogger is an arcade game introduced in 1981. It was developed by Konami, and licensed for worldwide distribution by Sega/Gremlin. The object of the game is to direct frogs to their homes one by one. To do this, each frog must avoid cars while crossing a busy road and navigate a river full of...
were replaced by Kangaroo
Kangaroo (arcade game)
is an arcade game that was released in 1982. It was manufactured by Sun Electronics but distributed by Atari. The game bears a strong resemblance in terms of gameplay and plot to Donkey Kong as well as the Popeye video game. The player takes the role of a mother kangaroo who is trying to rescue...
and Space Ace
Space Ace
Space Ace is a laserdisc video game produced by Don Bluth Studios, Cinematronics, and Advanced Microcomputer Systems...
. The series has not been officially released on DVD or VHS.
Marketing
When Pitfall! was originally sold, anyone who scored above 20,000 points could send ActivisionActivision
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...
a picture of his or her television screen to receive a Pitfall! Harry Explorer Club patch. The television commercial
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
for Pitfall featured then child actor Jack Black
Jack Black
Jack Black , is an American actor and musician, notably of Tenacious D.Jack Black may also refer to:* Jack Black , late 19th - early 20th Century author and hobo* Jack Black , drummer for 1970s UK punk band The Boys...
at age 13 in his first TV role.
External links
- Pitfall! at AtariAge
- Legends of the C64 article on David Crane and Activision (includes Pitfall! info)
- David Crane GDC 2011 Pitfall Post-Mortem Video