Raster Blaster is a 1981

1981 in video gaming

-Events:* November -** The British video game magazine Computer and Video Games starts.** Game & Watch - released in Sweden.* Arnie Katz and Bill Kunkel found Electronic Games, the first magazine on video games and generally recognized as the beginning of video game journalism.-Notable releases:*...

 computer pinball

Pinball

Pinball is a type of arcade game, usually coin-operated, where a player attempts to score points by manipulating one or more metal balls on a playfield inside a glass-covered case called a pinball machine. The primary objective of the game is to score as many points as possible...

 game for the Apple II resembling the classic Firepower

Firepower (pinball)

Firepower is a 1980 pinball game designed by Steve Ritchie and released by Williams.Firepower was the first solid-state electronic pinball to feature 3-ball Multi-Ball, as well as "Lane Change", where the player uses the right flipper button to shift the lit lights in a set of lights on the...

 table.

Summary

This video game was written

Game programming

Game programming, a subset of game development, is the programming of computer, console or arcade games. Though often engaged in by professional game programmers, many novices may program games as a hobby...

 and designed

Game design

Game design, a subset of game development, is the process of designing the content and rules of a game in the pre-production stage and design of gameplay, environment, storyline, and characters during production stage. The term is also used to describe both the game design embodied in a game as...

 by Bill Budge

Bill Budge

Bill Budge is a computer game programmer and designer. His two main claims to fame are 1981's Raster Blaster and 1983's Pinball Construction Set. Both these games were released originally for the Apple II....

 and published by BudgeCo

BudgeCo

BudgeCo was a video game developer and publisher of the early 1980s. It was founded by Bill Budge, the designer and programmer of the 1980s hit Pinball Construction Set....

. It showed a fullscreen high resolution display of a pinball game table. The 6502

MOS Technology 6502

The MOS Technology 6502 is an 8-bit microprocessor that was designed by Chuck Peddle and Bill Mensch for MOS Technology in 1975. When it was introduced, it was the least expensive full-featured microprocessor on the market by a considerable margin, costing less than one-sixth the price of...

-based Apple II was not designed to support fast graphics and collision detection

Collision detection

Collision detection typically refers to the computational problem of detecting the intersection of two or more objects. While the topic is most often associated with its use in video games and other physical simulations, it also has applications in robotics...

, but Budge mastered these problems and the game ran with such speed and visual accuracy that it stood head-and-shoulders above other arcade-style games

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...

 of its day.

Raster Blaster was one of the major hits of the "plastic baggies on pegboards" era of computer game stores, and Budge followed it with the seminal Pinball Construction Set

Pinball Construction Set

Pinball Construction Set is a computer game by Bill Budge published by Electronic Arts. It was released for the Apple II and Atari 800 in 1983 and was later ported to other platforms, such as the Commodore 64 and DOS .-Description:...

(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....

).

Even as the second game took off in sales, Budge and his sister were being overwhelmed by all the tasks involved in running the business. It took all of Budge's energy to just keep things going, let alone write games.

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...

 (EA) was formed that same year, and founder Trip Hawkins

Trip Hawkins

William M. 'Trip' Hawkins III is a Silicon Valley American entrepreneur and founder of Electronic Arts, The 3DO Company and Digital Chocolate....

 was impressed by Budge's titles. He approached Budge (with the help of Apple Computer

Apple Computer

Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...

 co-founder Steve Wozniak

Steve Wozniak

Stephen Gary "Woz" Wozniak is an American computer engineer and programmer who founded Apple Computer, Co. with Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne...

) and invited him to join the initial group of EA developers, and leave the manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution issues behind. Budge agreed, and became the central figure among EA's highly publicized designers. Pinball Construction Set became a mainstream hit, and the top title in EA's original line-up.