Warlords (game)
Encyclopedia
Warlords is an arcade
game released by Atari
in 1980. The game resembles a combination of Breakout and Quadrapong
(an early Atari arcade game) in the sense that not only could up to 4 players play the game at the same time, but also the "forts" in the four corners of the screen were brick walls that could be broken with a flaming ball.
Warlords used spinner controllers for player control, and came in both an upright 2 player version and a 4 player cocktail version. The upright version uses a black and white monitor, and reflects the game image onto a mirror, with a backdrop of castles, giving the game a 3D feel. The upright version only supports up to two simultaneous players, which move through the levels as a team. The cocktail version is in color, and supported 1-4 players. 3-4 player games are free-for-alls, and the game would end as soon as one player wins. 1-2 player games play identical to the upright version.
According to the Atari video game production numbers, 1014 uprights were made, and 1253 cocktails were produced. The prototype version of warlords was called "Castles and Kings" and was in housed in a 4 player "Sprint 4 like" cabinet - it was huge. Only 2 versions of the prototype were made. The game was considered a success, however the large cabinet made it impossible to produce in large quantities nor was it feasible to install - hence the smaller cocktail design.
(one in each corner of the screen), distinguished by the four colors orange
, light green
, turquoise blue
, and purple
. Each player has a shield that deflects the fireball that bounces off all four sides of the video screen. Players can capture and catapult the fireballs at opposing castles using their shield control and "power stone" push button.
console in 1981. It features the use of paddle controllers
instead of joystick
s. The 2600 version of
Warlords is often cited as one of the more popular Atari 2600 titles by classic video gamers, and was voted the 25th greatest video game in the 100th issue of Game Informer
(Aug 2001 issue). The 2600 port was written by Carla Meninsky
, one of the two female game designers to work for Atari in the early 1980s.
According to Meninsky, the development of the 2600 version preceded development of the arcade version.
and Atari 8bit computers
named Castle Crisis.
A port of this game, including a new "remix" version, is included in Retro Atari Classics for the Nintendo DS
. It featured multiplayer play through wireless.
The game was released on the Xbox 360
via Xbox Live Arcade
on May 28, 2008, featuring a new special HD mode and Xbox Live Vision Camera support.
Warlords was made available on Microsoft's
Game Room
service for its Xbox 360
console and for Windows-based
PC
s in June 2010.
A new version of Warlords will be released on Xbox Live Arcade
and PlayStation Network in January 2012.
Video arcade
An amusement arcade or video arcade is a venue where people play arcade games such as video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers , or coin-operated billiards or air hockey tables...
game released by 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...
in 1980. The game resembles a combination of Breakout and Quadrapong
Quadrapong
Elimination is a four-player version of Pong by Atari Inc. subsidiary Kee Games, and designed by Steve Bristow. It was later released asQuadrapong under the Atari label.-Technology:...
(an early Atari arcade game) in the sense that not only could up to 4 players play the game at the same time, but also the "forts" in the four corners of the screen were brick walls that could be broken with a flaming ball.
Warlords used spinner controllers for player control, and came in both an upright 2 player version and a 4 player cocktail version. The upright version uses a black and white monitor, and reflects the game image onto a mirror, with a backdrop of castles, giving the game a 3D feel. The upright version only supports up to two simultaneous players, which move through the levels as a team. The cocktail version is in color, and supported 1-4 players. 3-4 player games are free-for-alls, and the game would end as soon as one player wins. 1-2 player games play identical to the upright version.
According to the Atari video game production numbers, 1014 uprights were made, and 1253 cocktails were produced. The prototype version of warlords was called "Castles and Kings" and was in housed in a 4 player "Sprint 4 like" cabinet - it was huge. Only 2 versions of the prototype were made. The game was considered a success, however the large cabinet made it impossible to produce in large quantities nor was it feasible to install - hence the smaller cocktail design.
Gameplay
The goal is to break through the other three players' walls and hit the player's (or computer's) icon (kings or knights) contained inside the fort. The last player left without having his icon hit gets 1 point. There are four fortsFortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
(one in each corner of the screen), distinguished by the four colors orange
Orange (colour)
The colour orange occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum at a wavelength of about 585–620 nm, and has a hue of 30° in HSV colour space. It is numerically halfway between red and yellow in a gamma-compressed RGB colour space, the expression of which is the RGB colour wheel. The...
, light green
Green
Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
, turquoise blue
Turquoise (color)
Turquoise or is a slightly blueish tone of light green. The color is based on the gem turquoise. The term comes from the French for Turkish.At right is displayed the X11 color named turquoise....
, and purple
Purple
Purple is a range of hues of color occurring between red and blue, and is classified as a secondary color as the colors are required to create the shade....
. Each player has a shield that deflects the fireball that bounces off all four sides of the video screen. Players can capture and catapult the fireballs at opposing castles using their shield control and "power stone" push button.
Atari 2600 version
A version was also released for 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...
console in 1981. It features the use of paddle controllers
Paddle (game controller)
A paddle is a game controller with a round wheel and one or more fire buttons, where the wheel is typically used to control movement of the player object along one axis of the video screen...
instead of 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. The 2600 version of
Warlords is often cited as one of the more popular Atari 2600 titles by classic video gamers, and was voted the 25th greatest video game in the 100th issue of Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
(Aug 2001 issue). The 2600 port was written by Carla Meninsky
Carla Meninsky
Carla Meninsky was a video game designer during the early years of the Atari 2600 video game console.Along with Carol Shaw , Meninsky was one of two female engineers at Atari to develop video game cartridges released in the early 1980s.Meninsky's Atari 2600 credits include the award-winning 1980...
, one of the two female game designers to work for Atari in the early 1980s.
According to Meninsky, the development of the 2600 version preceded development of the arcade version.
Other versions
In 2004, Bryan Edewaard developed and published an unlicensed homebrew version of Warlords for the Atari 5200Atari 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...
and Atari 8bit computers
Atari 8-bit family
The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU and were the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips...
named Castle Crisis.
A port of this game, including a new "remix" version, is included in Retro Atari Classics for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
. It featured multiplayer play through wireless.
The game was released on 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...
via 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...
on May 28, 2008, featuring a new special HD mode and Xbox Live Vision Camera support.
Warlords was made available on 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...
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 June 2010.
A new version of Warlords will be 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...
and PlayStation Network in January 2012.
External links
- Warlords at Atari Age