The Eugene Jarvis thread

[Lady Jaye]

I was inspired by Joe's talk of Robotron 2084 and Smash TV. I just have to talk about Eugene Jarvis.

Jarvis is in a league of his own. In his 25-year carreer, he always worked in the videogame field, except for a short hiatus. Even more so, instead of hopping left and right among gaming companies, he spent almost all his career (save for a short sting designing pinball machines for Atari) working directly or indirectly for Williams Electronics (now Midway).

He even released a new arcade game last summer, called TARGET: TERROR. In fact, in all his career, he strictly designed arcade games.

Here are some of the games he's worked on:

Defender
Stargate (aka Defender II)
Robotron 2084
Smash TV
NARC
Cruisin' USA/World/Exotica
Target: Terror

Jarvis' games are like good wine: they age gracefully and retain their playability even as time passes. Even the oft-overlooked Cruisin' series are fun arcade driving games that don't bother too much with the physics of real-life driving, concentrating instead on the fun of picking the steering wheel and driving away.

Here are some links to articles and interviews pertaining to Jarvis:

Gamespot, June 2004 (http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/06/11/news_6100527.html)
IGN.com - Cruisin' World (April 1997) (http://ign64.ign.com/articles/060/060675p1.html)
IGN.com - Cruisin' World part II (April 1997) (http://ign64.ign.com/articles/060/060676p1.html)
Way of the Rodent, 2004 (http://www.wayoftherodent.com/bob_ejinterview.htm)
e-book Halcyon Days (1997) (http://www.dadgum.com/halcyon/BOOK/JARVIS.HTM)
Joystick Magazine, Sept. 1982 (http://www.recroom-amusements.com/jarvis.htm)
Salon.com, March 2004 (http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2004/03/02/eugene_jarvis/index_np.html)
1up.com, July 2004 (http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3133564&did=1)

[Lady Jaye]

So, what is your favorite Jarvis game? Which was the first one you played?

Were you wowed by Defender or freaked out by Robotron (or Smash TV)? Was your fun shooting drug cartel bosses in Narc? Driving in beautiful alien landscapes in Cruisin' Exotica?

My personal favorite has got to be Defender and its perfected sequel, Stargate. In fact, since Stargate really is more like a Defender 2.0 than a sequel, I consider both games as one. And the first one I played was Defender (to be more precise, it was the 2600 port).

[bargora]

Jarvis is The King. Robotron had me hooked from the first time I laid eyes on it. There it was, next to a Pooyan and a Joust (or was it a Donkey Kong and an Asteroids?) at the Showbiz Pizza Place near the Dayton Mall. Two joystick move/fire implementation was a stroke of genius.

Defender, on the other hand, kicked my butt, then laughed at me, and then threw my books on the ground and laughed some more. I kept away for the next fifteen years or so. I just didn't have the quarters or the courage to try to tame that beast during my formative years.

Later I played a lot of Crusin' USA, not realizing that the same demented genius was behind it as well.

One other thing. I always liked the way your shots in Defender and Robotron streaked across the screen nearly instantly, giving an impression of limitless firepower. To me, that seemed way cooler than having few piddling little dots make their way to the target (hello, Asteroids). Not to mention that they seemed much closer to the way "laser blasts" should work. Call 'em what you like, but the shots in Space Invaders sure didn't move like a laser should.

[NE146]

EASY! First game I played was of course Defender. Ahhh Defender, the game that can STILL kick anyone's ass. However I probably differ from most of you in that due to the region of the world I grew up in I played the now rare Taito licensed version of Defender which had the reverse button on top of the up/down Joystick.

The game still kicks ass and would make most any of today's elite players melt at it's joystick altar. :P I mean, for example Defender's FREE SPACE is still one of the most intense video game challenges ever presented. Yet with skill and practice, it's not impossible.

I don't think I was ever able to even score a measly 10k (for the first extra man and smart bomb) until I was much older. I'd read about the players who could rack scores in the multi millions and could never figure out how the heck they did it. These days.. I do pretty decent with an average score of about 50k (which is still pretty pathetic LOL)

I think I've talked about Robotron enough in these forums. Jarvix rul3z :P

I should scan a couple of writeups about Defender I have.. hmm.....

[digitalpress]

I should scan a couple of writeups about Defender I have.. hmm.....

Yes. Yes, you should.

I'm a Jarvis fan too. He has an incredible sense of style, something that was pretty hard to find in those early arcade games. When Defender came about and there were all these different kinds of aliens, each with their own "personality", that was almost as amazing as playing a game where things were happening off-screen in real time. That "variety of enemies" is a recurring theme in his games.

I'm still horrible at Defender, but I keep coming back to it. Sometimes, just hearing the sound the ship makes as it fires a volley of lasers across the screen is all I need to get through my day :)

[NoahsMyBro]

Well, Defender is probably my all-time favorite videogame, and while it's very hard, and I'm no longer any good at it, when the machine was current I was better than most folks. I usually got to where I could for the most part play indefinitely on a single quarter.

Oddly enough, I was completely destroyed by Robotron. I'd be lucky to make it to wave 3 on Robotron. Watching me play Robotron would be like watching Wile E. Coyote fight a 2-Ton anvil. It was no contest.

[YoshiM]

I never got to play much arcade Robotron. The only place that had one in town was an A&W and they only seemed to have it for a short time.

But N.A.R.C., oh my did I play that game. Great looking graphics, touch as nails gameplay and action that had kids stacking tokens up to try and beat this game. I never beat it, but I did see someone who did. There was a small crowd gathered around him in the back of Aladdins (where the game lived, far away fron the entrance and wandering parental eyes) as he took on the disembodied monster head of Mr. Big.

Classic, just classic.

[Sotenga]

*ahem*

NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRC! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whoo, I'm all about shouting stuff today. *cough*

Heh, it's ironic, my last post was about Smash TV. But Narc just may be my favorite venture ever from Mr. Jarvis. However, I do really love me some Robotron. I'm not that good at it (not the arcade version, at least), but it's psychadelic and frantic, never a bad thing. I'll be brutally honest here and say that I'm not too grandiose a Defender/Stargate fan. I don't know how to explain it, they never appealed greatly to me... Strike Force, on the other hand, that I recommend. It's essentially Defender 3 with all sorts of modern enhancements to fit the 90's.

As I said before, I've always loved Smash TV, but Narc is quickly gaining status with me as Jarvis' greatest project ever, and I owe that to extremely fast-paced and gory action with its own brand of insanity corrupting the minds of generations of gamers to come. Granted, I'm not one who finds digitized graphics appealing, and the visuals do look rather cheesy at times, but I think that adds to the charm of this game. I can't explain how, it just does. Nothing like some good ol' ultra-violence to knock some sense into these friggin' drug traffickers.

I do, however, suck at this game. The NES version, I can actually manage, but the arcade just kicks my ass repeatedly... things just get too hectic to put into words when the HQ Posse are introduced. I HATE those bastards. I also hate how they take missles from the ground and blast you to meaty chunks with them. >_<

It's very close, actually... Smash TV and Narc are very high on my list of favorite games. However, I just find NAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRC a lot more fun to say. :D

[Lady Jaye]

So, has anyone actually played Target: Terror yet? If so, how is it? Is it any good?

[tyranthraxus]

Robotron is in my opinion the finest pure arcade game ever made. I love it!
And while I am of the age where Smash TV was what I played in the
arcades I feel that Robotron just seems to have that right balance of
challenge and addictiviness where even though the game might
humble you it was enough fun that you want more. Smash TV is good
fun with the gore and humour.

NARC I used to love back in the day too but after playing it for the first
time in about a decade on the MAT2 disc I'm dissapointed with it. The
game is just a quarter sucker, unlike Jarvis's other games where the
highly skilled and practice can survive on a single quarter. NARC you can't.
The game just overwelms you and its impossible to dodge the shots. The
only way to beat the game is to just drop more quarters. However, the
visual implementation of the 'war on drugs' of the Reagan years and the
violence does make it fun to play, even though the machine takes cheap
shots at the player. I think that this game is one of the inspirations for the
many gory gag video games that pop up in the Simpsons.

Now I believe that Blaster (on the MAT1 disc) was one he also designed
or co-designed. That game was a little ahead of the technology but has
some cool levels leading up to 'paradise'.

[Lady Jaye]

Well, as mentioned in the Son of Robotron thread, Blaster is technically the first Robotron sequel.

The series goes as thus:

Robotron 2084
Blaster
Smash TV
Total Carnage

Incidentally, the only time I've ever played Robotron 2084 in an arcade, was in one of those Ultracade classic gaming arcade cabinets, which was unfortunately not at the bar's arcade where I go (which does have an Ultracade, but only with the basic Capcom set, not the Midway set).

[YoshiM]

So, has anyone actually played Target: Terror yet? If so, how is it? Is it any good?

I haven't played it, but I heard it's pretty much an Area: 51 clone.

[Balloon Fight]

Jarvis is one of my personal favorite arcade designers. Every single one of his games have their own style and define the genre that much more.

My personal favorite is Robotron with Smash TV trailing closely behind it. Robotron is my favorite mainly because everything is closing in on you but, if you are good enough, you can get yourself out of tight situations everytime. Its usually go for the points (saving the humans) or killing everything in sight.

Robotron is a pure classic.

[o2william]

I've always thought highly of Jarvis. He has the rare ability to cut to the quick of what makes a game fun. Defender and Robotron are really primal videogaming experiences. Jarvis wasn't worried about over-challenging the player; just the controls on those games are like a gauntlet thrown down in front of you, daring you to pick it up. I remember being intimidated by Defender's umpteen buttons as a boy back in '81 or so. But once you get past the controls, there's almost a symbiosis going on in those games. They're so intense that you really get sucked in -- your whole focus shifts entirely to what's happening on the screen. It's draining. I think only those games and maybe Sinistar have left me feeling physically tired after playing -- even after just a few minutes!

For some reason, even though I wasn't a big Defender fan until fairly recently (because I sucked at it, and only in recent years have I improved), Defender is the game I most associate with the concept of "video games." Say the words "video game" to me and I'll always think of the Defender arcade marquee before anything else. It's probably due to the trauma it inflicted on me at such a young age. :)

[Daniel Thomas]

I think Jarvis is among the best-loved game designers because he was successful in leaving his own personal style on the games. You can look at Defender and Robotron and Cruisin' USA and know that they weren't made by committee. There's a definite personal obsession at work, an obsession that only comes from someone who loves playing videogames themselves.

That's probably the key. How many game developers spend any real time playing games, aside from testing out their own product? How many could explain to you why a classic is still entertaining? Not very many. I'd say Jeff Minter is one. Gene Jarvis is another.

I always consider Defender to be one of the very best games ever made, but like most of you, I never was very good at it. That's a damned tough game, not made any easier by playing with a modern controller on your console. But Defender is probably the apex of reflex-based shoot-em-ups; the fastest, the most challenging, the most immersive, the one with the most style.

Robotron is another favorite, and one I can actually play for more than sixty seconds at a stretch. Another classic of the "panic" style of classic games, and one that truly tests your mettle. I wonder how kids today, weaned on cheat codes and hint books that hold them by the hand, would fare against a Defender or a Robotron? Would they come back for another round after getting their asses kicked?

As Jeff Minter's Gridrunner "Arse on Fire Edition" update shows, there's still plenty room for classic panic games. These should still be made; someone should let Jarvis make those kind of classics again.

[Lady Jaye]

Yet, what's also great with Jarvis is that he's not stuck in nostalgia. As he said in his recent intervies, he doesn't want to be doing the 47th iteration of Halo or EverQuest, he still wants to innovate after a quarter century in the industry. That's pretty impressive.

[rolenta]

Eugene was kind enough to provide a blurb for Ralph Baer's book:

"Videogame pioneer and Odyssey inventor Ralph Baer tells all in amazing detail, staking his claim as the inventor of consumer videogames. A fascinating read for the extreme videophile."

Incidentally, the book is now complete and will be going to the printer within the week.

[Jorpho]

Incidentally, the only time I've ever played Robotron 2084 in an arcade, was in one of those Ultracade classic gaming arcade cabinets, which was unfortunately not at the bar's arcade where I go (which does have an Ultracade, but only with the basic Capcom set, not the Midway set).

And the Ultracade port works with the dual joysticks?

I'm going to have to look into this...

[TheRedEye]

Yet, what's also great with Jarvis is that he's not stuck in nostalgia. As he said in his recent intervies, he doesn't want to be doing the 47th iteration of Halo or EverQuest, he still wants to innovate after a quarter century in the industry. That's pretty impressive.

Yeah, because a generic shooting game cashing in on the terrorist craze and a fourth installation in the Cruisin' series with a movie license slapped on are true innovations. I don't know, Jarvis' old stuff is great, but if his recent interviews and work are any indication, the man's lost it. Both his talent AND his mind.

[Lady Jaye]

And the Ultracade port works with the dual joysticks?

I'm going to have to look into this...

Yup, it does work. The typical Ultracade cabinet has two joysticks and 12 buttons (6 buttons per joystick).

www.ultracade.com

[Jorpho]

a fourth installation in the Cruisin' series with a movie license slapped on

I missed something. Which game is that?

[Cafeman]

It is too late and I've had one too many Labatt's Blue to coherently reply .... but I will say this. Euguene Jarvis's games of Defender, Stargate, and Robotron are the epitome of 80's gaming to me. All are so !@#$ hard that .. well, I die. Quickly! But I love every friggin minute of it.

Defender. What a red-hot game in its day. I was afraid to even put a quarter in, due to the intimidating controls! But I still did it. Best I ever did in the arcade was wave 5 or 6 I think. WHen Digital Eclipse made those Saturn and PSX compilations, I was amazed at how *fun* the Williams games were, and they were even harder than I had remembered. No hit points! One hit, you're done! !@#$ Landers and their good aim, and curse those baiters' speed. Great game!

Robotron, now that I could get through a few levels. I think I got a quarter million points, not too shabby I think. The first 5 games I usually die by level 5; after that, I'm in the zone.

I can't say I ever enjoyed Cruisin' or Smash TV though, I wasn't really into those & never gave them much of a try.

[Lady Jaye]

Jorpho, he's making a reference to The Fast and the Furious, a racing game made by Jarvis' company, Raw Thrills. It's closer to Need for Speed: Underground than the Cruisin' series.

Jarvis talks to 1up.com about the game: http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3133354&did=1

BTW, it's not because they revisit a genre that's been done and redone that they won't bring anything new. Otherwise, if we look at games that way, might as well reject 99% of the games currently on the market...

[TheRedEye]

Jorpho, he's making a reference to The Fast and the Furious, a racing game made by Jarvis' company, Raw Thrills. It's closer to Need for Speed: Underground than the Cruisin' series.

Have you PLAYED it, though? I have, it's Cruisin' 4: Night Edition.

[Lady Jaye]

Ok, I'll take your word for it. I didn't even know it was out yet.

[TheRedEye]

Ok, I'll take your word for it. I didn't even know it was out yet.

I'm not really sure it is, I played it at a trade show last month.

Sorry, I hope you don't think I'm trolling your topic. I love Jarvis' old stuff, I really do, but he's just disappointed me so much lately.