NeoZeedeater
05-05-2005, 04:34 PM
Ah, platformers. I must have played this genre more than any other. While games with controllable characters existed as early as the mid '70s, it wasn't until a few years later that platformers emerged.
The earliest game that I know of that has a character you directly control the jump of(as opposed to indirectly like in Exidy's Circus) is Gremlin's 1978 arcade game Frogs. This game doesn't have any platforms to jump on, just the ground and the air. It is a significant step for the genre and the frog character certainly typifies the cartoon-ish, playful nature of future platform characters. This screenshot was taken from an emulator and so it's missing the background and the lily pad you jump onto. There's a picture with the background here - http://www.system16.com/sega/hrdw_vicdual.html
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/F/xFrogs.png
Mattel/APh's Frog Bog(1982) for the Intellivision was similar to Frogs. It was also ported to the 2600 as Frogs and Flies.
Universal released their arcade game Space Panic in either 1980 or 1981(the title screen says 1980 but various sites list the game as 1981 so I'm not sure). I suppose Space Panic isn't a true platform game since you can't actually jump but it laid a foundation for the genre with its ladder-climbing action and ability to fall down holes.
http://www.designboom.com/eng/education/imm_pong/1_4.gif
Coleco ported it to their console and it had several clones on computer formats, for example Broderbund's Apple Panic. Even as late as the early '90s with Kaneko's The Berlin Wall(arcade, Game Gear) and Wani Wani World(Mega Drive) there were commercial games based on it.
http://www.digitpress.com/reviews/spacepanic.htm
1981 was a significant year for the genre. Magnavox's Monkeyshines! for the Odyssey2 was a game of tag where you could jump to varying elevations. I find it pretty awkward to play but very noteworthy considering when it was released.
http://www.digitpress.com/dpsightz/odyssey2/monkeyshines.gif
http://www.digitpress.com/reviews/monkeyshines.htm
Taito's arcade game Frog & Spiders might be a platform game although I have never played it and I don't think it has been emulated yet.
Hoei/Rock-ola's arcade game Jump Bug was a game featuring a jumping Volkwagen Beetle. Personally, I consider this game a platformer as you control a thing that jumps although it does not feel like a typical one with its forced scrolling, continous bouncing and shooting to attack. This is likely the first side-scrolling platformer if you consider it part of the genre.
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/J/zJump_Bug.png
Taiyo/Gameplan released Kaos, a maze/jumping game.
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/K/wKaos.png
One of the greatest achievements in gaming happened when Nintendo released their arcade game Donkey Kong. In the pre-NES era, Coleco released console ports for several formats and Atari released computer ports.
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/D/yDonkey_Kong.png
It's worth noting that DK wasn't the first game to have a character that scaled a building and met up with a King Kong-like character. Nichibutsu had released their arcade game Crazy Climber in 1980. Crazy Climber isn't a platform game but it might have influenced the genre. Similar to Donkey Kong and Crazy Climber was Imagic's Beauty and the Beast(1983) for the Intellivision.
In 1982, Nintendo followed up DK with an excellent sequel, Donkey Kong Junior. Like the first game it had various home ports.
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/D/xDonkey_Kong_Junior.png
Century's arcade DK clone Logger
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/L/xLogger.png
Cinematronics' arcade game Jack the Giant Killer was like a cross between Crazy Climber and Donkey Kong.
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/J/xJack_The_Giantkiller.png
Tigervision also released a shitty DK-clone for the 2600 called King Kong. Tigervision had another 2600 platform game, Springer(based on the Orca arcade game) which was a bit better. In Springer, you control a rabbit jumping to different platforms collecting carrots. The game is nothing special.
http://www.vgmuseum.com/images/03/king.html
http://www.digitpress.com/dpsightz/atari2600/springer.gif
Also for the 2600(later ported to Coleco) was Imagic's Dragonfire, a game involving jumping and ducking to avoid fireballs.
Pickaxe Pete for the Odyssey2
http://crash.grafisis.nl/videopac/screenshots/43/01.gif
Sun/Atari released an impressive arcade platform game called Kangaroo. Atari ported this game to the 2600 and 5200.
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/K/yKangaroo.png
http://www.digitpress.com/archives/mame_kangaroo.htm
Technos' arcade game Minky Monkey was one of the better platform games of its time. I think it might have been the company's first game.
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/M/wMinky_Monkey.png
Sigma/Venture Line's Ponpoko is another neat arcade game.
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/P/wPonpoko.png
Often falsely credited for creating the genre is Activision's Pitfall! for the Atari 2600. Several ports and sequels followed.
http://www.stanford.edu/class/sts145/Images/pitfall.gif
Taito's arcade game Jungle King/Jungle Hunt was similar to Pitfall! except it took gameplay even further with its level variety. I haven't been able to determine if this game came out before or after Pitfall!. This game had many home ports as well.
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/J/yJungle_Hunt.png
Taking the platform genre a step closer to Super Mario Bros. type sidescrollers was Coleco's Smurf: Rescue at Gargamel's Castle for the ColecoVision. The screen itself doesn't scroll in Smurf but I think the overall look and feel of the game is close to mid '80s platformers. It was later ported to the 2600.
http://www.retrocactus.com/consoles/colecovision/smurf.jpg
Gottlieb's isometric classic Q*bert has always been one of my favorites.
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/Q/xQ@bert.png
Q*bert has had sequels and remakes over the years but none had the popularity of the original.
Big Five Software's Miner 2049er for the Atari 8-bit
http://www.qlam.com/atari/miner2049er_p1.gif
Miner 2049er was ported to other formats such as the 5200 and C64. It had a sequel called Bounty Bob Strikes Back.
Williams' Joust
http://www.auctionmap.com/arcade/joust.jpg
There are a few 1982 games that might be platformers but I'm not sure if they have the jumping element: Century's Dazzler, Broderbund's Track Attack series, Datamost's Aztec and Taito's Super Mouse. Does anyone know?
1983 marked an explosion in the number of platform games and a huge leap in quality overall. I'm not going to try and list them all but some of the ones that impressed me were Nintendo's Mario Bros., Namco's Mappy, CBS' Mountain King, Epyx's Jumpman, Sega's Congo Bongo, Sierra/Sydney's B.C.'s Quest for Tires and Parker Bros./Utopia's Montezuma's Revenge.
What are your favourite early platformers? Did I miss anything significant from 1982 and earlier?
What constitutes a platform game is certainly up for debate too. I'm curious as to when the term originated. I don't remember it being used in the early '80s. The earliest I have found the term in writing is a 1984 review of the Spectrum game Wanted: Monty Mole. I would be interested to know if there are earlier cases.
The earliest game that I know of that has a character you directly control the jump of(as opposed to indirectly like in Exidy's Circus) is Gremlin's 1978 arcade game Frogs. This game doesn't have any platforms to jump on, just the ground and the air. It is a significant step for the genre and the frog character certainly typifies the cartoon-ish, playful nature of future platform characters. This screenshot was taken from an emulator and so it's missing the background and the lily pad you jump onto. There's a picture with the background here - http://www.system16.com/sega/hrdw_vicdual.html
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/F/xFrogs.png
Mattel/APh's Frog Bog(1982) for the Intellivision was similar to Frogs. It was also ported to the 2600 as Frogs and Flies.
Universal released their arcade game Space Panic in either 1980 or 1981(the title screen says 1980 but various sites list the game as 1981 so I'm not sure). I suppose Space Panic isn't a true platform game since you can't actually jump but it laid a foundation for the genre with its ladder-climbing action and ability to fall down holes.
http://www.designboom.com/eng/education/imm_pong/1_4.gif
Coleco ported it to their console and it had several clones on computer formats, for example Broderbund's Apple Panic. Even as late as the early '90s with Kaneko's The Berlin Wall(arcade, Game Gear) and Wani Wani World(Mega Drive) there were commercial games based on it.
http://www.digitpress.com/reviews/spacepanic.htm
1981 was a significant year for the genre. Magnavox's Monkeyshines! for the Odyssey2 was a game of tag where you could jump to varying elevations. I find it pretty awkward to play but very noteworthy considering when it was released.
http://www.digitpress.com/dpsightz/odyssey2/monkeyshines.gif
http://www.digitpress.com/reviews/monkeyshines.htm
Taito's arcade game Frog & Spiders might be a platform game although I have never played it and I don't think it has been emulated yet.
Hoei/Rock-ola's arcade game Jump Bug was a game featuring a jumping Volkwagen Beetle. Personally, I consider this game a platformer as you control a thing that jumps although it does not feel like a typical one with its forced scrolling, continous bouncing and shooting to attack. This is likely the first side-scrolling platformer if you consider it part of the genre.
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/J/zJump_Bug.png
Taiyo/Gameplan released Kaos, a maze/jumping game.
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/K/wKaos.png
One of the greatest achievements in gaming happened when Nintendo released their arcade game Donkey Kong. In the pre-NES era, Coleco released console ports for several formats and Atari released computer ports.
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/D/yDonkey_Kong.png
It's worth noting that DK wasn't the first game to have a character that scaled a building and met up with a King Kong-like character. Nichibutsu had released their arcade game Crazy Climber in 1980. Crazy Climber isn't a platform game but it might have influenced the genre. Similar to Donkey Kong and Crazy Climber was Imagic's Beauty and the Beast(1983) for the Intellivision.
In 1982, Nintendo followed up DK with an excellent sequel, Donkey Kong Junior. Like the first game it had various home ports.
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/D/xDonkey_Kong_Junior.png
Century's arcade DK clone Logger
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/L/xLogger.png
Cinematronics' arcade game Jack the Giant Killer was like a cross between Crazy Climber and Donkey Kong.
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/J/xJack_The_Giantkiller.png
Tigervision also released a shitty DK-clone for the 2600 called King Kong. Tigervision had another 2600 platform game, Springer(based on the Orca arcade game) which was a bit better. In Springer, you control a rabbit jumping to different platforms collecting carrots. The game is nothing special.
http://www.vgmuseum.com/images/03/king.html
http://www.digitpress.com/dpsightz/atari2600/springer.gif
Also for the 2600(later ported to Coleco) was Imagic's Dragonfire, a game involving jumping and ducking to avoid fireballs.
Pickaxe Pete for the Odyssey2
http://crash.grafisis.nl/videopac/screenshots/43/01.gif
Sun/Atari released an impressive arcade platform game called Kangaroo. Atari ported this game to the 2600 and 5200.
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/K/yKangaroo.png
http://www.digitpress.com/archives/mame_kangaroo.htm
Technos' arcade game Minky Monkey was one of the better platform games of its time. I think it might have been the company's first game.
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/M/wMinky_Monkey.png
Sigma/Venture Line's Ponpoko is another neat arcade game.
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/P/wPonpoko.png
Often falsely credited for creating the genre is Activision's Pitfall! for the Atari 2600. Several ports and sequels followed.
http://www.stanford.edu/class/sts145/Images/pitfall.gif
Taito's arcade game Jungle King/Jungle Hunt was similar to Pitfall! except it took gameplay even further with its level variety. I haven't been able to determine if this game came out before or after Pitfall!. This game had many home ports as well.
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/J/yJungle_Hunt.png
Taking the platform genre a step closer to Super Mario Bros. type sidescrollers was Coleco's Smurf: Rescue at Gargamel's Castle for the ColecoVision. The screen itself doesn't scroll in Smurf but I think the overall look and feel of the game is close to mid '80s platformers. It was later ported to the 2600.
http://www.retrocactus.com/consoles/colecovision/smurf.jpg
Gottlieb's isometric classic Q*bert has always been one of my favorites.
http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/Q/xQ@bert.png
Q*bert has had sequels and remakes over the years but none had the popularity of the original.
Big Five Software's Miner 2049er for the Atari 8-bit
http://www.qlam.com/atari/miner2049er_p1.gif
Miner 2049er was ported to other formats such as the 5200 and C64. It had a sequel called Bounty Bob Strikes Back.
Williams' Joust
http://www.auctionmap.com/arcade/joust.jpg
There are a few 1982 games that might be platformers but I'm not sure if they have the jumping element: Century's Dazzler, Broderbund's Track Attack series, Datamost's Aztec and Taito's Super Mouse. Does anyone know?
1983 marked an explosion in the number of platform games and a huge leap in quality overall. I'm not going to try and list them all but some of the ones that impressed me were Nintendo's Mario Bros., Namco's Mappy, CBS' Mountain King, Epyx's Jumpman, Sega's Congo Bongo, Sierra/Sydney's B.C.'s Quest for Tires and Parker Bros./Utopia's Montezuma's Revenge.
What are your favourite early platformers? Did I miss anything significant from 1982 and earlier?
What constitutes a platform game is certainly up for debate too. I'm curious as to when the term originated. I don't remember it being used in the early '80s. The earliest I have found the term in writing is a 1984 review of the Spectrum game Wanted: Monty Mole. I would be interested to know if there are earlier cases.