Atari Vault

Atari Vault
Developer(s) Code Mystics
Publisher(s) Atari
Engine Unity
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux
Release date(s)

Microsoft Windows

  • NA March 24, 2016

OS X, Linux

Atari Vault is a collection of one hundred video games that Atari had produced for arcade cabinets and its Atari 2600 home console system, dating from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. The collection was developed by Code Mystics, who had helmed similar collections of Atari games to other platforms, to work on Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux via the Steam client. The games, where possible, have been updated to include modern-day features such as local and online multiplayer and online leaderboards. Atari Vault was released for Microsoft Windows on March 24, 2016, with OS X and Linux ports expected to follow shortly.

Games and updates

The games included in the collection include Asteroids, Centipede, Missile Command, Tempest, and Warlords.[1][2] The collection includes a mix of arcade and Atari 2600 titles, including several titles released in both formats.[3] The list of games also includes a number of titles that had been in development for the Atari 2600 but never were formally released as Atari 2600 but were found and distributed later in other Atari game collections such as the Atari Flashback.

The full list of games included is:

Game Original System Year of Release
3-D Tic-Tac-Toe Atari 2600 1979
Adventure Atari 2600 1979
Air-Sea Battle Atari 2600 1977
Asteroids Atari 2600 1981
Asteroids Arcade 1979
Asteroids Deluxe Arcade 1981
Backgammon Atari 2600 1979
Basic Math Atari 2600 1977
Basketball Atari 2600 1978
Black Widow Arcade 1982
Blackjack Atari 2600 1977
Bowling Atari 2600 1979
Brain Games Atari 2600 1978
Breakout Atari 2600 1978
Canyon Bomber Atari 2600 1978
Casino Atari 2600 1978
Centipede Atari 2600 1982
Centipede Arcade 1980
Championship Soccer[lower-alpha 1] Atari 2600 1980
Checkers Atari 2600 1980
Chess Atari 2600 1979
Circus Atari Atari 2600 1980
Code Breaker Atari 2600 1978
Combat Atari 2600 1977
Combat 2 Atari 2600 N/A[lower-alpha 2]
Concentration Atari 2600 1978
Crystal Castles Atari 2600 1983
Crystal Castles Arcade 1983
Demons to Diamonds Atari 2600 1982
Desert Falcon Atari 2600 1987
Dodge 'Em Atari 2600 1980
Double Dunk Atari 2600 1989
Fatal Run Atari 2600 1990
Flag capture Atari 2600 1978
Football Atari 2600 1978
Golf Atari 2600 1980
Gravitar Atari 2600 1983
Gravitar Arcade 1982
Hangman Atari 2600 1978
Haunted House Atari 2600 1982
Homerun Atari 2600 1978
Human Cannonball Atari 2600 1979
Liberator Arcade 1982
Lunar Lander Arcade 1979
Major Havoc Arcade 1983
Maze Craze Atari 2600 1978
Millipede Atari 2600 1984
Millipede Arcade 1982
Miniature Golf Atari 2600 1979
Missile Command Atari 2600 1981
Missile Command Arcade 1980
Night Driver Atari 2600 1978
Off the Wall Atari 2600 1989
Outlaw (video game) Atari 2600 1978
Pong Arcade 1972
Quadrun Atari 2600 1983
Race Atari 2600 1977
Radar Lock Atari 2600 1989
RealSports Baseball Atari 2600 1982
RealSports Basketball Atari 2600 N/A[lower-alpha 3]
RealSports Boxing Atari 2600 1987
RealSports Football Atari 2600 1982
RealSports Soccer Atari 2600 1983
RealSports Tennis Atari 2600 1983
RealSports Volleyball Atari 2600 1982
Red Baron Arcade 1980
Return to Haunted House Atari 2600 N/A[lower-alpha 4]
Save Mary Atari 2600 N/A[lower-alpha 5]
Secret Quest Atari 2600 1989
Sentinel Atari 2600 1990
Sky Diver Atari 2600 1978
Slot Machine Atari 2600 1979
Slot Racers Atari 2600 1978
Space Duel Arcade 1982
Space War Atari 2600 1978
Sprint Arcade 1976
Sprint Master Atari 2600 1988
Star Raiders Atari 2600 1982
Star Ship Atari 2600 1977
Steeplechase Atari 2600 1980
Stellar Track Atari 2600 1981
Street Racer Atari 2600 1977
Stunt Cycle Atari 2600 1976
Submarine Commander Atari 2600 1982
Super Baseball Atari 2600 1988
Super Breakout Arcade 1982
Super Breakout Atari 2600 1978
Super Football Atari 2600 1988
Surround Atari 2600 1977
Sword Quest Earthworld Atari 2600 1982
Sword Quest Fireworld Atari 2600 1983
Sword Quest Waterworld Atari 2600 1983
Tempest Atari 2600 N/A[lower-alpha 6]
Tempest Arcade 1981
Video Cube Atari 2600 1982
Video Olympics Atari 2600 1977
Video Pinball Atari 2600 1980
Warlords Atari 2600 1981
Warlords Arcade 1980
Yars' Revenge Atari 2600 1982

Code Mystics handled the port, previously having developed the Atari Greatest Hits series for the Nintendo DS, a similar collection of games updated for a modern system.[4] For Atari Vault, they have worked to ensure that the games in this title would be considered the definitive modern versions, according to developer Matthew Labunka. They spent time to obtain fine details on the look and presentation, such as getting digital imagery of the arcade cabinet art to present alongside the game screen.[3] The updated versions will be running the original games' ROM image, wrapped into an emulator made in the Unity 5 game engine.[3] In addition to original settings that were normally available to arcade players, the player can access options that were limited to the arcade cabinet operator, such as difficulty and length of a single play session.[3] Art and related materials are also available for each game for the player to review.[3]

Where possible, the games have been updated to include both local and online multiplayer, and games use Steam-based score leaderboards. The games have been tuned to use the Steam controller, enabling precise controls for the games, particularly for games that used trackball input devices, like Centipede.[1] Code Mystics worked with Valve to fine-tune controller profiles for various games before release.[3] The game was released on Microsoft Windows on March 24, 2016,[5] while OS X and Linux (including SteamOS) ports are expected to follow at a later point.[6]

Notes

  1. Originally released as Pele's Soccer
  2. The original game though announced in 1982 was cancelled, but its code had existed and was formally released on the Atari Flashback 2 console in 2005 and other collections since.
  3. RealSports Basketball was developed but never released for the Atari 2600, though would be included in future Atari collections.
  4. An unofficial sequel to Haunted House first included on the Atari Flashback
  5. Save Mary was developed but never released for the Atari 2600, but would be included in Atari collections in the future.
  6. Tempest had been in development for the Atari 2600 but was not released on the system; the unfinished port was discovered much later and completed, and released as part of other Atari game collections from 2013.

References

  1. 1 2 Kohler, Chris (January 21, 2016). "Steam’s Atari Vault Package Brings Back 100 Classic Games". Wired. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  2. Petty, Jared (March 22, 2016). "ATARI VAULT REVEALS 100 GAME COLLECTION". IGN. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Muncy, Jake (February 3, 2016). "ATARI VAULT BRINGS BACK THE CLASSICS FOR THE UMPTEENTH TIME". Wired. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  4. Cork, Jeff (January 22, 2016). "Atari Bringing More Than 100 Classics To Steam In New Vault Collection". Game Informer. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  5. Statt, Nick (March 24, 2016). "You can now play 100 classic Atari 2600 games on PC". The Verge. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  6. "Atari Vault, a 100 classic game collection heading to SteamOS & Linux". Gaming On Linux. January 21, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, April 22, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.