This is the final part of history of Cinematronics/Vectorbeam.
No narrative in this one, just some statistics/lists:
1. A list of all known Cinematronics/Vectorbeam/Leland games, released or unreleased
2. A summary of Cinematronics/Vectorbeam game performance on the Replay, Play Meter, and Electronic Games popularity charts
3. A complete list of known Cinematronics/Vectorbeam/Leland designers/programmers/artists/engineers etc., along with the games they worked on.
I hope everyone has enjoyed
the series or articles. I know I enjoyed putting it together but not everyone
is likely to be as interested in the company as me.
There's still so much more
information I wish I had and the story is still very incomplete (maybe one day
I'll track down Jim Pierce, if he's still around).
Feedback/additions/corrections
are much appreciated.
And for those of you who are sick and tired of Cinematronics, I will be moving on to a new topic with my next post (I plan on doing a three part series on 3 major gaming events of the 1983 that were a direct result of the Life magazine cover).
CINEMATRONICS/VECTORBEAM/LELAND
GAMES
Below is a list of all Cinematronics/Vectorbeam/Leland
games by year of release.
The number in parenthesis before the game indicates
approximate month of release (often the month its release was announced in trade magazines).A number with a d indicates a debut month (i.e. the month the game appeared at a trade show, which was often a few months before its release)
V = vector game, LD = laserdisc game
1975
Video Amusement Game Table
1976?Video Amusement Game Table
Flipper Ball
1977
(4) Embargo
1978
(2, d 10/77) Space Wars [V]
(10) Space War (Vectorbeam) [V]
(11) Scramble (Vectorbeam) [V]
1979
(3,
d1) Starhawk [V](3) Speedfreak (Vectorbeam) [V]
(8) Barrier (Vectorbeam) [V]
(10) Sundance [V]
(10) Warrior [V]
(12, d11) Tailgunner [V]
1980
(4)
Rip Off [V](11) Star Castle [V]
1981
(6)
Armor Attack [V](11) Solar Quest [V]
1982
(s3)
War of the Worlds [V](4) Boxing Bugs [V]
(4) Jack the Giant Killer (lic Hara Industries)
(6) Naughty Boy (lic Jaleco)
(d11) Zzyzzyxx/Brix (dev Advanced Microcomputer Systems)
1983
(5) Cosmic Chasm [V] (lic GCE)
(7) Dragon’s Lair (dev Advanced Microcomputer Systems) [LD]
1984
(2)
Scion (lic Seibu Denshi)(3) Space Ace [LD]
(10) Freeze
Express Delivery
1985
(5) Mayhem 2002
(9) Power Play
(10) World Series: The Season
Cerberus
(5) Mayhem 2002
(9) Power Play
(10) World Series: The Season
Cerberus
1986
(5) Alley Master/Up Your Alley
(12) Danger Zone
(12) Redline Racer
1987
(6) Baseball: The Season II (Leland) (note - same game as World Series: The Season)
(7) Quarterback (Leland)
Super Baseball Double Play Home Run Derby (Leland)
1988(6) Baseball: The Season II (Leland) (note - same game as World Series: The Season)
(7) Quarterback (Leland)
Super Baseball Double Play Home Run Derby (Leland)
(2) Strike Zone Baseball (Leland)
John Elway's Team Quarterback (Leland)
All American Football (Leland)
1989
(4) Ironman Ivan Stewart's Super Off Road (Leland)
1990(4) Ironman Ivan Stewart's Super Off Road (Leland)
(6) World Soccer Finals (Leland)
Pig Out: Dine Like a Swine (Leland)
1991
(5) Attax (Leland)
Brute Force (Leland)
Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat (Leland)
Unreleased Games
Oops(Vectorbeam) [V]
Clown Skeet (ca 1981)
Outpost (ca 1980-1982)
Cutter (ca 1982)
Intrepid (ca 1982)
<<unknown torpedo boat game>> (ca 1982)
<<unknown "self-generating maze" game>> (ca 1982)
Hovercraft (ca 1983)
Striker (ca 1986)
Side Gunner (ca 1987) - a retrofit for Danger Zone, it was mentioned in the April, 1987 Replay as an upcoming release
Viper (ca 1988) - released?
Asylum (ca 1991)
OthersOops(Vectorbeam) [V]
Clown Skeet (ca 1981)
Outpost (ca 1980-1982)
Cutter (ca 1982)
Intrepid (ca 1982)
<<unknown torpedo boat game>> (ca 1982)
<<unknown "self-generating maze" game>> (ca 1982)
Hovercraft (ca 1983)
Striker (ca 1986)
Side Gunner (ca 1987) - a retrofit for Danger Zone, it was mentioned in the April, 1987 Replay as an upcoming release
Viper (ca 1988) - released?
Asylum (ca 1991)
(1980) Armor Attack - licensed to Rock-Ola for European release
(1980) Tailgunner 2 - released by "Exidy II" after Exidy bought Vectorbeam
(1980) Star Castle - licensed to Rock-Ola for European release
(7/1982) Rip Off Cocktail - licensed to Centuri
CINEMATRONICS/VECTORBEAM CHART SUMMARY
This section lists all games
that appeared on the Replay, Play Meter, and Electronic Games popularity
charts.
I don't want to go into the details of each chart here (I may do a separate post with a full summary of each chart. If so, I will give details there) but Replay and Play Meter charts were basically based on game earnings. Electronic Games used a readers poll.
I don't want to go into the details of each chart here (I may do a separate post with a full summary of each chart. If so, I will give details there) but Replay and Play Meter charts were basically based on game earnings. Electronic Games used a readers poll.
Replay
(through 12/87)
Replay charts were based on
operator earnings.The monthly charts started in April, 1980. From 1976-1979 they did a chart at the end of each year.They also did a chart in April of 1976.
I only have the charts through December of 1987. Some games were still on the charts at that point. I also don't include Leland games.
I am missing charts from around 6 issues but I believe that these issues did not include charts.
Game - Peak Position (times at #1) - Times Charted - First:Last Appearance (timespan in months between the two)
Alley
Master - 20 - 2 - 12/86:2/87 (2)
Armor Attack - 10 - 3 - 7/81:10/81 (3)
Baseball: The Season II - 14 - 5 - 8/87-12/87 (3)
Danger Zone - 10 - 2- 6/87:9/87 (3)
Dragon's Lair - 1(3) - 13- 9/83:3/85 (18)
Power Play - 22 - 1 - 1/86
Rip Off - 4 - 7 - 6/80:2/81 (8)
Space Ace - 11 - 3 - 5/84:11/84 (6)
Space Wars - 1(1) - 7 - 11/78:10/80 (23)
Star Castle - 4 - 10 - 12/80:10/81 (10)
Starhawk - 5 - 7 - 11/79:12/80 (13)
Tailgunner - 7 - 8 - 4/80-2/81 (10)
World Series: The Season - 2 - 18 - 1/86:12/87 (23)
The following games did not appear on the main charts but did appear on the New Games charts (peak position on New Games charts in parenthesis):
Cosmic
Chasm (2)Armor Attack - 10 - 3 - 7/81:10/81 (3)
Baseball: The Season II - 14 - 5 - 8/87-12/87 (3)
Danger Zone - 10 - 2- 6/87:9/87 (3)
Dragon's Lair - 1(3) - 13- 9/83:3/85 (18)
Power Play - 22 - 1 - 1/86
Rip Off - 4 - 7 - 6/80:2/81 (8)
Space Ace - 11 - 3 - 5/84:11/84 (6)
Space Wars - 1(1) - 7 - 11/78:10/80 (23)
Star Castle - 4 - 10 - 12/80:10/81 (10)
Starhawk - 5 - 7 - 11/79:12/80 (13)
Tailgunner - 7 - 8 - 4/80-2/81 (10)
World Series: The Season - 2 - 18 - 1/86:12/87 (23)
The following games did not appear on the main charts but did appear on the New Games charts (peak position on New Games charts in parenthesis):
Mayhem 2002 (3)
Play Meter (incomplete)
Play Meter's monthly charts started in June of 1979. In 1977 and 1978 they did a year-end chart.
Play Meter charts were also based on earnings but were more complicated since they had up to six separate charts at one time: Arcade dedicated games (AD), Street location dedicated games (SD), Arcade conversion kits (AC), Street location conversion kits (SC), Arcade laserdisc games (ALD), Street location laserdisc games (SLD)
They also had a period where they just had Arcade (A) and Street Location (S) charts.
Play Meter also came out twice a month instead of once a month for most of the early 1980s.
Once again, I only have the issues through December of 1987. I am missing the 1985 issues from March until about August and a few other issues.
For a brief period, the Play
Meter charts included average weekly earnings for each game. Note that the
figures below are average earnings only for the time the games appeared on the
charts (i.e. during its peak popularity)
For first/last appearance I
show the game's first and last appearance on any chart. For peak position, I
list its peak on the chart(s) on which it had the highest peak.
Game - Peak Position (times
at #1) - Times Charted - First:Last Appearance (timespan in months between the
two) - Average Weekly Earnings (Peak
weekly earnings)
Alley
Master - 26 - 1 - 11/15/86
Armor Attack - 4 - 5 - 8/15/81:11/1/81 (3) - $184 ($197)
Dragon's Lair - A: 1(10), S: 1(5) - 39 - 9/15/83:3/15/86 (30)
Rip Off - 5 - 5 - 8/80:12/80 (4)
Space Ace - A: 1(2) - 9 - 5/1/84:2/15/85 (10)
Space Wars - 1(1) - 13 - 11/78:7/80 (20)
Speedfreak - 15 - 1 - 6/79
Star Castle - 5 - 4 - 1/81:6/15/81 (5)
Starhawk - 5 - 6 - 6/79:1/80 (7)
Tailgunner - 4 - 6 - 4/80:8/80 (4)
World Series: The Season - 4 - 7 - 3/15/86:11/15/86 (8)
In addition, Play Meter had
a "Provisional" chart for games that didn't have a high enough
response rate to make the main charts (i.e. they weren't in many
locations). Two games made the
provisional charts that didn't make the main charts. Armor Attack - 4 - 5 - 8/15/81:11/1/81 (3) - $184 ($197)
Dragon's Lair - A: 1(10), S: 1(5) - 39 - 9/15/83:3/15/86 (30)
Rip Off - 5 - 5 - 8/80:12/80 (4)
Space Ace - A: 1(2) - 9 - 5/1/84:2/15/85 (10)
Space Wars - 1(1) - 13 - 11/78:7/80 (20)
Speedfreak - 15 - 1 - 6/79
Star Castle - 5 - 4 - 1/81:6/15/81 (5)
Starhawk - 5 - 6 - 6/79:1/80 (7)
Tailgunner - 4 - 6 - 4/80:8/80 (4)
World Series: The Season - 4 - 7 - 3/15/86:11/15/86 (8)
Note that due to the low response rate, the earnings figures for these games are generally higher than those on the main chart.
Also note that this chart generally only had 3-10 games on it.
Naughty
Boy
- S: 1(1) - 6 - 9/1/82:2/1/83 (5) - $217 ($260)
Solar Quest - 3 - 4 - 1/1/82:3/1/82 (2) - $193 ($250)
Solar Quest - 3 - 4 - 1/1/82:3/1/82 (2) - $193 ($250)
Electronic
Games
Electronic Games charts were
based on reader surveys. Game - Peak - Times charted
Dragon's
Lair - 1 (3) - 4
Space Ace - 5 - 2
Space Ace - 5 - 2
CINEMATRONICS/VECTORBEAM/LELAND
DESIGN CREDITS
Scott Benefiel
Pig Out: Dine Like a Swine - 1990 - Cabinet Art
Pig Out: Dine Like a Swine - 1990 - Cabinet Art
Don Bluth
Dragon’s Lair – 1983 – AnimatorSpace Ace – 1984 – Animator
Scott Boden
Star Castle –1980 – ProgrammerSolar Quest – 1981 – Programmer
Clown Skeet –Unreleased
Outpost – Unreleased
Rick Bryant
Tailgunner – 1979 - Cabinet ArtStar Castle – 1980 – Cabinet Art
Armor Attack – 1981 – Cabinet Art
War of the Worlds – 1981 – Cabinet Art
Tom
Carroll
Artist
Dave
CarttArtist
?Cerberus - 1985 - Sound
?Danger Zone - 1986 - Sound
Quarterback - 1987 - Sound
Dana
Christianson
Mayhem 2002 - 1985 - Art/Graphics
World Series: The Season - 1985 - Art/Graphics
Baseball: The Season II - 1986 - Art/Graphics
Danger Zone - 1986 - Art/Graphics
Strike Zone Baseball - 1988 - Lead Artist
Ivan Stewart Super Off-Road - 1989 - Art/Graphics
Asylum - Unreleased - Art/Graphics
David
DenttMayhem 2002 - 1985 - Art/Graphics
World Series: The Season - 1985 - Art/Graphics
Baseball: The Season II - 1986 - Art/Graphics
Danger Zone - 1986 - Art/Graphics
Strike Zone Baseball - 1988 - Lead Artist
Ivan Stewart Super Off-Road - 1989 - Art/Graphics
Asylum - Unreleased - Art/Graphics
Cosmic Chasm - 1983
Freeze - 1984
Cerberus - 1985 - Programmer
World Series: The Season - 1985 - Programmer
Mayhem 2002 - 1985 - Lead Programmer
Alley Master - 1986 - Lead Programmer
Danger Zone - 1986 - Programmer
Infomania/Reflex - Unrleased? - Programmer
Dave Dodd
All American Football - 1989 - Direction
Rick Dyer
Zzyzzyxx/Brix - 1982
Dragon's Lair - 1983 - Designer
Space Ace – 1984 – Designer
Mike Enright
Quarterback - 1987 - Sound
Ironman Ivan Stewart's Super Off Road - 1989 - Sound
George Fiock
Danny Sulivan's Indy Heat - 1991 - Hardware
Cris Fitch
Pig Out: Dine Like a Swine - 1990 - Programmer
Keith Gabryelski
Quarterback - 1987 - Programmer
Gary Goldman
Dragon’s Lair – 1983 – Animator
Helene Gomez
Programmer
Mike Gomez
Cosmic Chasm – 1983
Ellis
Goodson
Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat - 1991 - Additional Help
Bob
HaleDanny Sullivan's Indy Heat - 1991 - Additional Help
hardware system - ca 1979
Dennis Halverson
hardware system -
ca 1979
Eric
Henderson
Quarterback - 1987 - Hardware
John Elway's Team Quarterback - 1988 - Hardware
Ironman Ivan Stewart's Super Off Road - 1989 - Hardware
Pig Out: Dine Like a Swine - 1990 - Hardware
Brute Force - 1991 - Hardware
Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat - 1991 - Hardware
Mike
HendricksQuarterback - 1987 - Hardware
John Elway's Team Quarterback - 1988 - Hardware
Ironman Ivan Stewart's Super Off Road - 1989 - Hardware
Pig Out: Dine Like a Swine - 1990 - Hardware
Brute Force - 1991 - Hardware
Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat - 1991 - Hardware
Programmer
Steve High
Ironman Ivan Stewart's Super Off Road - 1989 - Graphics
Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat - 1991 - Graphics, Programmer
Steve
Hostetler
Cerberus - 1985 - Programmer
Alley Master/Up Your Alley - 1986 - Programmer
?Danger Zone - 1986 - Programmer
Quarterback - 1987 - Programmer
John Elway's Team Quarterback - 1988 - Programmer
Jerry
HuberCerberus - 1985 - Programmer
Alley Master/Up Your Alley - 1986 - Programmer
?Danger Zone - 1986 - Programmer
Quarterback - 1987 - Programmer
John Elway's Team Quarterback - 1988 - Programmer
Power Play - 1985 - Art/Graphics
World Series: The Season - 1985 - Art/Graphics
Alley Master/Up Your Alley - 1986 - Art/Graphics
Baseball: The Season II - 1986 - Art/Graphics
Danger Zone - 1986 - Art/Graphics
Redline Racer - 1986 - Art/Graphics
Quarterback - 1987 - Art/Graphics
Super Baseball Double Play Home Run Derby - 1987 - Art/Graphics
John Elway's Team Quarterback - 1988 - Art/Graphics
Strike Zone Baseball - 1988 - Art/Graphics
Ivan Stewart Super Off-Road - 1989 - Art/Graphics
Pig Out: Dine Like a Swine - 1990 - Art/Graphics
Ken Hull
Cerberus - 1985Mayhem 2002 - 1985
Danger Zone - 1986
Brooke Jarrett
Cosmic Chasm – 1983
Hwan
Kim
Brute Force - 1991 - Programmer
Joe
KosicBrute Force - 1991 - Programmer
Pig Out: Dine Like a Swine - 1990 - Programmer
Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat - 1991 - Diagnostics
Vera
Lanpher
Dragon’s Lair – 1983 – Voice Acting
Bob
LoneyDragon’s Lair – 1983 – Voice Acting
Mayhem 2002 - 1985
Danger Zone - 1986 - Lead Programmer
Kevin
Lydy
Redline Racer - 1986 - Art/Graphics
Quarterback - 1987 - Art/Graphics
John Elway's Team Quarterback - 1988 - Art/Graphics
All American Football - 1989 - Art/Graphics
Ironman Ivan Stewart's Super Off Road - 1989 - Art/Graphics
Brute Force - 1991 - Designer, Graphics
Mike
MarshRedline Racer - 1986 - Art/Graphics
Quarterback - 1987 - Art/Graphics
John Elway's Team Quarterback - 1988 - Art/Graphics
All American Football - 1989 - Art/Graphics
Ironman Ivan Stewart's Super Off Road - 1989 - Art/Graphics
Brute Force - 1991 - Designer, Graphics
Quarterback - 1987 - Sound
Alex
McKay
Cerberus - 1985 - Hardware
Mayhem 2002 - 1985 - Hardware
Power Play - 1985 - Hardware
Danger Zone - 1986 - Hardware
Pig Out: Dine Like a Swine - Hardware
Brute Force - 1991 - Hardware
Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat - 1991 - Hardware
Medo
MorenoCerberus - 1985 - Hardware
Mayhem 2002 - 1985 - Hardware
Power Play - 1985 - Hardware
Danger Zone - 1986 - Hardware
Pig Out: Dine Like a Swine - Hardware
Brute Force - 1991 - Hardware
Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat - 1991 - Hardware
World Series: The Season - 1985 - Lead Programmer
Alley Master - 1986 - Support Programming
Baseball: The Season II - 1986 - Lead Programmer
Danger Zone - 1986 - Support Programming
Quarterback - 1987 - Support Programming
Super Baseball Double Play Home Run Derby - 1987 - Lead Programmer
John Elway's Team Quarterback - 1988 - Direction
Strike Zone Baseball - 1988 - Lead Programmer
All American Football - 1989 - Direction
Ironman Ivan Stewart's Super Off Road - 1989 - Direction
Pig Out: Dine Like a Swine - 1990 - Direction
Brute Force - 1991 - Executive Producer
Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat - 1991 - Manager
Dan Molina
Dragon’s Lair – 1983 – Voice Acting
Bruce Moore
Brute Force - 1991 - Additional Software
Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat - Additional Help
John Morgan
Redline Racer - 1986 - Programmer
Quarterback - 1987 - Programmer
John Elway 's Team Quarterback - 1988 - Programmer
Ivan Stewart Super Off-Road - 1989 - Designer, Programmer
Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat - 1991 - Designer, Programmer
Lou Newell
Engineer - may have worked on the 1975 Pong game and/or Flipper Ball
Sean O'Donohue
Dragon's Lair - 1983
Patton, Rob
Barrier – 1979 –
ProgramerWar of the Worlds – 1981 – Programmer
Cutter - Unreleased
Victor Penman
Dragon’s Lair –
1983 – Story and DesignJohn Pomeroy
Dragon’s Lair – 1983 – Animator
Sam Powell
Quarterback - 1987 - Music
John Elway's Team Quarterback - 1988 - Music
Ironman Ivan Stewart's Super Off Road - 1989 - Music
Pig Out: Dine Like a Swine - 1990 - Music
Brute Force - 1991 - Music, Soundware
Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat - 1991 - Music
Jack Ritter
Boxing Bugs – 1983 – Designer
Hovercraft – Unreleased
Larry RosenthalHovercraft – Unreleased
Space Wars – 1977 – Designer
Scramble – 1978
Speed Freak – 1979
Tailgunner – 1979
Oops! – Unreleased
John
Rowe
Quarterback - 1987 - Director
John Elway's Team Quarterback - 1988 - Director
All American Football - 1988 - Direction
Ironman Ivan Stewart's Super Off Road - 1989 - Direction
Pig Out: Dine Like a Swine - 1990 - Direction
Brute Force - 1991 - Direction
Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat - 1991 - Concept
Michael RyeQuarterback - 1987 - Director
John Elway's Team Quarterback - 1988 - Director
All American Football - 1988 - Direction
Ironman Ivan Stewart's Super Off Road - 1989 - Direction
Pig Out: Dine Like a Swine - 1990 - Direction
Brute Force - 1991 - Direction
Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat - 1991 - Concept
Dragon’s Lair – 1983 – Voice Acting
Dennis Sable
Quarterback - 1987 - Hardware
John Elway's Team Quarterback - 1988 - Hardware
Ironman Ivan Stewart's Super Off Road - 1989 - Hardware
Dave Scott
cabinet design
Quarterback - 1987 - Hardware
John Elway's Team Quarterback - 1988 - Hardware
Ironman Ivan Stewart's Super Off Road - 1989 - Hardware
Pig Out: Dine Like a Swine - 1990 - Cabinet Design
Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat - 1991 - Additional Help
Scott Sexton
<<unreleased torpedo boat game>>
Robert Shaver
Embargo - 1977Michelle Simon
All American Football - 1989 - Sound
Ironman Ivan Stewart's Super Off Road - Sound
Pig Out: Dine Like a Swine - Sound Software
Brute Force - 1991 - Soundware
Dann Sullivan's Indy Heat - 1991 - Sound
Tim Skelly
Rip Off – 1979 – Designer, Programmer
Starhawk – 1979 – Designer, Programmer
Sundance – 1979 – Designer, Programmer
Warrior – 1979 – Programmer
Star Castle – 1980 – Producer
Armor Attack – 1981 – Designer, Programmer
War of the Worlds – 1981 – Art
Clown Skeet – Unreleased
Bob
Skinner
Cosmic Chasm – 1983 - Programmer
Dragon's Lair - 1983 - Auxiliary Programming
Express Delivery - 1984
Freeze - 1984 - Programmer
Cerberus - 1985 - Programmer
Mayhem 2002 - 1985 - Programmer
Power Play - 1985 - Programmer
Danger Zone - 1986 - Programmer
Quarterback - 1987 - Programmer
John Elway's Team Quarterback - 1988 - Programmer
All American Football - 1989 - Programmer
Ivan Stewart Super Off-Road - 1989 - Programmer
Brute Force - 1991 - Designer
Intrepid- Unreleased - Designer, Programmer
Striker - Unreleased - Programmer
Phil
SorgerCosmic Chasm – 1983 - Programmer
Dragon's Lair - 1983 - Auxiliary Programming
Express Delivery - 1984
Freeze - 1984 - Programmer
Cerberus - 1985 - Programmer
Mayhem 2002 - 1985 - Programmer
Power Play - 1985 - Programmer
Danger Zone - 1986 - Programmer
Quarterback - 1987 - Programmer
John Elway's Team Quarterback - 1988 - Programmer
All American Football - 1989 - Programmer
Ivan Stewart Super Off-Road - 1989 - Programmer
Brute Force - 1991 - Designer
Intrepid- Unreleased - Designer, Programmer
Striker - Unreleased - Programmer
Mayhem 2002 - 1985 - Programmer
Power Play - 1985 - Programmer
Danger Zone - 1986 - Programmer
Quarterback - 1987 - Programmer
John Elway's Team Quarterback - 1988 - Programmer
All American Football - 1989 - Programmer
Ivan Stewart Super Off-Road - 1989 - Programmer
Brute Force - 1991 - Programmer
Striker - Unreleased - Programmer
Viper - Unreleased? - Programmer
Chris Stone
Dragon’s Lair – 1983 – Music
Earl Stratton
Boxing Bugs - 1982
Dragon's Lair - 1983 - Auxiliary Programming
Ironman Ivan Stewart's Super Off Road - 1989 -- Programmer
Brute Force - 1991 - Additional Software
Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat - 1991 - Additional Help
Hovercraft – Unreleased
Dave Sullivan
Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat - 1991 - Graphics, Programmer
Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat - 1991 - Graphics, Programmer
Dan Sunday
Scramble – 978 – Programmer
Speed Freak – 1979Scramble – 978 – Programmer
Tailgunner – Vectorbeam – 1979 – Programmer
Hartono Tjitro
Ironman Ivan Stewart's Super Off Road - 1989 - Programmer
Dan Viescas
Freeze - 1984 - Art/Graphics
Cerberus - 1985 - Art/Graphics
World Series: The Season - 1985 - Art/Graphics
Alley Master/Up Your Alley - 1986 - Art/Graphics
Baseball: The Season II - 1986 - Art/Graphics
Danger Zone - 1986 - Art/Graphics
Super Baseball Double Play Home Run Derby - 1987 - Art Director
Strike Zone Baseball - 1988 - Art Director
All American Football - 1989 - Art Director
Ivan Stewart Super Off-Road - 1989 - Art Director
Pig Out: Dine Like a Swine - 1990 - Art Director
Brute Force - 1991 - Executive Producer
Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat - 1991 - Manager
Dok Whitson
Ironman Ivan Stewart's Super Off Road - 1989 - Graphics
Your release date for Star Castle of November 1980, seems incorrect. I specifically remember first seeing a Star Castle machine at the Time Out arcade, located in Springfield Mall (Springfield, VA) by mid June 1980.
ReplyDeleteI know it cannot have been later than mid June because the school year had not yet ended. At the time, most of the machines, in that arcade, had B&W monitors without overlays. Star Castle stood out because it had the color overlay making it appear to have color graphics.
More evidence that my memory is correct, is that I was finishing up elementary school that year (6th grade ended in June 1980 for me). I remember walking home from the school grounds and thinking about the Star Castle machine I had recently seen at Time Out. This was before the summer break of 1980 even began. By November of 1980, I was attending a Jr High, riding a bus to school and the summer was long over..
Hmm. Maybe you saw a pre-production model or a protytpe.
Delete(the release dates I list are generally the dates when it was available for sale to distributors)
All the evidence I have points to a September-November 1980 date:
1. The trademark application (http://www.trademarkia.com/star-castle-73287919.html)lists a Firsut Use Anywhere and First Use in Commerce date of 9/20/80
2. Play Meter's 10/15/81 catalog issue lists a release date of 11/80
3. The game's release was announced in the 12/15/80 issue of Play Meter.
4. The 1/15/81 issue of Play Meter says that the game was shown at the 1980 AMOA show, which started 10/31 (I haven't found where it was shown at an earlier show, but I am missing some 1980 issues).
5. The MAME history file lists a release date of 9/80
6. The DRA Price Guide lists a release date of 11/80
7. The old bronze age game list lists a release date of 11/80
8. The game's release was announced in the 10/80 issue of RePlay.
As I said, I am missing some issues of Play Meter from 1980 and a few more issues of RePlay from that year.
It's also possible that they sample shipped the game before it went into full release.
I must say your list of evidence for Fall of 1980 is strong.. All I have to go on are my memories from 33 years ago. Maybe Cinematronics did provide a few pre-production sample machines to put out in the field for testing. Perhaps that is what I saw at the Time Out..
ReplyDeleteI remember it sticking out like a sore thumb due to the appearance of multi-color images on the monitor. I find it hard to believe that by November 1980, a major arcade location like Time Out would have such a sparse selection of cabinets with color monitors (Raster color monitors that is). By then a lot of 1980 color monitor games should have hit the arcades such as Missile Command, Berserk, Pac-Man etc. I don't remember seeing any of those color machines in that arcade the day I saw that Star Castle.
That Star Castle cabinet was being continuously played by teenagers. It was getting a lot of attention that day. It was like it was the most popular machine in the whole arcade that particular day when I saw it. It was a new game at the time and had not been there long.
It obviously made a big impression on me at the time.. Perhaps with your research you can clarify a Star Castle related mystery that I have wondered about for many years now. Which is the mysterious "Ring Regeneration" sound effect. If you destroy the last segment of the outermost ring, the rings will regenerate themselves. There was no sound effect for this regeneration action, on the machine I saw in June 1980. Of all videos I have ever seen of an operational Star Castle machine on YouTube, not one of them produce a sound effect during the ring regeneration sequence.
Back in the 80s, over the span of time from summer of 81 through 1985, I distinctly remember hearing a ring regeneration sound effect emitted from Star Castle machines that I would see in the arcades. The sound effect is high-pitched and one of the cooler sounds that I ever heard come out of that game. I saw more Star Castle machines during the Golden Age than ANY other Cinematronics vector cabinet period. I saw so many of them I couldn't begin to count the sightings.. At Atlantic City, New Jersey Boardwalk arcades (arcades I visited many times during the Golden Age summers), if there was a Star Castle machine being played in the arcade, the Thrust and Ring Regeneration sound effects were prominent Star Castle ambiance heard in the background. Ironically, a good player should generally avoid causing ring regenerations. But, I heard them occur A LOT.
Fast forward to today and it is like that sound effect never existed with no trace of it.. The Star Castle game manual, which I own, makes no mention of it at all. My theory is that initially, and for a time, Star Castle did not have the sound effect and that it was added to the production machines sometime during 1981. In addition, I have also theorized that to produce the sound a machine would require a 1981 production soundboard, combined with the Version 3 HARD ROMS. Also that any other combination will not produce the sound effect.
Furthermore, the last time I saw a Star Castle cabinet, in person, and actually played it was in November 1997. That machine, also, did not emit the ring regeneration sound effect. I am pretty sure that machine had the early EASY ROMS installed in it. I actually told the owner of the machine that it was missing the sound effect. This was before any videos of Star Castle were available on the net, and before MAME emulated it. There is no ring regeneration sound sample for it on MAME, and the MAME emulation, in general, is not very good of Star Castle.