Microsurgeon is a maze-like game produced by Imagic circa 1982-1983 for the Mattel Intellivision

Intellivision

The Intellivision is a video game console released by Mattel in 1979. Development of the console began in 1978, less than a year after the introduction of its main competitor, the Atari 2600. The word intellivision is a portmanteau of "intelligent television"...

 game console. The game was ported to the Texas Instruments TI-99/4A

Texas Instruments TI-99/4A

The Texas Instruments TI-99/4A was an early home computer, released in June 1981, originally at a price of USD $525. It was an enhanced version of the less-successful—and quite rare—TI-99/4 model, which was released in late 1979 at a price of $1,150...

 computer and the IBM PCjr

IBM PCjr

The IBM PCjr was IBM's first attempt to enter the home computer market. The PCjr, IBM model number 4860, retained the IBM PC's 8088 CPU and BIOS interface for compatibility, but various design and implementation decisions led the PCjr to be a commercial failure.- Features :Announced November 1,...

. Microsurgeon is part of the Intellivision Rocks collection of Intellivision games.

Gameplay

Microsurgeon is one of the first published video games related to health or health education. The game displays several colorful, graphical screens which depict an internal view of a patient's head and body. The main goal of the game is to cure the patient. At the center of the screen is a robot ship which the player uses to travel through the patient's blood stream, perform microsurgeries, and dispense medicine. If the player moves the robot outside of the arteries or veins, the robot ship slows down and may be attacked by white blood cells.

Awards and mentions

In February 2011, Intellivision Microsurgeon is among 240 video games selected to be voted on (until April 7, 2011) by the public for inclusion in "The Art of Video Games" exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution in 2012. Microsurgeon was noted as "among the most innovative computer/game software for 1982-1983" at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It tied for "Most Original Game" of the year in Electronic Fun with Computers and Games magazine, December 1983. Microsurgeon also appeared on the cover of IEEE Spectrum magazine, December 1982, and multiple music album covers. This game was well reviewed by Moby Games. In his novel "Lucky Wander Boy", D.B. Weiss mentions Microsurgeon.