Reactor (arcade game)
Encyclopedia
Reactor is a raster
video arcade game
released in 1982
by Gottlieb
. The object of the game is to cool down the reactor core without being hurled by magnetism and repulsion by enemy swarms of nuclear particles. It was better known for its explosive and ground thumping sound, usually placed near the front of the arcade to attract gamers.
. The center contains a sun-type gravitational power source, the slowly overheating reactor core. The surrounding wall or the sun, if touched results in death. The cursor is controlled with a trackball
by the player, who has to roll it fast in one direction in order to overcome the momentum of gravitation
imposed by the sun. Swarms of enemy objects named after various radioactive particles float around in the reactor arena, obeying simple physical laws. These enemies can freely bounce into the walls at low speeds, have a repulsive force against each other and actively attack the player cursor. Boss
types often break up into several smaller particles.
The effect is to make one of the first video games that feels a little like a real sport in that the player exerts a considerable amount of energy in controlling the trackball. The object is to survive the sun and walls while gaining the highest score possible. It takes a delicate touch. Rather than moving the cursor/avatar left, right, up and down as in many arcade games, it is controlled by gravity and moves freely; with the player only being able to accelerate it rather than control its movements directly. Meanwhile the enemy particles are getting so aggressive that it can get very difficult to avoid being pulled in by the sun or touching a wall.
The basic gameplay consists of accelerating the cursor just at the right times so that it circles the reactor core with enough speed to have control via its own momentum when the enemy particles try to knock it off course, and then to place decoys and actually use the acceleration of the ball itself to knock enemies into control rods, traps or the reactor core. By pressing the primary button the player cursor can go into high power mode, providing higher repulsion of enemies and conversely higher risk to the player.
To ease the task the player also has a certain number of decoys at their disposal. Pressing the secondary button places a decoy to attract the enemies, luring them into two traps in the corners of the screen for bonus points, into destroying reactor rods or directly into the walls to kill them. Destroying a row of reactor rods gives the player one more decoy, as well as resetting the size of the slowly swelling reactor core.
Throughout the game a time limit is enforced by the slowly swelling reactor core, which limits the space to move about in the arena. Although the reactor doesn't actually melt down
, the decreasing space provides for gradually increasing difficulty. After defeating the first wave of enemies, the solid reactor core changes into a swirling colorful spiral that, unlike the solid core, is lethal to touch (thus making such levels significantly harder).
, who was also responsible for games such as Star Castle
and Solar Quest. It was the first arcade game to credit the developer on the game's title screen.
version plays somewhat differently due to the fact the energy shield is always up. The rules are almost identical. It uses either a joystick or a trackball, although the rules book supplied with the game only mentions use of a joystick. The difficulty switches set the sensitivity of the stick or ball, which can yield a control scheme very similar to that of the arcade. There are no voice overs, and the bonus counter is invisible. Additionally, the bonus counter can only hold so many points, after which points are added directly to the player's score.
Players are not given the option to start with seven lives.
A bug in this version causes the collision detection to be erratic near the entry to the bonus chambers.
While a version for the Intellivision
was licensed and developed, it was never released.
on the arcade version of Reactor is 448,833 points, scored by Ed Flores of Santa Maria, USA, on January 2, 1983.
Raster graphics
In computer graphics, a raster graphics image, or bitmap, is a data structure representing a generally rectangular grid of pixels, or points of color, viewable via a monitor, paper, or other display medium...
video arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
released in 1982
1982 in video gaming
-Events:* December 27 - Starcade, a video game television game show, debuts on TBS in the United States.-Notable releases:*October 13 - Mystique releases the Custer's Revenge adult video game for the Atari 2600 home console....
by Gottlieb
Gottlieb
Gottlieb was an arcade game corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. The company was established by David Gottlieb in 1927, initially producing pinball machines while later expanding into various other games including pitch-and-bats, bowling games, and eventually video arcade games .Like other...
. The object of the game is to cool down the reactor core without being hurled by magnetism and repulsion by enemy swarms of nuclear particles. It was better known for its explosive and ground thumping sound, usually placed near the front of the arcade to attract gamers.
Gameplay
The player controls a cursor that can move freely within a screen-sized arena, the nuclear reactorNuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Most commonly they are used for generating electricity and for the propulsion of ships. Usually heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid , which runs through turbines that power either ship's...
. The center contains a sun-type gravitational power source, the slowly overheating reactor core. The surrounding wall or the sun, if touched results in death. The cursor is controlled with a trackball
Trackball
A trackball is a pointing device consisting of a ball held by a socket containing sensors to detect a rotation of the ball about two axes—like an upside-down mouse with an exposed protruding ball. The user rolls the ball with the thumb, fingers, or the palm of the hand to move a cursor...
by the player, who has to roll it fast in one direction in order to overcome the momentum of gravitation
Gravitation
Gravitation, or gravity, is a natural phenomenon by which physical bodies attract with a force proportional to their mass. Gravitation is most familiar as the agent that gives weight to objects with mass and causes them to fall to the ground when dropped...
imposed by the sun. Swarms of enemy objects named after various radioactive particles float around in the reactor arena, obeying simple physical laws. These enemies can freely bounce into the walls at low speeds, have a repulsive force against each other and actively attack the player cursor. Boss
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
types often break up into several smaller particles.
The effect is to make one of the first video games that feels a little like a real sport in that the player exerts a considerable amount of energy in controlling the trackball. The object is to survive the sun and walls while gaining the highest score possible. It takes a delicate touch. Rather than moving the cursor/avatar left, right, up and down as in many arcade games, it is controlled by gravity and moves freely; with the player only being able to accelerate it rather than control its movements directly. Meanwhile the enemy particles are getting so aggressive that it can get very difficult to avoid being pulled in by the sun or touching a wall.
The basic gameplay consists of accelerating the cursor just at the right times so that it circles the reactor core with enough speed to have control via its own momentum when the enemy particles try to knock it off course, and then to place decoys and actually use the acceleration of the ball itself to knock enemies into control rods, traps or the reactor core. By pressing the primary button the player cursor can go into high power mode, providing higher repulsion of enemies and conversely higher risk to the player.
To ease the task the player also has a certain number of decoys at their disposal. Pressing the secondary button places a decoy to attract the enemies, luring them into two traps in the corners of the screen for bonus points, into destroying reactor rods or directly into the walls to kill them. Destroying a row of reactor rods gives the player one more decoy, as well as resetting the size of the slowly swelling reactor core.
Throughout the game a time limit is enforced by the slowly swelling reactor core, which limits the space to move about in the arena. Although the reactor doesn't actually melt down
Nuclear meltdown
Nuclear meltdown is an informal term for a severe nuclear reactor accident that results in core damage from overheating. The term is not officially defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency or by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission...
, the decreasing space provides for gradually increasing difficulty. After defeating the first wave of enemies, the solid reactor core changes into a swirling colorful spiral that, unlike the solid core, is lethal to touch (thus making such levels significantly harder).
Development
The game was developed by Tim SkellyTim Skelly
Tim Skelly is an arcade game designer and programmer who worked for Cinematronics from 1978 until 1981. He designed a series of pure action games using black and white vector graphics...
, who was also responsible for games such as Star Castle
Star Castle
Star Castle is a 1980 vector arcade game by Cinematronics. The game involves obliterating a series of defenses orbiting a stationary turret in the center of the screen. The game was designed by Tim Skelly and programmed by Scott Boden. Tim Skelly also created a number of other Cinematronics...
and Solar Quest. It was the first arcade game to credit the developer on the game's title screen.
Console versions
The Atari 2600Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
version plays somewhat differently due to the fact the energy shield is always up. The rules are almost identical. It uses either a joystick or a trackball, although the rules book supplied with the game only mentions use of a joystick. The difficulty switches set the sensitivity of the stick or ball, which can yield a control scheme very similar to that of the arcade. There are no voice overs, and the bonus counter is invisible. Additionally, the bonus counter can only hold so many points, after which points are added directly to the player's score.
Players are not given the option to start with seven lives.
A bug in this version causes the collision detection to be erratic near the entry to the bonus chambers.
While a version for the 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"...
was licensed and developed, it was never released.
In the Competitive Arena
The World RecordWorld record
A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...
on the arcade version of Reactor is 448,833 points, scored by Ed Flores of Santa Maria, USA, on January 2, 1983.