
How Atari created the Star Wars arcade game (2017) - videotopia
https://arcadeblogger.com/2017/06/16/atari-star-wars-arcade-cockpit-development/
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kabdib
I had a chance to try out an early version of the game which was mounted on
actuators; it would tilt and shake according to inputs and explosions and so
forth.

It was also a little buggy, and you could easily get into feedback loops where
the machine would jerk you around a little, which would cause your hands to
wiggle the controls, which would cause a larger jerk and even more control
wiggling . . . it was touchy and a bit wild and could get violent. I was told
that it tossed one guy out of the machine.

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buzzert
I had the pleasure of trying this game for the first time well past its prime
only a few years ago. There's an amazing classic video arcade near my hometown
in Mesa, Arizona called Starfighters Arcade, and they have the cockpit version
of this game in fantastic condition.

The graphics in this game are seriously impressive for 1983. Both the cockpit
and the standup version have color vector CRTs, which really makes an
interesting picture (it was only the second game to have this, after Tempest
in 1981). You really have to see it in person to know what I'm talking about,
it's not something you can reproduce with an LCD or OLED screen.

Another thing I really miss about arcade games from this time is just how
difficult they are. If you're just playing it for the first time, you
shouldn't expect your game to last more than 30 seconds. A good run could last
you more than 15 minutes though, once you get the hang of it.

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SmellyGeekBoy
Totally agreed re: seeing a vector monitor in person to really appreciate the
effect. It's a real shame they aren't made any more.

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vermontdevil
If you are in the Rochester NY area, go to the Strong Museum of Play. They
have this arcade game plus many many others - all still in playable condition.
Plus their collection of video games is amazing - all the way to the beginnng
of the history.

[http://www.museumofplay.org/collections/video-and-other-
elec...](http://www.museumofplay.org/collections/video-and-other-electronic-
game-collections)

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strictnein
Another good museum, that also has Star Wars in great working order:

National Video Game Museum in Frisco, TX

[http://www.nvmusa.org/](http://www.nvmusa.org/)

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DonHopkins
I saw an Atari Star Wars cockpit at Atari Cambridge Research Labs, with a huge
mess of cables draping out of it, hooking it up to some other equipment.

Here are some demos of other stuff they did there:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR2CwKculBU&index=3&list=PL8...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR2CwKculBU&index=3&list=PL850B65ECB565C926&t=0s)

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gumby
I don’t remember that at all. Perhaps some haptic stuff Margaret was working
on?

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DonHopkins
I'd love to be able to feel scraping against the edges and protrusions of the
trench when I ran my tie fighter up against them!

I saw Margaret's force feedback joystick there too -- that was really cool.
And also a robotic bear in Marvin's office.

[https://imgur.com/gallery/Rt43H](https://imgur.com/gallery/Rt43H)

Here's an image of Henry Minsky sacrificing his Dakin Bear to a robot:

Henry Minsky has a look of trepidation at the idea of sacrificing his Dakin
Bear to one of his dad's robotics experiments. — with Dakin Bear at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). [frame grab from the skeletal
robot's video camera]

Henry wrote:

"This was the first image saved from Cog, Brook's humanoid robot head. I was
going to skin the bear and put it over the robot head.

But I couldn't bring myself to do so, even though Cog looked like the
Terminator."

MIT's Cog:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbZ9_rUZZMA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbZ9_rUZZMA)

In 1992 my housemate had a Star Wars kiosk, which I sure got a lot of practice
on...

[https://groups.google.com/forum/#!search/%22bong$20hit%22$20...](https://groups.google.com/forum/#!search/%22bong$20hit%22$20%22star$20wars%22/alt.games.video.classic/WQ62u7d8Hgo/lc2i2nkS2eAJ)

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gumby
Those links see a blast from the past. We were so young back then!

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DonHopkins
You don't say? ;) Check out David Levitt's music demo:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocwsVkqEKys](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocwsVkqEKys)

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Severian
One of the first arcade games I "beat" when I was a kid. The local bowling
lanes had a cockpit style cabinet I would play on when the parents did their
league days.

Once you blow up the Deathstar, you repeat the game, but the missiles and
ships are faster and more numerous. Also, timing the final shot gets harder as
well. Those sparkle missiles got super fast after awhile. I only once got to
level '4'.

They don't mention in the article, but this was probably the first game to use
sampled dialog from a motion picture... as far as I can tell. It was extremely
clear and crisp for the day as well. I was amazing to hear Obi-wan say 'Use
the force Luke!' when firing the final shot.

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dkresge
The fun thing about the “use the force” quote is that it was a clue. If you
could channel your inner Jedi, and the only shot you fired while in the trench
was the one into the exhaust port, you were granted a pretty decent bonus
(especially in the higher numbered waves).

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ChuckMcM
If there was an arcade game that I would make space for in my living room, it
would be the cockpit version of Star Wars. I spent a lot of quarters, and then
got good enough that I could play forever on just one quarter :-).

Finding Amplifone XY scopes (the monitor in the machine) is really difficult.
I saw a paper that discussed using a 4K display and an FPGA to emulate those
displays in real time. If that got reasonable I might get the other bits.

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your-nanny
when I was a kid, the cockpit version was the coolest most immersive
experience ever. all my boyish excitement for the films was captured; I really
did feel, for a moment, that I was Lukeskywalker.

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SubiculumCode
Indeed, the cockpit, the controller, the 3D graphics...The awesome sound
track.. It was immensely immersive, especially for its time. Cool thing about
the vectorized graphics, it still looks great on my 4K tv with an emulator.

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tdiggity
There used to be one of the cockpit versions at SFO airport in the old United
terminal near the AMEX Lounge back in the late 80s/early 90s. What a time.
Can't imagine seeing an arcade machine anywhere these days...

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wrs
This was in my college dorm's game room and I spent a lot of time in that
trench. But weirdly I could have sworn it wasn't in color. Was there a green-
and-black version?

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videotopia
You may be confusing it with Atari's Battlezone, which was a black and white
vector game, with a green gel overlay on the screen to create "color".

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michaelcampbell
There were a lot of vector games, but I'd be astounded if anyone could confuse
Battlezone with Star Wars. They're not even remotely similar.

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videotopia
Agreed - but time can be a strange mistress! The only vector game with
predominantly green vectors I can think of would be Gravitar.

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SmellyGeekBoy
I had a chance to play on the cockpit version in a huge arcade in Akihabara,
Tokyo this year. I'm not sure whether Atari exported any units to Japan and I
couldn't see any markings on it that would indicate that it was intended for
the Japanese market. Presumably the arcade had paid a lot of money to import
it from the US.

It's an excellent game that has aged very well, although the locals seemed
more interested in their rhythm and fighting games. ;)

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mysterydip
If anyone is near the Pittsburgh, PA area, Pinball PA has a working version of
the sit down (and I think the upright too?) for play. Played it and it is an
experience that still holds up. I'd recommend a visit for anyone with an
arcade interest or nostalgia itch:
[https://www.pinballpa.com/](https://www.pinballpa.com/)

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rhizome
I gotta say that Star Wars is one of the few games that didn't benefit from a
sitdown version. Seat distance wasn't adjustable, right?

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mysterydip
I don't believe it is adjustable. The sit down version does add to the
experience/immersion factor, IMHO, by blocking out the surrounding games if
nothing else.

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dghughes
As a teenager I worked for my uncle who had a video game business. The Star
Wars game stands out as a memorable game. The one thing I distinctly remember
is the sound (Obi-Wan saying "use the force" etc.) it was wonderful, far
better than most games during that time.

