Choplifter

Choplifter
Atari 5200 box cover
Developer(s) Dan Gorlin
Publisher(s) Brøderbund
Ariolasoft (for European Commodore 64 version)
Atari, Inc. (Atari 5200 version)
Atari Corp. (Atari 7800 and XEGS versions)
Sega (1985 arcade version)
Designer(s) Dan Gorlin
Platform(s) Apple II, Arcade, Atari 5200, Atari 7800, Atari 8-bit, ColecoVision, Commodore 64, VIC-20, MSX, NES, Sega Master System, Fujitsu FM-7, Thomson MO5, Thomson TO7/70
Release May 1982[1]
Genre(s) Shoot 'em up
Mode(s) Single-player

Choplifter (stylized as Choplifter!) is a 1982 Apple II game developed by Dan Gorlin and published by Brøderbund. It was ported to Atari 5200, Atari 8-bit family, ColecoVision, Commodore 64, Commodore VIC-20, MSX and Thomson computers. Graphically enhanced versions for the Atari 7800 and Atari XEGS were published in 1988 by Atari.[2]

In 1985, Sega released a coin-operated arcade game remake, which in turn was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Master System in 1986. Choplifter is one of the few games that first appeared on a home system and was ported to the arcade.

Overview

The title screen of the Apple II game Choplifter

In Choplifter, the player assumes the role of a combat helicopter pilot. The player attempts to save hostages being held in prisoner of war camps in territory ruled by the evil Bungeling Empire. The player must collect the hostages and transport them safely to the nearby friendly base, all the while fighting off hostile tanks and other enemy combatants.[3] According to the backstory, the helicopter parts were smuggled into the country described as "mail sorting equipment."

Although the Iran hostage crisis ended the year before the game was released, Gorlin has stated "the tie-in with current events was something that never really crossed my mind until we published."[4]

Gameplay

The helicopter (named "Hawk-Z" in the Master System version manual) can face three directions: left, right, or forward (facing the player). It may shoot at enemies in any of these directions and need not fly in the same direction it is facing. The forward-facing mode is used primarily to shoot tanks. Care must also be taken to both protect the hostages from enemy fire and not accidentally shoot them oneself.

The player rescues the prisoners by first shooting one of the hostage buildings to release them, landing to allow the prisoners to board the sortie, and returning them to the player's starting point. Each building holds 16 hostages, and 16 passengers can be carried at a time, so several trips must be made. When the chopper is full, no more hostages will attempt to board; they will wave the helicopter off and wait (hopefully) for its return. Usually, each trip back is more risky than the previous one since the enemy is alerted and has deployed a counter-attack.

If the player lands directly on top of a hostage, or completely blocks the building exit, the hostage(s) will be killed. In the Apple II and Atari 7800 versions, hostages will also die if the vehicle is not landed correctly (it is slightly tilted), being crushed as they attempt to board the chopper. While grounded, the helicopter may be attacked by enemy tanks, which it can shoot at only by returning to the air. Also, the enemy scrambles jet fighters which can attack the vehicle in the air with air-to-air missiles or on the ground with bombs.

Development

Tanks and a jet target the helicopter while hostages flee a burning building in the original Apple II game.

Coming off a stint working for the Rand Corporation, lead designer Dan Gorlin initially developed Choplifter using an Apple II loaned to him by his grandfather.[5] The game was developed in six months. After Gorlin began experimenting with animating a helicopter on the Apple II, he added scenery, tanks, and planes, with the hostages last. He stated that as "A story developed ... movie camera techniques seemed appropriate", including the final message "The End" instead of "Game Over". Gorlin's first demonstration to Brøderbund was "too realistic, too much a helicopter simulation", and the company helped him make it easier to fly.[6] The concept of rescuing hostages came about after Gorlin learned about Defender, in which the player must protect people on the ground. At first Gorlin imagined Choplifter as a 3D game, but switched to a traditional 2D game environment due to technical limitations. Gorlin would later revisit the 3D concept in a failed attempt to remake the game in the 1990s.[5]

The original Choplifter art for the Brøderbund Commodore 64 release was produced by Marc Ericksen, who created the art for Brøderbund's original first five covers.

Legacy

Choplifter II, subtitled "Rescue Survive," was released for the Game Boy (1991), then remade for both the Game Boy and Game Gear as Choplifter III in 1994. An unrelated Choplifter III was released for Super NES.

Sega released a pair of spiritual successors without the Choplifter brand:

Programmer Will Botti cited Choplifter as a major inspiration for his 1996 game Black Dawn.[7]

inXile Entertainment released Choplifter HD for Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and Windows on January 11, 2012, and Ouya in August 2013.

Reception

Softline in 1982 called the game "what may well be the first Interactive Computer-Assisted Animated Movie. A fusion of arcade gaming, simulation, and filmic visual aesthetics, Choplifter is destined to occupy a place in the software Hall of Fame". The magazine praised the animation and the helicopter's "subtle flight control", and concluded that seeing the hostages' "hope and excitement, their faith in you" made the game "hard to play. It hurts to see one of those lively people killed".[6] In 1983 its readers named Choplifter fourth on the magazine's Top Thirty list of Atari 8-bit programs by popularity.[8] BYTE called Choplifter "great fun".[9] Computer Gaming World,[10] Creative Computing Video & Arcade Games,[11] and The Commodore 64 Home Companion[12] praised the graphics and animation, the latter stating that "the little captives running across the desert almost seem alive".

The Apple II version of the game received a Certificate of Merit in the category of "Best Computer Audiovisual Effects" at the 4th annual Arkie Awards,[13]:33 and shortly afterward Billboard named it Computer Game of the Year.[14] The Addison-Wesley Book of Atari Software 1984 gave the game an overall A+ rating, calling it "a masterpiece". The book concluded that "the concept, graphics, and animation make this a delightful game".[15]

Debuting in May 1982, the game sold 9,000 copies by June, appearing on Computer Gaming World's list of top sellers.[1] II Computing listed Choplifter seventh on the magazine's list of top Apple II games as of late 1985, based on sales and market-share data.[16]

In 2010 Choplifter was included in the book, 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 "Inside the Industry" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. September–October 1982. p. 2. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
  2. ↑ "Choplifter!". AtariMania.
  3. 1 2 Mott, Tony (2013). 1001 videos games you must play before you die (Revised and updated edition. ed.). London: Cassell Illustrated. ISBN 9781844037667.
  4. ↑ Interview with Dan Gorlin in Halcyon Days, by James Hague.
  5. 1 2 Frank Cifaldi (January 13, 2012). "Choplifter: From 1982 to 2012". Gamasutra. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  6. 1 2 Salmons, Jim (July 1982). "The Choppers of Mercy". Softline. p. 18. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  7. ↑ "Behind the Screens". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 87. Ziff Davis. October 1996. p. 158.
  8. ↑ "The Most Popular Atari Program Ever". Softline. March 1983. p. 44. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  9. ↑ Clark, Pamela; Williams, Gregg (December 1982). "The Coinless Arcade - Rediscovered". BYTE. p. 84. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  10. ↑ Greenlaw, Stanley (July–August 1982), "Choplifter! Rescue the Hostages", Computer Gaming World, pp. 30, 38
  11. ↑ Ahl, David H.; Brill, Andrew; Lubar, David; Coffey, Michael; Archibald, Dale (Spring 1983). "Apple Computer Games". Creative Computing Video & Arcade Games. Vol. 1 no. 1. p. 86.
  12. ↑ "Broderbund Software". The Commodore 64 Home Companion. 1984. pp. 166–167. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  13. ↑ Kunkel, Bill; Katz, Arnie (March 1983). "Arcade Alley: The Best Computer Games". Video. Reese Communications. 6 (12): 32–33. ISSN 0147-8907.
  14. ↑ Kleiner, Karen (Jul–Aug 1983). "Billboard Conference". Softline. pp. 44–45. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  15. ↑ Stanton, Jeffrey; Wells, Robert P.; Rochowansky, Sandra; Mellid, Michael, eds. (1984). The Addison-Wesley Book of Atari Software. Addison-Wesley. p. 74. ISBN 0-201-16454-X.
  16. ↑ Ciraolo, Michael (Oct–Nov 1985). "Top Software / A List of Favorites". II Computing. p. 51. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
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