Tutankham

Tutankham
Developer(s) Konami
Publisher(s) Konami/Stern, Parker Brothers (ports)
Designer(s) H. Tanigaki
Platform(s) Arcade (original)
Atari 2600, ColecoVision, Intellivision, VIC-20
Release 1982
Genre(s) Maze, shooter[1]
Mode(s) Up to 2 players, alternating
Cabinet Upright
Display Vertical orientation, raster graphics

Tutankham (ツタンカーン) is a 1982 maze shooter developed by Konami and released in arcades by Stern in the US. The game was originally titled Tutankhamen, but it was discovered that the full name could not fit on the arcade cabinet, so the title was shortened.

Tutankham is one of six games chosen to appear in the LIFE magazine photo-session conducted at Twin Galaxies on November 7, 1982, featuring video game record holders of the 1982-era, gathered for a group photograph. The Tutankham champion in the photo is Mark Robichek of Mountain View, California.

Gameplay

Taking on the role of an explorer grave robbing Tutankhamun's tomb while exploring dozens of rooms,[2] the player is chased by creatures such as asps, vultures, parrots, bats, dragons, and even curses, all that kill the player on contact. The explorer can fight back by firing lasers at the creatures, but he can only cover the left and right directions. The player is also endowed with a single screen-clearing "flash bomb" per room or life. Finally, each room has warp zones that teleport the player around the room, which enemies cannot use.

To progress, the player collects keys open locked doors throughout the rooms, searching for the large exit door. Optional treasures can be picked-up for bonus points. Each room has a timer; when it reaches zero the explorer can no longer fire lasers, and once a room is cleared the remaining time is converted to bonus points.

Ports

Tutankham was ported to the Atari 2600, ColecoVision, Intellivision, and VIC-20. Versions for the Odyssey²,[3] TI-99/4A,[4] and Atari 8-bit family[5] were in development by Parker Brothers in 1983, but not published.

Legacy

Tutankham is included in Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits for the Nintendo DS (renamed to Horror Maze).

Time Bandit, for the Atari ST and other systems, was heavily inspired by Tutankham.[6]

Clones

  • King Tut's Tomb (Atari 8-bit)[7]
  • Key Quest (VIC-20, 1983)
  • Cuthbert Enters the Tombs (Commodore 64, 1984)
  • The Touchstone (Tandy Color Computer, 1984)[8]
  • Lord of the Orbs (Atari 8-bit, 1985)[9]
  • DungeonLords (Atari 8-bit, 1988)[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Brett Weiss (2012), Classic Home Video Games, 1972-1984: A Complete Reference Guide, page 126, McFarland
  2. ↑ http://www.thelogbook.com/phosphor/1983/tutankham-o2/
  3. ↑ "Odyssey2". the-nextlevel.com. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
  4. ↑ "TI-99/4A Prototype Cartridge". TI-99/4A Videogame House.
  5. ↑ Reichert, Matt. "Atari". AtariProtos.com. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Harry Lafnear Interview". Atari Legend. September 5, 2003.
  7. ↑ "King Tut's Tomb". Atari Mania.
  8. ↑ Boyle, L. Curtis. "The Touchstone". The Tandy Color Computers Game List.
  9. ↑ "Lord of the Orbs". Atari Mania.
  10. ↑ "Dungeonlords". Atari Mania.
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