Caverns of Mars (computer game)

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Caverns of Mars

Developer(s)	Greg Christensen
Publisher(s)	Atari Program Exchange
Designer(s)	Greg Christensen
Engine	Assembler
Platform(s)	Atari 8-bit
Release date	1981, 1982, 1983
Genre(s)	scrolling shooter
Mode(s)	single player
Media	floppy disk, cassette, cartridge
System requirements	Atari 8-bit computer with 16K, cartridge, cassette, disk drive (32K)
Input methods	joystick

Caverns of Mars is a computer game for the Atari 8-bit computers, programmed by Greg Christensen and published by Atari Program Exchange (APX) in 1981. It was a major "hit" for APX.^{[citation needed]}

Caverns of Mars is a derivative of the arcade game Scramble. Due to the particulars of the hardware-assisted smooth scrolling on Atari home computers, it is much easier to scroll vertically than horizontally. Christensen thus changed the orientation of the caverns from Scramble, with the user flying down into them as opposed to sideways through them. Using a joystick, the player controls a ship descending into the tunnels of Mars, firing at targets along the way. Unlike Scramble, the targets generally did not move relative to the map. There are several different "sections" of the map, with easier skill levels removing the more difficult sections from the areas through which the player has to fly. At the end of the map is a reactor, which the player lands on and thereby sets to explode. The player then has to reverse course and fly up and out of the cavern to escape before the reactor explodes.

Christensen followed Caverns the next year with a lesser-known sequel, Phobos. Phobos was effectively a modification of Caverns with improved graphics, although there were other minor modifications as well. For instance, the levels were broken down into "sub-levels" with letters as names; after being killed the action restarts at the top of the sub-level, as opposed to the top of the level itself. The system is similar to the one used in Moon Patrol. It appears Phobos was never released commercially, although it can be found in most Atari software archives.

Although side-scrolling was more difficult on the Atari home computer, it was by no means impossible, and Christensen followed up the success of Caverns with the side-scrolling Caverns of Mars II in 1982. This version was much more similar to the original Scramble, including rockets that launched upwards from the ground, Scramble's main opponent for most of the game.

In 1983, Atari released Caverns of Mars on a cartridge (RX8021) as an official Atari product, one of the few user-submitted programs to ever become an official Atari product. In 2005, a version of "Caverns of Mars" was included on the Atari Flashback 2 classic game console. In 2006 a homebrew version of the original Caverns of Mars, titled Conquest of Mars, was released in cartridge form via AtariAge for the Atari 2600 system.