Sundance (arcade game)

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Sundance
Screenshot of Sundance
Developer(s)	Tim Skelly
Publisher(s)	Cinematronics
Designer(s)	Tim Skelly
Platform(s)	Arcade Game
Release date	1979 (Arcade)
Genre(s)	Puzzle
Mode(s)	Single player, Up to 2 players, alternating turns
Input methods	10 Buttons
Cabinet	Vertical
Arcade system	Cinematronics hardware
CPU	CCPU at 5 MHz
Sound	Amplified Mono, 1 channel
Display	Vector, Monochrome

Sundance is a puzzle arcade game using vector graphics released by Cinematronics in 1979. The game consists of two grids floating in a pseudo-3D space with small suns bouncing between them. The player scored points by capturing the suns as they made contact with the grids. The player also had a limited-use "smart bomb" button which would eliminate all of the suns currently bouncing between the grids. As the suns bounced, the grids would move closer and closer, making gameplay more difficult. The game ended when the grids fully converged.

The game itself had only a small production run and was plagued with hardware failures due to its unconventional design. According to Tim Skelly, the game's designer, Sundance used an additional daughterboard that controlled the intensity of certain vectors. This board and its connections were rather fragile and prone to failure.^[1] Also, the monitor used a defective carbon coating spray which tended to cause the monitor's tube to arc if it was left in a certain position, destroying the monitor.^[2]