| Attack of the Mutant Camels | |
|---|---|
Atari 800 version of AOTMC |
|
| Developer(s) | Llamasoft |
| Publisher(s) | Llamasoft |
| Designer(s) | Jeff Minter |
| Platform(s) | Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit family |
| Release date(s) | 1983 |
| Genre(s) | Scrolling shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Attack of the Mutant Camels was a surrealist computer game released for the Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit computers in the 1980s by Jeff Minter's Llamasoft. It is a horizontally-scrolling shooter.
The player controls a small jetplane and has the task of killing giant yellow camels before they reach the home base. Doing so requires several dozens of shots. The camels retaliate by shooting fireballs from their mouth.
Each camel required several shots to destroy; if a camel reached the base, the game was over. Once all camels on a level had been killed, the player had to survive a "hyperspace" sequence which required avoiding high-speed missiles. Upon successful completion, the next level presented a new wave of camels, with slightly harder gameplay.
The game is perhaps inspired by the AT-AT attack sequence in The Empire Strikes Back, and gameplay is very similar to that of the Atari 2600 game based on the film.
A sequel exists, named Revenge of the Mutant Camels.
Confusingly, a very different game from Jeff Minter's Gridrunner series was also released in the US under the name Attack of the Mutant Camels.
In 2011, Attack of the Mutant Camels was chosen to be featured in the Smithsonian's "The Art of Video Games" exhibit.[1]