Raid on Bungeling Bay
| Raid on Bungeling Bay | |
|---|---|
 Commodore 64 cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Will Wright |
| Publisher(s) | Brøderbund |
| Platform(s) | Commodore 64, Nintendo Entertainment System, MSX |
| Release date(s) | Commodore 64: 1984 NES: 1985 MSX: 1985 |
| Genre(s) | Action Strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single-player Multiplayer |
| Distribution | ROM cartridge floppy disk |
Raid on Bungeling Bay was the first video game designed by Will Wright. It was published by Brøderbund for the Commodore 64 in 1984 and the NES and MSX computers in 1985. The Commodore 64 version was published in the UK by Ariolasoft, and the NES version was ported by Hudson Soft.
Apart from offering a 2D overhead view of terrain which was a bit more complex than in other games, Raid on Bungeling Bay was basically a simple war zone shoot 'em up. The player controlled a helicopter that launched from an aircraft carrier to bomb six factories scattered across islands on a small planetoid occupied by the Bungeling Empire (the usual villains in Brøderbund games), while fending off escalating counterattacks by gun turrets, fighter jets, guided missiles, and a battleship. There was also a hidden island for the player to reload on. Failure meant that the Bungeling Empire develops a war machine to take over the planet Earth.[1] Players had to attack its infrastructure while defending the aircraft carrier which served as home base.[2]
The game offers an interesting insight into the design style of Wright, who would later go on to design SimCity. The islands and factories in the game behaved in a sophisticated manner which closely resembled SimCity. Over time, the factories would grow and develop new technologies to use against the player. There were also visible signs of interdependency among the islands, such as supply boats moving between them. In order to win the game, the player must prevent the escalation by bombing all the factories as quickly as possible, keeping them from advancing their technology. If left alone for too long, the factories would create enough new weaponry to overwhelm the player.
Reception
Compute! wrote in 1985 that Raid "possesses all the virtues needed to appease the demanding gamer", with "amazingly detailed" graphics.[3] Computer Gaming World in 1988 approved of the Nintendo version's graphics, calling it a "high adventure with realistic overtones" that did not involve dragons or elves.[4] The magazine named it the Action-Strategy Game of the Year for Nintendo, writing that Raid had been "rescued from Broderbund's computer software vaults, updated slightly, and sent out to challenge all the bright new [Nintendo games and] blew them out of the water ... a delightful game experience".[5]
Legacy
Wright continued to develop the editor for the game as a personal toy because he enjoyed it so much. He researched urban planning and realised that others might enjoy constructing and building cities themselves. The result was a fancier simulation that eventually became SimCity.[6]
References
- ↑ "Bungeling Empire's War Machine". Flashing Blade. Retrieved 2010-06-08.
- ↑ "General information about the Bungeling Empire". Giant Bomb. Retrieved 2010-06-08.
- ↑ Trunzo, James V. (June 1985). "Raid on Bungeling Bay". Compute!. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
- ↑ Katz, Arnie; Kunkel, Bill; Worley, Joyce (June 1988). "Video Gaming World". Computer Gaming World. pp. 40–42.
- ↑ Kunkel, Bill; Worley, Joyce; Katz, Arnie (November 1988). "Video Gaming World". Computer Gaming World. p. 54.
- ↑ "Interview with Will Wright". Good Game. Season 4. Episode 5. 2008-03-10.