Tutankham
| Tutankham | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Konami |
| Publisher(s) | Konami (Japan) Stern (North America) |
| Designer(s) | H. Tanigaki |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Atari 2600, ColecoVision, Intellivision, Odyssey², VIC-20, Xbox 360, Windows |
| Release date(s) | 1982 |
| Genre(s) | Labyrinth/Maze |
| Mode(s) | Up to 2 players, playing alternately |
| Cabinet | Upright |
| Display | Vertical orientation, raster graphics |
Tutankham is a 1982 arcade game developed by Konami and released 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.[1]
Gameplay
Tutankham is a combination of maze and shoot 'em up. Taking on the role of an explorer grave robbing Tutankhamun's tomb, 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 bomb ("Flash Bomber") per level or life. Finally, each level has warp zones that teleport the player around the level, which enemies cannot use.
To progress, the player must grab keys to open locked doors throughout the levels, searching for the large exit door; optional treasures can be grabbed for bonus points. Each level features a timer; when it reaches zero the explorer can no longer fire lasers, and once a level is cleared the remaining time is converted to bonus points.
Ports
Conversions of Tutankham were made for the Atari 2600, the ColecoVision, the Intellivision, and the VIC-20. Ports for the Odyssey² and the Atari 8-bit family of computers were being developed by Parker Bros. in 1983, but were not published.[2] [3]
The original arcade game is one of the games available in Microsoft's Game Room, and is also available in Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits for the Nintendo DS (where it was renamed to Horror Maze).
History
Tutankham was one of six games chosen to appear in the LIFE magazine photo-session conducted at Twin Galaxies in Ottumwa, Iowa, on November 7, 1982. The photo, which also included Donkey Kong, Tempest, Centipede, Defender and Ms. Pac-Man, featured the top video game superstars of the 1982-era, gathered for a group photograph. The Tutankham champion in the photo was Mark Robichek, of Mountain View, California. The resulting photo is considered one of the most famous in video game history and was the subject of a 2007 Sundance documentary titled Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade. Archival footage from this photograph session also appeared in another documentary film titled The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, which was released at the 2007 Slamdance Film Festival.
External links
- Tutankham at the Killer List of Videogames
- Tutankham at the Arcade History database
- Tutankham at MobyGames
- Twin Galaxies' High-Score Rankings for Tutankham