Dimension X (video game)
| Dimension X | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Synapse Software |
| Publisher(s) | Synapse Software |
| Designer(s) | Steve Hales[1] |
| Platform(s) | Atari 8-bit |
| Release | 1984 |
| Genre(s) | first person action |
| Mode(s) | single player |
Dimension X is a first person action game for the Atari 8-bit family released in 1984 by Synapse Software. It was designed by Steve Hales, who previously wrote Slime and Fort Apocalypse for Synapse.[1] Dimension X is a vehicle-based, first person shooter in the vein of Atari's Battlezone and Novagen's Encounter (the latter of which was distributed in the US by Synapse).[2] The manual includes instructions for a Commodore 64 version of the game,[3] but it was never completed nor released.[4]
Dimension X was advertised over nine months before being available, the ads featuring what appeared to be a texture-mapped ground plane using a technique promoted as "altered perspective scrolling."[5] The printed ad also showed a 64 sector map on its own screen, which was not in the final game.[5] In Halcyon Days: Interviews with Classic Computer and Video Game Programmers, designer Steve Hales said:
We had a cool graphic display, but no game. [Synapse co-founder Ihor Wolosenko] and I tried to create a game, but it just wasn't fun. We ended up with a B+, or even a C game. One of the first lessons in game design I ever got.[6]
When the game was eventually released, it was met with generally poor reviews.
Gameplay
The game is played from a first person perspective, where the player sits inside the cockpit of a flying vehicle[7] and fires missiles at "Regillian" enemies. Many elements of Dimension X have analogs in Star Raiders. The game world consists of a 5x5 grid of sectors which need to be cleared of Regillians.[3] In Star Raiders the enemies attempt to surround and destroy sectors containing motherships; here the Regillians attempt to surround and destroy a sector containing the capitol.[3] Various systems of the player's ship can be damaged by enemy fire, such as the scanner and map.[3] Moving between sectors requires holding a crosshair steady in addition to moving over and under obstacles.[8]
Reception
In a new product overview in ANALOG Computing, Lee H. Pappas wrote: "The only outstanding feature of the game is the scroll-in-any-direction moire pattern landscape."[2] In the review in the same issue, Robert T. Martin concluded it was "disappointing," and also criticized the box art for showing features that don't exist in the game, such as tanks and spaceships.[5]
In a 2014 review, the Video Game Critic praised the visuals, but found it confusing that moving the joystick side-to-side rotates the ship, even though the display gives the impression of horizontal movement. He called the combat "shallow and imprecise," giving the game a D+ rating.[8]
References
- 1 2 "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers". dadgum.com.
- 1 2 Pappas, Lee (1984). "New Products". ANALOG Computing (19).
- 1 2 3 4 "Atari Game Manual: Dimension X". archive.org.
- ↑ "Dimension X". Games That Weren't. October 3, 2012.
- 1 2 3 Martin, Robert T. (1984). "Review - Dimension X". ANALOG Computing (19).
- ↑ Hague, James (1997). Halcyon Days: Interviews with Classic Computer and Video Game Programmers.
- ↑ "Dimension X (Atari 8-bit)". Mobygames. 1984. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- 1 2 "Dimension X". The Video Game Critic. September 13, 2014.
External links
Dimension X can be played for free in the browser at the Internet Archive