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Choplifter
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Choplifter
Choplifter (stylized as Choplifter!) is a 1982 horizontally scrolling shooter video game developed by Dan Gorlin and published by Broderbund for the Apple II. It was ported to the Atari 8-bit computers the same year, and later to the VIC-20, Commodore 64, Atari 5200, ColecoVision, MSX, and Thomson computers. In 1985, Sega released a remake for arcades, with subsequent ports published for the Master System and Famicom in 1986. Graphically enhanced versions for the Atari 8-bit computers and the Atari 7800 were also released in 1988 by Atari Corporation.
The player assumes the role of a combat helicopter pilot who must rescue hostages held in barracks within the territory controlled by the evil Bungeling Empire. The player must collect the hostages (described in the backstory as "delegates to the United Nations Conference on Peace and Child Rearing") and safely transport them to the nearby U.S. Postal Service building, all while fending off hostile tanks and other enemy combatants. According to the backstory, the helicopter's parts were smuggled into the country, disguised as a "mail-sorting machine".
The helicopter can face three directions: left, right, or forward (facing the player). It can shoot at enemies in any of these directions and need not fly in the same direction it is facing. The forward-facing mode is primarily used to shoot at tanks. The player must be cautious to protect the hostages from enemy fire and avoid hitting them with friendly fire.
To rescue the prisoners, the player must first shoot at one of the hostage buildings to release the hostages, then land to allow them to board the sortie, and finally return them to the player's starting point. Each of the four buildings holds 16 hostages, and the helicopter can only carry up to 16 passengers at a time, meaning several trips are necessary. Once the chopper is full, no more hostages will attempt to board; they will wave the helicopter off and wait for its return. Each successive trip is typically more perilous than the last, as the enemy becomes aware of the player's actions and mounts a counterattack.
If the player lands directly on top of a hostage or completely blocks the building exit, the hostages will be killed. In the Apple II and Atari 7800 versions, hostages will also die if the helicopter is not landed correctly (i.e., if it is slightly tilted), being crushed as they attempt to board. While grounded, the helicopter can be attacked by enemy tanks, which it can only shoot at by returning to the air. Additionally, enemy jet fighters are deployed, which can attack the helicopter in the air with air-to-air missiles or on the ground with bombs. The next enemy is an alien spacecraft, which is very hard to avoid.
Coming off a stint working for the Rand Corporation, Dan Gorlin initially developed Choplifter using an Apple II loaned to him by his grandfather. Initially, Gorlin envisioned Choplifter as a 3D game, but he switched to a traditional 2D game environment due to technical limitations.
The game was developed in six months. After Gorlin began experimenting with animating a helicopter on the Apple II, he added scenery, tanks, and planes, with the hostages being added last. He noted that, as a story developed, the film camera techniques seemed appropriate, including the final message "The End" instead of "Game Over". Gorlin's first demonstration to Broderbund was "too realistic" for a helicopter simulation, and the company helped him make it easier to fly. The concept of rescuing hostages was inspired by Gorlin's experience with the game Defender, in which the player must protect people on the ground. Although the Iran hostage crisis ended the year before the game was released, Gorlin said that the game was not intended to be a "tie-in" to this event during the game's development.
In the 1990s, Gorlin revisited the 3D concept in a failed attempt to remake the game.
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Choplifter AI simulator
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Choplifter
Choplifter (stylized as Choplifter!) is a 1982 horizontally scrolling shooter video game developed by Dan Gorlin and published by Broderbund for the Apple II. It was ported to the Atari 8-bit computers the same year, and later to the VIC-20, Commodore 64, Atari 5200, ColecoVision, MSX, and Thomson computers. In 1985, Sega released a remake for arcades, with subsequent ports published for the Master System and Famicom in 1986. Graphically enhanced versions for the Atari 8-bit computers and the Atari 7800 were also released in 1988 by Atari Corporation.
The player assumes the role of a combat helicopter pilot who must rescue hostages held in barracks within the territory controlled by the evil Bungeling Empire. The player must collect the hostages (described in the backstory as "delegates to the United Nations Conference on Peace and Child Rearing") and safely transport them to the nearby U.S. Postal Service building, all while fending off hostile tanks and other enemy combatants. According to the backstory, the helicopter's parts were smuggled into the country, disguised as a "mail-sorting machine".
The helicopter can face three directions: left, right, or forward (facing the player). It can shoot at enemies in any of these directions and need not fly in the same direction it is facing. The forward-facing mode is primarily used to shoot at tanks. The player must be cautious to protect the hostages from enemy fire and avoid hitting them with friendly fire.
To rescue the prisoners, the player must first shoot at one of the hostage buildings to release the hostages, then land to allow them to board the sortie, and finally return them to the player's starting point. Each of the four buildings holds 16 hostages, and the helicopter can only carry up to 16 passengers at a time, meaning several trips are necessary. Once the chopper is full, no more hostages will attempt to board; they will wave the helicopter off and wait for its return. Each successive trip is typically more perilous than the last, as the enemy becomes aware of the player's actions and mounts a counterattack.
If the player lands directly on top of a hostage or completely blocks the building exit, the hostages will be killed. In the Apple II and Atari 7800 versions, hostages will also die if the helicopter is not landed correctly (i.e., if it is slightly tilted), being crushed as they attempt to board. While grounded, the helicopter can be attacked by enemy tanks, which it can only shoot at by returning to the air. Additionally, enemy jet fighters are deployed, which can attack the helicopter in the air with air-to-air missiles or on the ground with bombs. The next enemy is an alien spacecraft, which is very hard to avoid.
Coming off a stint working for the Rand Corporation, Dan Gorlin initially developed Choplifter using an Apple II loaned to him by his grandfather. Initially, Gorlin envisioned Choplifter as a 3D game, but he switched to a traditional 2D game environment due to technical limitations.
The game was developed in six months. After Gorlin began experimenting with animating a helicopter on the Apple II, he added scenery, tanks, and planes, with the hostages being added last. He noted that, as a story developed, the film camera techniques seemed appropriate, including the final message "The End" instead of "Game Over". Gorlin's first demonstration to Broderbund was "too realistic" for a helicopter simulation, and the company helped him make it easier to fly. The concept of rescuing hostages was inspired by Gorlin's experience with the game Defender, in which the player must protect people on the ground. Although the Iran hostage crisis ended the year before the game was released, Gorlin said that the game was not intended to be a "tie-in" to this event during the game's development.
In the 1990s, Gorlin revisited the 3D concept in a failed attempt to remake the game.