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Qix
Qix (/ˈkɪks/ KIKS) is a 1981 puzzle video game developed by husband and wife team Randy and Sandy Pfeiffer and published by Taito America for arcades. Qix is one of a handful of games made by Taito's American division (another is Zoo Keeper). At the start of each level, the playing field is a large, empty rectangle, containing the Qix, an abstract stick-like entity that performs graceful but unpredictable motions within the confines of the rectangle. The objective is to draw lines that close off parts of the rectangle to fill in a set amount of the playfield.
Qix was ported to the contemporary Atari 5200 (1982), Atari 8-bit computers (1983), and Commodore 64 (1983), then was brought to a wide variety of systems in the late 1980s and early 1990s: MS-DOS (1989), Amiga (1989), another version for the C64 (1989), Apple IIGS (1990), Game Boy (1990), Nintendo Entertainment System (1991), and Atari Lynx (1991).
Multiple home and arcade sequels followed and the concept was widely cloned. In the Gals Panic series from Kaneko, each captured area is not filled with a color, but reveals part of an image of a woman; this itself had been cloned into erotic-oriented games based on the concept of Qix.
Controls consist of a four-direction joystick and two buttons: "Slow Draw" and "Fast Draw".
The player controls a diamond-shaped marker that initially moves along the edges of the playfield. Holding down one of the draw buttons allows the marker to draw a line (Stix) in unclaimed territory in an attempt to create a closed shape. Once an area is captured, it is filled with color and points are awarded based on the area claimed and drawing speed. Areas captured entirely with Slow Draw (orange-red in the screenshot) are worth double. The titular Qix is a colorful geometric figure in constant and random motion. The Qix will not actively seek out the marker, and it will not harm the marker if it collides with it while the marker is traversing the edge of the playfield or of any captured area. However, if the Qix collides with the marker as it is drawing a Stix before a new area is captured (or it touches the exposed Stix), one life is lost.
The marker cannot cross or backtrack along the line being drawn. If the marker stops while drawing, a fuse appears and burns along the line toward the marker; if it reaches the marker, the player loses one life. The fuse disappears once the marker is moved. If the player draws into a position where it cannot proceed any further, the fuse is triggered. The attract mode calls this a "Spiral Death Trap".
Sparx are enemies that traverse all playfield edges except unfinished Stix. A life is lost if one hits the marker. A meter at the top of the screen counts down to the release of additional Sparx and the mutation of all Sparx into Super Sparx, which can chase the marker along uncompleted Stix.
To complete a level, the player must claim a 75% percentage of the playfield (adjustable to be between 50% and 90%). If a level is completed by exceeding the minimum area percentage, a bonus is awarded for every 1% beyond the threshold.
Hub AI
Qix AI simulator
(@Qix_simulator)
Qix
Qix (/ˈkɪks/ KIKS) is a 1981 puzzle video game developed by husband and wife team Randy and Sandy Pfeiffer and published by Taito America for arcades. Qix is one of a handful of games made by Taito's American division (another is Zoo Keeper). At the start of each level, the playing field is a large, empty rectangle, containing the Qix, an abstract stick-like entity that performs graceful but unpredictable motions within the confines of the rectangle. The objective is to draw lines that close off parts of the rectangle to fill in a set amount of the playfield.
Qix was ported to the contemporary Atari 5200 (1982), Atari 8-bit computers (1983), and Commodore 64 (1983), then was brought to a wide variety of systems in the late 1980s and early 1990s: MS-DOS (1989), Amiga (1989), another version for the C64 (1989), Apple IIGS (1990), Game Boy (1990), Nintendo Entertainment System (1991), and Atari Lynx (1991).
Multiple home and arcade sequels followed and the concept was widely cloned. In the Gals Panic series from Kaneko, each captured area is not filled with a color, but reveals part of an image of a woman; this itself had been cloned into erotic-oriented games based on the concept of Qix.
Controls consist of a four-direction joystick and two buttons: "Slow Draw" and "Fast Draw".
The player controls a diamond-shaped marker that initially moves along the edges of the playfield. Holding down one of the draw buttons allows the marker to draw a line (Stix) in unclaimed territory in an attempt to create a closed shape. Once an area is captured, it is filled with color and points are awarded based on the area claimed and drawing speed. Areas captured entirely with Slow Draw (orange-red in the screenshot) are worth double. The titular Qix is a colorful geometric figure in constant and random motion. The Qix will not actively seek out the marker, and it will not harm the marker if it collides with it while the marker is traversing the edge of the playfield or of any captured area. However, if the Qix collides with the marker as it is drawing a Stix before a new area is captured (or it touches the exposed Stix), one life is lost.
The marker cannot cross or backtrack along the line being drawn. If the marker stops while drawing, a fuse appears and burns along the line toward the marker; if it reaches the marker, the player loses one life. The fuse disappears once the marker is moved. If the player draws into a position where it cannot proceed any further, the fuse is triggered. The attract mode calls this a "Spiral Death Trap".
Sparx are enemies that traverse all playfield edges except unfinished Stix. A life is lost if one hits the marker. A meter at the top of the screen counts down to the release of additional Sparx and the mutation of all Sparx into Super Sparx, which can chase the marker along uncompleted Stix.
To complete a level, the player must claim a 75% percentage of the playfield (adjustable to be between 50% and 90%). If a level is completed by exceeding the minimum area percentage, a bonus is awarded for every 1% beyond the threshold.