Page:Gametronics Proceedings.djvu/217

 XIX. GAMES DEVELOPED BY THE TV GAMES INDUSTRY

JERRY EIMBINDER

Electronic Engineering Times

Great Neck, New York Many new games have been generated by the manufacturers of TV games. Some are variations of popular games; others are entirely original creations.

Not all manufacturers use the same name for virtually identical games. The best example seems to be handball. Some manufacturers prefer to call it squash if two players are involved and practice if it's the player against the machine. Anything but handball. Others call it handball whether it involves two players or one player practicing.

Some of the earlier non-conventional sports paddle games to evolve were Catch, Robot, Solitaire, Gridball and Hole.

In Catch, each player controls the movement of an opening in a vertical bar located at his end of the screen. A point is scored by moving the opening to a position which allows the ball to pass through. Hole is played in a similar manner.

Robot employs a large paddle which floats up and down blocking a goal. Scoring is accomplished by hitting the ball straight ahead or angling in a shot depending on the position of the robot. A near miss may rebound off the back of the robot and penetrate the goal.

Solitaire involves an adjustable-height wall with a space at the top through which a ball can pass. A point is scored by hitting the ball so that it clears the top of the wall.

Gridball involves three sets of vertically moving barriers, each containing three openings. The object of the game is to block the ball from approaching a player's end zone by advancing it towards the opponent's end.

Some of the more recent games developed by TV game manufacturers bear little or no resemblance to paddle-type games. Others are very thinly disquiseddisguised [sic] versions of earlier games.

Protection is a combination of volleyball and hockey. The goals are located near the foot of the net, one on each side of the net. A player must prevent the ball from dropping through the goal opening after it is hit by the opposing player and clears the net. The ball may be played

An electronic game kit, manufactured by Visulex, is used as an educational system by schools.