Blaster (video game)

Not to be confused with the video game Blastar produced by Elon Musk.
Blaster
Developer(s)Vid Kidz
Publisher(s)Williams Electronics
Designer(s)Eugene Jarvis
Larry DeMar[2]
Platform(s)Arcade
Release
Genre(s)Shoot 'em up
Mode(s)1-2 players alternating turns

Blaster is a first-person rail shooter released as an arcade video game by Williams Electronics in 1983. It was developed by Eugene Jarvis and Larry DeMar. A vague sequel to Robotron: 2084, the game is a shoot 'em up set in outer space. The goal is to destroy enemies, avoid obstacles, and rescue astronauts in twenty levels, to reach paradise.

The game uses large, scaled sprites to give the impression of attackers and asteroids approaching the player's ship. It was originally written for the Atari 8-bit computers–something not made public until 2004. Neither the Atari 8-bit nor the arcade machine has bitmap scaling hardware; the Atari CPU has a higher clock rate.[clarification needed]

Cabinet art was done by Tom Schmelzer and Larry Day of Advertising Posters in Chicago.

Blaster was sold in both Duramold and, much less commonly, traditional wooden cabinets.

  1. ^ "Blaster (Registration Number PA0000221851)". United States Copyright Office. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  2. ^ Donlan, Christian (January 13, 2013). "Blaster Retrospective". Eurogamer.