Elite (video game)

Elite
Cover art for Firebird releases
Developer(s)David Braben
Ian Bell
Publisher(s)
Composer(s)
SeriesElite
Platform(s)
Release20 September 1984[1]
Genre(s)Space trading and combat simulator
Mode(s)Single-player

Elite is a space trading video game. It was written and developed by David Braben and Ian Bell and originally published by Acornsoft for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron computers in September 1984.[2] Elite's open-ended game model, and revolutionary 3D graphics led to it being ported to virtually every contemporary home computer system and earned it a place as a classic and a genre maker in gaming history.[3] The game's title derives from one of the player's goals of raising their combat rating to the exalted heights of "Elite".

Elite was one of the first home computer games to use wire-frame 3D graphics with hidden-line removal.[4] It added graphics and twitch gameplay aspects to the genre established by the 1974 game Star Trader.[5] Another novelty was the inclusion of The Dark Wheel, a novella by Robert Holdstock which gave players insight into the moral and legal codes to which they might aspire.

The Elite series is among the longest-running video game franchises. The first game was followed by the sequels Frontier: Elite II in 1993,[6] and Frontier: First Encounters in 1995,[7] which introduced Newtonian physics, realistic star systems and seamless freeform planetary landings. A third sequel, Elite Dangerous, began crowdfunding in 2012 and was launched on 16 December 2014,[8] following a period of semi-open testing; it received a paid-for expansion season, Horizons, on 15 December 2015.[9]

Elite proved hugely influential, serving as a model for other games including Wing Commander: Privateer,[10] Grand Theft Auto,[11] EVE Online,[12][13][14] Freelancer,[10] the X series[15][16][17] and No Man's Sky.[18]

Non-Acorn versions were each first published by Firebird and Imagineer. Subsequently, Frontier Developments has claimed the game to be a "Game by Frontier"[2] to be part of its own back catalogue[19] and all the rights to the game have been owned by David Braben.[20]

  1. ^ Emery, Daniel (21 September 2009). "Gaming milestone for Elite game". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Games by Frontier - Elite". Archived from the original on 27 January 2010.
  3. ^ LaMosca, Adam (18 July 2006). "Lost in the Void". The Escapist. Archived from the original on 25 February 2008. Retrieved 17 November 2007.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference gazzard201312 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Practical Computing". Practical Computing. 8: 100. 1985.
  6. ^ "Frontier: Elite II official page". 2007. Archived from the original on 23 September 2010. Retrieved 2 July 2010.
  7. ^ "Frontier: First Encounters - Official site". Archived from the original on 23 January 2015.
  8. ^ "Elite: Dangerous release date set for next month". PC Gamer. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  9. ^ Craft, Scott (9 December 2015). "Elite Dangerous: Horizons Release Date Revealed; First Expansion To Arrive Next Week". iDigitalTimes. Archived from the original on 10 December 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  10. ^ a b "The history of ... Elite", Retro Gamer (47), Imagine Publishing: 23–31, February 2008
  11. ^ "Gamasutra - Gary Penn interview". 31 January 2011.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference eve_rpgv was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference eve_gama was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference eve_pcgamer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Gestalt (21 October 1999). "X: Beyond The Frontier Review". Eurogamer. Retrieved 19 June 2008.
  16. ^ Shoemaker, Richie (13 August 2001). "PC Review: X - Beyond the Frontier". Computer and Video Games. Archived from the original on 8 April 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2008. If, however - like me - you consider Elite to be the best game ever made, X - Beyond The Frontier is by far its closest relation.
  17. ^ Wolf (25 January 2006). "X3: Reunion review at games xtreme". games xtreme. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  18. ^ "No Man's Sky - The Story, Gameplay, and Multiplayer Explained". IGN. 10 June 2014. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021.
  19. ^ "Frontier Developments Admission to Trading on AIM, Selected back catalogue" (PDF). p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 September 2013.
  20. ^ "Frontier Developments Admission to Trading on AIM, IP Assignment Agreement" (PDF). p. 101. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 September 2013.