Lunar Lander
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Lunar Lander was an early computer game that originally ran on the DEC GT40 graphics terminal (frequently connected to a PDP-10 mainframe computer) in 1974. The goal was to correctly land a lunar module on the surface of the moon using the game's telemetry data. If the player miscalculates the module's landing, the module will either fly off into space or crash hard against the moon's surface. The interface was through a light pen and the output display was a vector graphics system.
| Lunar Lander | |
| Missing image Lunar_Lander.png Screenshot Lunar Lander | |
| Developer: | Atari |
| Publisher: | Atari |
| Game designer: | Jack Burness |
| Release date: | 1979 |
| Genre: | Retro/Simulation |
| Game modes: | Single player |
| Cabinet: | Standard |
| Controls: | lever, 3 buttons |
| Monitor | |
| Orientation: | Horizontal |
| Type: | Vector |
| Size: | 19-inches |
Lunar Lander was an arcade game released by Atari in 1979 (and later also ported to the Atari 400/800 home computers). Lunar Lander featured two concepts previously unseen in arcade video games:
- A proportional throttle control that allowed perfect timing of fuel expenditure,
- A 'fuel for money' system which allowed the player to spend money to continue their play and purchase more fuel in-game.
Not long after Atari launched the home computer version of Lunar Lander, competitor Commodore released the very similar Jupiter Lander for its Atari 400 competing lower-spec and lower price VIC-20.