Games - History of Atari ST games

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	Games - History of Atari ST games

During the age of the home computer, computer games were an important part of the software landscape. While its main competitor, the Commodore Amiga, had better hardware support for games, the Atari ST's aggressive pricing and a head start in the marketplace insured that the ST still had a large selection of games during its prime years. This page intends to show some of the most important games on the Atari ST.

Image:TheSundogST.gif|SunDog
FTL Games (1985) Image:ST_Crystal_Castles.png|Crystal Castles
Atari/Andromeda (1986) Image:ST_Hardball.png|Hardball
Accolade (1986) Image:ST_Joust.png|Joust
Atari/Rugby Circle (1986)

The first games for the Atari ST were mostly ports from 8-bit platforms, like Hardball and SunDog, or from old arcade games like Crystal Castles. Atari also acted as a publisher in the early years, but as third party support became stronger they focussed solely on hardware.

Image:ST_Bubble_Bobble.png|Bubble Bobble
Firebird (1987) Image:ST_Dungeon_Master_fight.png|Dungeon Master
Mirrorsoft
/FTL Games (1987) Image:ST_Guild_of_Thieves.png|The Guild of Thieves
Virgin/Magnetic Scrolls (1987) Image:ST_Leisure_Suit_Larry.png|Leisure Suit Larry

Sierra (1987)

In 1987 the first games that were designed for 16-bit computers arrived. The first 3D realtime role playing computer game, the highly rated Dungeon Master, debuted on the ST. Other notable 16-bit games included graphic text adventures like The Guild of Thieves. Still, arcade conversions like Bubble Bobble were an important factor, and remained so until the end of the 16-bit era.

Image:ST_Midi_Maze.png|MIDI Maze
Hybrid Arts (1987) Image:ST_Wizball.png|Wizball
Ocean/Sensible (1987) Image:ST_Buggy_Boy.png|Buggy Boy
Elite (1988) Image:ST_Carrier_Command.png|Carrier Command
Rainbird/Realtime (1988) Image:ST_Falcon.png|Falcon
Hybrid Arts (1988) Image:ST_Nebulus.png|Nebulus
Ocean/Sensible (1988) Image:ST_Star_Glider_2.png|Starglider 2
Rainbird/Argonaut (1988) Image:ST_Thundercats.png|Thundercats
Elite (1988)

Another achievement on the Atari ST was the first multiplayer first-person shooter on a homecomputer: MIDI Maze. Using the ST's MIDI ports it allowed up to 15 simultaneous players in a simple 3D maze.

In 1988 more complex games, like Carrier Command and Falcon
, became more common on the 16-bit home computers. But it also started a flood of TV and movie franchise games like Thundercats, which were often regarded as substandard games. Carrier Command and Starglider 2 were remarkable for being the first true 3D games using flat shading and in a complex universe. Thundercats shows a common problem of many Atari ST games: because the hardware does not support scrolling and the relatively slow CPU of the ST, games used large borders or frames around the actual playfield to reduce the amount of data that needs to be copied.

Image:ST_California_Games_foot_bag.png|California Games
US Gold/Choice (1989) Image:ST_Chambers_of_Shaolin.png|Chambers of Shaolin
Thalion (1989) Image:ST_Grand_Monster_Slam.png|Grand Monster Slam
Rainbow Arts/Golden Goblins (1989) Image:ST_Populous.png|Populous
EA/Bullfrog (1989) Image:ST_Strider.png|Strider
US Gold/Tiertex (1989) Image:ST_Stunt_Car_Racer.png|Stunt Car Racer
Microstyle (1989) Image:ST_Typhoon_Thompson.png|Typhoon Thompson
Broderbund (1989) Image:ST_Xenon_2.png|Xenon 2 Megablast
Bitmap Brothers/Assembly Line (1989)

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