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Robotron: 2084 (also referred to as Robotron) is an arcade video game developed by Vid Kidz and released by Williams Electronics (part of WMS Industries) in 1982. It is a shoot 'em up that features two-dimensional (2D) graphics. The game is set in the year 2084, in a fictional world where robots have turned against humans in a cybernetic revolt. The aim is to defeat endless waves of robots, rescue surviving humans, and earn as many points as possible.
The designers, Eugene Jarvis and Larry DeMar, drew inspiration from other popular media: Nineteen Eighty-Four and Berzerk. A two-joystick control scheme was developed to provide the player with more-precise controls, and enemies with different behaviors were added to make the game challenging. Jarvis and DeMar designed the game to instill panic in players by presenting them with conflicting goals and having on-screen projectiles coming from multiple directions.
Robotron: 2084 was critically and commercially successful. Praise among critics focused on the game's intense action and control scheme. The game is frequently listed as one of Jarvis's best contributions to the video game industry. Robotron: 2084 arcade cabinets have since become a sought-after collector's item. It was ported to numerous platforms, inspired the development of other games, and followed by sequels.
The game is considered by many to be an unofficial part of the company's Defender saga, including by many of its developers.
Robotron is a 2D multi-directional shooter game in which the player controls the on-screen protagonist from a top-down perspective. The game is set in the year 2084 in a fictional world where robots ("Robotrons") have taken control of the world and eradicated most of the human race. The main protagonist is a nameless superhuman attempting to save the last human family.
The game uses a two-joystick control scheme; the left joystick controls the on-screen character's movement, while the right controls the direction the character's weapon fires. Both joysticks allow for an input direction in one of eight ways. Each level, referred to as a "wave", is a single screen populated with a large number of various enemy robots; types include invincible giants to robots that continually manufacture other robots that shoot the protagonist. Coming into contact with an enemy or enemy projectile results in the character dying. Waves also include human family members which can be rescued to score additional points. Defeating all the onscreen-robots allows the player to progress to a more difficult wave; the cycle continues until the player depletes extra attempts to continue the game.Released
1982
Also For
Apple II, Atari 5200, Atari 7800, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, BBC Micro, Browser, Commodore 64, Electron, Lynx, Macintosh, PC Booter, VIC-20, Xbox 360
Developed by
Vid Kidz
Published by
Williams Electronics, Inc.
Gameplay
Arcade, Shooter
Perspective
Top-down
Setting
Sci-fi / futuristic
Genre
Action
Visual
Fixed / flip-screen
Description
You are a mutant human, who by some freak of nature has the ability to shoot energy pulses from his body in eight different directions! Your job is simple: save humanity from their own creation -- the ROBOTRONS! The gameplay is pretty unique for the time. You can move and fire in any of eight directions. You get thrown in a room with various evil baddies strewn about, you've got to kill all the robots while at the same time finding some way to grab humans and avoid death.
Publisher: Williams / Vid Kidz
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