Stargate (1981 video game)
A 1981 arcade sequel to Defender with new enemies and Inviso cloaking.
Stargate is a horizontally scrolling shooter released for arcades in 1981 by Williams Electronics. It was developed by Vid Kidz, an independent studio formed by Eugene Jarvis and Larry DeMar, and serves as a sequel to their earlier game Defender. The arcade version introduced new enemy types and a cloaking device, and some home ports were later released under the name Defender II due to trademark concerns.
Quick Facts
- Designer
- Eugene Jarvis; Larry DeMar
- Series
- Defender
- Platforms
- Arcade
- IBM PC
- Apple II
- Commodore 64
- Atari 2600
- NES
- Amiga
- Atari ST
- Genre
- Scrolling shooter
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
The player controls a small spaceship that flies above a scrolling, wraparound mountainous landscape. The ship does not contact the terrain and moves in front of it. Humanoids inhabit the land, and enemy ships fly overhead; the objective is to destroy enemies before they capture the humans. The player's weapon is a beam that fires rapidly in a long horizontal line ahead of the ship, and a limited supply of smart bombs can eliminate all on-screen enemies. Additionally, the ship has a limited charge of Inviso cloaking energy, which makes it invisible and allows it to destroy any enemy it touches. A mini-map at the top of the screen shows the positions of all aliens and humans. There are fifteen types of aliens. Landers are the primary enemy, teleporting in waves and descending to capture humanoids; if a Lander reaches the top of the screen with a human, they fuse into a Mutant, which homes in on the player erratically. A Baiter appears if the player takes too long, matching the player's speed and firing accurate projectiles. Bombers lay stationary mines, and Pods burst into Swarmers when shot. Firebombers shoot high-speed Fireballs, Yllabian Space Guppies attack in homing swarms, and Phreds and Big Reds launch tiny Munchies.
Ports
Ports of Stargate were developed for the Commodore 64, Apple II, Amiga, Atari ST, and IBM PC. An Atari 5200 and Atari 8-bit computer port by Steve Baker was not released. The Nintendo Entertainment System port, developed by HAL Laboratory, was initially titled Star Gate and later renamed Defender II for the U.S. release. This NES version shares some elements with HAL's ports of Millipede, Joust, and Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, including nearly identical title jingles for Millipede, Stargate, and Joust, and music reused from Punch-Out!!. The Defender II name was used in some home releases due to legal issues; Williams wanted to secure the trademark on the Defender name. The Atari 2600 port was first sold as Stargate and later re-released as Defender II. The Amiga and Atari ST ports, developed by Jeff Minter, include Defender, Stargate, and Defender II.
Legacy
In July 2000, Midway licensed Defender II along with other Williams Electronics games to Shockwave for an online applet called Shockwave Arcade Collection, converted by Digital Eclipse; this port is no longer available. The game appears in the 2012 compilation Midway Arcade Origins. A Stargate arcade cabinet appears in the NewsRadio episode Arcade, where it is called Stargate Defender, and creator Eugene Jarvis had a cameo as Delivery Guy #3. Stargate and Defender are featured as plot points in the podcast Rabbits.
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