For the 1989 puzzle video game, see Qwak. For the sound made by a duck, see Quack.
Qwak! is a single-player duck huntinglight gun shooterarcade video game developed by Atari subsidiary Cyan Engineering and released in November 1974. In the game, ducks fly one at a time across the screen, and the player shoots at them using a light gun attached to the game cabinet. The player gets three shots per duck; ducks change direction away from missed shots and fall to the bottom of the screen when hit. A screen overlay adds images of reeds and a tree branch, and an image of a duck is added to a row at the top of the screen whenever a duck is hit. Games continue until a time limit, set by the machine operator, is reached.
Development of Qwak! began in 1974, finishing in November. It was presented at the November 1974 Music Operators of America (MOA) Music & Amusement Machines Exposition for release that month. The game was not commercially successful; according to Ralph H. Baer, approximately 250 units were sold. A two-player electro-mechanicalclone game by U.S. Billiards, Duck Shooting, was produced around the same time, and Qwak! has been suggested as a possible inspiration for the 1984 Nintendo Entertainment System light gun game Duck Hunt.
Qwak! is a duck hunting arcade game in which the player uses a rifle-shaped light gun to fire at targets on the screen. One duck at a time flies across the screen, with each duck appearing in a different place on the sides of the screen and flying in different paths. The player is allowed three shots to hit the duck as it flies across the screen. As with other light gun games, a hit is registered if the gun is pointed at the duck or similar light source when the trigger is pulled; no projectile is fired. When a shot is fired, a mark appears on the screen where the player was aiming; if the shot misses the duck, it changes direction away from the bullet. If the player hits a duck, it falls to the ground, and a hunting dog runs over and collects it. Each duck hit adds a small image of a duck to a row at the top of the screen. A screen overlay shows an image of marsh reeds and a tree branch. The gun is attached to the game cabinet by a metal cord, and is holstered in a small circular recess in the cabinet when not in use. Attempting to remove the gun sounds an alarm buzzer.[2] Each game costs a quarter, and runs until the time limit runs out. Machines have adjustable time limits or can be set to run each game indefinitely, starting the score count over when the start button is pressed.[3]
Developmentedit
The game was developed for Atari by their Cyan Engineering subsidiary, recently purchased in 1973. The earliest schematics in the service manual are from June 1974, and the last is from November.[4] Ron Milner was the principle designer. The schematics bear the logos of both Atari and Kee Games, a subsidiary company established by Atari in 1973 to reach more distributors, and which was merged with Atari in September 1974.[4][5] The game was announced and shown at the Music Operators of America (MOA) Music & Amusement Machines Exposition on November 1–3, for release that month.[6][7] It was then first advertised in the December 7 issue of Cash Box, the trade magazine for the amusement arcade industry.[8]
Qwak! was released in a standard upright arcade cabinet with a black and whiteraster television monitor inset, with the rifle holster and start button below as the only controls.[9] The reeds and tree branch overlay is screen printed in color onto a clear panel in front of the monitor, and is backlit by the screen; the screen is lit with a gray background instead of a black one in order to produce this effect. When the gun is triggered, the duck additionally flashes white briefly, so as to be detected by the light gun; the relative brightness of the screen makes this effect less obvious than with other similar light gun games.[10]Qwak! was one of the earliest light gun video games, preceded by Sega's arcade video game Balloon Gun in August 1974 and a set of games for the Magnavox Odysseyvideo game console in 1972. In turn, they were preceded by light gun electro-mechanical games in arcades since the Ray-O-Lite Rifle Range in 1934.[11][12]
Legacyedit
Qwak! did not perform well commercially; according to Ralph H. Baer in his book Videogames: In the Beginning, approximately 250 units were sold.[13] In the November 16, 1974, issue of Cash Box, U.S. Billiards announced a two-player electro-mechanical clone game titled Duck Shooting, featuring a projected seven foot by seven foot screen instead of a monitor, and allowing two players to shoot at multiple ducks simultaneously.[14]
In 1982, Atari developed a prototype for a touch-screen duck themed game similarly titled Qwak. With the goal of "help[ing] mama duck and her three ducklings get home safely", the player shifts picture blocks into place to create a safe path for the ducks to get home. The player's score in the 15 levels is determined by how long the ducks are on-screen and by how many get home safely.[15]
Critics have noted the similarity between Qwak! and the 1984 Nintendo light gun game for the Nintendo Entertainment System titled Duck Hunt.[16] Nintendo used that similarity in a 1986 court case attempting to invalidate a patent held by Sanders Associates. The patent, filed by Ralph Baer, was for the light gun peripheral used in the Magnavox Odyssey game and was held to be infringed on by Duck Hunt. Nintendo unsuccessfully claimed that Baer had based his patent not only on the Odyssey work but also on Qwak! as seen by him at the 1974 MOA show.[10]
^"Duck Shooting" (PDF). Cash Box. November 16, 1974. p. 98. ISSN 0008-7289.
^"Qwak (1982)". International Arcade Museum. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
^Kohler, Chris (September 13, 2005). "Controller's History Dynamite". 1UP.com. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
Sourcesedit
Akagi, Masumi (October 13, 2006). アーケードTVゲームリスト 国内•海外編 (1971-2005) [Arcade TV Game List Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971-2005)] (in Japanese) (1st ed.). Amusement News Agency. ISBN978-4-9902512-1-5.
qwak, 1989, puzzle, video, game, qwak, sound, made, duck, quack, single, player, duck, hunting, light, shooter, arcade, video, game, developed, atari, subsidiary, cyan, engineering, released, november, 1974, game, ducks, time, across, screen, player, shoots, t. For the 1989 puzzle video game see Qwak For the sound made by a duck see Quack Qwak is a single player duck hunting light gun shooter arcade video game developed by Atari subsidiary Cyan Engineering and released in November 1974 In the game ducks fly one at a time across the screen and the player shoots at them using a light gun attached to the game cabinet The player gets three shots per duck ducks change direction away from missed shots and fall to the bottom of the screen when hit A screen overlay adds images of reeds and a tree branch and an image of a duck is added to a row at the top of the screen whenever a duck is hit Games continue until a time limit set by the machine operator is reached FlyerDeveloper s Cyan EngineeringPublisher s NA AtariJP Namco 1 Platform s ArcadeReleaseNA November 1974JP July 1975 1 Genre s Light gun shooterMode s Single playerDevelopment of Qwak began in 1974 finishing in November It was presented at the November 1974 Music Operators of America MOA Music amp Amusement Machines Exposition for release that month The game was not commercially successful according to Ralph H Baer approximately 250 units were sold A two player electro mechanical clone game by U S Billiards Duck Shooting was produced around the same time and Qwak has been suggested as a possible inspiration for the 1984 Nintendo Entertainment System light gun game Duck Hunt Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Development 3 Legacy 4 References 4 1 Sources 5 External linksGameplay editQwak is a duck hunting arcade game in which the player uses a rifle shaped light gun to fire at targets on the screen One duck at a time flies across the screen with each duck appearing in a different place on the sides of the screen and flying in different paths The player is allowed three shots to hit the duck as it flies across the screen As with other light gun games a hit is registered if the gun is pointed at the duck or similar light source when the trigger is pulled no projectile is fired When a shot is fired a mark appears on the screen where the player was aiming if the shot misses the duck it changes direction away from the bullet If the player hits a duck it falls to the ground and a hunting dog runs over and collects it Each duck hit adds a small image of a duck to a row at the top of the screen A screen overlay shows an image of marsh reeds and a tree branch The gun is attached to the game cabinet by a metal cord and is holstered in a small circular recess in the cabinet when not in use Attempting to remove the gun sounds an alarm buzzer 2 Each game costs a quarter and runs until the time limit runs out Machines have adjustable time limits or can be set to run each game indefinitely starting the score count over when the start button is pressed 3 Development editThe game was developed for Atari by their Cyan Engineering subsidiary recently purchased in 1973 The earliest schematics in the service manual are from June 1974 and the last is from November 4 Ron Milner was the principle designer The schematics bear the logos of both Atari and Kee Games a subsidiary company established by Atari in 1973 to reach more distributors and which was merged with Atari in September 1974 4 5 The game was announced and shown at the Music Operators of America MOA Music amp Amusement Machines Exposition on November 1 3 for release that month 6 7 It was then first advertised in the December 7 issue of Cash Box the trade magazine for the amusement arcade industry 8 Qwak was released in a standard upright arcade cabinet with a black and white raster television monitor inset with the rifle holster and start button below as the only controls 9 The reeds and tree branch overlay is screen printed in color onto a clear panel in front of the monitor and is backlit by the screen the screen is lit with a gray background instead of a black one in order to produce this effect When the gun is triggered the duck additionally flashes white briefly so as to be detected by the light gun the relative brightness of the screen makes this effect less obvious than with other similar light gun games 10 Qwak was one of the earliest light gun video games preceded by Sega s arcade video game Balloon Gun in August 1974 and a set of games for the Magnavox Odyssey video game console in 1972 In turn they were preceded by light gun electro mechanical games in arcades since the Ray O Lite Rifle Range in 1934 11 12 Legacy editQwak did not perform well commercially according to Ralph H Baer in his book Videogames In the Beginning approximately 250 units were sold 13 In the November 16 1974 issue of Cash Box U S Billiards announced a two player electro mechanical clone game titled Duck Shooting featuring a projected seven foot by seven foot screen instead of a monitor and allowing two players to shoot at multiple ducks simultaneously 14 In 1982 Atari developed a prototype for a touch screen duck themed game similarly titled Qwak With the goal of help ing mama duck and her three ducklings get home safely the player shifts picture blocks into place to create a safe path for the ducks to get home The player s score in the 15 levels is determined by how long the ducks are on screen and by how many get home safely 15 Critics have noted the similarity between Qwak and the 1984 Nintendo light gun game for the Nintendo Entertainment System titled Duck Hunt 16 Nintendo used that similarity in a 1986 court case attempting to invalidate a patent held by Sanders Associates The patent filed by Ralph Baer was for the light gun peripheral used in the Magnavox Odyssey game and was held to be infringed on by Duck Hunt Nintendo unsuccessfully claimed that Baer had based his patent not only on the Odyssey work but also on Qwak as seen by him at the 1974 MOA show 10 References edit a b Akagi p 51 Qwak flyer Atari November 1974 Fulton Steve November 6 2007 The History of Atari 1971 1977 Gamasutra UBM Retrieved August 18 2017 a b Qwak Operations and Service Manual Atari December 1974 Goldberg Vendel pp 127 130 Record 3 259 Jam 1974 MOA Expo PDF Cash Box November 16 1974 p 98 ISSN 0008 7289 Atari Videography RePlay Magazine July 1997 pp 39 41 ISSN 1534 2328 Qwak PDF Cash Box December 7 1974 p 43 ISSN 0008 7289 Qwak International Arcade Museum Retrieved August 23 2017 a b Baer pp 159 161 Bateman p 112 Edwards Benj June 2 2017 Atari s Forgotten Arcade Classics Rolling Stone Wenner Media Archived from the original on September 1 2017 Retrieved August 18 2017 Baer pp 10 11 Duck Shooting PDF Cash Box November 16 1974 p 98 ISSN 0008 7289 Qwak 1982 International Arcade Museum Retrieved August 22 2017 Kohler Chris September 13 2005 Controller s History Dynamite 1UP com Ziff Davis Archived from the original on July 17 2012 Retrieved August 25 2017 Sources edit Akagi Masumi October 13 2006 アーケードTVゲームリスト 国内 海外編 1971 2005 Arcade TV Game List Domestic Overseas Edition 1971 2005 in Japanese 1st ed Amusement News Agency ISBN 978 4 9902512 1 5 Baer Ralph H April 26 2005 Videogames In the Beginning Rolenta Press ISBN 978 0 9643848 1 1 Bateman Chris ed March 12 2009 Beyond Game Design Nine Steps Toward Creating Better Videogames Cengage Learning ISBN 978 0 495 92689 4 Goldberg Marty Vendel Curt November 25 2012 Atari Inc Business Is Fun Syzygy Press ISBN 978 0 9855974 0 5 External links editQwak at the Killer List of Videogames Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Qwak amp oldid 1188045557, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
