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Blockade (Arcade) artwork

Blockade (Arcade) review


"The Original Light Cycles"

Tron, Disney’s cult classic science fiction film, was originally released to theaters in July of 1982. Inspired by the new and rapidly growing video game medium, Steven Lisberger’s beloved cyberspace cinematic is fondly remembered for its use of special effects combined with live action sequences. One particularly memorable scene from the movie is the Light Cycles battle, in which the humanoid forms of computer programs would ride vehicles that leave trails of light, and would attempt to force their opponents to crash into one of the trails. Some levels based on this scene were featured in Bally Midway’s official Tron video arcade game, and the scene itself was a source of inspiration for many similar video games. What most people don’t know is that the core concept for these games actually pre-dates Tron by six years.

In October of 1976, Gremlin Industries, a newcomer to the video game industry, released their debut game, Blockade. Founded in 1971, the San Diego-based developer initially specialized in wall games, simple amusement machines that were designed to be mounted on walls. They eventually entered the video game market after much begging from Blockade’s lead designer, Lane Hauck. Blockade is the first video game in the snake genre, which involves steering an object around the playfield as said object leaves some form of trail behind it, which you must avoid touching as you focus on your main objective. Considering the similarities between the gameplay of Blockade and the Light Cycles scene in Tron, it is very possible that Gremlin’s game and its numerous knockoffs had a significant influence on the film.

As the first of its kind, Blockade is rather bare-bones compared to its many successors. The game is strictly designed for two human players, and it does not include options for computer-controlled opponents. Each player is represented by an arrow that moves automatically in the direction it’s pointing, one space at a time. To prevent confusion over who is controlling which arrow, one arrow is solid, while the other is a hollow outline. The arrow forms a wall of bricks, the titular blockade, behind it as it travels around the single-screen playfield. You can change the direction that your arrow is moving in by tapping one of the four directional buttons on your side of the control panel. The arrows turn on 90-degree angles, and they cannot move diagonally. The simple controls make Blockade easy for gamers of any skill level to pick up and play. Of course, the difficulty depends on your opponent’s abilities.

Your goal in Blockade is to force your opponent to crash into your wall, their own wall, or one of the four borders of the playfield. There are several ways to accomplish this task. For example, if you’re right next to your opponent and traveling in the same direction, you could attempt to cut them off. Another good strategy is to form a box around your opponent when they’re close to a border, as this will limit the amount of space they have to roam around the playfield. When a player crashes, their opponent will earn a point, and the players’ scores will be displayed over their arrows. After a point is scored, the playfield will be cleared of walls and the players will return to their starting positions. The first player to earn six points wins the game. The arcade operator can adjust the target score to as low as three points.

Blockade deserves credit for inventing a new video game genre and setting up the basic template for snake games. It’s easy to see how the game would have caught on, as the game excels in accessibility despite the small risk that Gremlin took by not simply copying Pong or any other popular video game of the time. It helps that arcade Pong clones were starting to decline in popularity in the mid-seventies, so arcade patrons were ready to take on new challenges. That said, however, Blockade does have a couple of issues. The main problem is the short length of its play sessions. Even though Blockade does not have a time limit, the low target score makes it possible for a match to end in just a few minutes. Players only get one match per credit, so it’s unlikely that they will want to play the game several times in a row.

Another problem comes from the game’s simplicity, and how quickly it was made obsolete by industry competitors. Gremlin gave their first public demonstration of Blockade at the 1976 MOA expo in Chicago. Since video game copyright laws were not fully established yet, it was easy for companies that attended the event to start developing and releasing their own Blockade clones within months after the original’s release. These copycats usually boasted various additional features. For example, Bigfoot Bonkers added obstacles to the playfield, while Atari’s Dominos made the game speed increase until a player crashed. With new snake games spawning left and right, Blockade simply could not keep up.

The graphics in Blockade are very basic, but they also have a fair amount of detail to help them stand out from previous arcade games. As mentioned earlier, the player-controlled arrows include a solid one and a hollow one, so that players don’t lose track of themselves. When a player crashes, their arrow turns into a blinking checkered block for a few seconds. The walls that trail behind the arrows look like thick white lines with tiny black bricks spread throughout. The in-game text is rather small compared to other video arcade games of the time, but it’s still readable. The monochrome visuals in Blockade are slightly enhanced by a bright green overlay on the monitor, much like in The Amazing Maze Game.

Speaking of The Amazing Maze Game, Blockade shares a parallel with Midway’s labyrinth simulation in the audio department. In both games, the players’ movements are accompanied by Mickey Mousing in the form of an alternating series of high and low tones. In addition to these tones, Blockade also includes a sampled explosion sound effect, which plays whenever a player crashes into a wall. This explosion can also be heard during the attract mode, encouraging passersby to check out the game. Overall, the graphics and sound effects in Blockade are nothing fancy, but they get the job done.

Although Blockade was an early critical success for Gremlin, it didn’t take long for the game to fall into obscurity as a result of its fierce competition. In the months following the release of their first game, Gremlin produced two official sequels to Blockade. These included a four-player version called CoMotion, which was quickly ripped off by Ramtek’s Barricade, and a single-player variant called Hustle. Because of the fact that most Blockade clones for arcades retain the original's short game sessions, it’s hard to recommend any of them today. Fortunately, several home versions were made available for video game consoles and home computers, such as Surround for the Atari 2600. Aside from the obvious bonus of infinite free play sessions, Surround also offers many different game modes and variations, including a drawing mode called Video Graffiti. If you’re interested in getting into the snake genre, ignore the early arcade titles and start with Surround. You can save your cash for more sophisticated arcade games.



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Community review by Midcore (July 29, 2018)

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