Was E.T. the first game with a way to pause during play?

[NovaXpress]

I think we're saying it doesn't count as a true 'pause" feature, although the ability to find a safe zone is definitely a quality worth lauding.

 

When we look at all the games, it really doesn't stand out as a unique feature. Turn-based games have the same ability. Many games allowed one to pause between rounds or after losing a life. You could pause in Adventure (the easter egg room was safe, and being eaten by a dragon really didn't ruin your game either. You could pause in Raiders of the Lost Ark in several rooms. And of course many games did have a true pause switch.

 

So I think you should count it as a gameplay feature, but you can't say there's anything unique about it.

[+Random Terrain]

So I think you should count it as a gameplay feature, but you can't say there's anything unique about it.

Oh yeah, there's no way it's a unique feature after seeing what all of us added to that list. I just wondered if it was the first, and now I know it's not. I didn't play any non-turn-based games with an official pause feature mentioned in the manual until 1983, so I wasn't sure. Thanks to everyone who added to the list and helped me to be more accurate on my new page.

[Cootster]

No, RT, I know that is entirely possible . . . And unlike modern CD-based games, it's not going to crash as soon as you touch it again . . . It's just not a controlled pause like the others, but somewhat of a turn-based element . . .

 

Actually, the first time I did this, I sat there and watched for like an hour, figuring there was probably another Easter Egg involved . . .

 

Which brings up another question? How many non-turn based games have "safe spots" of that nature? I think there are places in Raiders where you can let it sit and not die . . . It's undoubtedly impossible in Adventure . . . Pitfall II, I think, has at least one screen where it's possible to do this . . .

 

Any others anyone can mention?

[Cootster]

Yeah, I forgot the secret room in Adventure was duck-proof . . .

[+Random Terrain]

Which brings up another question?  How many non-turn based games have "safe spots" of that nature?  I think there are places in Raiders where you can let it sit and not die . . . It's undoubtedly impossible in Adventure . . . Pitfall II, I think, has at least one screen where it's possible to do this . . .  

 

Any others anyone can mention?

We should also separate the non-turn-based games that have safe spots from non-turn-based games that have safe spots that are mentioned in the manual as a pause feature. Any kind of safe spot list would be nice to have though. Besides being mentioned in the manual, E.T.'s safe spots are easy to get to while safe spots in other games might be more difficult to reach (such as that safe spot over there which is 10 minutes and five screens away).

[Vic George 2K3]

How about games that pause between screens and/or lives, like Donkey Kong?

[+Random Terrain]

How about games that pause between screens and/or lives, like Donkey Kong?

Those are nice, but we were talking about non-turn-based games that let you pause during active game play. Sometimes you just have to drop what you are doing and join the real world again (at least for a few minutes anyway) and waiting until you finish a level is not an option. But, that might make another good list too.

[as_the_gavel_falls]

Burgertime was released in 1983, only the arcade version carries a 1982 copyright.

 

So if we go by date of release it ends up like this:

 

#1 - Fast Eddie

#2 - Turmoil (also by Mark Turmell)

#3 - E.T.

OK, thanks. I'll go back up there and put them in order. That's the last time I'll trust AtariGuide:

http://www.atariguide.com/3/304.htm

 

 

I didn't bother to actually go pull the cart from the box, this picture shows it pretty clearly:

 

(Click to enlarge)

 

I actually think there is an 82 and an 83 version, I am looking for an 83 to add to the site.

[NovaXpress]

I actually think there is an 82 and an 83 version, I am looking for an 83 to add to the site.

 

Again, copyright dates are not the same as release dates. A look through catalogs will confirm that the intellivision edition came out before the m Network, and the Intellivision version was not released until 1983.

 

Atari's Pac-Man is copyrighted 1981, but it came out in 1982.

 

I think it speaks well of humanity that in a world as messed up as ours, we can still spend hours debating video game release dates and game features. Our spirit isn't broken yet.

[+Random Terrain]

I actually think there is an 82 and an 83 version, I am looking for an 83 to add to the site.

 

Again, copyright dates are not the same as release dates. A look through catalogs will confirm that the intellivision edition came out before the m Network, and the Intellivision version was not released until 1983.

 

Atari's Pac-Man is copyrighted 1981, but it came out in 1982.

 

I think it speaks well of humanity that in a world as messed up as ours, we can still spend hours debating video game release dates and game features. Our spirit isn't broken yet.

Yeah, I think it says 1981 on Yars' Revenge, but it didn't come out until May of 1982. You can't trust copyright dates or even catalogs that promise a certain release date.

 

NovaXpress, you seem to know a lot about USA release dates for games. I sure could use your help on this section of my web site if you ever have the time:

 

http://www.randomterrain.com/a2m/history.html

 

I didn't get an Atari 2600 until 1982, so I'm mostly interested in 1982 to 1984, the years when I loved the Atari 2600 the most, but I'd be wiling to go back a year or two before that if you have some good release dates for those years. I'm also interested in the month/year release dates for games that came out after 1984, but not as much.

 

Thanks.

[NovaXpress]

I am pretty solid on my Atari info from 1982 because I was old enough to be more aware of what was happening and when, and I hadn't switched over to playing my Colecovision and 800 yet. After getting burned on Swordquest I did buy one more 2600 game. I had to own Vanguard. I didn't get a 5200 until the crash hit, thought somehow I have a 4-port anyway.

 

Looks like you have solid info up there, RT. 1982 was the biggest year in 2600 history because that's when the huge wave of third-party developers arrived.

[+Random Terrain]

I am pretty solid on my Atari info from 1982 because I was old enough to be more aware of what was happening and when, and I hadn't switched over to playing my Colecovision and 800 yet.  After getting burned on Swordquest I did buy one more 2600 game.  I had to own Vanguard.  I didn't get a 5200 until the crash hit, thought somehow I have a 4-port anyway.

 

Looks like you have solid info up there, RT.  1982 was the biggest year in 2600 history because that's when the huge wave of third-party developers arrived.

Thanks. If you have anything to add such as a favorite game that I didn't include, feel free to PM me or use my contact form and I'll add it to the page.

 

Same for anyone else reading this. If you know the correct month/year USA release date for a fairly popular game that I don't have up on those pages, please let me know:

 

http://www.randomterrain.com/a2m/history.html

 

I'll add your name (or AA username if you'd prefer) under "Special Thanks."

[Thomas Jentzsch]

IMO the difference between a "real" pause feature and a game with safe spots (like E.T.) is, that one thing is done intentionally and the other just happened by chance. If you try long enough, you will find safe spots in many 2600 games, but those are most likely there due to lazy programming or hardware restriticons.

[+Random Terrain]

IMO the difference between a "real" pause feature and a game with safe spots (like E.T.) is, that one thing is done intentionally and the other just happened by chance. If you try long enough, you will find safe spots in many 2600 games, but those are most likely there due to lazy programming or hardware restrictions.

Just remember that the safe spots in E.T. are instantly available. You don't have to try to find the safe spots, Atari tells you where they are. It's mentioned in the manual as a "pause" feature, it's not some cool cheat that someone discovered on some obscure level somewhere that takes 20 minutes to find. You are never more than one screen away from a well. That instant access, plus the official mention of this "pause" feature in the manual makes it more "real" and less of an exploited bug posted on some cheat page somewhere.

 

You could argue that Spy Hunter's pause feature is less of a pause than E.T.'s. Here's what it says in the Spy Hunter manual:

 

You can pause the game by stopping your Spy Car when 2 trees are on the screen at the same time.

Doesn't sound like the "pause" feature of that game is as instant and easy to use as the one in E.T., but you can at least put the game on hold when you need to within a reasonable amount of time, even if it isn't as fast and easy as jumping into a well. You didn't have to go looking for some bug in the game to exploit because the makers of the game cared enough about you to let you know about it right there in the manual. Sure, it's not a real pause button, but you get a similar effect. It's more than what most games made for the Atari 2600 gave you. It's like most game companies said:

 

Play our game our way, according to our time table or screw you. We don't care that you live in the real world and have to take out the garbage, or let the dog out, or help set the table for dinner, or use the bathroom, or answer the phone, or whatever little mundane thing you have to do. If you want to play our game, you will sit there like a mindless robot for as long as we want. If we say "jump," you ask "how high?!!" You are our puppet! Dance puppet boy, dance!

I'll take a company endorsed pause feature any day compared to that, even if it's not a real pause button.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Just remember that the safe spots in E.T. are instantly available. You don't have to try to find the safe spots, Atari tells you where they are. It's mentioned in the manual as a "pause" feature, it's not some cool cheat that someone discovered on some obscure level somewhere that takes 20 minutes to find. You are never more than one screen away from a well. That instant access, plus the official mention of this "pause" feature in the manual makes it more "real" and less of an exploited bug posted on some cheat page somewhere.

Well, IMO the "bug" was just so obvious that Atari had discovered it early enough to mention it in the manual where removing it would have required a lot of additional programming (probably the same is true with Spy Hunter). There never was a plan for a pause feature.

 

It's not a bug, it's a feature!

[+Random Terrain]

Well, IMO the "bug" was just so obvious that Atari had discovered it early enough to mention it in the manual where removing it would have required a lot of additional programming (probably the same is true with Spy Hunter). There never was a plan for a pause feature.  

 

It's not a bug, it's a feature!

In the case of E.T., they were marketing it to kids, so why would they want to make the game harder than it already was? People already bitch about the wells being too hard, so yes, let's put a man-eating tiger in each well to make it even harder. We wouldn't want to give the kids a break. Take a look at this quote:

 

http://www.randomterrain.com/gamedesign/gameplay.html

When an original game is created in an iterative fashion, each iteration builds upon the past iterations. The rules begin to support each other in subtle unexpected ways. It's almost like you are building a pyramid, with each additional level supported intimately the rules below.

--Daniel Cook

If HSW had more time to work on the game, would he have made the wells more dangerous if he still chose to use wells? Say he made trees that you hid behind instead of wells, don't you think the pause feature would have been left in? One thing builds on another when making a game and sometimes what may seem like a bug turns out to fit nicely into the game.

 

If the pause feature in E.T. is actually a "bug," it's a bug that fits, so why not embrace it? If a happy accident happens while making a movie or recording a song, you don't throw it out, you accept it. You use it. It doesn't make it any less valid or useful. Embrace the "bug." Love the "bug." Be the "bug." Whoops, I went too far.

[moycon]

I don't think Thomas has an issue embracing the bug. He was just pointing out it probably wasn't an intentional feature when the game was being designed. Sounds valid. Personally I think when you fall in a pit other than one that has a phone piece in it you should die. I mean those are pretty deep ass pits. You'd think E.T. would squash like a ripe cantaloup when he hit bottom. Would make the game alot more fun IMO

[+Random Terrain]

I don't think Thomas has an issue embracing the bug. He was just pointing out it probably wasn't an intentional feature when the game was being designed. Sounds valid. Personally I think when you fall in a pit other than one that has a phone piece in it you should die. I mean those are pretty deep ass pits. You'd think E.T. would squash like a ripe cantaloup when he hit bottom. Would make the game alot more fun IMO

Maybe someone could make a hack where if you let E.T. fall to the bottom, he could die, but remember that you are already penalized for letting E.T. fall all the way to the bottom. Just look at your energy count. That's why I never fall in. I hit the button to catch myself in mid-air, then either levitate out, or float to the bottom. It saves energy (and time if you didn't want to go to the bottom in the first place).

 

A version where you die if he hits the bottom hard might be fun, but it still should keep the pause feature unless you add a pause button. If you add a pause button, you could make E.T.'s energy count slowly tick down since it's cold and wet down in that well. Or maybe water would start to rise after so many seconds, so you need to do your business and get the heck out of there as fast as possible.

[+Random Terrain]

For anyone who is interested, the first draft of my new 12 page, pro-E.T. section is done:

 

http://www.randomterrain.com/a2m/r7et.html

 

I'm not going to make a new thread yet in case I screwed something up. If you find any mistakes, please let me know.

 

Thanks.

[NovaXpress]

Very nice work. Including the maual and any other pertinent docs you might find adds a touch of serious history to your review. It's refreshing to see a positive review as well. I'm excited to see what else you develop in this Gordian Knot of a website you're brewing up.

 

I'm gonna write up something better quicky for that fan page, sorry I've been so out of joint all week. You people cannot imagine the weirdness that is my life.

[+Random Terrain]

Very nice work. Including the maual and any other pertinent docs you might find adds a touch of serious history to your review.  It's refreshing to see a positive review as well. I'm excited to see what else you develop in this Gordian Knot of a website you're brewing up.  

 

I'm gonna write up something better quicky for that fan page, sorry I've been so out of joint all week.  You people cannot imagine the weirdness that is my life.

Thanks. I'll be back tonight between 8 and midnight to see if there are new things to add or to fix. If you run into some guy named Alexander, tell him to keep his sword away from my web site.

[Cootster]

Perhaps highlight the spots where there are no pits in any screen? Which is, of course, a greater portion than you think, and usually containing each direction . . .

 

And one of these days, I'll chart all the initial piece locations out again like I did when I first got it. . . A lot like when that guy won 110K on Press Your Luck, it is possible to exploit early randomness . . .

 

And has anyone ever done the same thing, in terms of a location chart, to Adventure, game 3? It would definitely be possible . . .