Tutankham
| Tutankham | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Konami |
| Publisher(s) |
Konami (Japan) Stern (North America) Parker Brothers (ports) |
| Designer(s) | H. Tanigaki |
| Platform(s) |
Arcade (original), Atari 2600, ColecoVision, Intellivision, VIC-20, Game Room, Nintendo DS |
| Release date(s) | 1982 |
| Genre(s) | Maze, Action,[1] Shooter[2] |
| Mode(s) | Up to 2 players, playing alternately |
| Cabinet | Upright |
| Display | Vertical orientation, raster graphics |
Tutankham (ツタンカーン) is a 1982 arcade game developed by Konami and released by Stern in the US. The game was originally titled Tutankhamen, but it was discovered that the full name could not fit on the arcade cabinet, so the title was shortened.
Tutankham is one of six games chosen to appear in the LIFE magazine photo-session conducted at Twin Galaxies on November 7, 1982, featuring video game record holders of the 1982-era, gathered for a group photograph. The Tutankham champion in the photo is Mark Robichek of Mountain View, California.
Gameplay
Tutankham is a combination of the maze, action and shoot 'em up genres. Taking on the role of an explorer grave robbing Tutankhamun's tomb, the player is chased by creatures such as asps, vultures, parrots, bats, dragons, and even curses, all that kill the player on contact. The explorer can fight back by firing lasers at the creatures, but he can only cover the left and right directions. The player is also endowed with a single screen-clearing "flash bomb" per level or life. Finally, each level has warp zones that teleport the player around the level, which enemies cannot use.
To progress, the player collects keys open locked doors throughout the levels, searching for the large exit door. Optional treasures can be picked-up for bonus points. Each level has a timer; when it reaches zero the explorer can no longer fire lasers, and once a level is cleared the remaining time is converted to bonus points.
Ports
Tutankham was ported to the Atari 2600, ColecoVision, Intellivision, and VIC-20. Ports for the Odyssey² and the Atari 8-bit family of computers were being developed by Parker Brothers in 1983, but were not published.[3][4]
The original arcade game is one of the games available in Microsoft's Game Room, and is also available in Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits for the Nintendo DS (where it was renamed to Horror Maze).
Clones
- King Tut's Tomb (Atari 8-bit)[5]
- Cuthbert Enters the Tombs (Commodore 64, 1984)
- The Touchstone (Tandy Color Computer, 1984)[6]
- DungeonLords (Atari 8-bit, 1988)[7]
External links
- Tutankham at the Killer List of Videogames
- Tutankham at the Arcade History database
- Twin Galaxies' High-Score Rankings for Tutankham
- Tutankham ColecoVision Manual on the Internet Archive
- The Atari 2600 version of Tutankham can be played for free in the browser at the Internet Archive
- The Magnavox Odyssey² version of Tutankham can be played for free in the browser at the Internet Archive
References
- ↑ Tutankham at Allgame
- ↑ Brett Weiss (2012), Classic Home Video Games, 1972-1984: A Complete Reference Guide, page 126, McFarland
- ↑ "Odyssey2". the-nextlevel.com. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
- ↑ Reichert, Matt. "Atari". AtariProtos.com. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
- ↑ "King Tut's Tomb". Atari Mania.
- ↑ Boyle, L. Curtis. "The Touchstone". The Tandy Color Computers Game List.
- ↑ "Dungeonlords". Atari Mania.