Qwak 1974

[Marion Georgi]

Qwakis 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.

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]

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]

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]

Qwak ! 1974 Atari.

A light-pen duck-hunting game that would be an early predecessor to Nintendo's Duck Hunt

The gun used an electronic duck call that would sound off before the ducks would go flying into the air and sound when a duck was hit and fell to the ground.

See the most complete list of products made by Atari, Inc. during their years of activity, or see their graphic timeline representation.

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Qwak! ist ein Arcade-Spiel fr Spielhallenbetrieb, das am 5. November 1974 von Atari verffentlicht wurde. Es war das erste Arcade-Spiel mit einer optischen Lightgun[1] und simuliert eine Entenjagd.

In 1974, the video game industry was flooded with Pong clones, leading to the first video game crash by the end of the year.[1][2][3] Besides Pong clones, the year saw the release of new arcade video games such as Speed Race and TV Basketball, as well as the first 8-bit microcomputer, the Sord SMP80/20 in Japan.

Hi Matt, I ran across your blog today. I was on the San Diego Comic-Con committee in 1974. It was my idea to have Kirby, Schulz and Myers do that jam drawing. Turned out pretty well, don't you think? Best, Barry Alfonso

Qwak! is een arcadespel van Atari uit 1974. Het spel is een simulatie van de jacht op eenden waarbij de speler met behulp van een lichtpistool, in de vorm van een jachtgeweer, dient te mikken op deze vogels die op het computerscherm verschijnen.[1]

Qwak! is voor n speler. Over het scherm vliegt hoogstens n eend op hetzelfde ogenblik. De speler dient met zijn lichtpistool de eend te raken en krijgt daarvoor drie kogels. Indien de eend wordt geraakt, zal een jachthond het veld inlopen om de eend op te halen.[2] Indien de eend werd neergeschoten, zal even later een volgende eend over het scherm vliegen. De speler dient binnen een bepaalde tijdlimiet een bepaald aantal eenden neer te schieten. Het spel is afgelopen wanneer dit doel niet wordt bereikt.

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