| Outlaw | |
|---|---|
 Box art by John Enright[1] | |
| Developer | Atari[2] |
| Publisher | Atari[2] |
| Designer | David Crane |
| Platform | Atari 2600 |
| Release | October 1978 |
| Genre | Shooter[2] |
| Modes | Single-player,multiplayer |
Outlaw[a] is a 1978shooter video game developed atAtari byDavid Crane. The game has aWestern setting, where one or two players either aim at targets or fellow gunfighters to reach 10 points in a set time. Several modes are available allowing for different obstacles and rules varying how the players move, how their bullets act and how the obstacles block the bullets.
It was the first video game Crane made for Atari after being hired in 1977. He described the making of it as a "trial by fire" to learn what he could and could not do within the limitations of theAtari Video Computer System (Atari VCS).[b][4] Like many early games for the system,Outlaw is a variation of an existing arcade game, namelyGun Fight (1975). Upon release, it received positive reviews fromCreative Computing,The Space Gamer and theXenia Daily Gazette. It has since been re-released in various Atari-themed compilation packages.
Outlaw is a video game with aWestern theme. Due to the limited technology and graphics of the 1970s, both arcade and console video games displayed artwork with montage of gunfighters, horses and covered wagons in its cabinet and box art to help illustrate these motifs to players.[5]Outlaw can be played in a one or two-player mode. Each player can move up, down, left, and right on the screen. When holding down the button to aim, the player can control the angle the player will shoot at. Releasing the button fires a bullet.[6]
In the one-player mode called "Target Shoot", the player controls the movement of a gunfighter with the joystick and practices shooting the various moving targets that appear. The player has 99 seconds to reach a maximum score of 10 points with one point awarded every time the player hits the moving target. In the two-player modes called "Gunslinger Games", each player controls a gunslinger and scores points for shooting the opposing gunslinger. When a player is hit, they sit down (rather than fall over dead). The first player to reach 10 points wins.[6]
There are several variations to the gameplay. In "Blowaway" mode, bullets are more powerful and can destroy the center obstacles in the game, such as a stage coach, wall or a cactus, which block bullets in other gameplay modes. In "Getaway" mode, players can move immediately after shooting their gun instead of having to wait until their bullet vanishes for the screen or hits a target. In six shooter mode, each player's gun has six bullets and they both receive a new load of ammunition only after both players have used all six of their bullets.[6]
Outlaw was developed byDavid Crane forAtari for theAtari Video Computer System (Atari VCS).[2][b] Crane had previously worked atNational Semiconductor.[7] While playingtennis with his friendAlan Miller, he was told by Miller that Atari was looking for game programmers. After proofreading a newspaper ad Crane's friend had made for the work, he was interviewed the next day at 10 am and had the job by 2 pm. He officially started working for Atari in the third quarter of 1977.[8]Outlaw was the first commercial game he made for the Atari 2600.[9]
In 1976, Atari had released anarcade video game also titledOutlaw in 1976.[2][10] Crane'sOutlaw was not based on the gameplay mechanics of Atari's arcade game, and instead drew inspiration fromMidway's arcade gameGun Fight (1975).[9] He saidOutlaw was influenced byGun Fight and liked the idea of making a game with two opposinggunfighters.[11] This version also reduced the controls to one control stick and button.[12] He described that Atari was eager to quickly develop games based off of popular arcade titles.[13] Other companies had released similar games for their consoles sinceGun Fight's release, such asGunfighter for theRCA Studio II, and an official adaptation ofGun Fight was a built-in game on theBally Professional Arcade.[14]
Crane said thatOutlaw was developed in about six months and that he worked extra hours to complete it.[13] He described developingOutlaw as a "trial by fire", and said he was too ambitious on the project. He later reflected that the best thing about it was learning how to develop the gameplay elements so he could work on more complicated projects in the future and that "as the art advanced, we learned how to process the display kernels more efficiently, yielding more detailed graphics in later games."[4][13]
Outlaw was released for the Atari Video Computer System in October 1978.[9] For theSears release of the Atari VCS under their Tele-Games label, it was titledGunslinger.[9][12][15] Crane said the game sold over 500,000 units.[13] It was re-released in various compilation formats for consoles and personal computers, such as theAtari 80 in One for Windows in 2003 and theAtari Anthology forPlayStation 2 andXbox in 2004, and theAtari 50 compilation in 2022 forNintendo Switch,PlayStation 4,Steam, andXbox One.[16][17] It was also released on portable devices as part of theAtari Greatest Hits release for theNintendo DS andiOS.[18][19] Following the release of theAtari 2600+ console in 2023,Atari SA publishedOutlaw for the system on a physical cartridge.[20][21] The release featured new artwork from Brazilian graphic designer and frequent Atari collaboratorButcher Billy.[21][22][23]
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| AllGame | 3.5/5[24] |
| Game Informer | 7/10[25] |
From contemporary reviews,David H. Ahl ofCreative Computing appeared to have enjoyedOutlaw, stating that "after a couple of glasses of wine, Chris Cef and I went into fits of convulsive laughter playing this game and lost or ability to fire straight. This could happen to you!"[26] Eric Thompson ofThe Space Gamer complimented the graphics and sound.[27] They had few complaints aboutOutlaw other than that the character's gun was hard to see.[27] Dick Cowan of theXenia Daily Gazette found it to be one of the better Atari games, noting that the different variations of it could sustain players' interest.[28]
From retrospective reviews, Brett Alan Weiss, writing forAllGame, said thatOutlaw as a single-player game was overly simplistic and dull and was best played as a multiplayer game where competing against an opponent was much more fun, but was not as strong as the similarCombat (1977). He noted that the graphics were simplistic but typical for an Atari 2600 title of the time period.[24] A review inGame Informer said thatOutlaw was generally fun with the single-player mode becoming dull quickly, while the two-player games had a "simplistic appeal that's hard to deny."[25]
