Book/Game
The Tempest game was made in October 1981. It was developed by Atari, Inc. Atari was responsible for popular games including, Pac-Man, Pong, Space Invaders, and Donkey Kong. The game can be played with 2 people in alternating turns. Tempest is played on the Cabaret and Cocktail machines.
The goal of Tempest is to survive the longest and score the most points by eliminating enemies. The game is played on a 3D field and the player is meant to eliminate or avoid the oncoming enemies. Players have the option of moving left to right on the field and are able to shoot the blaster to eleminate enemies. The ship is equipped with the basic rapid-fire blasters as well as a Superzapper (once per level) which destroys all the enemies on the field. Players can hold up to 6 ships (lives) at once, and they lose lives when enemies come in contact with the ship or if they shoot the ship. The game's new level system allows for every level to be unique with a random order of appearance from the enemies. After level 99 the level number stops increasing and players simply play to get a high score.