Defender
Trivia
1001 Video Games
The Arcade version of Defender appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.
Arcade success
The original Defender arcade was slow to become a hit when it was released as many thought it was too difficult due to its control configuration of five buttons and a joystick. It ultimately gained many fans and remained popular throughout the 1980s. Defender has been described in Gamasutra as "quite possibly, the hardest significant game there is".
Board game
In 1983, Entex adapted this video game into a board game.
Comic
Atari's 2600 release of Defender included the comic book Atari Force #1. Here is that comic at AtariAge.com
Development
Game creator Eugene Jarvis cites Space Invaders and Asteroids as major influences on the design of Defender.
[Source: Retro Gamer Magazine, Load 55]
Legacy
Eugene Jarvis, creator of both Defender and its sequel Stargate, says that although the gameplay and coding of Stargate is more refined, he prefers the relative simplicity of the original Defender.
[Source: Retro Gamer Magazine, Load 55]
References to the game
- Defender a song inspired by it on the full-length Pac-Man Fever album - The Defender.
- In the 1983 episode Smaller Than Life from the TV series Magnum P.I., a kid is seen playing Defender on an Atari 800.
Information also contributed by LepricahnsGold, Nélio, PCGamer77, Pseudo_Intellectual and FatherJack
Trivia contributed by Guy Chapman, Patrick Bregger, FatherJack.