Tempest 1981

About

Tempest is a 1981 arcade game by Atari Inc., designed and programmed by Dave Theurer. It takes place on a three-dimensional surface, sometimes wrapped into a tube, which is viewed from one end and is divided into a dozen or more segments or lanes. The player controls a claw-shaped spaceship (named Blaster) that crawls along the near edge of the playfield, moving from segment to segment. Tempest was one of the first games to use Atari's Color-QuadraScan vector display technology. It was also the first game to allow the player to choose their starting level (a system Atari dubbed "SkillStep"). This feature increases the maximum starting level depending on the player's performance in the previous game, essentially allowing the player to continue. An official port was released for the Atari ST. An official port that bears the Atari logo was released by Superior Software for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron in 1985, and another by Electric Dreams for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC in 1987. Versions for the Atari 2600 and 5200 were in the works in Atari, Inc. during 1984, and unfinished prototypes exist for both of them.

Story

You control a yellow crab-shaped shooter that travels along the outside rim of a 3-dimensional tunnel, shooting enemies down the alleys of the tunnel while avoiding any coming down the alleys. The tunnel takes on many different forms, and the shooter has a special "superzapper" that enables it to kill all enemies present in the tunnel.

What is happening now

Tempest is a classic arcade shooter from 1981 that brought vector-based gameplay to cabinets and was later ported across various home computers including the Spectrum, BBC Micro, and Atari ST. Recent coverage has created some confusion around the Tempest name. News has surfaced regarding The Veti's Wrath, a full single-player expansion for the modern RTS title Tempest Rising, which will add new campaign missions. Separately, leakers have uncovered information about an upcoming Apex Legends character internally codenamed Tempest, reportedly slated for Season 32. These developments are unrelated to the original arcade classic, highlighting how the Tempest name has been reused across different games and eras.