Variations on a maze

In graphical computer games, one common feature of the many different 2D maze games from the period is orientation: all are rectilinear and aligned to the Cartesian axes, rather than being diagonal. This similarity, it turns out, is constituitive of the category -- in fact, it is even more important than the degree to which given games are maze-like, or what impact their maze-ness has on gameplay. Different games have different maze aesthetics. The arcade game ''Gotcha'' (1973) stages a game of tag between two players in a maze-like field of disconnected partitions which served as an obstacle course. Conversly, the arcade game ''The Amazing Maze Game'' (1976) implements a race (two-player or against a computer) to solve a classic continuous closed maze. A similar implementation on the home Atari VCS, ''Maze Craze'' (1978) provides a playable random maze generator as the field for a very a large number of games, including races and tag, and includes modes with invisible walls where the maze must be interactively felt out and remembered.

In graphical computer games, one common feature of the many different 2D maze games from the period is orientation: all are rectilinear and aligned to the Cartesian axes, rather than being diagonal. This similarity, it turns out, is constituitive of the category -- in fact, it is even more important than the degree to which given games are maze-like, or what impact their maze-ness has on gameplay. Different games have different maze aesthetics. The arcade game ''Gotcha'' (1973) stages a game of tag between two players in a maze-like field of disconnected partitions which served as an obstacle course. Conversly, the arcade game ''The Amazing Maze Game'' (1976) implements a race (two-player or against a computer) to solve a classic continuous closed maze. A similar implementation on the home Atari VCS, ''Maze Craze'' (1978) provides a playable random maze generator as the field for a very a large number of games, including races and tag, and includes modes with invisible walls where the maze must be interactively felt out and remembered.

[[Image:Game-Pac-Man-Atari2600-(1982).gif|thumb|160px|''Pac-Man'' (1982 Atari VCS)]]

[[Image:Game-Pac-Man-Atari2600-(1982).gif|thumb|160px|''Pac-Man'' (1982 Atari VCS)]]

== Notes ==

== Notes ==

[[Image:Atari2600-Adventure-v2-(vgmaps).png|thumb|200px|Map of ''Adventure'' for Atari 2600 (VGmaps)]]

[[Image:Atari2600-Adventure-v2-(vgmaps).png|thumb|200px|Map of ''Adventure'' for Atari 2600 (VGmaps)]]