Dimension X (video game)
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Americana Software (UK)
| Dimension X | |
|---|---|
 UK box cover | |
| Developer | Synapse Software |
| Publishers | Synapse Software Americana Software (UK) |
| Designer | Steve Hales[1] |
| Platform | Atari 8-bit |
| Release | 1984 |
| Genre | Vehicular combat |
| Mode | Single-player |
Dimension X is a first-person vehicular combat game for Atari 8-bit computers released in 1984 by Synapse Software. It was designed by Steve Hales, who previously wrote Slime and Fort Apocalypse for Synapse.[1] Dimension X has gameplay similar to Atari's Battlezone and Novagen's Encounter (the latter of which was distributed in the US by Synapse).[2] The player controls an attack craft hovering over a checkerboard-patterned landscape while to destroy enemy ships.
The game was advertised far in advance of its release, emphasizing the 3D effect of the flat terrain. Magazine ads included features which did not exist or were not as impressive in the final game which contributed to a negative reception. The manual includes instructions for a Commodore 64 version of the game,[3] but it was never completed nor released.[4]
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The game is played from a first-person perspective, where the player sits inside the cockpit of a flying vehicle and fires missiles at "Regillian" enemies. Many elements of Dimension X have analogs in Star Raiders.[5] The game world consists of a 5x5 grid of sectors which need to be cleared of Regillians. In Star Raiders the enemies attempt to surround and destroy sectors containing motherships; here the Regillians attempt to surround and destroy a sector containing the capitol. Systems of the player's ship can be damaged by enemy fire, such as the scanner and map.[3] Moving between sectors requires holding a crosshair steady in addition to moving over and under obstacles.
Development
Dimension X was advertised over nine months before being available, the ads featuring what appeared to be a texture-mapped ground plane using a technique promoted as "altered perspective scrolling".[5] The printed ad also showed a 64 sector map on its own screen, which was not in the final game.[5] In Halcyon Days: Interviews with Classic Computer and Video Game Programmers, designer Steve Hales said:
We had a cool graphic display, but no game. [Synapse co-founder Ihor Wolosenko] and I tried to create a game, but it just wasn't fun. We ended up with a B+, or even a C game. One of the first lessons in game design I ever got.[6]
When the game was eventually released, it was met with generally poor reviews.