Programmer(s) Matthew Hubbard Initial release date 1983 Publisher Activision Mode Single-player video game | Release date(s) 1983 Developer Activision Genre Action game Platform Atari 2600 | |
Similar Crackpots, Oink!, Frostbite, Barnstorming, Freeway | ||
Dolphin is a side-scrolling video game created by Matthew Hubbard for the Atari 2600 and released by Activision in 1983. Hubbard later designed Zenji for Activision.
Gameplay
The player assumes the persona of a dolphin attempting to flee from a giant squid. It must not only navigate packs of seahorses which, if a collision occurs, slows the dolphin's speed, the player must navigate both forward-moving currents (indicated by an arrow pointed in the direction of the player's movement) and, conversely, backward-moving currents. The former permits the player to accelerate while the latter slows the player's rate of progression. Occasionally a seagull will appear above the water's surface which, if touched, permits the player a short period wherein he or she is invincible and, during this time, is able to touch the squid and drive it away.
Dolphin forced the player to be dependent upon the soundtrack of the game in order to survive. When packs of seahorses were upcoming, the dolphin's sonar would sounds off: A high pitch indicated an opening in the pack near the water's surface; a lower resonance indicated a seafloor doorway.
Also, the game permits a player to move in the traditional left-to-right linear direction typical of video games during the person as well as reverse course if he or she so chooses.