Genre(s) Overhead view action Developer Star Systems Software Platform Atari 8-bit family | Initial release date 1982 Designer Russ Wet | |
Publishers Adventure International, Americana Software Limited Similar Adventure International games, Other games | ||
Preppie! is an action video game for the Atari 8-bit family. The game was created by Russ Wetmore as a re-themed version of Frogger and published by Adventure International in 1982.
Contents
Preppie! was followed by Preppie! II, also by Wetmore, in 1983. The sequel is a maze game. In January 2016, Russ Wetmore released the source code of Preppie!, Preppie II, and Sea Dragon to the public on the Internet Archive.
Gameplay
Preppie!'s gameplay follows the design established by Frogger: cross lanes of traffic, then maneuver across water by jumping on floating objects. The frog is recast as a preppy, and the setting moved to a country club where traffic consists of golf carts and reel mower-pushing groundskeepers, and canoes occupy the water (in addition to alligators and logs).
Instead of simply crossing from one side to the other, as in Frogger, the goal is to retrieve a golf ball from the top of the screen, then return it to the bottom of the screen. When all golf balls have been collected, the level is over. There are ten levels in all.
Reception
Bill Kunkel, in a 1983 review for Electronic Games, wrote "Sure it sounds familiar, but what elevates Preppie! from the score of Frogger-clones on the software market is the enchanting four-part harmony sound effects and the stunning graphics."
A 1983 Compute! review also lauded the graphics and stated, "this program easily ranks among the best games to appear for the Atari computer to date."
In a review for Antic, Robert DeWitt concluded "Al has a real winner here, even if the 'cover' concept is only remotely related to the game." In a subsequent issue, Preppie! was one of ten games chosen by Antic to be "among the most popular, interesting, and valuable programs yet written for your amusement."
Preppie! II
Released in 1983, Preppie! II is a similarly-themed maze game where the object is to paint the maze pink by moving over it. Elements of the original return as obstacles, including giant frogs, golf carts, and lawn mowers. The joystick button activates a time-limited cloak ability which allows the player to pass through the other occupants of the maze.
Preppie! 3
Wetmore mentioned a possible third game in the series when interviewed by Electronic Games in 1983, giving the tentative title as Preppies in Space. He was asked about this in 2005, and his response was posted to the Atari Age forums:
Some conceptual work was done on Preppie 3, but nothing ever came of it. When I was interviewed for Electronic Games (the only place I ever mentioned P3) I was in New York for an awards ceremony and had just come from a brainstorming session to come up with some talking points for the press. The interview was more to generate buzz than to promote future products, and when the bottom fell out of the games market in the coming months, I gave up game writing to focus on other types of software, notably Homepak.