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I, ROBOT
A GAME THAT WAS SO FAR AHEAD OF ITS TIME, THE PUBLIC JUST COULDN'T KEEP UP
Format: Arcade
Release: 1983
Publisher: Atari
Developer: In-House
In the early Eighties, Atari had a vision. Eager to push the gaming boundaries further than ever before, it was the company's dream to create a polygonal driving game. When it became obvious that current hardware wasn't up to the task though, Atari took a change of direction and I, Robot became a reality (incidentally, it took until the 1989 release of Hard Drivin' for Atari to get its polygonal racer).
Created by Dave Theurer - the brain behind Tempest - I, Robot was initially called Ice Castles, though this was later changed when Theurer added an Orwell-esque storyline. Players were cast in the role of Unhappy Interface Robot #1984 who was rising up against Big Brother and his many Evil Eyes. Each Evil Eye guarded the entrance to a pyramid and was protected by a shield that could only be penetrated by turning all the red spaces on the playing field blue. On top of this, players had to avoid the game's many enemies, and the huge Evil Eyes would destroy you if you jumped whenever they turned red.
Once the shield was deactivated, it was a simple task to hop over to the pyramid and prepare for the next stage. A smaller sub-level that would see your Unhappy Interface Robot flying into space seperated each level of the game and had you destroying as many objects as you could before returning to Earth.
While the game sounded simple on paper, witnessing it in action was another matter entirely, and even now, I, Robot is still a striking (albeit simple looking) title. While polygons had already featured in earlier games, I, Robot was the first title to ever feature flat-shaded, polygon graphics complete with no hidden surfaces. Indeed, when you consider that popular games of the time were Mr Do's Castle, SpyHunter and Bank Panic, you realise just how ambitious I, Robot really was. But although Atari may have created a historically important piece of work, the public weren't quite ready for I, Robot's unique look or its demanding gameplay and the game was a commercial disaster.
Still, for the hardcore gamers that did understand it, I, Robot proved to be an immensely satisfying title that held an astounding amount of depth. Although the very early stages were very easy to negotiate, your Unhappy Interface Robot soon found itself dealing with all sorts of bizarre hazards, including birds, flying saucers and even huge beach balls.
There were also the ever-present Evil Eyes to consider and should you time a jump incorrectly, a laser would quickly teach you the error of your ways by obliterating your poor robot. At the end of every third level, you would finally gain access to the Evil Eye's pyramid. Once inside, you'd need to collect all the available jewels and defeat the Evil Eye, whilst avoiding the inner pyramid's deadly guardians.
[boxout section] As well as being the first game to use filled polygons, I, Robot was also the first machine to use Atari's Hall Effect joystick. Initially conceived as a more reliable replacement for the standard analogue stick of many Atari titles, it actually proved to be the exact opposite and added further to I, Robot's problems. Needless to say, Atari updated the stick and later games that used it tended to be a lot more reliable.
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Working out the best way around I, Robot's levels was vital if you wanted to succeed, and as you got deeper into the game the stages became more complex and even included moving platforms. The flying sub-stages did little to detract from the game's toughness, and rather than being simple padding they became just as important (if not more so, for some players) as the main game.
Indeed, when you watch your Robot fly through his polygon surroundings and face off against a huge flying head, you can't help but think Shigeru Miyamoto might have once played Atari's game and stored a few ideas away in the back of his mind. The comparisons between I, Robot and Star Wing seem too many to be simply down to coincidence.
I, Robot's final trick - and one that proved just how far ahead of its rivals Atari really was - was the way that the playing view could be manipulated in order to increase your score multiplier. By using two buttons, players were able to cycle through 12 different viewpoints - the lower the viewpoint, the higher the score multiplier. The game was always viewed from directly behind your protagonist and only the most battle-hardened and skilled I, Robot playes could make any sort of progress when the game was set on its highest multiplier.
For all its innovative visuals and ideas, I, Robot proved to be too much for the average gamer and it never achieved the success it deserved. Even if it had become a hit, Atari's reliance on the 6116 RAM chip that was placed in every I, Robot board proved to be another contributing factor in the game's downfall, due to many boards continually breaking down (though to be fair, the RAM was just one of many hardware problems I, Robot suffered).
It may have been shunned on its release, but I, Robot is quite simply a stunning technical and gaming achievement, and fully deserves to be regarded as one of the greatest retro games ever.
[boxout section] Doodle City was an interesting extra that was essentially a paint program that enabled you to play about with all the game's polygons. This "ungame" let you spin objects on three different axes, select six orbit patterns for your chosen shapes to follow and even record what you had created. It was also possible to use whatever time you had left to return to the main game. Unsurprisingly, Doodle City was a bit of a non-starter with gamers and many felt annoyed that they had spent a whole credit on what was little more than a time-wasting diversion.
Presentation:
Sparse but slick, with the option of two game modes. 85%
Graphics: Outstanding visuals that still hold up today. 97%
Sound: Very basic, yet still atmospheric. 78%
Gameplay: Extremely well put-together with plenty to learn. 95%
Lifespan: There's a massive amount of levels to negotiate. 96%
OVERALL 93%
GamesTM Retro Volume 1, Highbury Entertainment Ltd. pp.266-247