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{{for|the act of winning or losing fights with a gun|gunfight}}
{{for|the act of winning or losing fights with a gun|gunfight}}


{{Refimprove|date=July 2010}}
{{Infobox VG
{{Infobox VG
|title = Gun Fight
|title = Gun Fight / Western Gun
|image = [[File:Gun fight arcade flyer.jpg|250px]]
|image = [[File:Gun fight arcade flyer.jpg|250px]]
|developer = [[Taito Corporation|Taito]] (''Western Gun'') <br> [[Midway Games|Midway]] (''Gun Fight'')
|developer = [[Taito Corporation|Taito]]
|publisher = [[Taito Corporation|Taito]] (Japan) <br> [[Midway Games|Midway]] (United States)
|publisher = [[Taito Corporation|Taito]] (Japan & Europe) <br> [[Midway Games|Midway]] (United States)
|designer = [[Tomohiro Nishikado]]
|designer = [[Tomohiro Nishikado]]
|programmer = [[Tomohiro Nishikado]] (JP) <br> [[Dave Nutting]] (US)
|programmer = [[Tomohiro Nishikado]] (JP) <br> [[Dave Nutting]] (US)
|series =
|series = ''Gun Fight''
|engine =
|engine =
|released = [[1975 in video gaming|1975]]
|released = '''Arcade''' {{vgrelease|JP=[[1975 in video gaming|1975]]|NA=1975|EU=1975}} '''Astrocade''' {{vgrelease|NA=1978}} '''Atari''' {{vgrelease|NA=1983}} '''Commodore''' {{vgrelease|NA=1987}}
|genre = [[Multi-directional shooter]] <br> [[Run and gun]]
|genre = [[Multi-directional shooter]] <br> [[Run and gun]]
|modes = [[Multiplayer game|2-player]]
|modes = [[Multiplayer game|Two-player]]
|cabinet = Upright
|cabinet = Upright
⚫
|display = Low resolution [[monochrome]]
|input = [[Joystick]]
|arcade system =
|arcade system =
|cpu = [[Intel 8080]]
|sound =
⚫
|display = Low resolution [[monochrome]]
|arcade system =
|platforms = [[Arcade game|Arcade]]
|platforms = [[Arcade game|Arcade]]
|input =
}}
}}


'''''Gun Fight''''' is an [[arcade game]] that was released by [[Midway Games]] in 1975, based on the [[Tomohiro Nishikado]] designed [[Taito Corporation|Taito]] game '''''Western Gun''''' released in Japan earlier that year.<ref name=Kotaku>Stephen Totilo, [http://kotaku.com/5626466/in-search-of-the-first-video-game-gun In Search Of The First Video Game Gun], [[Kotaku]]</ref><ref name=Kohler>Chris Kohler (2005), ''Power-up: how Japanese video games gave the world an extra life'', p. 18, [[BradyGames]], ISBN 0744004241</ref> The theme of the game involves two [[Old West]] [[cowboy]]s armed with a revolver and squaring off in a duel. Whoever shoots the other cowboy first wins the duel. Unlike in a real-life duel, however, both cowboys get numerous opportunities to duel in order to score points (one point per successful draw).
'''''Gun Fight''''', known as '''''Western Gun''''' in Japan, is an [[Arcade game|arcade]] [[shooter game]] designed by [[Tomohiro Nishikado]],<ref name="Kohler"/> and released by [[Taito Corporation|Taito]] in Japan<ref name="Kotaku"/> and Europe<ref>{{cite web|title=Western Gun|work=The Arcade Flyer Archive|publisher=[[Killer List of Video Games]]|url=http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=1358|accessdate=2011-04-02}}</ref> and by [[Midway Games]] in the United States.<ref name="Kohler">{{citation|author=Chris Kohler|year=2005|title=Power-up: how Japanese video games gave the world an extra life|page=18|publisher=[[BradyGames]]|isbn=0744004241|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=auMTAQAAIAAJ|accessdate=2011-03-27}}</ref><ref name="Kotaku">{{cite web|author=Stephen Totilo|title=In Search Of The First Video Game Gun|publisher=[[Kotaku]]|date=August 31, 2010|url=http://kotaku.com/5626466/in-search-of-the-first-video-game-gun|accessdate=2011-03-27}}</ref> The theme of the game involves two [[Old West]] [[cowboy]]s armed with a revolver and squaring off in a duel. Whoever shoots the other cowboy first wins the duel. Unlike in a real-life duel, however, both cowboys get numerous opportunities to duel in order to score points (one point per successful draw).<ref name="Kotaku"/> The game was a success in the [[Video arcade|arcades]],<ref name="Steinberg"/><ref>{{citation|title=Weed: 420 Things You Didn't Know (Or Remember) About Cannabis|author=I. M. Stoned|publisher=[[Adams Media]]|year=2009|isbn=1440503494|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=wrDGMocQr6oC|accessdate=2011-04-02|page=158|quote=Before you assume it required you to type things in like “Go North” or “Examine Corpse,” you should know that Gun Fight was the ''[[Halo (series)|Halo]]'' of its day.}}</ref> and was later ported to the [[Bally Astrocade]] console<ref name="Steinberg"/> and several computer platforms.<ref name="allgame"/><ref name="atari"/>


==Gameplay and story==
==Gameplay and story==
The game is historically significant for several reasons.<ref name="allgame">{{allgame|10214|Gun Fight}}</ref> ''Western Gun'' was an early [[run and gun|run & gun]], [[multi-directional shooter]],<ref name="Kotaku"/> that could be played in [[Single-player video game|single-player]] or [[Multiplayer|two-player]]. It also introduced [[video game violence]], being the first video game to depict human-to-human [[Action game|combat]],<ref name="Steinberg">{{citation|title=Boy Culture: An Encyclopedia|volume=1|author=Shirley R. Steinberg|editor=Shirley R. Steinberg, Michael Kehler, Lindsay Cornish|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|year=2010|isbn=0313350809|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=XRGEIqzv5rsC|accessdate=2011-04-02|page=451}}</ref> and the first to depict a [[gun]] on screen.<ref name="Kotaku"/>
''Western Gun'' was an early [[Multiplayer|two-player]], [[run and gun|run & gun]], [[multi-directional shooter]]. It was also the first video game to depict a gun on screen, introduced two distinct controls per player, with one [[joystick]] for moving the computerized cowboy around on the screen and the other for changing the shooting direction.<ref name=Kotaku>Stephen Totilo, [http://kotaku.com/5626466/in-search-of-the-first-video-game-gun In Search Of The First Video Game Gun][[Kotaku]]</ref>
Unlike most other arcade games, ''Western Gun'' / ''Gun Fight'' has the main [[joystick]] on the right instead of the left. It was the first known video game to feature [[Player character|game characters]] and fragments of story through its visual presentation.<ref name="kohler19">Chris Kohler (2005), ''Power-up: how Japanese video games gave the world an extra life'', p. 19, [[BradyGames]], ISBN 0744004241</ref>


The game introduced [[Dual analog control|dual-stick]] controls,<ref name="Ashcraft">{{citation|title=Arcade Mania: The Turbo-charged World of Japan's Game Centers|author=Brian Ashcraft & Jean Snow|publisher=[[Kodansha International]]|year=2008|isbn=4770030789}}</ref> using two distinct [[joystick]] controls per player, with one eight-way joystick for moving the computerized cowboy around on the screen and the other for changing the shooting direction.<ref name="Kotaku"/><ref>{{KLOV game|10420|Western Gun}}</ref> Unlike later games, ''Western Gun'' / ''Gun Fight'' has the main joystick on the right instead of the left. It was also the first known video game to feature [[Player character|game characters]] and fragments of story through its visual presentation.<ref name="kohler19">{{citation|author=Chris Kohler|year=2005|title=Power-up: how Japanese video games gave the world an extra life|page=19|publisher=[[BradyGames]]|isbn=0744004241|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=auMTAQAAIAAJ|accessdate=2011-03-27}}</ref> The [[player character]]s used in the game represented [[Avatar (computing)|avatars]] for the players,<ref name="Steinberg"/> and would yell "Got me!" when one of them is shot.<ref name="kohler19"/>
⚫
==Development and technology==
⚫
Taito licensed its game ''Western Gun'' to Midway for release in North America (the second such license after the 1974 [[scrolling]] [[racing video game|racing game]] ''[[Racing video game#1970s|Speed Race]]'') The title ''Western Gun'', while making perfect sense for [[Engrish|Japanese audiences]] in that it conveys the setting and theme as simply as possible, was considered to have sounded odd to American audiences, so it was renamed ''Gun Fight'' instead for its American localization.<ref>Chris Kohler (2005), ''Power-up: how Japanese video games gave the world an extra life'', p. 211, [[BradyGames]], ISBN 0744004241</ref>


Other features of the game included obstacles between the characters, including a [[cactus]],<ref name="Wilson">{{citation|title=High score! The illustrated history of electronic games|author=Rusel DeMaria & Johnny L. Wilson|edition=2|publisher=[[McGraw-Hill Professional]]|year=2003|isbn=0072231726|pages=24-5|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=HJNvZLvpCEQC&pg|accessdate=2011-04-02}}</ref> and in later [[Level (gaming)|levels]], pine trees and moving wagons; these objects serve to [[Cover system|provide cover]] for the players and can be [[Destructible environment|destructible]]. The guns have limited ammunition, with each player given six bullets; a round ends if both players run out of ammo.<ref name="allgame"/> Gunshots can also ricochet off the top or bottom edges of the playfield, allowing for indirect hits to be used as a possible [[Strategy video game|strategy]].<ref name="allgame"/><ref name="Wilson"/>
⚫
[[Tomohiro Nishikado]]'s original ''Western Gun'' design was based on [[discrete logic]], like most video arcade games of the time.<ref name=Kotaku/><ref name=Kohler/> When [[Dave Nutting]] adapted it for Midway, he decided to base it on the [[Intel 8080]], which made ''Gun Fight'' the first video arcade game to use a [[microprocessor]]<ref name=Kent>Steve L. Kent (2001), ''The ultimate history of video games: from Pong to Pokémon and beyond : the story behind the craze that touched our lives and changed the world'', p. 64, Prima, ISBN 0761536434</ref>, after his company Dave Nutting Associates had already included the first microprocessor in a pinball machine it licensed this technology for, [[Spirit of '76 (pinball)|Spirit of '76]]. Nishikado believed that his original version was more fun, but he was impressed with the improved graphics and smoother animation<ref name="kohler19" /> of ''Gun Fight''. This led him to design microprocessors into his subsequent games, including the [[Blockbuster (entertainment)|blockbuster]] 1978 [[shoot 'em up]] game ''[[Space Invaders]]''.<ref name=Kohler/>


⚫
==Development and technology==
The game uses a black-and-white raster [[Computer display|monitor]] and a yellow screen overlay.
⚫
Taito licensed its game ''Western Gun'' to Midway for release in North America, the second such license after the 1974 [[scrolling]] [[Racing video game|racing game]] ''[[Tomohiro Nishikado#Speed Race|Speed Race]]'',<ref name="Kohler-211">{{citation|author=Chris Kohler|year=2005|title=Power-up: how Japanese video games gave the world an extra life|page=211|publisher=[[BradyGames]]|isbn=0744004241|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=auMTAQAAIAAJ|accessdate=2011-03-27}}</ref> also designed by Tomohiro Nishikado.<ref name="Kohler-16"/> The title ''Western Gun'', while making perfect sense for [[Engrish|Japanese audiences]] in that it conveys the setting and theme as simply as possible, was considered to have sounded odd to American audiences, so it was renamed ''Gun Fight'' instead for its American localization.<ref name="Kohler-211"/>

⚫
[[Tomohiro Nishikado]]'s original ''Western Gun'' design was based on [[discrete logic]], like most video arcade games of the time.<ref name="Kohler"/> When [[Dave Nutting]] adapted it for Midway, he decided to base it on the [[Intel 8080]], which made ''Gun Fight'' the first video arcade game to use a [[microprocessor]],<ref name=Kent>Steve L. Kent (2001), ''The ultimate history of video games: from Pong to Pokémon and beyond : the story behind the craze that touched our lives and changed the world'', p. 64, Prima, ISBN 0761536434</ref> after his company Dave Nutting Associates had already included the first arcade microprocessor in a pinball machine it licensed this technology for, [[Spirit of '76 (pinball)|Spirit of '76]]. Nishikado believed that his original version was more fun, but was impressed with the improved graphics and smoother animation of Midway's version.<ref>{{citation|author=Chris Kohler|year=2005|title=Power-up: how Japanese video games gave the world an extra life|page=19|publisher=[[BradyGames]]|isbn=0744004241|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=auMTAQAAIAAJ|accessdate=2011-03-27|quote=As a game, I thought our version of Western Gun was more fun. But just from using a microprocessor, the walking animation became much smoother and prettier in Midway's version.}}</ref> This led him to design microprocessors into his subsequent games, including the [[Blockbuster (entertainment)|blockbuster]] 1978 [[shoot 'em up]] game ''[[Space Invaders]]''.<ref name=Kohler/> ''Gun Fight'' uses a black-and-white [[Raster graphics|raster]] [[Computer display|monitor]] and a yellow screen overlay.


==Series==
==Series==
Line 40: Line 41:


==Ports==
==Ports==
In 1978,<ref>{{allgame|18231|Gunfight (Bally Professional Arcade)}}</ref> the game was introduced to the home market with its [[Porting|port]] to the [[Bally Astrocade]] console,<ref name="Steinberg"/> which included a color version of the game within the system's [[Read only memory|ROM]].<ref>{{citation|title=High score! The illustrated history of electronic games|author=Rusel DeMaria & Johnny L. Wilson|edition=2|publisher=[[McGraw-Hill Professional]]|year=2003|isbn=0072231726|page=48|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=HJNvZLvpCEQC&pg|accessdate=2011-04-02}}</ref> That same year, [[David Crane (programmer)|David Crane]] programmed his own version of the game, entitled ''Outlaw'', released by [[Atari]] for the [[Atari 2600]] console.<ref name="Weiss">{{citation|title=Classic home video games, 1972-1984: a complete reference guide|author=Brett Weiss|publisher=[[McFarland & Company|McFarland]]|year=2007|isbn=0786432268|page=87|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=BzxTtml8Jq4C&pg=PA87|accessdate=2011-04-02}}</ref>
⚫
In 1983 [[Epyx]] [[porting|ported]] ''Gun Fight'' and another Midway game, ''[[Sea Wolf (arcade game)|Sea Wolf II]]'', to the [[Atari 8-bit family]], and released them in an "Arcade Classics" compilation.<ref name="atari">

⚫
In 1983, [[Epyx]] ported ''Gun Fight'' and another Midway game, ''[[Sea Wolf (arcade game)|Sea Wolf II]]'', to the [[Atari 8-bit family]], and released them in an "Arcade Classics" compilation.<ref name="atari">
{{cite web
{{cite web
| title = Atarimania - Arcade Classics: Sea Wolf II / Gun Fight
| title = Atarimania - Arcade Classics: Sea Wolf II / Gun Fight
| url=http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-arcade-classics-seawolf-ii-gun-fight_1169.html
| url=http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-arcade-classics-seawolf-ii-gun-fight_1169.html
| accessdate = 2011-02-01 }}</ref> In 1987, [[Interceptor Micros|Interceptor Software]] ported the game to the [[Commodore 64]] and [[Commodore 128]] computers.<ref>{{allgame|18231|Gunfight (Commodore 64/128)}}</ref>
| accessdate = 2011-02-01 }}</ref>


==Popular culture==
==Popular culture==
Line 53: Line 56:


==External links==
==External links==
⚫
*{{KLOV game|id=8039}}
*[http://www.arcade-history.com/index.php?page=detail&id=1040 Arcade-History.com Gun Fight page]
*[http://www.arcade-history.com/index.php?page=detail&id=1040 Arcade-History.com Gun Fight page]
⚫
*{{KLOV game|id=8039}}

{{shooter-videogame-stub}}
{{Taito-videogame-stub}}


[[Category:Arcade games]]
[[Category:Arcade games]]

Revision as of 15:57, 2 April 2011

For the act of winning or losing fights with a gun, see gunfight.
Gun Fight / Western Gun
Developer(s)Taito
Publisher(s)Taito (Japan & Europe)
Midway (United States)
Designer(s)Tomohiro Nishikado
Programmer(s)Tomohiro Nishikado (JP)
Dave Nutting (US)
SeriesGun Fight
Platform(s)Arcade
ReleaseArcade Astrocade Atari Commodore
Genre(s)Multi-directional shooter
Run and gun
Mode(s)Two-player

Gun Fight, known as Western Gun in Japan, is an arcade shooter game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado,[1] and released by Taito in Japan[2] and Europe[3] and by Midway Games in the United States.[1][2] The theme of the game involves two Old West cowboys armed with a revolver and squaring off in a duel. Whoever shoots the other cowboy first wins the duel. Unlike in a real-life duel, however, both cowboys get numerous opportunities to duel in order to score points (one point per successful draw).[2] The game was a success in the arcades,[4][5] and was later ported to the Bally Astrocade console[4] and several computer platforms.[6][7]

Gameplay and story

The game is historically significant for several reasons.[6] Western Gun was an early run & gun, multi-directional shooter,[2] that could be played in single-player or two-player. It also introduced video game violence, being the first video game to depict human-to-human combat,[4] and the first to depict a gun on screen.[2]

The game introduced dual-stick controls,[8] using two distinct joystick controls per player, with one eight-way joystick for moving the computerized cowboy around on the screen and the other for changing the shooting direction.[2][9] Unlike later games, Western Gun / Gun Fight has the main joystick on the right instead of the left. It was also the first known video game to feature game characters and fragments of story through its visual presentation.[10] The player characters used in the game represented avatars for the players,[4] and would yell "Got me!" when one of them is shot.[10]

Other features of the game included obstacles between the characters, including a cactus,[11] and in later levels, pine trees and moving wagons; these objects serve to provide cover for the players and can be destructible. The guns have limited ammunition, with each player given six bullets; a round ends if both players run out of ammo.[6] Gunshots can also ricochet off the top or bottom edges of the playfield, allowing for indirect hits to be used as a possible strategy.[6][11]

Development and technology

Taito licensed its game Western Gun to Midway for release in North America, the second such license after the 1974 scrolling racing game Speed Race,[12] also designed by Tomohiro Nishikado.[13] The title Western Gun, while making perfect sense for Japanese audiences in that it conveys the setting and theme as simply as possible, was considered to have sounded odd to American audiences, so it was renamed Gun Fight instead for its American localization.[12]

Tomohiro Nishikado's original Western Gun design was based on discrete logic, like most video arcade games of the time.[1] When Dave Nutting adapted it for Midway, he decided to base it on the Intel 8080, which made Gun Fight the first video arcade game to use a microprocessor,[14] after his company Dave Nutting Associates had already included the first arcade microprocessor in a pinball machine it licensed this technology for, Spirit of '76. Nishikado believed that his original version was more fun, but was impressed with the improved graphics and smoother animation of Midway's version.[15] This led him to design microprocessors into his subsequent games, including the blockbuster 1978 shoot 'em up game Space Invaders.[1] Gun Fight uses a black-and-white raster monitor and a yellow screen overlay.

Series

  1. Gun Fight (1975)
  2. Boot Hill (1977)

Ports

In 1978,[16] the game was introduced to the home market with its port to the Bally Astrocade console,[4] which included a color version of the game within the system's ROM.[17] That same year, David Crane programmed his own version of the game, entitled Outlaw, released by Atari for the Atari 2600 console.[18]

In 1983, Epyx ported Gun Fight and another Midway game, Sea Wolf II, to the Atari 8-bit family, and released them in an "Arcade Classics" compilation.[7] In 1987, Interceptor Software ported the game to the Commodore 64 and Commodore 128 computers.[19]

In 1978 movie Dawn of the Dead, Peter and FlyBoy are enjoying this game. Peter loses as the allusion of Flyboy is bad shooter in real life.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Chris Kohler (2005), Power-up: how Japanese video games gave the world an extra life, BradyGames, p. 18, ISBN 0744004241, retrieved 2011-03-27
  2. ^ a b c d e f Stephen Totilo (August 31, 2010). "In Search Of The First Video Game Gun". Kotaku. Retrieved 2011-03-27.
  3. ^ "Western Gun". The Arcade Flyer Archive. Killer List of Video Games. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
  4. ^ a b c d e Shirley R. Steinberg (2010), Shirley R. Steinberg, Michael Kehler, Lindsay Cornish (ed.), Boy Culture: An Encyclopedia, vol. 1, ABC-CLIO, p. 451, ISBN 0313350809, retrieved 2011-04-02{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
  5. ^ I. M. Stoned (2009), Weed: 420 Things You Didn't Know (Or Remember) About Cannabis, Adams Media, p. 158, ISBN 1440503494, retrieved 2011-04-02, Before you assume it required you to type things in like "Go North" or "Examine Corpse," you should know that Gun Fight was the Halo of its day.
  6. ^ a b c d Template:Allgame
  7. ^ a b "Atarimania - Arcade Classics: Sea Wolf II / Gun Fight". Retrieved 2011-02-01.
  8. ^ Brian Ashcraft & Jean Snow (2008), Arcade Mania: The Turbo-charged World of Japan's Game Centers, Kodansha International, ISBN 4770030789
  9. ^ Western Gun at the Killer List of Videogames
  10. ^ a b Chris Kohler (2005), Power-up: how Japanese video games gave the world an extra life, BradyGames, p. 19, ISBN 0744004241, retrieved 2011-03-27
  11. ^ a b Rusel DeMaria & Johnny L. Wilson (2003), High score! The illustrated history of electronic games (2 ed.), McGraw-Hill Professional, pp. 24–5, ISBN 0072231726, retrieved 2011-04-02
  12. ^ a b Chris Kohler (2005), Power-up: how Japanese video games gave the world an extra life, BradyGames, p. 211, ISBN 0744004241, retrieved 2011-03-27
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kohler-16 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Steve L. Kent (2001), The ultimate history of video games: from Pong to Pokémon and beyond : the story behind the craze that touched our lives and changed the world, p. 64, Prima, ISBN 0761536434
  15. ^ Chris Kohler (2005), Power-up: how Japanese video games gave the world an extra life, BradyGames, p. 19, ISBN 0744004241, retrieved 2011-03-27, As a game, I thought our version of Western Gun was more fun. But just from using a microprocessor, the walking animation became much smoother and prettier in Midway's version.
  16. ^ Template:Allgame
  17. ^ Rusel DeMaria & Johnny L. Wilson (2003), High score! The illustrated history of electronic games (2 ed.), McGraw-Hill Professional, p. 48, ISBN 0072231726, retrieved 2011-04-02
  18. ^ Brett Weiss (2007), Classic home video games, 1972-1984: a complete reference guide, McFarland, p. 87, ISBN 0786432268, retrieved 2011-04-02
  19. ^ Template:Allgame
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