I, Robot (1983) (Atari) (Arcade) Gameplay video

[naamloos1337]

stunning they made this back in 1983

[Ceefaproductions]

Seeing this and seeing the date almost made my head explode

[stankwho]

Wow this was very advanced for the time! And to think we were all stuck with 2d side scrolling for over a decade after this game was released!

[TheCreepyChuwnLi]

Meanwhile in America : "Let's make Starwing ten years in advance".

[Lastoneremains]

anyone notice all the 1984 references in this game?

[TheRetroPixel1]

As Coheed said, "I Robot will never die."

[BlaineC1972]

Nobody with a brain would say this game was fake.

Williams did an arcade game similar to this... it's in the Midway Treasures collection... but this game is really really cool... reminds of that video game "Bishop of Battle" in the movie Nightmares (1983)

[scottandrewhutchins]

I think people think it's fake because Atari makes them think 2600 even though it clearly says "Arcade."

[hastati88]

for an early 80s game that is very impressive

[BoctorPoo]

Damn awesome vector graphics!

[everett1911]

@BoctorPoo polygon. vector graphics at the time were used in games like battlezone and asteroid, and the vectrex game console ran entirely on vector graphics for its games.

[nanoco1000]

My ears hurt at the high pitched noise :c

[Nookster]

This was sat beside Dragons Lair in my arcade, too hard for me at the time, but to be fair I was only 9 or 10 and the sold 3D world at a low angle (that you could adjust though) with analogue controls was a bit too much for me to get past the first few levels.

My ten pence pieces were few and valuable, so they mostly went elsewhere, and I settled for watching older kids play it.

[CDProductions66]

This would be awesome to have on the Sega 32X or SNES SuperFX IMO

[dallase1]

I remember this game from the 80s and hated it because I could never figure out why I could not land safely because the 3D effect confused me. When Vitura Racing came out I remembers this game and realized that it was the first Polygon game made.

[dedpxl]

This is just unbelievable..

Seriously, 1983? That was before the original Nintendo system was even out.

[mikebola]

@dedpxl this is an arcade game.

[megamanrocks99]

Could you do a video on Doodle City?

[everett1911]

@megamanrocks99 nah. I couldn't figure out how it's supposed to work.

[supsification]

Ahhh. A pyramid with an eye at the top. Subliminal shit everywhere.

[megamanrocks99]

@supsification You people LOOK for that crap. Even if that was the point,he's DESTROYING the thing.

It's just like Doom. Is it telling you to WORSHIP satan? No,YOU'RE KICKING HELL'S ASS.

[supsification]

@megamanrocks99 lol you fool.

[eluap]

I remember this game. It was my absolute favorite back in the arcadian ages. It was the first video game to use a dot-matrix screen. There were 26 levels, and then they would repeat themselves in sequence, but with different color combinations and higher difficulty. I am sure to this day that I have the all-time high score. It was in the millions. Wow, thanks for the memories!

[amodelamateria]

wow, know i feel like an idiot.

star fox? disgusting....

[johnandrewthomas1981]

amazing

[RedFoxProductions10]

No sound?

[HardcoreGamer4Ever]

@RedFoxProductions10 There is. Wait until 1:10, that's where it begins.

[eeyuup]

the law no junping

oh yeah why not *jumps and laser destroys it*

that's why

[MEGAXSTU]

One man saw it coming

[JohnshiBRPG]

Tired of playing video games? relax in doodle city. Best game line ever.

[0SukMunky0]

This is incredible. In 1983 they had polygonal shading? That just blows my mind

[KieferSkunk]

Y'know what's kinda sad? A lot of people look at this and say "Wow, that's really primitive and boring compared to what we have today," not realizing how amazing it was at the time or the sheer amount of work it took to do this stuff back then. I Robot was just one example of the amazing work Atari was doing at the beginning of the video game industry, and it was work like this that made our 3D games of today possible.

[smunp]

Haha, this game is awesome. It took all the way until Star Fox in 1993 for the gaming market to catch up.

And the graphics look nearly identical to Star Fox, complete with laser animations and the polygon face reminiscent of Andross.

[Dant2142]

@smunp And they did it 10 years earlier too.

[pcgummer]

this is the first 3d game

[TheNinwii]

if people in 1983 knew what graphics we have now

[shairaptor]

@TheNinwii todays game mostly bore me because of show off graphics ... and NO gameplay at all

[DeadOmega]

@TheNinwii Pretty sure many of those people who lived in 1983 are still alive now >_>

[TheNinwii]

@DeadOmega

i meant if you could travel back in time to 1983 and show what kind of graphics we have in 2011.

[38Squid]

One of my favourites of the day. Unfortunatly, not many were made, and any surviving cabinet games reside in priviate collections. As mentioned before, WAY ahead of its time.

[Tamanozke]

Really awesome game. Hard too!

But for a first polygon game, it's amazing!

[crocodile2006]

How in fucks name did they make this in 1983?!

[everett1911]

@crocodile2006 with a Motorola 6809 cpu and 4 Atari POKEY chips

[creepytennis]

@everett1911 I *think* the short answer is lots of very clever pre-calculated geometry. Like Tempest.

[slickest1]

@crocodile2006 dave sherman, an atari engineer, created a custom bit-slice 3d coprocessor for this game (known internally as the 'pepperoni' processor. dave theurer programmed the game, and i was the animator. throughput was approx. 2K ploys a sec.

[BudzMcgr33n]

This is fucking awesome!!!

[analogpro7]

I remember 1984, hanging out at 7-11 with my big gulp and pumping the BEST arcade game, i-robot, full of quarters. This was my original video game addiction. Sure wish i could find an emulator for it.

[everett1911]

@analogpro7 of course you can find an emulator for it. it's called mame (multiple arcade machine emulator). you can find roms for any arcade game easily on google.

[TheOlburgen]

Test Drive Unlimited is a Atari game with super nice grapics!

Oh yeh! and there are Atari reggae songs search: Soom T Jahtari!

[teknokrat1]

do we really need ANY more proof that the 1980s was the best time to be alive?

[faoman2007]

HOLLY SHIT IS THIS FROM 1983 !!!!!!!

ITS FUCKING BETTER THAN SEGA 32X !!!!!!

[TheNatedogg56]

@faoman2007 Somebody's obviously never played a real 32X...

[sacrisesma]

It's funny how the graphics are so advanced, and yet there's still no music and the sounds are just basic Atari bleeps and bloops.

[Deokishisu]

@sacrisesma

4 Stereo POKEYs was far from basic in 1983.

[eXpLodingj2ice2]

He does some sweeeeeet ass flips!

[shockqueen]

I so loved this game back in the day!

[TWOhits6]

tryin to play video games from back in the day is just straight boring now.. looks a bit like the old star wars arcade game

[everett1911]

@TWOhits6 you best be joking, bro.

[TWOhits6]

@TWOhits6 sorry REMINDS me of.. and yes straight boring

[megamanrocks99]

@TWOhits6 I take it you like COD more than any REAL game.

[TWOhits6]

@megamanrocks99 call of duty is for crackers... mat mania is where its at

[mikecronis]

I remember playing this back in '83. I remember trying "Doodle City" not realizing it was just a place to draw things and not a game. I never got past stage 5. Very ahead of its time!

[lempeafeawintil]

the music sounds like Day Tripper by the Beatles :P

[energeticallybored]

This was my favorite arcade game when I was 13 or so.

[cant1rac]

this shows what i always thought of atari, so far ahead of the technological curve, it was unreal, unfortuantly poor management saw the company, take the best tech in the buisness and flush it down the commercial toilet.

a real shame the real atari isnt with us anymore, putting out astounding tech like the original vcs/2600, 800xl, st/falcon, and the criminally poorly supported jaguar.

you always get atari bashers every where unfortunatly, even though its obvious this is not a tech demo.

[arnyjk]

How the hell did they do this with the technology in 1983

[everett1911]

@arnyjk They sprinkled it with love.

[Dant2142]

@arnyjk Well, the video hardware was custom, complex as hell, expensive as hell, and very unreliable; wouldn't surprise me if there's only 1 or 2 working cabinets still around.

[theoneandonlyjanitor]

THOSE FUCKING SAWS

Great game though, truly revolutionary

[dogmansun]

chill out man. I had forgotten and stopped caring about this ages ago.

[romaneberle]

show us a little bit of Doodle City

[everett1911]

@romaneberle I tried but I seriously couldn't make sense out of it. it was pretty confusing.

[DeweyTheTotodile]

This game was definitely too far ahead of this times, that's why everyone ignored it back then. I really like it! X3

[bonggzilla]

ABSOLUTLY AWESOME LIKE THE PREHISTORIC VERSION OF REZ :-)

EPIC WIN!!!

[atarimon]

I played this on emulator...its EPIC. wish I could play in cabinet, though.

[simonjeste]

AMAZING game to watch... looks like it is still fun even after all these years... of course it doesn't hurt that some of the sound, and gameplay elements, were re-used in Major Havoc (one of my abso-fave games).

[UltraBibendum]

fake and gay

[everett1911]

@UltraBibendum real and awesome. you suck.

[ECMIM]

@UltraBibendum so you're, what?, 12? Moron.

[Desmaad]

The funny thing is, they did all this on a 6809, an 8-bit processor! (Albeit a damn fine one!) It also used 4 POKEYs–the sound/keyboard chip off of the Atari 8-bit computers–I wonder why.

[Dant2142]

@Desmaad Because the video processing was ridiculous.

[CollisionCat]

I can't wait for this to be ported to the 2600!

[DevilMaster]

@CollisionCat In six months to a year, you might find a PC port, with configurable resolutions, gouraud shading, dynamic lighting, particle effects, full compatibility with the latest stereoscopic technologies and a level editor. Courtesy of yours truly.

[Natokun]

Damn, that´s a fucking awesome game for atari.

[LightJehuety]

illuminati.

[fhistleb]

What an interesting game.

[animalntaz]

Another 1980's hit that Will Smith ruined. LOL

[linclmsilva]

Well, for those of you who are comparing this with the fact "the SNES had trouble throwing polygons around", keep in mind this is an arcade game and not a home console video game!

Remember when you were young and wish you had the same graphic quality at home as you had at the arcade store? well...there you have it :o).

[dogmansun]

@linclmsilva yes, comparing an arcade machine form the early 80s as apposed to a console form the early 90s. think that 10 years would make any difference?

[linclmsilva]

@dogmansun it would be ALMOST enough to make such a comparison! ;o)

I'm just saying we should keep the architectural differences in mind!

When i read the title i immediately thought of the Atari 2600 heheh...but then noticed the "arcade" in front of the title!

[dogmansun]

@linclmsilva you know what, that is exactly what I thought too :)

[nongeneric1]

this almost looks like the original star fox for super nintendo in terms of graphics

[iWearCapeIRL]

So fucking fake.

[everett1911]

@iWearCapeIRL so "fucking" not.

[grinick]

@iWearCapeIRL lol what

[KenoshK]

@iWearCapeIRL

wikipedia

[MedievalChips]

this game is awesome

[sarcasim18]

where can i play this??

[everett1911]

@sarcasim18 you get the rom, then the emulator (mame), then you get a tutorial on how to set up mame properly, and then you play. I'm not giving any links.

[dogmansun]

@everett1911 OK, if it existed it existed. That was my opinion on first flush. Do you just believe everything that you see on the internet straight away? I don't.

Oh, and sorry for spelling a word wrong. I am dyslexic and couldn't get the spell checker to pick that one up. No need to be a douche.

[maxamatosis]

ty for the upload. I liked the bit at 3:17 where I'm thinking "high pitched sound? what high pitched sound?"

Also, EVERY SPIKE MUST BE SHOT

[everett1911]

@maxamatosis In the later levels, if you miss any tetras in the shooting levels, they start following you from behind, and unless they crash into an obstacle, you're sure to die. they're like a more forgiving version of the spikes.

[maxamatosis]

ty for the upload. I liked the bit at 3:17 where I'm thinking "high pitched sound? what high pitched sound?"

REMEMBER: AVOID SOLID OBJECTS

[dogmansun]

the SNES would have had trouble throwing polygons around. If this did exists, it must have been as more of an experiment by a computer science department of a university. There is now way this tech could be in the arcade at the same time as pacman and centerpied. the SNES would have had trouble throwing polygons around. If this did exists, it must have been as more of an experiment by a computer science department of a university. There is now way this tech could be in the arcade at that time

[everett1911]

@dogmansun naysayers like you makes me laugh. there is information EVERYWHERE about that arcade game. you ought to read about it. it's as fascinating as the game itself.

[everett1911]

@dogmansun And you also ought to look up info about star fox 2 on the snes.

[everett1911]

@dogmansun By the way, it's Centipede, not Centerpied.

[autentyk]

@dogmansun never played centerpied, was too busy playind centipede! now then, what do we do when we discover something fascinating on the internet? we RESEARCH before posting silly comments. that way we can find out for instance that this was really, truly an arcade game back in 83, not a computer science department FMV produed for the prequel to TRON. this game was too advanced on many levels and maybe too complicated too, that´s why it sold only 1000 units compared to 100 000 pac man cabinets.

[DannyLaam]

Awesome or what?! :D

[HardToNam3]

More like Eye Robot

[Anononononononymous]

REMEMBER: AVOID SOLID OBJECTS

Words to live by.

[DoctorJIS]

This actually looks...fun.

[everett1911]

@DoctorJIS It is, but it's very hard too.

[eusousuperior]

Looks way too advanced for 83... i'd say its fake..

[everett1911]

@eusousuperior It's the exact same reason why it flopped. people couldn't make sense of the gameplay/controls back then. And if you believe it's fake, then look up "atari i robot" on google. you'll see plenty of evidence it's a real game. dirty harry on the xbox360, now that's fake! it was all just a cgi movie mock up of what the gameplay would have been.

[ashgromnies]

the first rule of robotics: no jumping while the giant eye is opening or it will laser you?

why is this game called "i, robot" again?

[ut2k4wikichici]

amazing for 83'

Looks fun i play i am going to go track it down.

[planetrob555]

Very cool! Why didn't I see this in arcades back in the early 80's?

[manicplea]

Wow, it took me a minute to figure out how this would be played but it actually looks like ti would be pretty fun... and I don't mean "fun for 1980's" fun I mean I want to play it now. It's a cool play style concept.

[Davelopper]

the origin of STARFOX

[Drelonek]

Crazy graphics for how old this is. Also, the sound at 3:18 was enough to make my ears hurt, agh.

[DimebagBorgir]

the movie was shit but this is the best thing i've seen in a while.

[Thevideoclown]

this isnt 1983. way to advanced

[Corporatist]

The transition from one part of the level to the next is actually better than today's standard.

[codywermager]

these future graphics are awesome i cant wait to get my hands on this system

[brickman409]

was this 2 years before super mario brothers came out?!?!?!?!?

[bogercs]

What? No sound? well! it's Atari. can you blame it?

[modustheoperandi]

@bogercs Have you tried turning on your speakers?

[RockMSockM7]

@modustheoperandi The first portion of the video has no sound, he probably didn't watch it long enough lol

[dougandmanny]

Illuminati pyramid with eye!!!

[MeTubeMr]

It Maked me feel sleepy...

[kingstonlj]

Such an amazing game for 1983. Sort of looks like the stuff they were doing with the SuperFX chip for the SNES in 1993. Talk about ahead of its time. Brilliant.

[Bittergamer1886]

Big Brother is watching you...

[julietaz]

i dont undersetand it D=

[everett1911]

@julietaz What is it that you don't understand?

[julietaz]

@everett1911 it haves al ot stuff happening in the screen at same time, like floors changing colors, roboto chan ging colors,and those messages coming up....and the floor apear out from nowere....and whats that big eye for? D=

[everett1911]

@julietaz Basically, it's a bit of abstract combined with the limits of the game's hardware. As for the eye, it's an added difficulty in the game as you can't jump if the eye is open, otherwise your robot gets shot, and a level can only be completed after the colored strips (in the case of the first level, the red strips of floor) have disappeared (by walking over them), and after you have destroyed the eye in the level.

[everett1911]

it's from an emulator, really. it wouldn't look like this if I had recorded it off an actual cabinet.

[scottyphoto]

@everett1911 Whoooaa! The emulator is fantastic! Which one did you use? Do you have any knowledge as whether this falls short in anyway from the actually arcade game? It looks like nothing was missed from what I can remember (especially the sound... very bassy which I like) and I am curious to know how accurate the emulator is. On another game... does anyone remember a game called Aerobot? The main character changed from a robot to a plane at the command of the player.

[everett1911]

@scottyphoto A lot of emulators today are advanced enough to emulate most games convincingly. For instance, the emulator used for this game was Mame32, an arcade cabinet emulator. From the games I played (both on the original hardware and its emulated counterparts), it replicates the experience very well.

[everett1911]

@scottyphoto If you are curious, you can look at my two-parts Mortal Kombat 2 longplay, which I also recorded on mame. It will give you an idea of the quality of the emulation.

[scottyphoto]

The sound quality is amazing! It's like I am actually in front of the game. Did you actually have access to a working arcade game? I have been looking for an emulator, but no emulator is as good as the actually coin game. These games makers like Atari would make money if they sold joysticks with their games programmed in them. Not cheap copies of the game, but the actually games as they played in the arcade.

[TSGTheSportsGamer]

I'm actually surprised this didn't get a Jaguar port...

[Kittyslasher69]

@TSGTheSportsGamer besides, the Jaguar was a commercial failure anyway!

[bobbystar101]

@Kittyslasher69 Wow now thats an interesting fact, I bet no one knew that.....

/sarcasm over

U Pleb

[Pikazilla]

Andross!

[Xegethra]

this game is quite hard, but its really nice. i like it

[conradragzoff]

Hey.... I played it all the time!!! At the Electronic Corral in Lakewood Mall.....

[Thewonkandfriends]

Wow, really advanced for the time. Shame no one really played it.