Outlaw (1978 video game)
| Outlaw | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Atari |
| Publisher(s) | Atari |
| Designer(s) | David Crane |
| Platform(s) | Atari 2600 |
| Release | October 1978 |
| Genre(s) | Shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Outlaw is a 1978 video game developed at Atari by David Crane. The game has a Western setting, where one or two players either aim at targets or fellow gunfighters to reach 10 points in a set time. Several modes are available allowing for different obstacles an rules varying how the players move, how their bullets act and how the obstacles block the bullets.
The game was the first video game Crane made for Atari after being hired in 1977. He described the making of it as a "trial by fire" to learn what he could and could not do within the limitations of the Atari Video Computer System. Like many early games for the system, Outlaw is a variation of an existing arcade game, namely Gun Fight (1975). Upon release, it received positive reviews from Creative Computing, The Space Gamer and the Xenia Daily Gazette. It has since been re-released in various Atari-themed compilation packages.