Intrepid

Before Intrepid was finished, Atari released Xevious (licensed from Namco) which had similar gameplay but a much better implementation. Stroud quickly lost interest in the game and the project was cancelled.

From designer Bob Skinner: "I was able to convince Tommy Stroud Jr. (Cinematronics head) to let me make up a game and learn how to use the game system. My idea was called Intrepid and was basically an endless strafing run... All I had to do was make just enough progress to keep ahead of the naysayers. It was a futuristic fighter jet controlled by a four-way joystick and a gun system controlled by a trackball that you clicked down with your palm to fire... With vector graphics you could have nearly unlimited rotations about the x-y axis. You could also use a trick to rotate in the Z-X plane and appear to bank an airplane. With Hand Command the exclusive targeting system, even if you dodged a heat-seeker, and it swung around and started chasing you, you could pin-point aim behind you and shoot it off your tail... I am not sure if there was a single brand-new idea in the game. The Hand Command was simply a missile command mechanic while flying. The weaving an aircraft left and right had been used in Astro Blaster and several other space games. I convinced myself this was unique and special for color x-y. I was moving over land, up a winding path, facing fixed targets, tanks, and missile launchers, on the way to a base that in reality I would never reach..."