Flyball © 1976 Atari.
This game is a very basic implementation of the game of baseball. The graphics are in black and white monochrome, and each side only has a single player (well the pitching team only has the pitcher, but several men can get on base at once). The game uses analog controls to simulate both pitching and hitting, so a smooth motion of the joystick will produce the best results. The pitcher is the only person on the field besides the base runners, so it is often best to make for one base further than the one you would have thrown the ball to (the pitcher has to run after the batter). The game only lasts for 1 or 2 innings (depending on how it is set), so each at bat really counts.
Fly Ball came in an upright cabinet that was neon green and white, with sideart of baseball players in action. The marquee matched the cabinets sideart almost exactly, and used the same color scheme. The game used an unadorned white monitor bezel, which was rather unusual as most games either have black ones, or decorated ones. The control panel featured two smallish analog joysticks, and a single action button for each player. This game uses a 23'' black and white television as a monitor.
Game ID : 005629
Main CPU : MOS Technology M6502 (@ 756 Khz)
Screen orientation : Horizontal
Video resolution : 256 x 240 pixels
Screen refresh : 60.00 Hz
Palette colors : 4
Players : 2
Control : stick
Buttons : 1
Released in July 1976, selling at an MSRP of $1195.
From Dave Shepperd : Neither Rich nor I knew anything about baseball when we were assigned to do this game. I remember Rich and I looking at each other quizzically each wondering if what was going on on the screen was right and hoping the other would speak up if not. Ahhh.. the old days. The blind leading the blind..
There is a serious bug in this game. I didn't realize this was not the rule in baseball at the time, but in this game all base runners will advance on a walk even if there are empty bases between them. I heard second hand from marketing a number of years after production of this game ended that some location (most likely a bar) was extensively damaged as a result of a fight breaking out over this game. I never got additional details, but it's fun to speculate that there was some wagering involved and, due to this bug, a runner at third was incorrectly walked home..
Designed and programmed by : Dave Shepperd
Design and programming assistant : Rich Patak
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