Joust is a classic arcade game by Williams Electronics that was produced in 1982. Image File history File links Screenshot from the arcade game Joust. ... A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates video games. ... Williams is a long-standing electronic gaming and amusement company based in Chicago, Illinois. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Williams is a long-standing electronic gaming and amusement company based in Chicago, Illinois. ... A game designer is a person who designs games. ... Video games are categorized into genres based on their gameplay. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... Centipede by Atari is a typical example of a 1980s era arcade game. ... Joystick elements: 1. ... This arcade cabinet, containing Centipede, is an upright. ... A computer display monitor, usually called simply a monitor, is a piece of electrical equipment which displays viewable images generated by a computer without producing a permanent record. ... Suppose the smiley face in the top left corner is an RGB bitmap image. ... Centipede by Atari is a typical example of a 1980s era arcade game. ... Williams is a long-standing electronic gaming and amusement company based in Chicago, Illinois. ...

Description

The player takes the role of a knight with a lance, mounted on either an ostrich (player 1) or an emu (player 2), battling waves of computer-controlled enemy knights. The enemy knights have three different speed and agility levels and are mounted on giant buzzards. The game screen is static; its only features are five platforms hanging in mid-air (some wrapping around the screen), the ground, and a pit of lava below. The silver Anglia knight, commissioned as a trophy in 1850, intended to represent the Black Prince. ... The term lance has become a catchall for a variety of different pole weapons based on the spear. ... Binomial name Carolus Linnaeus, 1758 The present-day distribution of Ostriches. ... Binomial name (Latham, 1790) The Emu has been recorded in the areas shown in black. ... A buzzard is a type of bird of prey, in any of several different but related senses: A medium-sized wide-ranging raptor with a robust body and broad wings. ... Look up lava, Aa, pahoehoe in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The game's incredibly simple controls are a factor in its wide appeal. A joystick moves left and right, and a "Flap" button flaps the mount's wings once. Pressing "Flap" in rapid succession will cause a gain in altitude until gravity drags the player downward. Joystick elements: 1. ... Gravity is a force of attraction that acts between bodies that have mass. ...

Gameplay

Each wave begins with enemy knights appearing on the screen at one of four "spawn points." To destroy an enemy knight, the player has to collide with the knight while his lance is vertically higher than the enemy knight's lance. After destroying an enemy knight, a giant egg will appear and fall, bouncing on the ground. The player has to go touch (and thus destroy) the egg, gaining additional points; if this act takes too long, the egg will hatch and another, more powerful enemy knight will appear and continue the fight against the player. The three types of enemy knights, from weakest to toughest, are Bounder (red knight), Hunter (white knight) and Shadow Lord (blue knight). In most birds and reptiles, an egg (Latin ovum) is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. ...

A wave is cleared when the player destroys all enemy knights and eggs. If too much time elapses on a particular wave before this occurs, the dreaded pterodactyl will appear from one side of the screen and fly around until it collides with the player, destroying him; until the player finishes the wave; or until the player destroys the pterodactyl by hitting it directly in the mouth with his lance, a difficult task, due to its incredible speed when attacking. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Two players can play Joust, and each player will get points for destroying the enemy knights, and also for destroying his human opponent. Cooperative play is possible by agreement between the players, but they can still kill each other accidentally if they are to collide. Some rounds award bonus points if the two players successfully avoid killing one another, other rounds encourage the players to kill each other by offering a bonus to the first player to do so.

A lava troll inhabits the lava pit at the bottom of the screen; if any player or enemy knight flies too close to the lava, the troll's hand will emerge and tug the mount downward toward the lava. Players can get out of the troll's grip by hammering on the "Flap" button. Trolls with an abducted princess (John Bauer, 1915). ...

SCORING

Killing enemies:

Bounder (Red): 500 points

Hunter (Silver/Gray): 750 points

Shadow Lord (Blue): 1,000 points

Pterodactyl: 1,000 points

Getting killed: 50 points

Picking up eggs or hatchlings: 250, 500, 750, or 1,000 points (progressive). The progression starts again when the player is killed or starts the next wave.

Picking up an egg before it touches the ground: 500 points

Not dying during a Survival Wave: 3,000 points

If neither player kills the other during a Team Wave (Two players only): 3,000 points for each player.

The first player who kills the other player during a Gladiator Wave (Two Players only): 3,000 points Pollice Verso (With a Turned Thumb), an 1872 painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme, is a well known history painters researched conception of a gladiatorial combat. ...

Cheats and Bugs

One "bug" in the program's design became a strategic advantage to players in the know, later touted by producers as a "hidden feature". On the right side of the screen there are two platforms situated so that one is above and slightly overhangs another. If a player moves across the lower of the two platforms, the player will hit the upper one and be halted. However, if a player flies their bird so that its belly skims the lower platform low enough that its legs do not extend, the bird will "belly flop" across the width of the platform, and, illogically, "squeeze" through the meeting point of the two platforms, shooting out below the upper platform. Skilled players took advantage of this flaw as a gaming strategy: a player could suddenly pop out below the platform and land on an enemy knight below (or a competing player), catching him by surprise. Game creator John Newcomer stated in interviews that this flaw in the game's design was so popular, they decided to intentionally leave it in and it became a permanent part of the game.

Early ROM revisions of the game contained a situation which a skilled player could exploit to accumulate an infinite number of points on certain waves, with low risk. The player would attempt to maneuver one of the enemy knights too close to the lava, such that the lava troll would grip it - not low enough to the lava so the troll would succeed in pulling it in, and not high enough so the enemy knight could escape the troll's grip. By doing so, the knight could never attack the player and distract him from performing the trick, and the wave would also never end. Then the player would stand in the middle of the platform in the center of the screen. The pterodactyl would appear from one side below the player and charge right at him; if the player simply stood in the middle of the platform, facing the pterodactyl, the player's lance would strike the pterodactyl in the mouth, killing it. A new pterodactyl would immediately appear from the other side of the screen, and could be killed in the same manner. This could be repeated indefinitely. Read-only memory (usually known by its acronym, ROM) is a class of storage media used in computers and other electronic devices. ...

The Joust Series

• Joust (1982)
• Joust (pinball machine) (1983)
• Joust 2: Survival of the Fittest (1986): Joust 2 added a "Transform" button, allowing the player to switch between a roc and a pegasus. Because Joust 2 was released during the waning days of the golden age of arcade games, it did not achieve nearly the level of success that Joust did, and is now considered a collector's item.
• Joust X: An updated version of Joust for home consoles was planned in the 1990s but never released.
• Joust keychain (1998): Tiger Electronics created a handheld adaptation of Joust as part of its Extreme Chain Series.
• Joust the Movie: John Newcomer has said in interviews that he plans one day to produce a film based on Joust.

Pegasus and Bellerophon, Attic red-figure Pegasus and Bellerophon, from Mabie, Hamilton Wright (Ed. ... The Golden Age of Arcade Games was a peak era of arcade game popularity and innovation. ... Tiger logo Tiger Electronics is a USA-based toys manufacturer, best known for the Furby and Giga Pets. ...

Ports

Joust has been ported to the NES, Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Nintendo 64, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, PC, Xbox 360, BBC Micro and Palm OS as well as Atari's own 2600, 5200, 7800, Lynx and ST (also available on Commodore 64 an Sinclair ZX Spectrum). This is the cover art for a video game. ... “NES” redirects here. ... The original PlayStation was produced in a light grey colour; the more recent PSOne redesign sports a smaller more rounded case. ... The Sega Saturn ) is a 32-bit video game console, first released on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America and July 8, 1995 in Europe. ... This section needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... The Game Boy ) is a handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo[1], released in 1989 at US$109 ISBN 0-9643848-5-X. The Game Boy was the first successful handheld console, and was the predecessor of all other iterations of the Game Boy line. ... The Game Boy Color , shortened to GBC) is Nintendos successor to the Game Boy and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan and in November of 1998 in the United States and 1999 in Europe. ... IBM PC (IBM 5150) with keyboard and green screen monochrome monitor (IBM 5151), running MS-DOS 5. ... The Xbox 360 is the successor to Microsofts Xbox video game console, developed in cooperation with IBM, ATI, Samsung and SiS. Information on the console first came through viral marketing campaigns and it was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detailed launch and game information divulged... The BBC Microcomputer System was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers Ltd for the BBC Computer Literacy Project operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation. ... Palm OS is a compact operating system developed and licensed by PalmSource, Inc. ... This article is about a corporate game company. ... The Atari 2600, released in October 1977, is the video game console credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having a non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in. ... The Atari 5200 SuperSystem, or simply Atari 5200, is a video game console that was introduced in 1982 by Atari as a replacement for the famous Atari 2600. ... The Atari 7800 is a video game console released by Atari in June 1986 (a test market release occurred two years earlier). ... The Lynx was a handheld game console released by Atari in 1989. ... The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was commercially popular from 1985 to the early 1990s. ...

The Atari 2600 port is extremely simplified, due to its hardware limitations. The Game Boy port, packaged with Defender as Arcade Classic No. 4, is not very close to the original either. The somewhat better Game Boy Color port is also packaged with Defender, as Arcade Hits. The Atari ST port is a near-perfect conversion of the game. The Atari 2600, released in October 1977, is the video game console credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having a non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in. ... The Game Boy ) is a handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo[1], released in 1989 at US$109 ISBN 0-9643848-5-X. The Game Boy was the first successful handheld console, and was the predecessor of all other iterations of the Game Boy line. ... Defender is a horizontally-scrolling shoot em up arcade game created by Williams Electronics in 1980. ... The Game Boy Color , shortened to GBC) is Nintendos successor to the Game Boy and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan and in November of 1998 in the United States and 1999 in Europe. ... The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was commercially popular from 1985 to the early 1990s. ...

In July 2000, Midway licensed Joust, along with other Williams Electronics games, to Shockwave for use in an online applet to demonstrate the power of the Shockwave web content platform, entitled Shockwave Arcade Collection. The conversion was created by Digital Eclipse. It is currently freely available to be played within the Shockwave Web applet. Midway Games (NYSE: MWY) is an American video game publisher. ... Williams is a long-standing electronic gaming and amusement company based in Chicago, Illinois. ... Macromedia Shockwave is frequently confused with Macromedia Flash. ... Macromedia Shockwave is frequently confused with Macromedia Flash. ... Backbone Entertainment is an independent video game development company with offices in Emeryville, California, Vancouver, British Columbia, and Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. ... Macromedia Shockwave is frequently confused with Macromedia Flash. ...

Digital Eclipse went on to port Joust, grouped with five other Midway games including Robotron and Defender, as Arcade Greatest Hits: Midway Collection 1 for the Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn, IBM PC and Nintendo 64, and with four other games as Midway Arcade Classics for Palm OS. An Arcade Greatest Hits: Midway Collection 2 disc was later released for the PlayStation that included Joust 2. Robotron logo Robotron was the biggest East German electronics manufacturer. ... The original PlayStation was produced in a light grey colour; the more recent PSOne redesign sports a smaller more rounded case. ... The Sega Saturn ) is a 32-bit video game console, first released on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America and July 8, 1995 in Europe. ... IBM PC (IBM 5150) with keyboard and green screen monochrome monitor (IBM 5151), running MS-DOS 5. ... This section needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... Palm OS is a compact operating system developed and licensed by PalmSource, Inc. ... Joust 2: Survival of the Fittest is a classic arcade game by Williams Electronics that was produced in 1986. ...

By far, the most accurate and well-documented Joust port is in Midway Arcade Treasures, a compilation of arcade games available for the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox consoles, as well as a Windows XP version. Midway Arcade Treasures features concept sketches, advertisements, and an interview with John Newcomer. It also includes Joust 2. Midway Arcade Treasures is a collection of 24 arcade games developed by Digital Eclipse and released by Midway for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC. A second collection, Midway Arcade Treasures 2, was released for the same consoles in October 2004 and a third console compilation, Midway Arcade Treasures... The Nintendo GameCube , GCN) is Nintendos fourth home video game console, belonging to the sixth generation era. ... The PlayStation 2 , abbreviated PS2) is Sonys second video game console, the successor to the PlayStation and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3. ... The Xbox is a sixth generation era video game console produced by Microsoft Corporation. ... Windows XP is a line of operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on general-purpose computer systems, including home and business desktops, notebook computers, and media centers. ... Midway Arcade Treasures is a collection of 24 arcade games developed by Digital Eclipse and released by Midway for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC. A second collection, Midway Arcade Treasures 2, was released for the same consoles in October 2004 and a third console compilation, Midway Arcade Treasures... Joust 2: Survival of the Fittest is a classic arcade game by Williams Electronics that was produced in 1986. ...

• Joust : XBox Live Arcade, released in HD for the XBox 360 with the ability to play with another person over the internet on XBox Live. Priced at 400 Microsoft Points ($5).

• Joust for Playstation Network, Was released on May 24, 2007. It is sold at the price of $4.99, and was published by Sony Online Entertainment

Joust on the Atari 2600 Atari (1983) Icons of the various PSN features PlayStation Network is Sonys free online service provided for use with their PlayStation 3 video game console. ... is the 144th day of the year (145th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Wikipedia presents. ... Image File history File links screenshot Atari 2600 Joust by me This is a screenshot of a copyrighted computer game or video game. ... The Atari 2600, released in October 1977, is the video game console credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having a non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in. ... This article is about a corporate game company. ...	Joust on the Atari ST Atari/Rugby Circle (1986) Image File history File links screenshot Atari ST Joust, made myself. ... The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was commercially popular from 1985 to the early 1990s. ... This article is about a corporate game company. ...	Joust on the Atari 7800 Atari (1987) Image File history File links screenshot Atari 7800 Joust by me This is a screenshot of a copyrighted computer game or video game. ... The Atari 7800 is a video game console released by Atari in June 1986 (a test market release occurred two years earlier). ... This article is about a corporate game company. ...	Defender / Joust on the Game Boy Nintendo (1995) Image File history File links screenshot Game Boy Joust, made myself. ... The Game Boy ) is a handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo[1], released in 1989 at US$109 ISBN 0-9643848-5-X. The Game Boy was the first successful handheld console, and was the predecessor of all other iterations of the Game Boy line. ... Nintendo Company, Limited (任天堂 or ニンテンドー Nintendō; NASDAQ: NTDOY, TYO: 7974 usually referred to as simply Nintendo, or Big N ) is a multinational corporation founded on September 23, 1889[1] in Kyoto, Japan by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce handmade hanafuda cards. ...
Joust on the NES Atari/HAL (1987) Image File history File links screenshot Nintendo Entertainment System Joust by me This is a screenshot of a copyrighted computer game or video game. ... “NES” redirects here. ... This article is about a corporate game company. ... HAL Laboratory, Inc. ...

External links

• Joust at StrategyWiki
• Joust at the Killer List of Videogames
• Joust 2: Survival of the Fittest at the Killer List of Videogames
• Joust at MobyGames
• Joust at World of Spectrum
• Tiger Keychains at Handheldmuseum.com
• Defunct Games: Joust Review (Atari Lynx)
• Joust: A Restoration Story at QuarterArcade.com

Play Joust

• Play Joust online for free at AOL's website (this link actually works for me unlike the others which don't seem to currently.)
• Play Joust online for free at Midway's website
• Play Joust online for free at the VH1 Online Arcade

Joust Fan Sites

• Joust: A Necessary 2D Game
• Joust game movie