Tempest

"Tempest" is an arcade game released by Atari Inc. in 1981, designed and programmed by Dave Theurer. It takes place on a three-dimensional surface that is sometimes curved into a tube, viewed from one end and divided into a dozen or more segments or lanes. The player controls a claw-shaped spaceship (called the Blaster) that crawls along the near edge of the playing field, moving from segment to segment. Tempest was one of the first games to utilize Atari’s Color QuadraScan vector display technology. It was also the first game in which the player could choose their starting level (a system Atari called “SkillStep”). This feature increases the maximum starting level based on the player’s performance in the previous game, essentially allowing the player to continue playing. An official port was released for the Atari ST. An official port bearing the Atari logo was released in 1985 by Superior Software for the BBC Micro and the Acorn Electron, and another in 1987 by Electric Dreams for the ZX Spectrum and the Amstrad CPC. Versions for the Atari 2600 and 5200 were in development at Atari, Inc. in 1984, and unfinished prototypes of both exist.