Utopia (video game)
Utopia | ||
---|---|---|
Designer(s) Don Daglow | | |
Platform(s) | Intellivision, Aquarius | |
Release | Intellivision
| |
Genre(s) | City-building[2][3][4] Real-time strategy[5][6][4] | |
Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
Utopia is a 1982
Gameplay
Utopia is a two-player game in which the two players each control one of the game's two islands. It lacks an
Each player rules their own island and uses the controller disc to move a rectangular
Most rounds consist of constructing a building, then continuously maneuvering the player's fishing boat over a moving school of fish in order to maintain fishing income, with occasional interruptions to construct new buildings whenever the player is able to afford them. Alternatively, a player might spend resources and time maneuvering a PT boat to try and sink their opponent's fishing boat in order to keep their income down. Game algorithms generate and determine the course of rain clouds, tropical storms, hurricanes, schools of fish, and pirate ships.[8]
Legacy
GameSpy included Utopia in its Hall of Fame in 2004, commenting: "Considering the state of home video-game technology in 1981, Utopia is an astonishingly detailed simulation."[3] GameSpot featured Utopia in its series Unsung Heroes: Ground Breaking Games, calling it a "surprisingly complex game (often referred to as 'Civilization 0.5') [that] laid the foundation for PC sim classics such as Civilization and SimCity."[9] In 2012, Utopia has been included in the Smithsonian Institution's "The Art of Video Games" exhibition.[10]
Ars Technica cites Utopia as being the "birth of a genre", that "prior to the mid-1990s strategy games were turn based", the "idea of adding a real-time element to force players into instant, impulsive decisions were virtually unheard of." Ars Technica states that it is "arguably the earliest ancestor of the real-time strategy genre".[6] Matt Barton and Bill Loguidice say it "helped set the template for the real-time strategy genre",[4] but has "more in common with SimCity than it does with Dune II and later RTS games."[11] Brett Weiss argues that "[m]ost experts consider Utopia" to be "the first real-time strategy game."[5]
A remake of the game has been announced for release exclusively for the Intellivision Amico.[12]
Reviews
- Games[13]
References
- ^ "Game List". Intellivision History. Blue Sky Rangers Inc. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
- ^ ISBN 9780313379369.
- ^ a b c GameSpy Hall of Fame Article on Utopia
- ^ ISBN 978-0240811468.
- ^ ISBN 9780786487554.
- ^ a b c Moss, Richard (September 15, 2017). "Build, gather, brawl, repeat: The history of real-time strategy games". Ars Technica. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
- ^ "The evolution of gaming: computers, consoles, and arcade". Ars Technica. 2005-10-11.
- ^ a b c "UTOPIA Cartridge Instructions". Intellivision Productions, Inc. Retrieved 2014-10-30.
- ^ Baker, T. Byrl, Unsung Heroes: Ground Breaking Games – Utopia, GameSpot, archived from the original on 2010-07-07, retrieved 2014-10-30
- ^ "Smithsonian "The Art of Video Games" exhibition site". Archived from the original on 2016-12-03. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
- ISBN 9781136137587.
- ^ "Intellivision® Reveals Initial Details For The Upcoming Amico™ Home Video Game Console!". PR Newswire (Press release).
- ^ "GAMES Magazine #34". December 1982.