Pitfall!
Platform: Intellivision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: INTV
Genre: Action - Platformer
Gametype: Licensed
Release Year: 1982
Developer: Activision
Publisher: Activision
Players: 1
_________________________

Pitfall! is a platform action game. You play Pitfall Harry who is on a quest to locate treasure deep in the jungle. With a little luck you'll be able to find money bags, silver bars, gold bars, and diamond rings. But many obstacles will get in the way, some of which merely deduct points from your score, while others are fatal. Rolling logs and falling down a hole will deduct points, and scorpions, alligators, snakes, bottomless pits, swamps, and fires will cause Pitfall Harry to lose a life. You have 20 minutes to try to collect all of the treasures on the numerous screens, if you can live that long!


DEVELOPMENT HISTORY:

Pitfall!, originally released for the Atari 2600, was Activision's first big success (it spawned a sequel - Pitfall II: Lost Caverns - on Colecovision). David Crane, the game's designer, programmed this Intellivision version. Activision later released versions of Pitfall! for Atari 5200 and ColecoVision.

PLAYING TIPS: From designer David Crane in the Pitfall! instruction manual:

"As you set off on your first adventure with Harry, you'll notice two important features: that the logs always roll from left to right, and that the 'replacement' Harrys (after Harry loses a life) drop from the trees on the left side of the screen. So, to minimize the number of rolling logs to be jumped, and the catastrophic hazards to be retried, simply run to the left.

"Pitfall Harry's trip must be made through a maze of surface and underground passages through the jungle. To capture all 32 treasures in under twenty minutes, Harry will have to use some of the underground passages. I'd suggest that you make a map of the terrain each time you play. Knowing the jungle and planning the best route to all the treasures is the only way to insure success time after time.

"Until you get really skilled at making Harry jump from croc to croc, you might wait until the crocodiles' jaws are closed, jump to the top of the first croc's head, then wait for the jaws to open and close again before jumping to the next one. Soon, you'll be skipping across crocs like they were stepping stones in a stream."


FUN FACT:

Players who sent a photo to Activision showing a score of 20,000 or more received an "Activision Explorers Club" emblem.

 
http://www.mobygames.com/game/intellivision/pitfall
http://www.intellivisiongames.com/bluesky/games/credits/activision.html#pitfall
